Public Periscope

Order up some eye of newt

Mayor-elect John Talbott has an ambitious agenda for his first few weeks in office: economic summit, budget analysis, curse lifting … At his first public speech after being officially declared the mayor-elect, a smiling Talbott said his first official act was going to be to call the leader of Spokane’s Gypsy community. “I’m going to ask Jimmy Marks to come downtown and take the curse off City Hall,” he said. … Now it’s not clear whether Talbott was smiling because he had won, because he was making a joke or because the potential lifting of a curse has such a salutary effect. But there’s a chance that Marks could be willing to do Talbott such a favor - after all, he did endorse Talbott in the election. … Marks wasn’t available for comment, but if the curse is lifted, we’ll let you know.

Is this money yours?

If you won a prize for entering a horse, a cow, a pig or even an alpaca at the Spokane Interstate Fair and never got your prize money, the fair may have a check for you. But you better hurry up to claim it. The checks can’t be cashed after Dec. 15. … The fair has about 400 checks, ranging in value from 80 cents to $200, for exhibitors who won honors for their animals, their produce, their crafts or their baked goods. If that’s you, call 535-1766, or stop by the fair office at 404 N. Havana from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays.

Being fair to fast children

Spokane County is trying to make “Slow, Children” a thing of the past, or at least the signs with that message that some parents post on busy streets. The signs are illegal and distracting to drivers, county engineers say, although the law has only recently been enforced. … To replace the old yellow signs, the county last week unveiled a new white-on-blue prototype with the message “Children in Area. Please Drive Carefully”. … The county isn’t providing the signs, just the specifications for people willing to pay a sign shop to make them.

Next up, Christmas month

Holidays are wonderful things, but they seem to have a way of growing, much like waistlines after this Thursday’s dinner. This observation comes after listening to all the commercials for the “Veterans Day weekend” sales - Veterans Day was on a Tuesday this year, how is that a weekend? - and a recent press release about Gov. Gary Locke’s schedule. … The governor is unavailable, it seems, because “he will be out of the state during the Thanksgiving holiday week.” … Does that mean that Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who’s in charge in Locke’s absence, gets holiday pay for the entire seven days?

Highlight your TV Guide

Spokane County Public Works may not be in line for an Emmy, but it’s pretty proud of its foray into the film world, “The Valley Couplet Virtual Tour.” This 10-minute video gives motorists a glimpse of what they can expect when Sprague is converted into a five-lane westbound road, and coupled with a new four-lane eastbound road between University and the Interstate-90 interchange. … The video may be coming soon to a civic group meeting near you. Or you can tune in to City Cable 5 at 6 p.m. Friday or 8:30 p.m. Saturday through December.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, which is published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. You can write to us at The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, 99210; or send e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com; or fax to (509) 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports