Someone needs to get their papers in order

As you may recall, political pamphleteers Kathy Sims and Tom Macy are still waiting for the other shoe to drop after taking part in a city election mailing that attacked three incumbents. Remember? Sims and Macy were behind a last-minute flyer that blasted Coeur d’Alene City Council members Ron Edinger, Al Hassell and Dixie Reid for supporting urban renewal efforts. Only Sims and Macy reportedly failed to file a proper campaign finance report on time and didn’t name a campaign treasurer before collecting doughnations. Two no-no’s for a coupla dot-I-cross-T sticklers like Sims and Macy. In fact, city officials still don’t think they’ve filed proper documentation. This week, City Attorney Mike Gridley sent Sims and Macy a letter asking them to complete their paperwork. And notifying them that civil fines for possible finance report violations could mount into the thousands of dollars. Stay tuned.

Duane-Deer Xing?

Huckle- berries Online readers were among the first to know that Duane Hagadone’s Coeur d’Alene Press had sacked Mary Souza’s controversial column, “City Pulse.” First, Souza gets booted from the P&Z panel for her constant criticism of the City Council, and now she loses her column. She and other anti-urban renewal activists haven’t had a good post-election run. Adding insult to wounded pride, an HBOer commemorated the end of the “City Pulse” by refashioning a Christmas favorite. Titled “Mary Got Run Over By A Duane-Deer,” the Berry Picker began: “Mary got run over by a Duane-Deer/Walking home from her last P&Z./You can say there’s no such thing as payback,/But as for me and Dixie, we believe.” There’s more. I’ll post a link to it at Huckleberries Online Monday.

Hanoi Mike?

Coeur d’Alene city attorney Gridley knows right-wing conspiracy theorists will cluck their tongues when they discover he ison his way to Vietnam to ride bikes from Saigon to Hanoi. “They already think I’m a commie,” said Gridley, an affable public servant who’ll never be forgiven by the far right for running for the Legislature as a Demo a few years ago. As a kid, Gridley missed an all-expenses-paid trip to Vietnam, courtesy of Uncle Sam, because he graduated from high school in 1974. But he heard the country is beautiful. And the natives are friendly. Now. In 2001, he rode a bike across the nation, from Gig Harbor, Wash., to Bar Harbor, Maine. He’ll return to pursue the Sims/Macy matter Jan. 4.

Huckleberries

Blogger Kendramama, who overcame drug addiction to become a pawn in a game of brinkmanship between Judge Tom Mitchell and Prosecutor Bill Douglas, got a kick out of the state motto she learned behind bars: “Idaho: Where you come on vacation, leave on probation.” Second, third and more multiple offenders, she said, would always be sure to chime in with, “And return for a ‘violation’ ” … Separated At Birth: Coeur d’Alene Councilman Al Hassell and (drum roll, puh-leez) – Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys … Quotable Quote: “Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can become a ‘citizen legislator.’ The key is, once having been put in the position, responding to your constituents and not developing the ever-prevalent ‘I know better than you’ mentality” – Pat Wheeler … “Ten Worst Household Chores” from A Family Runs Through It blog: 10. Dusting, 9. Clearing clutter, 8. Folding laundry, 7. Cleaning bathtubs and showers, 6. Clearing out fridge, 5. Cat barf, 4. Pots & pans, 3. Bleaching underwear, 2. Cat litter box, and 1. Paying bills.

Parting Shot

In the category of “Some Leftovers Make Better Leftovers Than Others, blogger Jen of A Butterfly Moment offers this exchange with her sons: Josh: “Mom, do you have ice cream to make shakes tonight?” Butterfly: “Yes, we have ice cream, but we made shakes last night and we’re not going to have shakes two nights in a row.” Adam: “But we had turkey eight days in a row!”