Huckleberries Best of the INorthwest — 8/14/06

Spokane Regional Health District director Dr. Kim Thorburn chooses an evening gown at her office to wear that was handpicked for her makeover by Spokesman-Review columnist Doug Clark here . (Dan Pelle/Spokesman-Review)

Stapilus: Farm families still have an impact in eastern Washington’s 5th congressional district here .

1. David Horsey /Seattle PI paints what it’s like to “fly the evil skies” nowadays here .

2. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled this morning that the city of Boise was wrong to block a 2004 citizen ballot initiative on the Ten Commandments monument here .

3. Eastern Washington University student Neleigh Olson picked a bad time to wrap up her summer backpacking trip in Europe. And a bad airport. But how could she have predicted the chaos that descended on London Heathrow Airport on Thursday after the discovery of a terrorist plan to detonate bombs aboard London-to-U.S. flights here ?

4. Rolling Stones fans shattered by policy as they try to get tickets to Missoula event here .

5. 726 soldiers, including 31 at Washington bases (9 at Fort Lewis) were booted out of the service in 2005 for homosexuality here .

6. IMHO-NW: Betsy Russell /Spokesman-Review ( What a difference a week makes ), Serephin’s Blog /43rd State Blues ( LaRocco’s new anti-Risch ad ), Missoulian ( Foiled plot underscores relentless threat ), Rebecca Nappi /Spokesman-Review ( Pools are big part of small towns ), Frank Mieli /Kalispell Daily Inter Lake ( Easy labels, hard answers ).

Online Poll: 71% of 1045 respondents to a Seattle PI poll say they don’t have a tattoo.

*Idaho still setting gas-price records while cost goes down nationally here .

*Tacks on trail ruin Coeur d’Alene Triathlon for some here .

*Anti-tailgating strategy backfires on I-90 here .

Orbusmax Special: U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, Demo Jon Tester deadlocked in Montana poll here .