Times Square Ball
Here’s your last chance to get in some comments, questions or ideas for 2009— the New Year is quickly upon us! Here’s one question: What do you think was the biggest local story of 2009? Nominations?
December 29, 2009
December 27, 2009
Give Her a Present
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I have often said that Sergeant Christie Wood, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department’s putative Public Information Officer, is fully capable of writing at the fifth or sixth grade level. Her press release about last night’s shooting on Sherman Avenue supports my assessment.
For the sake of everyone who must read her writings, Chief Longo, buy her a manual of style and usage.
December 22, 2009
In Contrast…
LCDC Executive Director Tony Berns
One of the myths that Denny Davis, Jim Elder, Rod Colwell, Charlie Nipp, Dave Patzer, Deanna Goodlander, Al Hassell, Brad Jordan, Scott Hoskins, and Tony Berns desperately need to propagate is that Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, the Lake City Development Corporation, does not increase taxes for those who own property outside the urban renewal district. This is the statement from the home page of their LCDC website:
“LCDC does not raise property taxes; LCDC’s impact is “neutral” to the property tax payer.”
It appears that the Canyon County Assessor doesn’t agree with the LCDC’s self-serving propaganda effort. Follow the link and pay particular attention to the section captioned “How Urban Renewal Affects All Taxpayers.”
Of course, there is no particular requirement that the LCDC Commissioners and Executive Director tell the truth on their website. After all, unlike the Canyon County Assessor, they are not elected to their positions on the LCDC and are not accountable to the public or to the Coeur d’Alene City Council. As a matter of fact, the recent Idaho Supreme Court decision in Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Rexburg v. Kenneth W. Hart raises a real question whether Idaho’s urban renewal agencies are accountable to anyone.
December 19, 2009
Mobius Unraveled
Unless you live in Spokane, you’re probably not too familiar with the Mobius Science Center. I’m linking to Ron Wright’s Friends of Mark Fuhrman blog for the accounts of how this project became unglued. Inside Ron’s post is another link to an article by Center for Justice Communications Director Tim Connor. Follow that link to read Reversal of Fortune. Also, please take time to read the sidebar “Similar Stories.” The Mobius story they tell is relevant in Coeur d’Alene.
December 18, 2009
“We the People”are not going away
The North Idaho Tea Party Patriots sponsored a rally again Wednesday night at the State Line Events Center. It drew a huge crowd of over 1400 people! The music was great, the singing was wonderful and the speakers were interesting and informative; it was good citizenship at its best. (The photo is from the September event)
The people at these Tea Party rallies are demanding these basics from our government:
1. Stop spending our money so fast! (Don’t say Bush did it too, we didn’t like it then either)
2. Reduce the size and scope of government. Get it out of our way so we can create jobs.
3. Stop making ridiculously huge bills that no one will read. Take more time, break up the subject into manageable parts, and write bills for each section.
Do you have any more suggestions to add to the list?
December 14, 2009
Open Session, Stupidity
There are some absurd things going on in our world right now. I sometimes think I’ll wake up and find it is all a bad dream. But here’s the latest from the Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen. Al Gore told the world conference that “the latest research showed that the Arctic could be completely ice-free in five years”
In his speech, Mr Gore told the conference: “These figures are fresh. Some of the models suggest to Dr. Maslowski that there is a 75 per cent chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during the summer months, could be completely ice-free within five to seven years.”
The only problem is, Dr. Maslowski says he doesn’t know where Gore got that information! Gore’s office ” later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a “ballpark figure” several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore.”
This info is from a Times Online article (of course only England would report this, not our US media!)
Windy?
I was looking at weatherforyou.com this morning and noticed this:
| Rest Of Today | ||
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Snow Hi: 27° POP: 20% |
Cloudy with a 20 percent chance of light snow. Highs in the mid to upper 20s. Light wind early in the morning…Becoming northeast around 510 mph in the afternoon. |
Looks as if the wind is going to be picking up a little bit!
December 13, 2009
Public Corruption – An FBI Priority
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Turn on your computer’s sound and watch the interview with Andrew G. Arena, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. He talks about public corruption.
Listen in particular to the comment near the end of the interview concerning how the administration’s “stimulus money” will be too tempting for corrupt public officials to keep their hands off.
Conditional Threat
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In his letter to the editor appearing in Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Press, writer David B. Larsen made a conditional indirect threat. Even the casual reader can reasonably conclude that Larsen’s letter was written to intimidate city council candidate Jim Brannon into dropping his lawsuit contesting the results of the November 3 election. Equally offensive, it was also written to intimidate others who might dare challenge incumbents for public office in Coeur d’Alene.
December 12, 2009
One More Down, Countless More to Go
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Well, yet another corrupt politician bit the dust this week.
Part-time state legislator, big-time bribe acceptor Joseph Bruno, former Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, was convicted in federal court this week on two counts of mail fraud (theft of honest services). Here is the US Department of Justice’s press release that provides some details. Granted, the redundancy in the words “corrupt” and “politician” is obvious. Still …