Huckleberries Blog

Reporter Jeff Selle of the Coeur d'Alene Press provides an in depth look at the PAC battle between Balance North Idaho and the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans in the nonpartisan races this spring:

We can try and finesse this all we want," said Jeff Ward, founder or the Reagan Republicans. "But the reality is, this is an old-fashioned partisan election - it always has been." That sentiment was prompted the formation of the new Balance North Idaho PAC, which brands itself as a non-partisan political action committee that will support "qualified" candidates, regardless of which political party they belong to."These races have nothing to with how left leaning or right leaning the candidates are," said Eden Irgens, co-founder of Balance North Idaho. "These races have everything to do with our kids' education and the way our hospital is run." More here.

Question: Has Balance North Idaho done a good job challenging the more entrenched Reagan Republicans this spring in the nonpartisan races?

Everyone seems related to everyone else in North Idaho. This includes the female jogger that S-R sports scribe Greg Lee and I met near the LCSC/UIdaho branch campus Wednesday. We flagged her down during a noon walk along Coeur d’Alene’s waterfront – to warn her. Greg and I had seen a strange guy hiding in the thick pines a short distance up the trail. We made eye contact with him – and he moved deeper into the trees. The jogger thanked us and turned around. Later, I posted an item on my blog about the incident, warning trail users, especially women exercising alone, to be careful on that section. Meanwhile, jogger Keri Alexander told of her encounter with us on her Facebook wall. Which prompted a mutual friend to connect the dots. Which prompted ex-Shoshone County Commissioner Sherry Krulitz to friend me on Facebook, to say she’s Keri’s mama/DFO, Sunday Huckleberries. Rest of the story, column here.

Question: Do you use the portion of the Centennial Trail between North Idaho College and Riverstone?

Michael Ramirez/Investor's Business Daily

Mother's Day is upon us again. And I'm grateful that my mother is still living -- one month shy of her 88th birthday, in relative good health, here in Coeur d'Alene. She was married to my father for 31 years and has been a widow for 37 years. We'll take her to church Sunday, per usual, and then enjoy a dessert with her later in the afternoon. We three siblings in Coeur d'Alene spend time a lot of time with her. The other three are coming to visit this summer. Each Mother's Day, we remember how fortunate we've been to have had her raise us. Now for your Wild Card ...

Reporter Jeff Selle of the Coeur d'Alene Press provides an in depth look at the PAC battle between Balance North Idaho and the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans in the nonpartisan races this spring:

We can try and finesse this all we want," said Jeff Ward, founder or the Reagan Republicans. "But the reality is, this is an old-fashioned partisan election - it always has been." That sentiment was prompted the formation of the new Balance North Idaho PAC, which brands itself as a non-partisan political action committee that will support "qualified" candidates, regardless of which political party they belong to."These races have nothing to with how left leaning or right leaning the candidates are," said Eden Irgens, co-founder of Balance North Idaho. "These races have everything to do with our kids' education and the way our hospital is run." More here.

Question: Has Balance North Idaho done a good job challenging the more entrenched Reagan Republicans this spring in the nonpartisan races?

Nils Rosdahl, former NIC Sentinel educator and Coeur d'Alene Press business columnist, dropped by Thursday to show off new ball caps that are now available for supporters of Tubbs Hill -- for only $12. Nils, who's also the chairman of the Tubbs Hill Foundation, said the caps and other Tubbs Hill paraphernalia is available -- or soon will be -- to raise money for our venerable downtown green space. I'm definitely going to get one of those hats. I told Nils to give Huckleberries a heads up re: where the goodies can be bought. Now for today's Wild Card ...

In this photo provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, workers attach the final section of spire to the top of One World Trade Center Friday in New York. With the spire in place, One World Trade Center has reached the height of 1,776 feet. (AP Photo/Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)

A Facebook Friend posts: "When the weather warms up, there are many thoughts that enter my head as i see people walking around. One of which is ... Just because you CAN wear it, does not mean you should wear it."

DFO: People with large, gaudy tats shouldn't wear skimpy clothing/swimwear that shows them off.

Question: What have you seen people wear around town in this warm spring weather that they shouldn't?

On the KVNI Facebook page, I saw this post moments ago:

Thanks for the memories! The North Idaho Joe in the Morning Show with Kerri Thoreson aired for the final time today. It's been an incredible pleasure to get to know so many of the wonderful organizations and interesting local people who've graced the studio and the loyal listeners who tuned in every morning at the crack of dark-thirty.. Continue to listen in to 1080 ESPN, and we'll see you around.

Question: What's the back story here? Joe & Kerri had a good show that I listened to en route to work. Anyone?

• 4:30 p.m. Coeur d'Alene Police Department activities report for May 9-10 here.
• 4:18 p.m. Mustang on w/b I-90/MP 7 (H41/Post Falls) speeding @ 90 mph.
• 4:14 p.m. A transient was walking around downtown Post Falls kicking walls.
• 4:11 p.m. Clerk @ Caribou Mountain Lodge, north of Sandpoint, reports undisclosed theft.
• 14 more items + AM Scanner Traffic link below

Time to vote ...

Christian Funch writes a text message whilst being tattooed by Mikkel Westrup from Good Times Tattoo, Thursday in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the third Copenhagen Ink Festival, the biggest tattoo festival in Northern Europe. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Polfoto, Lars Krabbe)

Thursday Winner -- JohnA/2 likes: "Little man: 'Jeest a meenute, big guy!l I gots Taco Bell for choo!'" You can see Thursday photo & 4 cutline entries here.

Christa Hazel is a Republican. I am a Democrat. We are friends that respect each other’s opinions and differences. Setting political policy aside, we see eye to eye when it comes to educating our children in a public school system. In a non-partisan race it is the voter’s responsibility to look at each candidate individually, their experience, their vision and their knowledge. Not their party affiliation. As a school board member, I am confident that Christa will support teachers, listen to the parents and fight to put the proper building blocks in place to ensure that our kids have the educational foundation to make choices for their futures/Kristin Ludwig, of Hayden, Coeur d'Alene Press letter to the editor. More here.

Question: I'm amazed that the Reagan Republicans and Johnny-Come-Latelies, like Duncan Koler, have been able to define who is and isn't a Republican, based on their narrow, uber-con views. Christa Hazel has more Republican gravitas than appointed Trustee Brent Regan. Yet many in the local GOP are smitten by him. What's wrong with this picture?

The Coeur d’Alene School Board tapped Matthew Handelman to be interim superintendent of the school district Friday, replacing outgoing Superintendent Hazel Bauman. Handelman is the associate superintendent of Coeur d’Alene public schools. Bauman this week accepted an offer to become interim superintendent of the Central Kitsap School District in Western Washington. The Coeur d’Alene board met today to accept Bauman’s resignation and release her from her contract effective July 1. Trustees voted unanimously to offer Handelman the interim job, and he will take the helm of the district for the year beginning July 1. “I believe we have an extremely solid executive team in place and Matthew Handelman is the right choice to lead us at this time,” board Chairman Tom Hamilton said/Scott Maben, SR. More here.

• Coeur d'Alene SD news release here.

Question: From the quotes in the CSD news release, it sounds as though the trustees are already leaning toward Associate Supt. Handelman for the permanent job. What do you think?

A stuffed North Idaho Pachyderm Club elephant grabbed photographer Duane Rasmussen's attention during a speech this morning by Idaho Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna (dress jacket to the right).

• Evil incarnate/Dogwalk Musings
• Productive, pretty week/Slight Detour
• More on ed reform/Carlson Chronicles
• Tea Partiers targeted unfairly?/Fort Boise
• Does Benghazi really matter?/Dennis Mansfield
• Common Core constitutional questions/The EDge
• Contest: A picture is worth 500 words/Writing North Idaho
• Idaho right place for secretaries to learn re: fire/Rocky Barker

Question: Do you agree with the bumpersnicker above -- "Man is not free unless government is limited"?

Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes says “in-person voter turnout has been sporadic and low so far” on absentee voting for the May 21 election. In-person voting will end Friday, May 17. Voters may cast their ballots at the County Elections office, 1808 N. Third Street in Coeur d’Alene; the office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Depending on residency, the ballot can include:

• Board members for Alpine Meadows Water & Sewer district.
• Levies for Kellogg Joint and Plummer-Worley Joint school districts
• Trustees for selected zones in Coeur d’Alene, Lakeland, and Post Falls school districts
• Trustees for Kootenai Hospital district

Voters county-wide are eligible to vote for hospital trustees. Only voters registered within school or water district boundaries are eligible to vote on those ballot measures.

Facebook Friend Shannon Forbes of Coeur d'Alene was considering a new hike (Char Falls, fed by Lightning Creek in Bonner County) this weekend til she saw this: "Park, hike 0.5 mile along the gravel road until it ends at a broad trail. Go another 20 years (yes, it read YEARS), and don’t miss the small path to the right. Take this path for about 100 yards to the fall’s pinnacle. Take care, the overlook is not fenced." (Photo: Sandpoint-Idaho.org)

Question: What's your favorite North Idaho hike?

From City Clerk Renata McLeod's draft minutes of City Council meeting Tuesday:

Dennis Grant, Engineering Project Manager, informed the City Council that the 2012 McEuen project (on the south side of City Hall) has entered the landscaping phase with the paving of the trail to be next.  The 2013 McEuen project is currently in the mass grading and shoring phase.  The trail outside the fencing is a good location for citizens to witness the construction activities. Currently the contractor is installing stormwater facilities from the splash pad to the harbor house and is about 50% complete.  The Osprey are back and are nesting on the middle pole.  The contractor is beginning to do the footings of the parking structure and elevators. Complete draft minutes here.

Question: Do you plan to use the new trail along Tubbs Hill to watch McEuen Field construction work?

A Facebook Friend writes: "If I treated my customers and clients the way the airlines treat theirs, I wouldn't have any clients left!"

Question: Do you agree with that statement? Why? Why not?

Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in a scene from "The Great Gatsby." (Warner Bros. photo)

From Facebook Friend Beth Bollinger: "First line of 'Gatsby' review: 'Oh look, a disco ball exploded all over the Jazz Age!' actually, I hope it's good -- I heard a critic complained that Leo DiCaprio kept losing his accent -- that is from the book!"

Question: Have you read Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"? And/or are you planning to see it on the big screen? Can DiCaprio out-Gatsby Robert Redford?

The Internal Revenue Service is apologizing for inappropriately flagging conservative political groups for additional reviews during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, said organizations that included the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their applications for tax-exempt status were singled out for additional reviews/AP. More here.

Thoughts?