The Falls: Top of the Morning

You can read Shawn Vestal’s blog, The Falls, here .

It’s Friday, Nov. 30, 2007. The first skiers hit the slopes around here. As usual, Lookout Pass was the first ski hill to open. More will follow soon.

And there’s no Santa Claus, either:

There is no war on Christmas. The whole idea is just trumped-up nonsense used to fuel the sense of martyrdom that a lot of people seem to thrive on. Christians are the majority of people in the country, and Christmas rules this time of year, whether store clerks say, “Happy Holidays,” or not. The latest non-example of the non-war-on-Christmas is the omission of the holiday from a list of important events at the Spokane Public Schools. A district spokeswoman said it was a simple mistake and we believe her. Read Amy Cannata’s story .

What a relief: “This is not the end of the property tax discussion. It’s really kind of the kickoff.”

—Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown , D-Spokane, after the Legislature reinstated the 1 percent property tax cap on Thursday. Read Rich Roesler’s story .

Weather: Highs in the 20s for the next couple of days, with snow possible over the weekend. Here’s the five-day forecast.

Today in History: One hundred and seventy-two years ago, Sam Clemens – later to write under the name Mark Twain — was born in Florida, Mo. From history.com

The morning drive: Check the traffic and the most recent gas prices.

In passing: Harry E. “Spud” Garber. “He is a member of the Spring Creek Grange. He enjoyed fishing, gardening and raising Dahlia’s, carpentry and woodworking and spending time at Dean’s Drive-In with the coffee group. He was a World War II Army veteran. Harry ran the score clock for the Reardan Basketball games for many years in the old Smith Gym.” For more of this and other obituaries, go here .