Public Periscope

Who’s behind those Foster Grants?

What is the stylish Western governor wearing this year? For Washington Gov. Gary Locke on a recent sunny day, it was a nicely tailored gray suit and wingtips, fashionably accented with star-shaped children’s sunglasses - in yellow. … That’s how the gov was attired while strolling with Washington’s first child, 3-year-old Emily Nicole Locke, outside the Capitol in Olympia. Emily’s sunglasses were a pink version of her dad’s. … Which just proves that while politics may be an acquired passion, fashion sense is genetic.

We’re in stitches

The Columbia River Alliance, a Portland-based industry group fighting proposals to breach four Snake River dams, has a special April Fools’ Day version of its “Alliance Alert” newsletter. Not surprisingly, it includes a few jabs at salmon-suited activists, biologists, policy-makers and journalists. … While the dams-and-salmon debate could use a little levity, some of the fake news items might be considered in questionable taste, such as making a joke about Alzheimer’s disease and suggesting it might be fun to club dam-breaching activists.

Going way over the top was an item about Oregon applying the “final solution” to keep hatchery fish from spawning with those from native runs. It includes a bogus quote from an Oregon official that there would be plenty of volunteers “because every Oregonian wants to prevent inferior races from polluting our precious genetic purity.” … The newsletter also joked that Aryan Nations members had volunteered for the work “until they learned that (the Oregon official) was talking about fish, not people.” … Note to the alliance: Some people find nothing funny about the Holocaust.

Numbers to ponder

Quick, name the likely Republican presidential candidate. OK, now name the likely Democratic candidate. … If you answered George Bush and Al Gore, respectively, chances are that one of the next two people you ask will draw a blank on one name. And if you ask four people, odds are that one of them won’t know both names. … At least, that’s what a recent survey by the Gallup Poll found. A third of those surveyed in mid-March missed one nominee, and 20 percent couldn’t get both. … Makes you wonder if Bush and Gore should ask for a refund on the millions they’ve spent on advertising.

Maybe not bright, but not deaf, either

Spokane County planning commissioner Tom Hargreaves made his feelings about local reporters clear recently, scoffing when a colleague suggested the news media might find out about a decision planning commissioners hoped to keep quiet. … “No, they’re not bright enough,” he said during the March 16 meeting, at which no reporters were present. He then disparaged the reporting abilities of one scribe in particular - one at this newspaper - mentioning the reporter’s name twice during the castigation.

Planning commissioner Mike Schrader admonished Hargreaves, “Keep the names out; we’re on tape” - which is how another reporter heard the comments several days later. … Hargreaves apologized for the comment last week. “That was unfair of me. There are several local reporters whose work I respect.” … He didn’t name them, however.

What’s in a name?

Horses aren’t small. Neither are lions and cougars, for that matter. Yet, for years, the Spokane County Small Animal Control Department has been responsible for corralling those critters if they run amok in unincorporated areas. … Last week, county commissioners allowed department director Nancy Hill to change the agency’s name to just plain “Animal Control.” … “It’s just misleading,” Hill said of the old name. “People trying to look us up in the phone book always look under `A’ instead of `S.”’

Makes you wonder

At a recent Spokane Transit Authority meeting, agency officials were giving a formal farewell to project manager Don Coons, who is leaving for a new job. Finance Director Jim Plaster commended Coons for 10 years of hard work. … “Eleven years,” Coons interrupted. “I never was any good with numbers,” Plaster said with a laugh. … Plaster oversees STA’s spending, including the agency’s $38 million reserve.