Public Periscope

They aren’t yolking

Never one to keep its sunny side up, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a plan to protect you from a dangerous product. It soon may come to an egg carton near you. … The FDA wants cartons to carry a warning that the eggs inside should be refrigerated until cooked - and cooked until the yolks are firm. We say “Duh!” to the first admonition and “Yuck!” to the second. … The FDA would have us forgo our eggs over easy, soft-boiled or poached. Forget Caesar salad. Relegate eggnog to the ghost of Christmas past. … The warnings are an effort to prevent salmonella enteritis, a potentially fatal illness that occasionally is caused by contaminated eggs. But we tend to agree with the Libertarian Party that the warnings suggest Americans are too stupid to cook their own eggs. Said Libertarian spokesman Bill Winter: “The eggheads in Washington, D.C., have gone too far.”

At the flicks

Call it an international film festival with a purpose, with perhaps a preview of things to come. The Spokane Sister City Association is sponsoring a film festival featuring seven films over the next eight months. Each film will come from a different country. … But wait, you might say. Spokane has only five Sister Cities, one each from Japan, Germany, China, Ireland and Korea. So how can the Sister City International Film Festival include films from France and Senegal? … Remember, Sister Cities come and go. We dropped Makhachkala, Russia, because of communications problems. We could always add others. … Regardless, the first movie is “Le Dernier Metro,” a Francois Truffaut film starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. It will be showing Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Phase 1 classroom building at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park.

Getting involved

If you aren’t interested in running for elected office, there are plenty of other chances to play a role in the community. Maybe a seat on a board or commission would satisfy the urge. How about the Community Development Board or the Spokane Public Facilities District Board?

The Community Development Board holds hearings and reviews plans for new projects funded with community development block grant money. The board has three openings and is looking for someone with experience in banking or community development and members of the minority community. Apply by Sept. 27.

The Public Facilities District Board oversees the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena and contracts with the city’s Arena management department, which handles day-to-day management of the Arena. There is one opening, for which the board is looking for someone interested in “allocating taxpayers’ dollars wisely.” Application deadline is Sept. 20.

City residents may apply at the mayor’s office on the fifth floor of City Hall or may get applications on the city’s Web site: www.spokanecity.org/boards/vacancy.htm