Huckleberries Blog

Almost 40 years ago, in one of its biggest hits, Fleetwood Mac sang: “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow. … Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.” Today, fans of the band – which hasn’t released any new music in the past decade – are still happily looking backward. Tickets for the June 29 show at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena are selling much faster than when the ’70s supergroup last came to town in 2004, said Matt Gibson, the arena’s general manager. “It’s going to be sold out,” Gibson said. “Part of it is, you don’t know if this band is going to be back, ever.” While its creators creep past retirement age, the music the baby boom generation grew up with keeps on trucking/Rick Bonino, SR. More here.

Question: Does every generation continue to rock out to its music? Or is there something different re: the Baby Boomers' connection to their music?

Idaho is a one-party state caught between two elections. One election overwhelmingly repealed the Luna laws - the 2011 school overhaul package championed by state Superintendent Tom Luna that targeted teacher employment rights, imposed a clunky merit pay program and substituted technology for teaching. But the other election retained the same legislators who enacted the Luna laws in the first place. Is it any wonder that, when lawmakers got back to work this year, they reversed the voters by re-enacting some of the Luna law's features?/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: How can Huckleberries do a better job reminding voters which legislators bucked them and helped restore Luna Laws, prior to the 2014 GOP primaries and general elections?

Do not jump to conclusions. That's the predictable advice that the mainstream news media dispenses after any terrorist attack. Translation: Don't assume that this is yet another in a long line of hateful, cowardly attacks against innocent, unsuspecting civilians committed by Islamic extremists. But, while they were telling us not to rush to politically incorrect judgments, the news media themselves and much of the left had the Boston Marathon bombing solved almost immediately. Within minutes, MSNBC's Chris Matthews pointed his finger at conservatives. So did NBC's Luke Russert. Obama's political adviser, David Axelrod, had it nailed too. CNN's Wolf Blitzer saw things the same way. They all cited the calendar. It was April 15/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: I figured that the terrorists were either neo-Nazi/militia or Islamic extremists, when I first heard about the bombings. Dunno if that's a rush to judgment. Rather, I view it as fingering the usual suspects from both extremes. How about you?

Heading out on a trail for a day or even a few hours is one of life’s simplest active pleasures. Craving fresh air, wildflowers, wildlife and healthy exercise? Taking a walk is the universal alternative whether you’re young or old, rich or poor. I look at day hiking as backpacking without the baggage – knee-friendly ventures that can be short and easy or long and challenging. Your choice. Day hiking has an attractive cost/benefit ratio compared with other means of venturing outdoors. It requires a minimal investment in equipment for traveling the widest variety of routes. Since day hikers often need little time for packing and planning, they have more time and incentive to discover new places/Rich Landers, SR. More here. (Rich Landers' SR photo: Bitterroots are delicate pink wildflowers that blossom from sparse rocky soil -- sometimes sprouting in spring from well-traveled trails)

Question: What's your favorite place to day hike?

Jennifer Locke (Re: Letter: Beware the Coeur d'Alene Education Partnership/Coeur Group forum): You know as well as I do, that questions can be asked to make someone look bad on both sides and it doesn't help when you have to explain yourself in a 30 second sound bite. I had a friend tell me about showing up early to a forum where the governor was going to be answering questions last year and that he had some guy who was part of the teacher's union there telling his people what to say or what questions to ask the governor before the forum. This guy thought my friend was part of his group. Most of these events on either side of the aisle are typically staged events. Do we know if all of candidates will be getting these questions ahead of the forum?

DFO: Before the Mica Grange forum, there were rumors that the deck was stacked against the three challengers to the incumbents and Bjorn Handeen because the forum was organized by a diehard Republican. The forum went off without a hitch -- and no loaded questions from the audience. Now supporters of the incumbents and Handeen are nervous because CEP has organized the Tuesday (5:30-7:30 p.m.) forum at the Coeur d'Alene Library. JimmyMac's Core Group will handle the questions. I've seen 2 or 3 of these Coeur Group forums, including one that involved controversial Councilman Steve Adams. The Coeur Group moderator and professionals couldn't be more neutral. Anyone who skips this forum because they're afraid of a loaded question isn't worthy to represent the Coeur d'Alene district as a trustee.

Question: Do you plan to attend the CEP/Coeur Group trustee forum Tuesday?

In this Duane Rasmussen photo, a protester howls in support of wolves during a demonstration Saturday on Sherman Avenue, between Independence Point and the Coeur d'Alene Resort. You write the cutline.

Friday Winner: PhotoGuy, w/7 likes -- "After the ball landed near the water hazard, the course marshall called in the investiGATOR to make a ruling if a penalty stroke needed to be given or not." Friday's photo and all cutline entries here.

Idaho schools will switch this fall to Common Core State Standards designed to raise student achievement, and the Coeur d’Alene School Board will take a closer look Monday at what that means for local schools. The board workshop was prompted by questions and concerns raised by constituents, including some who see the new English and math standards as a step toward a federal takeover of local education. “The state has adopted Common Core, (and) locally we have some concerns about our ability to maintain control of our curriculum, so how are we going to accomplish that?” board Chairman Tom Hamilton said. Hamilton said none of the school trustees has indicated to him an interest in backing away from Common Core, which 45 states have adopted. “I don’t think we can, and I don’t know that we should,” he said/Scott Maben, SR. More here.

Question: Are you starting to understand the concern that some have with Common Core?

Now, we all know what Mayor Sandi Bloem meant at the annual Human Rights Banquet on Monday when she said she’d return to the feast in 2014, but maybe not in the same capacity. She had already decided not to seek re-election to a fourth term, for personal and professional reasons – not because she feared possible stiff competition against rival Councilman Dan Gookin. Bloem told Huckleberries on Wednesday that she wasn’t going to run, when your columnist followed up on her banquet remark. Despite her extraordinary accomplishments over the past 11-plus years (from construction of the Kroc Center and library to the Education Corridor), Bloem has attracted fanatical opponents. Who include masterminds of the failed 2012 recall effort against her and GOP hard-liners who want every nonpartisan elective office in Kootenai County filled with their kind of Republican/DFO, Sunday Huckleberries. More here.

Other SR weekend columns:

• Sheridan, players forged trails together/John Blanchette
• Spokane not only city with Street Music Week/Doug Clark
• Familiarity, trust can ease homeless problems/Shawn Vestal
• Eye on Boise: 2 stream gauges escape budget ax/Betsy Russell
• Smart Bombs: Spokane's Mike Fagan wrestles w/alter ego/Gary Crooks
• Spin Control: Washington Legislature adjourns w/l budget/Jim Camden
• The Slice: It's Monday, if must be time to discuss Don Draper/Paul Turner
• In the Garden: Artichokes require new seedlings every year/Susan Mulvihill
• Outdoors: Short hikes are perfect elixir for mind, body, well-being/Rich Landers

Question: Will Councilman Dan Gookin run for mayor?

Michael Ramirez/Investor's Business Daily

We're in store for a sunny but windy weekend, which means I'll hit the garden for the first time this year. Plenty of stuff to trim, pull out and spruce up. And I've almost recovered from the sun burn I got on the Gulf Coast of Florida two weeks ago. So the shirt might come off, if it's hot enough. Get outside. Enjoy the weather. And I'll see you back here again Monday. Here's your Weekend Wild Card ...

Caroline Masson, of Germany. watches her playing partner Brittany Linciome place her ball while waiting to putt on eight hole during the second round of the North Texas LPGA Shootout golf tournament on Friday at Los Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Question: Ho9w good of a golfer are you?

Saeed Abedini is in a battle for his life. The 32-year-old has languished in Iran's notorious Evin Prison for more than 200 days, after being convicted of "threatening the national security of Iran" for his involvement in Christian home churches from 2000 to 2005. His parents are allowed to visit him weekly, and they say he's enduring beatings and other torture. He has suffered internal bleeding and needs medical treatment, according to the American Center for Law & Justice. Tiffany N. Barrans, international legal director for the nonprofit advocacy center, said it has petitioned to have the Red Cross come in as a third party to treat him. "That has not been granted by the Iranian authorities," Barrans said/Katy Moeller, Idaho Statesman. More here. (OpenDoorsUSA.org Photo of Saeed Abedini and his children)

Question: Are you outraged by the treatment Pastor Abedini is getting at the hands of the Iranians? Or simply shrug it off?

• 5:59 p.m. Motorcyclist Richard L. Nagy, 63, of Moscow, was killed at 1:16 p.m. today when he rear-ended a van that had stopped on Highway 95 to make a left turn onto a side street in Worley, according to the Idaho Highway Patrol. The van was driven by Santino J. Aldrich, 26, of Worley. ISP report here.
• 5:20 p.m. A hot rod-style vehicle w/2 males is disabled in median @ H95/Wyoming, Hayden.
• 5:16 p.m. Deputy en route to trailer with dead cats, feces and rotting floor boards.
• 5:03 p.m. Deputy en route to check 7MO baby in car seat locked in car (undisclosed location).
• 4:47 p.m. Female in late teens/early 20s riding a bike on H95/Bosanko w/cars lined up behind her.
• 4:33 p.m. Post Falls EMTs are en route to help choking 6YO, who's getting some air.
• 4:18 p.m. ISPer tells dispatch that she's cleared an abandoned car @ H95/MP 428 (Riverview).
• 10 more items + AM Scanner Traffic link below

Duane Rasmussen offers proof via this photo that your Huckleberry Hound still can handle pen and paper to cover a candidates forum cattle call. Here, I'm either pausing to listen to a speaker at the Coeur d'Alene School Board teachers forum at Mica Grange or catching some shut eye.

• Emergency wolf rules OK'd/Jim Camden, SR
• Editorial: CASA story hits home/Coeur d'Alene Press
• 11 pitbulls euthanized after rescue from murder scene/AP
• Corps, tribe mull experimental drawdowns/Keith Kinnaird, Bee
• Health officials report illness on EWU campus/Nicole Hensley, SR
• Risch, Crapo back online sales tax collection/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise
• School bans Voodoo Doughnut presenter after Career Day language/KGW

An alligator crosses the 14th fairway during the first round of the PGA Tour Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., on Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

• OK, last call for votes for today's cutline contest. Just hit like/dislike to indicate your favorites. You don't have to submit a cutline to vote.

Thursday winner -- John Austin, with 2 likes/no dislikes: "When asked what the former Guv said to her, Victoria wouldn't say what Sheard." Photo and all 6 cutline entries here.

Saw a news item a few weeks ago that could be exhibit A regarding what educators are calling a Common Core of Knowledge that a student graduating from any high school in the country should have mastered. The multi-millionaire superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, was telling a reporter about the entire Lakers team having gone to see Daniel Day Lewis’ exceptional performance in the movie Lincoln.  Asked to characterize his and the team’s reaction to the film, Bryant said they all thought it was a pretty good movie but were shocked and surprised by the ending. Really?  These gazillionaire basketball players, most of whom supposedly are college graduates, none of them including Kobe, knew that Lincoln had been the first president to be assassinated?  That folks is what developing a Common Core of Knowledge for students to master is all about. It is not a plot by the Federal government to usurp local control of our public schools.  It is not a conspiracy to brainwash our students into becoming liberal leaning robots who will look to Big Brother for everything/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicles. More here.

Thoughts?

Saeed Abedini is in a battle for his life. The 32-year-old has languished in Iran's notorious Evin Prison for more than 200 days, after being convicted of "threatening the national security of Iran" for his involvement in Christian home churches from 2000 to 2005. His parents are allowed to visit him weekly, and they say he's enduring beatings and other torture. He has suffered internal bleeding and needs medical treatment, according to the American Center for Law & Justice. Tiffany N. Barrans, international legal director for the nonprofit advocacy center, said it has petitioned to have the Red Cross come in as a third party to treat him. "That has not been granted by the Iranian authorities," Barrans said/Katy Moeller, Idaho Statesman. More here. (OpenDoorsUSA.org Photo of Saeed Abedini and his children)

Question: Are you outraged by the treatment Pastor Abedini is getting at the hands of the Iraqis? Or simply shrug it off?

Idaho ties for third in the nation in its percentage of diesel-fueled passenger vehicles, according to a new national report. Data compiled by R.L. Polk and Co. for the Diesel Technology Forum concluded Idaho has nearly 96,100 registered cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and vans that use diesel gasoline. At 6.6 percent, the state is tied with Alaska. Wyoming, at 10.5 percent, and Montana, at 7.8 percent, lead the list in percentage of vehicles. Texas has the largest number of registered diesel passenger vehicles at 775,395/Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Do you drive a diesel-fueled vehicle? If so, why?

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/26/2553165/report-idaho-ranks-3rd-in-percentage.html#storylink=twt#storylink=cpy

For years, the Coeur d’Alene School District had come under attack for its International Baccalaureate program, a world-renowned curriculum intended to teach critical thinking and global knowledge. Critics saw it as a waste of money at minimum, and a United Nations-driven socialist reeducation conspiracy at worst. But when a new crop of board members took over, they ditched both the IB program and the Primary Years Programme. But the programs had ardent supporters, and the school board faced backlash. Last night, at the Mica Flats Grange Hall, three sets of school board candidates talked about everything from bus contracting to what they think about the phrase “progressive education.” (Most didn’t like it.) Inevitably, they got asked about PYP and IB/Daniel Walters, Inlander. More here. (Duane Rasmussen photo of trustee candidate Dave Eubanks)

Question: Will the way the Coeur d'Alene School Board jettison IB/PYP last summer and fall come back to haunt the trustees running in the May 21 school elections?

McEuen Field update: "Work on installing a retaining wall on the north side of Front Avenue continues. The wall should be completed in about a week. The purpose of the wall is to keep dirt away from the buildings on Front Avenue." You can find route maps for navigating downtown Coeur d'Alene and parking during McEuen Field reconstruction here. The same site provides photos of current work.

• Love scenes and (the writer)/Writing North Idaho
• A citizen in search of her nation/Dogwalk Musings
• Richie Havens has passed away/Community Comment
• Food, frolic and eye candy on spring days/Dogwalk Musings
• Artists sought for McEuen Field interactive sculpture/Coeur d'Alene Today
• Artists sought for McEuen Field Third Street entrance/Coeur d'Alene Today
• The way of thought that things should be: grocery shopping/Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts

Huckleberries numbers (for Thursday, April 25): 7796 page-views/4518 unique views