Huckleberries Blog

Idaho’s education chief made the case Thursday for moving forward with higher academic standards for public schools, saying the state must better prepare students for college, trade schools and the job market. Idaho has a good education system but needs a great one, state Superintendent Tom Luna said at a meeting of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans. “Good is no longer good enough,” he said. The Common Core State Standards in math and English, coming to Idaho schools this fall, raise the bar for what students are expected to learn at each grade level, Luna said. The tougher standards do not bind Idaho to any federal mandates, nor do they apply to private or home schools, he added in response to some of the concerns people have raised about Common Core/Scott Maben, SR. More here. (Photo: Duane Rasmussen)

Question: So if conservative Luna's for Common Core, what's the problem with the local opponents?

Michael Ramirez/Investor's Business Daily

Huckleberries almost gave Commissioner Dan Green a heart attack Wedneday. Seem the link to that Kootenai County employee survey that I posted was live. In other words, the link allowed anyone who clicked on it to take the survey. Which woulda discombulated the outcome had you mischievous commenters/blurkers taken the survey. The new county HR guy did & sounded the alarm. Huckleberries replaced the live link w/a benign one. Do you suppose the source who provided the link violated the new social media policy (insert smiley face). Now for today's Wild Card ...

Boaters lounge around under Highway 520 near the Washington Park Arboretum in unseasonably warm weather this week in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Steve Ringman)

A Facebook Friend from Hayden posts: "I really wish food manufacturers wouldn't use deceptive packaging! I picked up 2 of the same brand's brownie mixes off the store shelf today, one regular and one marked as low fat. For the exact same serving size, the low fat version had more calories and more fat. Pays to read the label!"

Question: Do you read the labels on grocery cans and boxes before you buy them?

• 5:52 p.m. 3 very disorderly males driving pickup w/horse trailer on Tree Farm Lane/Hayden.
• 5:40 p.m. 15YO boy on Tiger Avenue has suffered undisclosed trauma injury.
• 5:19 p.m. A school bus has clipped a vehicle in parking lot of Post Falls Middle School.
• 5:14 p.m. Post Falls firefighters are fighting fire in base of silo on Potlatch Mill property.
• 5:13 p.m. Parent reports 15YO daughter has slashed wrist w/razon on Dahlia Way/PF.
• 4:59 p.m. ISP officer removes tread of blown truck tire from e/b I-90/MP 0 (stateline).
• 4:44 p.m. 88YO male who fell 4 days ago is shaking violently @ Creekside Inn, 240 E. Kathleen.
• 4:18 p.m. Walnut Avenue resident wants OK to install video in back alley to uncover sex acts.
• 4:08 p.m. Off-duty officer reports male in 1996 Nissan pickup w/Kootenai plates is drinking 16 ounce Keystone beer e/b on I-90/H3 (Rose Lake Junction).
• 18 more items + AM Scanner Traffic line below

Idaho Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna talks with Coeur d'Alene School Board candidate Christa Hazel  after speaking at the Kootenai County Reagan Republican luncheon today. Bauman announced Wednesday evening that she will be leaving Coeur d'Alene for a job as superintendent of the Central Kitsap (Wash.) School District. (Photo: Duane Rasmussen)

• Urban chickens gaining popularity/Casey Lund, KXLY
• Crimestoppers seeks info in 2 Lake City cold cases/KHQ
• Board begins crafting heavy truck rules/Betsy Russell, SR
• Idahoans displaced by foreclosure have till June 30 to apply for help/EOB
• Guv, congressional delegation push Coast Guard to OK St. Joe boat races/EOB

In a candidate profile by the Coeur d'Alene Press, Zone 5 candidate Bjorn Handeen responds to a question re: partisanship:

I think that nonpartisan is a code word for nonconservative. I think the only people who have been complaining about the exposure of that concept are the people who would prefer their own agendas remain hidden." Full profile here.

Question: Did you know nonpartisan meant nonconservative?

On his Facebook wall, Digger posts: "As Larry the Cable guy would say ... git er done ... and I did ... lawn mowed and fertilized with Scotts Weed & Feed; all flowerbeds weeded and treated with roundup to prevent unnecessary weeds; all other weedy areas round-upped; front porch and steps washed down; patio and rear deck cleaned up; back bank mowed and hammock put up. Now, we relax and let Alex take care of the inside of the house."

Question: I almost got into the git-er-done mode last week. But came up short. Too much sunshine and too much yard to sell out 100%. How about you. Have you attacked the yard yet?

Three Coeur d'Alene men were rescued and treated for hypothermia after there canoe capsized near Higgens Point (actually Osprey Point) on Lake Coeur d'Alene early this afternoon. The three -- Jason S. Parker, 58, Sierra R. Parker, 32, and Ronald G. Sever, 65, were dumped into the lake when their canoe tipped about 100 yards offshore on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Jason Parker was able to swim to shore, while Sierra Parker and Sever clung to a boat. They were in the 52-degree water for about 30 minutes before being rescued by the fireboat. None of the three wore a lifejacket, according to a sheriff's press release. The report also said that alcohol was a factor in the incident. You can read the entire news release here.

North Idaho College welding students and their guests chow down on barbecue chicken and hamburgers Thursday at the welding facility in Coeur d’Alene. About 100 people showed up for what is becoming an annual event to eat and look at some of the projects the welding students completed. Benches for the Athletics Department, artwork for the student union building and other projects were on view. The food was cooked in a grill/smoker created by last year’s welding class. (NIC Press Room photo: Tom Greene)

• Senatior Blockhead/Fort Boise
• Scenes from a Selle bike ride/Slight Detour
• Celebrity & politics don't mix/Dogwalk Musings
• Nampa High pilots security badges/The EDge
• Drive Your Car to Work Week set for June/The Slice
• A Grip on Sports: Maybe the VCR was broken/SportsLink
• State leaders oppose plan to protect wolverines/Outdoors
• Jewell, Vilsack to visit Boise to talk about fire/Rocky Barker

Huckleberries numbers (for Wednesday, May 8): 8813 page-views/5045 unique views

I know, I know. Disqus can be a pain in the butt (esp. when "Recent Comments" feature is malfunctioning). But I just used comment photo ftu for first time (under Cindy's Dream link). Great stuff. All you have to do to post a photo under the comments section is to click on blank space of comment screen, which will create a drop-down box. You'll see a photo icon in the lower lefthand corner. Click on that and download photo (from Desktop or wherever) as you do for Facebook. Have fun. I just did.

Question: Have you used Disqus comment photo feature yet?

Interesting comment by Former Prompter Jockey on the Coeur d'Alene Press Online site re: salary for Supt. Hazel Bauman ($123,971 annually), who has resigned to take a superintendent spot in Central Kitsap (Wash.) School District. FPJ is responding to statement that new super should be paid around $75,000:

Overpaid? Are you kidding? Let me ask you a question: What do you think the CEO of a corporation or business that had an annual operating budget of 75+ million and 500 employees would be worth? If you say 75k you're just plain not being honest. Fact is the superintendent of a school district the size of 271 is a CEO of a major business operation and compensation in the neighborhood of 120k pales in comparison to what it would be worth in the private sector. I for one, am sorry to see Hazel leave. She's a respected supt. and her contributions to our community will be missed.

Question: How much do you think the new Coeur d'Alene superintendent of schools should be paid?

Facebook Friend Margo Mossburg of Spokane posts: "I have been eating salad all week. I wonder if that makes up for the chocolate someone gave us?"

Question: How much salad does it take to make up a box of chocolates?

From Coeur d'Alene Police Department Facebook wall ... parking places to be used around town while McEuen Field/Front Avenue reconstruction under way. Click on photo above to expand.

Scott Bjergo holds Pam Haussler’s mule steady as she gets into the saddle outside the Lakeview, Idaho, post office. Bjergo has the contract to deliver mail by boat to the rugged eastern shoreline of Lake Pend Oreille's south arm. (Daily Bee photo: Keith Kinnaird)

Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays postal couriers’ swift completion of their appointed rounds on the remote southern portion of Lake Pend Oreille. Seventy-mile-an-hour wind gusts and the intense waves they whip up are another matter. “You don’t realize how rough the weather can be until you’re buried in it. It will come up fast,” said Scott Bjergo, who’s under contract with the U.S. Postal Service to collect and deliver mail by boat to some of the most far-flung portions of the 148-square-mile lake. The lake’s famously abrupt and furious storms are about the only thing that will keep Bjergo from shoving off at Bayview to make stops on his route, which ranges from 38 to 21 miles depending on the day of the week/Keith Kinnaird, Bonner County Daily Bee. More here.

Question: I consider the U.S. Postal Service one of the most beneficial to me personally that's provided by the federal government. How about you?

How much do you know about charter schools, Spokane-made movies and other current topics? Take our weekly news quiz and find out. Simply by entering, you're eligible to win movie tickets, and our overall champ will win a $50 gift card to the Davenport Hotel. Good luck! Click here for quiz. 

• Leaderboard: Cathyanne and Stickman are the only HucksOnline reader in the Top 20 qualifiers so far.

Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't stock XL or XXL sizes in women's clothing because they don't want overweight women wearing their brand. They want the "cool kids," and they don't consider plus-sized women as being a part of that group. Abercrombie is sticking to its guns of conventional beauty, even as that standard becomes outdated. Contrast Abercrombie with H&M, another favorite with the teen set, who just subtly introduced a plus-sized model in its latest swimwear collection. H&M has a plus-sized line. American Eagle, Abercrombie's biggest competitor, offers up to size XXL for men and women/Business Insider. More here. (AP file photo)

• H/T: Nadine Woodward/KXLY via Facebook

Question: Is this a clever advertising ploy designed to get people in the store who think they're elite?

David Bond of Wallace Street Jounal writes of this weekend's Depot Days:

The Saturday forecast is for 70-degree weather and the car show for the Wallace N.P. Depot's annual event will be in full swing. Cast yourself up and down the street and recall what “Detroit Iron” used to, and still can, be. Even the Brits used to build fine cars, in their day, and there will be a few fine examples this weekend. We still build good cars: Ford is building the finest machines on the highways, and your tax dollars weren't spent bailing them out, as they were spent rescuing Government Motors and screwing its bondholders, and which is now a Chinese subsidiary (just kidding, but close). ... At any rate, we've got a fast party in Wallace headed thisaway this weekend: blues, jazz, impromptu harmoniums, you name it.  The Northern Pacific Depot is recently spruced up and ready for a fresh look. We're a proud town with a proud history. More here..

Question: Have you ever attended Depot Days in Wallace? Thoughts?

Smelled my first lilacs of the season today on my way to the waterfront, along Northwest Boulevard, just north of the Spokesman-Review building -- deep-purple ones. No flower or bud, to me, smells as sweet as a lilac. I have 4 bushes of them in my back yard.They haven't bloomed yet. If I were King of the Universe, lilacs would bloom all spring and summer long, not just for a few weeks in the spring. ... The rest of the daily walk was uneventful. No strange men hiding in bushes. No Mormon girls proselytizing off NIC beach. F-bomb Girl wasn't hanging at the entrance to City Park. But there were a whole lotta bright-white people baking on the shores.

Question: Which spring flower is your favorite?