Apparently there’s a notice in the Legals about someone named Rick Souza owing Mt. West Bank almost $150, 000.  A friend called me to see if it was us…NO, it’s not.  Surprisingly, the name Souza is fairly common.  It’s a Portuguese name and is like “Smith” over in Hawaii, where my husband was raised. We’ve heard there’s a large family of Souzas in our general area, including another Mary Souza and another Rick Souza, but we don’t know them and are not related.  Thanks for the concern.

The City has insulted one of its own.  Apparently the City of CdA has named the $50,000 bunker in city park, “The Christie Wood Safety Building”.

Can you believe it?  When did that happen?

According to this morning’s CdA Press, in an article about police on bicycles, the reporter referred to “The Christie Wood Safety Building” in city park.  Since when does the city name buildings, or  even sheds, after a living person?  And since when to they name anything after a current city employee?  (Christie is a Sgt. in the police dept. and is their Public Information Officer)

This is a slam against poor Christie because the “building” named after her is really a utility shed!  It’s a small, cheap, concrete structure that looks like a hot dog stand.  It is rarely used, has no heat, no bathroom, no telephone, no amenities and it’s closed most of the year, except around Ironman.        What are your thoughts?

Only New York could come up with this type of convoluted thinking:  Give every voter 6 votes in the County Commissioner election (they call them Trustees)  It was a FEDERAL judge who ruled that this “one person, 6 votes” method was not only valid but essential to FAIR elections!

“(Voters) cast multiple votes on the instructions of a federal judge and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a new election system crafted to help boost Hispanic representation.”

Maybe Kootenai County was ahead of its time with the last election?

Here’s the link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_el_st_lo/us_voting_rights_election

I don’t think so.   Susie has some serious questions about the City of CdA’s plans to build “workforce” housing.  Keep in mind that workforce housing is not the same as “affordable” housing, which is for low-income folks.  Workforce housing is for employed people like nurses, teachers and fire fighters.  Is the City really trying to convince us  there are not enough rentals or houses available in the moderate price range?  Have they noticed the real estate drop of the last two years?

Here’s what Susie Snedaker said:  “I read that the city will be purchasing a property from the school district for an amount determined by a 2009 appraisal. It appears the city is unaware that property values have tanked this past year… It seems that “decent rents” are difficult to find. ”

What do you think?       (Link to the CdA Press article here)