There’s a brew-ha-ha going on in town right now, if you read the Press letters to the editor.  Recently the Kootenai County Democrats sponsored a Healthcare Forum.  They held it in the Community Room of the new CdA Library and video taped it for future broadcast.  The forum featured the head of Kootenai Medical Center, a local family physician, the head of the Dirne Clinic and a local business owner.  The moderator of the event was State Representative George Sayler, a Democrat from CdA.  Most or all of the people on the panel were well known Democrats.  The problem appears to be unfair access to put information on the city-controlled Public Access TV.  The Healthforum folks said it was a non-partisan event…hmmm….ok.   But here’s the rest of the story:   (more…)

The list, posted on this site yesterday of the NIC Foundation members, triggered a question in my mind because many of them seem connected with Mt. West Bank.

Let’s look at the lists, side by side, and you can draw your own conclusions:   (more…)

Idaho Freedom Foundation has published a strong article supporting our web site and our efforts to bring transparency to local government.  We are especially honored because this group, headquartered in southern Idaho, works statewide to achieve the same goals.  Here’s the entirety of their article, republished with their permission:

Residents Unite to take on Government in Coeur d’Alene

By Chuck Malloy

Conservative movements don’t start by accident, or survive on automatic pilot.

The tide starts with people who give a damn about how government money is spent and the future of this country. It starts with people who don’t think that government has all the answers to health care and the nation’s economic crisis. It survives by people who want to make a difference by attending local government meetings, searching through public records and asking tough questions.   (more…)

Ramirez Cartoon: "Let me start by saying I don't want to hear from the town"

Are you going to Rep. Minnick’s “Town Hall Meeting” tomorrow?  After they combine and condense (rewrite) the emailed questions, how many do you think he will be actually answer in the short one hour meeting:  Will it be one question, two questions or three?  Place your bets…

In an unusual turn of events, the City Council of Post Falls reversed their previous decision to increase property taxes by 2%.  At last night’s meeting, citizens testified against any tax increase during these difficult economic times, and the City Council took their advice.  The Council voted to cut the budget further so as not to need any tax increase this year.  Good for them!  Bravo to the citizens of Post Falls for speaking up and telling the city what they believe.

You can read the whole article from today’s Press here: http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2009/08/19/news/news001.txt

Do you think other cities will follow suit?

The city’s meeting with the elite concept designers for the DeArmond Mill  land, just purchased by the college through their Foundation, produced very artistic development ideas…for a Commercial Corridor.  I think that should be the new name for it, at least it’s honest.  They describe retail shops near the Resort and Indepencence Point and the special night lighting of the wastewater treatment plant.  Education did not seem to be the focus, and it never has been.

The original Resolution for this project from the NIC Board of Trustees, almost two years ago, emphasized beautification of Downtown and commercial development, not education.  Seems like they’re right on plan.  (more…)

The US Postal Service has released its list of post offices being considered for closure.

There are no northern Idaho offices on the list.

An alert reader reports that City Councilman Mike Kennedy spoke for a public service segment on KVNI this morning, where a city official is given free radio time to discuss local CdA news.  Gosh, we’ve had some important city news lately, like the police lawsuit, the city legal department withholding public records information, the Planning and Zoning Commission giving special permission to Bellerive for parking lots, and, speaking of Cheshrown, that the Mill site was purchased without him as part of the deal but he still ended up being given several acres of prime land.

So, with all this to discuss, what did Mike Kennedy talk about on this free PUBLIC SERVICE time?  He did not discuss any of the “issues” above, he painted a rosy picture of all things lovely in CdA, then again announced his campaign for re-election!   And the radio station allowed it.  The fact that the city sent an  an already-openly-announced candidate to fill the public service spot for them is improper, and the fact that the radio station did not stop him from using the time to further his own campaign is akin to a special favor.

Will Mike show the value of the donation on his Sunshine Report?  Let’s see…I hear KVNI’s rate is $15 for 30 seconds…..Mike spoke for 10 minutes….

Gary Ingram posted this info yesterday under Monday’s Open Session, but it is new and seems worthy of our discussion:

Word on the street and on the door of the Riverstone Auction Office is that the auction has been canceled. No sales = no tax increment. Let’s discuss the ramifications for LCDC and the city’s plans for downtown redevelopment using Riverstone TIF.

Comment by Gary Ingram — July 30, 2009 @ 9:36 pm

Dan Gookin posted this information under another thread but it deserves a spot of its own.  Here’s the report from the Idaho Freedom Foundation:

City refuses to disclose public info regarding employees

Idaho Freedom Foundation Executive Director Wayne Hoffman today criticized Coeur d’Alene city officials for refusing to disclose the full identities of its employees. IFF is a non-profit, non-partisan group which is in the process of developing a government transparency website. On Monday, IFF requested the city provide the names, titles, departments and rates of pay for each city employee. City Human Resources Director Pam MacDonald responded on Tuesday with a list of employees, but the first names of the employees were withheld.

“First names will not be provided because that would indicate gender. This is exempt from disclosure under Idaho Code 9-340C(1),” MacDonald wrote in an email to IFF after the organization requested the complete data.

That statute says employee names are a matter of public record. The law also says a public employee or applicant’s gender is exempt from disclosure under the public records law. So far, the city of Coeur d’Alene is the only entity in the state to use gender identification as a means to hide public information.  (more…)