Huckleberries Blog

On her Facebook page, Kerri Rankin posts: "Thank you Scout Troop 13, Cub Scout Pack 220 and the veterans of American Legion Post 143 for the patriotic and respectful retirement of Old Glory this evening. God Bless America."

• Getting there/Slight Detour
• Idaho clouds/Ridenbaugh Press
• Badge beats gun/Ridenbaugh Press
• Who's going to jail for this?/Fort Boise
• Rubber duck diplomacy/Dogwalk Musings
• Closer look at Nampa's latest shakeup/The EDge
• Last week was not a total loss/From A Simple Mind
• Unprecedented freedom of speech vs. Obama/Dennis Mansfield

Huckleberries Online numbers (for Tuesday, May 14): 10,016 page-views/5382 unique views

H/T: Herb Huseland

Question: Agree/disagree with Mallard Fillmore's premise?

Did you know you can win movie tickets or a $50 Davenport Hotel gift card simply by entering our weekly news quiz? You're 10 interactive questions away from being eligible for Friday's drawings. Take News Quiz here. Good luck!

• Here's the answer to the first question of this week's News Quiz to get you started: Washington State University. Now, finish the quiz.
• Leaderboard: 3 Berry Pickers on this week's leaderboard (so far) -- Cathyanne, Duffer & CDAJim.

... "Having Jim Brannon, Joe Kunka, or anyone else claim that they're running for Mayor of Coeur d'Alene will not affect my decision on whether or not I'll run."

DFO: I'm now hearing that Mary Souza is conducting some exploratory work for a possible run for mayor.

Denise White, of Duxbury, Mass., center, pauses to read notes written on running shoes at the site of a memorial near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, on the one month anniversary of the bombing, in Boston, today. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

NPR's Morning Edition had an excellent report on the Boston bombing which happened one month ago today. Only one business has not reopened. And the reporter talked to many witnesses who were there that day. Their comments reflected how grief works. One man said his birthday was coming up soon and after that, he was putting the memories away. “If you dwell on it, it will swallow you up. Every wound needs to heal.” A grief therapist said there should be no timetable to the grief. Some will move on; others it will take a long time/Rebecca Nappi, End Notes. More here.

Question: Do you have any new observations re: the Boston Marathon bombing of a month ago?

In Coeur d'Alene Press comments section, Coeur d'Alene Trustee Brent Regan responds to question (what has school board done this year that's been positive?). Regan lists these things from last 4 months:

• Lobbied to make these negotiations open to the public, something the CEA opposed.
• Successfully campaigned for the $25.8M supplemental M&O levy .
• Traveled to Boise to successfully lobby for the replacement of $44M in education funding lost with the defeat of Props 1, 2 & 3.
• Conducted school safety community chats to listen to community safety concerns
• Successfully campaigned for the $1.4M in security enhancements of the schools not covered in the $32M facilities bond (passed earlier).
• Negotiated the sale of Person and Bryan fields so that they remain community parks.
• Directed that over $30M of District tax and bond funds be moved from national banks to local banks making more than $300M available for lending to the local economy.
• Launched the Anti-Bullying Task Force to address the problem of bullying.
• Launched an investigation into advanced programs like Core Knowledge.

Question: I'd list 5 on that list as position, 3 as SOP, and 1 (sale of Person/Bryan fields) as bowing to will of the public. How would you judge Regan's list?

It’s the beginning of farmers market season in the Inland Northwest. One thing I look forward to each year is the early season fresh English peas. Not to be confused with snow peas, with very thin edible pods and tiny undeveloped seeds, or crisp crunchy snap peas, English peas must be shucked. Their sweet, plump seeds are encased in large, tough pods that must be removed before eating. Typically available here the end of May, English peas prefer the cooler growing temperatures of late spring and early summer. They’re here for only a few short weeks before the heat of summer arrives, so be on the lookout for them. Did you know that one serving of spring peas contains more protein than an egg?/Sylvia Fontaine, The Seasonal Kitchen. More here. (SR photo: Seared sea scallops with English pea puree makes a nice light dinner with a fresh arugula salad or an appetizer course with a single large scallop for each individual portion)

• DFO: The Seasonal Kitchen by Sylvia Fontaine is a new monthly SR feature.

Question: Do you like peas?

On May 21, Shoshone County voters will be asked to create an urban renewal agency. Voters are told that doing so will not raise taxes. This is simply not accurate. Idaho Freedom Foundation has studied urban renewal throughout Idaho, and in no instance has urban renewal been used without some impact to taxpayers. Urban renewal diverts taxpayer money to projects for a cost, and that cost is always borne by someone, usually through higher levies to service either debt or structures authorized by urban renewal districts. County commissioners have said that their only intent is to reinvigorate mining by fixing Big Creek Road. This is hardly an "urban" corridor, which should raise red flags for voters. And for the property owners of on Big Creek, don't be surprised what comes next: The county will re-assess your home, determine it is worth more because of the new road, and that increase in valuation will be used to pay back the debt associated with the road project/Erik Makrush, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.

Question: Would Coeur d'Alene have progressed as nicely as it has without the use of urban renewal laws and tax increment financing?

On her Facebook wall, Cindy posts: "Adding obesession to the list of words I can never spell right on the first try. Also recommend."

Question: Which words can't you spell write on the first try?

Coeur d'Alene Education Association representative Tim Sandford listens to the Coeur d'Alene School Board trustees present their position on the budget during a negotiations meeting Tuesday at Woodland Middle School. Story here and here. (Coeur d'Alene Press photo: Jerome A. Pollos)

• 11:58 a.m. Disabled brown vehicle blocking road on Appleway, east of Ramsey Road/CdA.
• 11:45 a.m. Coeur d'Alene Police Department activities report for May 14-15 here.
• 11:32 a.m. CPD officer stopping by pawn shop @ 11th/Sherman Avenue/CdA.
• 11:16 a.m. False alarm sounds in undisclosed Post Falls bank, Teller No. 3.
• 11:03 a.m. Update: Elderly couple (10:43 item) make it safely to Coeur d'Alene church.
• 10:59 a.m. Caller reports motorists driving through flashing lights @ 23rd/Sherman, as ITD employee works on problem. Officer responds that motorists are proceeding through intersection correctly.
• 10:43 a.m. Caller concerned re: elderly couple from California who appeared disoriented during stop at Huetter rest stop on w/b I-90/MP 8. Couple left 90 minutes ago.
• 10:39 a.m. An oil spill is reported length of onramp @ e/b I-90/MP 2 (Pleasantview/Post Falls).
• 10:31 p.m. Someone in Domino's parking lot having difficulty breathing.
• 10:15 p.m. CPD officer checking on possible abandoned white van @ Riverstone Cinemas lot.
• 10:04 p.m. Deputy stops male w/officer alerts for robbery, agg assault, weapons.
• 9:49 p.m. ISP officer reports abandoned vehicle @ H95/MP 421 (Mica Creek) has been removed.

On her Facebook wall, Christa Hazel offers a Common Core quiz from the Christian Science Monitor that shows whether you're as well read as a 10th grader. The lead-in to the quiz reads: "Forty-five US states have adopted the Common Core, a set of standards that spell out what US public school students learn in each grade, from kindergarten to graduation. How would you match up? Test yourself on everything from Ovid to Shakespeare to see how familiar you are with the novels, short stories, plays, and poems that are among the titles that today's 9th and 10th graders may be asked to read. " Take the quiz here.

Question: How did you do?

This spring, Superintendent Hazel Bauman and the Coeur d'Alene School Board of Trustees convened an anti-bullying task force to bring more attention and action to the school district's efforts to reduce bullying in our schools. The first in a series of parent and community opportunities to engage with the anti-bullying task force is a parent informational night about cyberbullying that will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at the Kroc Center Auditorium, 1765 W. Golf Course Road. Prior to summer break the school district wants to help raise awareness about cyberbullying and give parents the resources and tools to help keep children safe. School administrators and school board trustees will share progress on the school district's anti-bullying task force/Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Have you or your children been cyberbullied?

Coeur d’Alene School District paraprofessional Toni Black, center, listens to union contract negotiations at Woodland Middle School on Tuesday. The topic was health care benefits. Story here and here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Malkin to keynote IFF fund-raiser/Dan Popkey, IS
• Lake City man sought on burglary charges/Press
• CdA School Board plans cyberbullying info night/Press
• Defense Department POW officials to visit region/Press
• Idaho to resume paying Otter's $4500 for housing stipend/AP
• Ex-chief economist predicts 2014 surplus of $162M/Dan Popkey, IS
• Spokane County rapist sentenced to death for prison murder/KREM
• Rabid bat forces Kootenai County family to get shots/Betsy Russell, SR

• Tuesday Poll: A slender majority of Hucks Nation opposes a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board to lower the limit to determine DUI to .05. (Idaho's current limit is .08.) 82 of 155 respondents (52.9%) don't support the lower limit. 67 of 155 respondents (43.23%) do. 6 (3.87%) were undecided.
• Today's Poll: Do you consider the Coeur d'Alene School Board pay and benefits offer to teachers to be reasonable?

On her Facebook page today, Christa Hazel posts:

The teachers, and by extension, parents, should be concerned that the current offer made by our school board has caused many in the district to dust off their resumes. We run the risk of losing award winning, veteran teachers who will flee to other districts or leave the profession entirely. These are the teachers we need mentoring our younger teachers and their skill set is vital. I'm anxious to see a resolution agreeable to both sides of the table.

Question: Will the Coeur d'Alene School District lose quality teachers if current trustees continue to insist on lowballing negotiations? Or is this an idle threat?

The home of CoiNuts owner Kevin E. Mitchell and his wife, Brenda, is going to be auctioned on June 27. The home, located 37593 E. Hayden Lake Road, has been in foreclosure. A notice of trustee's sale, filed by First American Title Co., in Coeur d'Alene, said the monthly payment of $3,760 hasn't been made since October. As of Jan. 31 there was a unpaid principal balance of $840,000, according to the notice. A representative of First American Title, at 1866 N. Lakewood Drive, said she didn't know the minimum bid amount. She said the office will host the auction at 10 a.m. on June 27. Kootenai County Assessor records show the total market value is $767,000, with an appraisal date of Jan. 1, 2012/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Thoughts?

The summer blockbuster season is here. And The Joker saw a movie trailer that blew his mind. Here's his description:

"It starts with an aerial view of Lake Coeur d’Alene, swooping across the city skyline, tense music is playing. Movie trailer voice guy: In the city that always sleeps. One man is running. Shot of a lone jogger on Tubbs Hill, he’s breathing heavy. Movie trailer voice guy: One man is running for his life. Cut to the jogger stopping at what’s left of McEuen park, his fingers hang onto the chain link fence. He slowly lifts his head to the camera: It’s Jim Brannon and he looks very angry. Cut to a woman talking to Jim Brannon in a kitchen late at night: Why Jim? I don’t want you clinging to a toilet for dear life again. They’ll ruin you this time. Think about your trust fund, your kids. Jim: If I don’t do this, how can I ever look you in the eye and say, I believe in something. Cut to a much slimmer Chicago Mike walking on a treadmill in the Kroc Center who says: What the (bleep)? This guy never learns. Adam, we’re going to send him another message. Get somebody good. Much more here.

DFO: The rumor is swirling that Jim Brannon, beaten narrowly at the polls by Councilman Mike Kennedy in 2009 and then in the courtroom, will run for mayor this year. Make sure you follow the link to meet all the characters that The Joker saw in his trailer.

Not everybody is warming up to the claims and ideas expressed in "The Thaw" video, which was featured in Sunday's Press after being spotlighted by Fox News. The video is an advertisement for a Christian ministry and educational alternative whose genesis allegedly was sparked last year by a Kootenai County public high school teacher requiring students to write an essay called "I Believe" without using the words "God" or "Jesus Christ" anywhere in the essay. If one teacher's act was the catalyst, then the teacher and school should be identified so the veracity of the claim can be established, and if it's true, then "the rest of the story" might be told. Yet Gary Brown, whose organization Reach America produced "The Thaw," has declined to disclose that information "for the sake of confidentiality of the kids." The trouble doesn't stop there/Coeur d'Alene Press Editorial Board. More here.

• Redux: 'The Thaw': Schools dis Christian kids

Question: Did Pastor Gary Brown hurt or help his cause with his video, "The Thaw"?

On Tuesday, Trustee Brent Regan of the Coeur d'Alene School District wrote a long post on his Facebook page re: the controversial Common Core. The post concludes:

The proponents of Common Core make claims of wonderful results without any actual proof of those results. It is not the job of a Trustee to blindly go along with the sales pitch. It is the job of the Trustee to anticipate how things can go wrong and to take steps to mitigate problems before they happen. It is absolutely essential that the Board adopt policies that prevent what could be an educational disaster. Before doing this, the Board must study and understand the situation. You can read the entire post, "When do we do cake," here.

Question: Izzit just me, or didn't Regan side-step a question re: Common Core at the Mica Grange forum, stating that he couldn't discuss it due to pending action that he'd take as a board member (should he be re-elected)?