Huckleberries Best of the INorthwest — 1/12/06

Dean Maurice lets a grin creep through his snow covered beard after a deep-powder run at Big Mountain ski resort in Whitefish, Mont., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Daily Inter Lake, Chris Jordan)

1. Eric Devericks /Seattle Times chronicles the revolution — er, evolution — of Repub congressional reformers here . And Milt Priggee /Skagit Valley Herald characterizes the tug-of-war going on with the Alito nomination here .

2. Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas is asking that Shasta Groene be allowed to testify against Joseph Edward Duncan III without facing the accused killer in a courtroom here .

3. Idaho had the nation’s 2005 second highest rate of in-migration — people moving into the state vs. people moving out — with 61.9 percent of the moves going into the state, according to the annual study by United Van Lines here .

4. Bad Day For Big Game: *Idaho wants to kill 51 wolves here . And 200 Yellowstone Park bison rounded up for slaughter here . And 2 aggressive deer killed at Helena, Mont., here .

5. A British Columbia drama teacher has pleaded innocent to charges that he videotaped high school wrestlers in the shower during a tournament near Olympia, Wash., last month here .

6. IMHO-NW: Doug Clark /Spokesman-Review ( Humor & zero tolerance ), Chris Peterson /Hungry Horse News ( The little heifer who could ), Tim Woodward /Idaho Statesman ( Boise’s socked-in airport ), Bert Caldwell /Spokesman-Review ( Spokane firm offers confidentiality ), and John Blanchette /Spokesman-Review ( Kwan should face challengers ).

Online Poll: 31.4% of the respondents to an Olympian poll say they want to see a record for consecutive days of rain in western Washington.

*Poll: Washington Supreme Court justices, Demos risk voters wrath if they support gay marriage here .

*Former Coeur d’Alene Basin cleanup foe L. Michael Bogert now sits on committee overseeing cleanup here .

*The ouster of Spokane Mayor Jim West survived a Supreme Court challenge today when the court ruled signatures on the recall petitions were legally collected in August and September here .

Orbusmax provides the rest of the Northwest here .