Dr. Robert Ketchum

We Need Jobs! We Need Robert and Ron!

Why should we care who sits on the Board of Trustees for North Idaho College?  Because they raise our taxes and decide what kind of education will be offered at our local community college.  Those are both big deals.

Two seats on the Board are up for election this Nov. 2nd.  They will be on your regular ballot for the General Election that day, or your absentee ballots ahead of time.  (more…)

Raul Labrador

Muckraking and In-Fighting

Have you seen the attack ad from a Florida Congressman, calling his opponent “Taliban Dan”?  It claims his challenger, who is a long-time conservative Christian member of the state legislature, wants to see women subjugated and in burkas. The TV ad takes a nice comment from the challenger and turns it completely around to make it sound the opposite.  It’s terrible.

I am hoping that WE, the voters, have had enough of this type of politicking.  No matter which political party it comes from, this is wrong and we have to be smart enough to check into these deceitful claims.

This same thing is happening in our backyard right now.  Walt Minnick, the Democrat congressman from our Idaho district, has a TV ad attacking his opponent, Raul Labrador.  Minnick’s assault is right up there with the Florida ad.  He takes a comment Mr. Labrador made and alters it into something that was never intended.   (more…)

Stephen Broden with Alveda King

Dear Newsletter Readers,

I thought you’d like to know that the Election Challenge trial here in CdA is finally underway.  It started yesterday morning at 9am and continued until 4pm, with only minimal breaks and an hour for lunch.  What an interesting process!

My husband says I’m fascinated with process, and he’s probably right after knowing me for 34 years, but today’s court case started out with a bang!  Starr Kelso, attorney for the Election Challenge, passionately demanded that Judge Hosack dismiss himself from the case, based on comments the judge made last week in a related hearing.  The judge refused to step away.  Then another motion was brought forward by Scott Reed, attorney for Mike Kennedy.  Mr. Reed wanted to block the possible testimony of several alleged illegal voters from Canada, to which the judge said, “Nonsense!”  And so it went from there.   (more…)

This has been a memorable summer for our family, busy from beginning to end. It has been full of visits from relatives and friends, and now we have wrapped up the main part of summer with the wonderful wedding of our daughter.  We are so blessed!

In the midst of our activities, I’ve been tracking some of the goings-on about town, many of which I will address in newsletters after Labor Day.  But this week there was an event I thought you should know about right away. (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

I hope you are having fun in this wonderful sunny weather.  This is what makes the winter worth enduring!

Just so you don’t lose touch with what our fair City is doing during the summer, I thought you’d better be aware of a law they have just altered.  One of my alert readers sent this info—thank you–which I then confirmed on the City’s web site.  The changes to this law were approved by the City Council and signed by the Mayor on June 1st.

The law, quoted below, controls the use of alcoholic beverages within the city.  You can see from the first paragraph that it is illegal to have an OPEN container of alcohol on any public property.  Now read the second paragraph.  It states that it’s illegal to have ANY container, whether open or not, on public property.  Notice that they took out the term “public park” and substituted “public property”.  (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

Don’t get mad at me…I’m not the one that said it.  The city’s own legal counsel said it at Friday’s hearing about the Election Contest.  I couldn’t believe it.

Attorney Mike Haman, representing the City of CdA, was dancing fast as he tried to answer a question by Judge Hosack about the City Council’s role in the City election.  Mike Haman  argued that the City  should not be added back into the election lawsuit, saying the City played absolutely no part in the election; that they contracted everything out to the County.

Seasoned Judge Hosack showed his experience and wisdom when he responded to Attorney Haman. The judge calmly asked about the role of the City Council when they acted as the “Board of Canvass”. (This is their official role at a Council meeting six days after the election, where they not only ACCEPTED the election tallies produced by the County, which have since been shown to be inaccurate, but the City Council CERTIFIED the results of the election with a unanimous vote.)  It was the lawyer’s answer to the judge’s question that prompted my headline.

Attorney Haman, obviously caught off guard by the judge’s astute question, tried to downplay both the function of the City Council and their responsibility for the CITY election.  He said, basically, yes, they were the Board of Canvass and yes they certified the vote tallies but, Attorney Haman said, the City Council was just a “RUBBER STAMP”.

Yes, he actually said that. I think he said it twice. And I agree.  (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

Tammy Currie Farkes lives in Canada.  She voted in our last Coeur d’Alene election, even though her mother said, “She hasn’t lived here for 10 years.”  Tammy is not the only one.  There are many people who voted in our city election from outside the city, county, state and country.

Forget Obama’s Health Care bill, forget Cap & Tax, forget Card Check.  None of these important measures will be repealable or controllable if our election system is seriously compromised. And there appears to be a dangerous national movement to do just that.  (more…)

Another Judicial Slapdown

This week we have some good news and some bad news.  Let’s leave the good for the end, since it’s nice to go out on a more positive note.  The bad news is that, once again, one of our District Court judges has tried to flatten a citizen attempt to hold our local government accountable.

Here’s the story: Three citizens brought a lawsuit against NIC and the NIC Foundation, saying that the school’s efforts to get the old DeArmond Mill site by conjuring up a twisted, complicated procedure through the NIC Foundation is illegal.  They say it circumvents the rights of citizens to vote on big decisions that will raise taxes.   (more…)