Huckleberries: Claim Palin, and region has two of top five

Who’s the fairest conservative woman of them all? That would be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as far as John Hawkins of RightWing News is concerned. But U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers does OK too among Hawkins’ list of the 20 most influential conservative women in this country. The Eastern Washington congresswoman ranks No. 5. Filling the gap between Palin and McMorris Rodgers are: No. 2, columnist/author Ann Coulter; No. 3, talk-show host Laura Ingraham; and No. 4, congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

Idaho doesn’t have anyone in the Top 20, unless, of course, you take into account that Palin was born in Sandpoint and attended North Idaho College and the University of Idaho. North Idaho conservatives view the GOP former VP candidate as one of their own, judging from the hundreds of gaga souls who braved frigid temperatures for autographs in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint in December 2009 during Palin’s “Going Rogue” book tour.

City with a heart

Some snicker when they hear Coeur d’Alene described as “the city with a heart” – what with the CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) crowd constantly targeting Mayor Sandi Bloem’s get-things-done administration. But Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander was reminded of Lake City’s generous spirit last week by a new neighbor busily shoveling her sidewalk who said he’d never seen such a giving community.

Deanna: “He moved here this summer from Las Vegas, and he said you would never see this in Las Vegas.” (The same could be said of the snow on the sidewalk.) Deanna continued: “He certainly fits in as he was not only shoveling my driveway, but also shoveled several blocks of the neighborhood sidewalks.”

May his kind increase.

Huckleberries

Ellen Carmichael, new PRmeister for Idaho congressman Raul Labrador, tweeted this during the GOPrez debate Tuesday involving her old boss, Herman Cain: “When I interviewed for job with Herman 1.5 yrs ago, I asked him how to refer to him. A: ‘Don’t call me Herm. Only my enemies call me Herm’ ” … John Little, the former Coeur d’Alene Resort food and beverage guy who parted ways with Hagadone Hospitality in July, is now partnering with Mike Schneider on a Spokane restaurant. Savory, at 14th Avenue and Grand Boulevard on the South Hill, specializes in American food with a Pacific Northwest bent … If you’re missing a bloody deer head from your trash can, Patrick Jacobs of Coeur d’Alene knows where the dogs dragged it – onto his front yard. Says Patrick: “Icky” … Seems Adam Morrison, the former Gonzaga Bulldog star who lost his way in the NBA, has regained his passion for basketball in Serbia with the Red Star Brigade team. You can Google the SI.com column by Sam Amick to see how an exchange of elbows with an opponent in Belgrade Oct. 6 proved to be Morrison’s breakthrough moment.

Parting shot

In a Roll Call column last week, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter held up Idaho as an example of good governance. But 62 percent of my HucksOnline blog crowd said in a poll last week that the governor has no right to brag about his leadership (realizing that Butch and his legislative playmates balanced the budget at the expense of education, health care and other important services).