Public Periscope

Making changes

Everyone hates bad customer service, even county commissioners. The difference is, county commissioners can do something about it … Sparked by complaints from commissioners, the Spokane County Public Works Department is changing its hours of operation and trying to be more user friendly. Beginning July 1, it will be open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, instead of the current 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Public Works Director Gary Oberg is also instituting a policy that ensures citizens can eventually reach a live body when they call the department on the telephone … Commissioners recently grilled Oberg after calling his office on a Friday and reaching no one. “I slammed the phone down twice, and I’m a commissioner,” Kate McCaslin said.

Oberg quickly made the changes, which drew praise from Commissioner Phil Harris: “A lot of times, we have to tell people two or three times to do something. You got right on it. I appreciate that.”

Recognition on the map

Spokane County’s geographic information systems division has been named the most outstanding agency of its kind in the state … The honor was bestowed by the Washington State Urban and Regional Information Association. “It’s quite an honor,” said Ian Von Essen, the county’s GIS network manager, adding that more awards may be on the way … The county’s GIS division produces maps and other data used by all the county’s departments.

Well, it was still a good photo

Alert readers with good memories may recall a fetching picture of Sen. Slade Gorton shaking hands - or was it fins? - with Buster the Salmon during his campaign kickoff rally in Spokane recently. Gorton even got high marks for sportsmanship or showmanship because he was the one who suggested taking the picture, catching the salmonsuited protester off guard … Now comes word from the Gorton campaign that the senator may not have been as magnanimous as we thought. His campaign says it wasn’t until after the picture was taken that he realized Buster was heading up the Dump Slade group that had filled the room.

That same communication shows the campaign staff needs to spend as much time in Eastern Washington as Gorton. Under the heading “Things we learned about Washington that we didn’t know” was this observation: “It rains in Eastern Washington. Hard.”

This week’s whine special

A two-for-one special, courtesy of Thursday’s court hearing on the River Park Square parking garage mess, regarding why there have been no recent negotiations on a subject for which everyone agrees there should be negotiations … Attorney for the city O. Yale Lewis saying his call to mall developer’s attorney Les Weatherhead was never returned. Weatherhead saying he never got the message.