Public Periscope
Now there’s a hot idea …
While Spokane roasts this summer like a pig on a spit, city recreation officials report that visits to public pools are taking a nose dive … Director Ange Taylor said recently that, compared with a five-year-average, visits to pools in Spokane for 1998 are down roughly 70,000 “swimming hours.”
It’s not that the numbers are alarming. “To look at Comstock on any day, it’s a busy pool,” said recreation services manager Hal McGathery. “To look at absolute numbers, though, there is a drop.”
Some of the, um, dip may be attributed to a July contamination scare, but that wouldn’t account for all of it. And while McGathery said the city hasn’t had a chance to truly assess why swimmers aren’t coming, Taylor was advancing at least one interesting theory: Why don’t more people cool off at the pool? It’s just too bloody hot to leave any building with air conditioning.
‘School’s out … for … summer!’
The joys of summer have beckoned even the most devoted City Council members away from their posts this week … Monday’s Spokane City Council meeting has been canceled due to lack of a quorum … The next council meeting will be Monday, Aug. 24.
Perhaps they could use an escalator?
It would have been hard to guess last Thursday that City Council members were on their way out of town … They were just one short a quorum in a crowded elevator as they shuttled between meetings at City Hall.
Sympathy for the police
Spokane Gypsy leader Jimmy Marks isn’t a big fan of the police. But the veteran of run-ins with Spokane officers said he actually felt sorry for cops in Reno, Nev., during a visit there earlier this month. When unruly teens in town for Reno’s annual Hot August Nights celebration pulled their shirts off, many were sporting bullet-proof vests, Marks said, adding, “they were planning to riot all along.”
Spokane County wants YOU!
Spokane County commissioners are looking to fill openings on several county advisory boards. Positions are open on a construction review board, a community services substance abuse board, a joint city/county landmarks commission, and the community services mental health board. Application deadline is Aug. 31, and forms are available at the commissioners office at 1116 W. Broadway or by calling 456-2265 and asking for Demeris Skaggs.