Public Periscope

Maybe this is a bright spot

One more comment about the poor turnout in Tuesday’s primary election, and then we’ll shut up. Turnout is a percent - the number of ballots cast are divided by the number of voters registered. One of the reasons the percentage keeps going down is because the registration numbers keep going up … Registration is going up for two reasons: Population is growing in Spokane County, which means more eligible voters. State and federal laws keep making it easier to register and harder to get stricken from the rolls. Maybe the people who register as an afterthought to renewing a driver’s license are less likely to vote.

It’s a little like comparing drops in the stock market. It’s not just the loss on a given day, it’s the relative size of the current market. Spokane County should wind up with about 60,000 ballots cast in the primary, which was a middling showing in most off-year primaries before registration got easier. Now it’s considered abysmal.

Or is it? In the post-Watergate primary of 1974, the year to which many people want to compare this year’s turnout, some 25,000 fewer ballots were cast. But the 1974 turnout was only about 4 percent less. Because now nearly 64,000 more voters are on the books.

New year, new exercise

More than 600 of the brightest minds at Eastern Washington University stood and flapped their arms last week as a sign of campus unity and spirit. “Oooo Oooo, EWU,” Strider Denison led the flapping flock of Eastern Eagles … Denison, the Associated Students of Eastern president, coaxed staid professors and humorless office workers to “show their wings” at an annual fall breakfast held the Friday before classes begin. School opens today. … Denison took his cue for the exercise from predecessor LaShund Lambert - but made some changes. Last year, Lambert sang “We shall overcome” to cheer up Eastern employees under fire for poor enrollment and internal fights with administrators. There was no flapping; he had the audience hold hands as a sign of teamwork.

Posthumous recognition

That new bronze visage looking out at Spokane Arena-goers on the Dave Robinson Memorial Wall is, appropriately enough, Dave Robinson. City, county and Arena officials unveiled a new plaque with Robinson’s likeness last week, almost three years to the day after the facility opened … Robinson, who died in January, was the first chairman of the Public Facilities District board that built the Arena, and served two four-year terms. He attended meetings even after suffering a stroke. Even after he stepped down, the former banker and city councilman was the “go-to guy” when the board needed financial advice.

Web site of the week

Women looking for political news and contacts now have a Web site designed with them in mind. Put together by the National Journal, Working Woman and Working Mother magazines, WomenCONNECT offers daily updates on political stories, as well as a number of other topics … Men, too, might find some of its connections to political organizations interesting. At some point it’s going to have a feature that will allow a reader to type in her ZIP code and get direct links to her members of Congress. Not a new concept, to be sure, but helpful if one is extremely happy or angry about something she reads … Find it at www.womenconnect.com.

Catch the candidates

Friday: Candidates for the two 4th Legislative District House seats, at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce forum. 7:30 a.m., Commissioners Hearing Room, County Public Works Building.