Scuttlebutt’s Nothing But
At last, the silly season is upon us.
Partisans are busy bashing each other’s candidates, and the rumor mill is working overtime.
According to local gossip, one Coeur d’Alene City Council candidate once was caught stuffing racist literature into public library books - by library director Julie Meier, no less. Great story. But, alas, Julie told an S-R reporter that the rumor was false.
Then, there are rumors about me.
In River City, I’m allegedly part of the “Post Falls Mafia.” You know, the clique that runs the town. Apparently, Hammond, Hayes, Hissong & Co. tell me whom to endorse. And I snap to attention and say, “Yessirs.” Ah-ha-ha.
In Lake City, the conventional wisdom is that I’ll soon start attacking Steve Judy, the Coeur d’Alene mayor challenger. Give him a Huckleberry here and a Hot Potato there, and hope residents vote for the other guy, Mayor Al Hassell.
I like Judy. In fact, I think he’s qualified to be mayor of this town. Of course, so is the incumbent. To use Judy’s favorite cliche, Coeur d’Alene has a win-win situation with these two candidates. Either candidate is better than what the Spokane mayor’s race has to offer.
But you’ll have to wait until Sunday to see which one The Spokesman-Review editorial board endorses.
Citizens slam-dunk City Hall again
Fortunately, the unwashed again have stopped madness from happening on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s north shore.
This time, the Sanders Beach Preservation Association did the heavy lifting. The fledgling group persuaded 1st District Judge Gary Haman to overturn the city’s crazy decision to issue homeowner Joe Chapman a permit to build on Sanders Beach. Haman ruled Tuesday that a 1928 ordinance prevents construction south of East Lakeshore Drive. (I wonder if that includes seawalls?)
In the past, various citizens groups have stopped inattentive city councils from allowing a shopping center and a botanical garden on McEuen Field, a hotel on top of Tubbs Hill, Terry Phillips’ proposed condominium at the present site of The Coeur d’Alene resort and, of course, the return of hydroplane races along the city’s shoreline. Over the years, council members have lost their jobs because they didn’t respect the town’s remarkable greenbelt. Yet, their successors never seem to learn.
It makes you wonder how city fathers had the foresight to preserve public access to the north shore in the first place.
, DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125, or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.