Huckleberries Best of the Northwest — 7/11/05

Bret Boone has been traded. See Item No. 4.

The Spokesman-Review sent a reporter-photographer team to Fargo, ND, to find investigate Joseph Edward Duncan III , the man allegedly involved in the murders of four people, including 8-year-old Dylan Groene here . Reporter James Hagengruber and photographer Jesse Tinsley discovered that none of Duncan’s neighbors saw anything out of the ordinary here , that $15,000 bail set for Duncan haunts a Minnesota town here , and that 25 trouble-free years ended with an assault at a playground a year ago here .

1. Eric Devericks /Seattle Times and David Horsey /PI provide their views on the London bombings here and here .

2. Prosecutors today agreed to drop a kidnapping-related charge against the man accused of plotting to abduct David Letterman’s young son, in exchange for guilty pleas on three other charges, according to Bob Anez /AP, here .

3. During Bayview Daze on North Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille, women shouldn’t be showing off tattoos on their bare chests unless they’re prepared to duck, according to D.F. Oliveria’s Huckleberries print column, here .

4. Seattle has traded former star 2nd baseman Bret Boone to the Minnesota Twins here .

5. Officials aren’t saying what’s causing the baby boomlet at Fort Lewis’ Madigan Army Medical Center, but other are simply smiling and crediting “Operation Baby Stork” to happy reunions involving returning soldiers, according to the Tacoma News Tribune (free subscription required) here .

6. IMHO-NW: Gary Crooks /Spokesman-Review ( National sex offender registry needed ), D.F. Oliveria /SR ( Shasta’s citizen rescuers deserve rewards ), Joel Connelly /PI ( Bipartisan pact yields stellar judges ), Steve Kelley /Seattle Times ( Slain coach shared love of tennis ), and Doug Clark /Spokesman-Review ( 90-year-old needs a superhero ).

*Idaho’s bishop finally getting a handle on scandals, according to Dan Popkey /Idaho Statesman here .

*3 climbers killed in North Cascades National Park here .

*Seniors strive for fitness via UW project here .

*Former Montana deputy pleads guilty to raping boys here .

Orbusmax provides the rest of the Northwest here .