Public Periscope

Better to have him on our side

Many county and regional boards go begging for members. So it was a rare event last week when Commissioner John Roskelley objected to reappointing Spokane industrialist Raymond Hanson to the Spokane Airport Board … “We’ve had some dealings with Mr. Hanson lately that have not been entirely pleasant,” said Roskelley, who adds he expects better from someone representing the county … Commissioners say Hanson, who developed the Valley Mall, has played hardball in negotiating an easement across eight feet of land he owns. That could mean a more expensive access road to Mirabeau Point, the Valley park being built through a private-public partnership. But commissioners Phil Harris and Kate McCaslin outvoted Roskelley. Hanson’s “tough, shrewd negotiating tactics” aren’t her style, said McCaslin, but they could benefit the airport.

Cheech & Chong (& Chan)

“High Times” - the journal of serious pot smokers everywhere - soon may start showing up at the Public Safety Building … Is the Sheriff’s Department opening a head shop? No man. Lt. Chan Bailey wants a subscription “as a way to stay current on drug-culture trends,” according to a memo to his superiors.

Clearing things up

A little clarification on Mayor John Talbott’s statement last week that he wouldn’t need his own attorney to review city issues if the council hired an independent auditor. Talbott said in a followup interview that he wasn’t suggesting any quid pro quo, where he’d trade the council one for the other … Rather, he said either the independent auditor or a private attorney would provide alternative solutions to staff recommendations that he feels are too narrow or one-sided for complicated issues. If he had one, he reasons, he wouldn’t need the other.

Marginally better than no notice

We suspect that Spokane County Commissioners are doing their best to have fewer meetings that could violate either the spirit or the letter of the state’s Open Meetings Law. Which might explain why the commissioners included the Special Meeting of the Solid Waste Liaison Board on their daily meeting calendar last week … Does it sound like carping to mention that the meeting was on Wednesday, and the notice was sent via fax on Thursday?

Rumor of the week

Don’t be surprised to see some high-powered Democrats who would like to be the next occupants of the White House visit Spokane this summer. Word is that Veep Al Gore and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt are tentative guest speakers for the state Labor Convention, which will be in town in mid-August.

A dam impressive site

The Grand Coulee Dam may seem just a tad grander now. It was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark over the weekend. Grand Coulee is in pretty good company, with Bonneville, Hoover and Fort Peck dams … So what does it take to get this honor? Be at least 50 years old, be of national historic civil engineering significance and be a major contributor to the nation.

Watch those prepositions

The School Health Education Coalition has a workshop on April 24 for teachers, school nurses, counselors and youth leaders that seems to have great intentions, but an odd title. The coalition wants to showcase local health resources and show off student health education activities … They’re calling it Community’s Active Solution to Health. Does Spokane really need a solution to health. It might need a solution to hepatitis A, or E.coli, or a few other things.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope is published weekly and is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. You can contact us by mail c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane, Wash., 99210; by fax at (509) 459-5482; or by e-mail at jimc@spokesman.com.

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