Public Periscope
These guys are such a hoot
While spending time in the nation’s gambling mecca to interview a police chief candidate, Spokane City Manager Bill Pupo and Councilman Jeff Colliton stopped for a bite to eat at the Las Vegas Hooters restaurant. Along for the ride was Assistant City Manager Dorothy Webster, who didn’t know that the restaurant chain’s waitresses are renowned for their, shall we say, physical assets. … When Colliton mentioned the outing during last week’s council retreat, Webster quickly noted the generosity of her dining companions: “They tip waitresses extremely well.”
We bet it’s why most go
At least one member of the City Council took umbrage at a newspaper reference to Las Vegas as a “gambling mecca.” … Of course, Vegas is famous for dozens of things besides gambling and its ancillary activities. Several, anyway. Well, probably at least a couple. … And if we had more time, we’d think of them.
Wetlands wrangling
The state wants Spokane County to hire an expert to enforce rules governing wetlands. Commissioners grumbled, calling it another “unfunded mandate,” but a recent review suggests they do need some kind of expert. … When Public Works Director Dennis Scott reviewed the way the county handles its wetlands rules, he found they are so complex that different employees interpret them differently. When employees asked the rules’ author for guidance, he replied that implementation is someone else’s responsibility. … County officials aren’t going to hire someone new. They plan to put one employee in charge of interpreting the rules.
Eavesdropping made harder
Frustrated by their inability to carry on private conversations, city officials recently installed a “sound dampening system” on City Hall’s fifth floor, home to city management and council members’ offices. … Seems that prior to the work, sound traveled extensively between cubicles, making “no conversation sacred,” said Deputy City Manager Pete Fortin. Now, neighbors might hear a conversation in an adjoining cube but won’t be able to understand the words. … “I’ve got that system already,” said Councilman Orville Barnes. “It’s called becoming deaf.” … Fortin tried to offer some comfort to the council’s senior member: “Good things come with age.”
Hearing voices
The “sound dampening system” piqued the interest of Mayor John Talbott, who admitted during last week’s council retreat that he’s a bit of a “conspiracy-type person.” He asked if the system might be emitting some sort of “subliminal message.” … Fortin suggested one candidate: “Taxes are good. Taxes are good.”
Not crazy about the landlord business
County Commissioners Kate McCaslin and Phil Harris are balking at the county buying an apartment complex for low-income housing. They don’t like the idea of government owning land - especially when only some of the apartments would be subsidized for low-income families. … Harris questioned the project: “If we’re in the business of buying up all the rental housing in Spokane, let’s just admit that.”
Fitting tribute
A longtime city employee who died unexpectedly of a heart attack three years ago will be memorialized at a new park in Hillyard. … At the neighborhood’s urging, the Parks and Recreation Department chose recently to name the mini-park at Longfellow Avenue and Florida Street for Loren Kondo. … Kondo was a city planner for 20 years, guiding neighborhood development projects, including several in the Hillyard area.