7: Blogs | Hard 7

Applying the Pinocchio scale locally

There is a big, fat problem with lying in our culture. ( Full post )

Condemn teen drinking? Or control it?

Here in Washington, you can legally start working when you're 14, and get a driver's permit at 15. Somewhere between 16 and 18 you can consent to sex, depending on the age difference between you and your partner. With your parents' permission, you can join the Marines at 17, and get shipped off to Iraq. At 18, you can get a tattoo, get married and vote. You can also sign a legally binding contract and be prosecuted as an adult. ( Full post )

Will we get the shaft on police oversight?

Once again, the citizens of Spokane are in danger of being bamboozled. A watered-down, gutted version of last year's original police oversight proposal is being forwarded as the panacea to the widely acknowledged rift between police and the policed in our community. ( Full post )

Racetrack deal should be black-flagged

It's mind-boggling. ( Full post )

Teen pot use is no relaxed matter

Like a lot of parents in my age group, I was pretty relaxed about marijuana. I went to college in the early '70s, when unprecedented numbers of people discovered and smoked pot. I'll admit to having inhaled. But pot scared me a little, and I had a set of rules for myself. I never kept or bought it, smoked alone or went out in public if I was high. It was illegal, after all, and not something I wanted to be a big part of my life. After college, it faded away completely as a chosen recreational activity. ( Full post )

Dog park's popularity not unnoticed

My husband says if he ever opens a tavern, he'll call it the Dog Park, and post the rules of Petiquette right above the bar. ( Full post )

In the hot seat at 'Antiques Roadshow'

When I schlepped my goodies to the Convention Center last August, I never imagined I'd end up getting the third degree from all those nice "Antiques Roadshow" people. ( Full post )

Still seeking explanation for tragedy

The criminal trial of Clifford Helm is over. A jury last Friday acquitted Helm of five counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault. I attended several days of the trial, and was not surprised by the decision. ( Full post )

Helm's silence takes a heavy toll

The way I see it, there's not much difference between Fred Russell and Clifford Helm. ( Full post )

Ballots put voter diligence at risk

When I flipped through a stack of mail and saw the familiar red-and white envelope marked "Special Election Mail � OFFICIAL BALLOT-DO NOT DELAY," I had a sinking feeling. I wondered if my presidential primary ballot had been returned for some reason, or worse, if I'd done exactly what the bold lettering had commanded me not to do � I had delayed and my ballot never made it out of the house. ( Full post )

Vote for oversight system long overdue

A critical vote is coming up, one that has the potential to help restore faith and trust in the Spokane Police Department. Spokane's police union membership will be giving thumbs-up or -down to a new oversight system for reviewing citizen complaints about police conduct. ( Full post )

Ahern's antics deserve another look

I've been a little caught up in the presidential primary, but there's a local politician who has been behaving like such a bonehead, he has managed to score some space in this column. ( Full post )

Making sense of the caucus-race

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Taking a shot at the written word

Editor's note: Rebecca is easing her way into the blog world. For starters, she'll just be posting her print columns. More will come later...

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And that's a wrap...

As most of you already know, Frank Sennett, author of the Hard 7 column and blog, is on his way to the great Midwest to become the new editor of Time Out Chicago. ( Full post )

Mary Verner will become Spokane's first two-term mayor in a generation

That's the final Spokane political prediction in my ultimate 7 column, which also outlines the three biggest improvements I'd like to see in the quality, and justness, of life in this city. ( Full post )

The penultimate column

Some of you have been asking for updates on my departure. I appreciate it. This week's column is my second-to-last one for 7, so watch for the final go-round next Friday. ( Full post )

If you can hang on through scandal, everything starts easing back to normal eventually

More proof of that truism comes today from Politico: ( Full post )

Mark your calendar for homeless memorial

"This year, 23 homeless people died in Spokane County. Three were stabbed, shot or beaten to death, but most died of diseases left untreated or from exposure to heat or cold," the S-R's Pia K. Hansen reports. ( Full post )

"This is a blank check"

Well, it's official: the Democratic controlled Congress has utterly failed to check the president's disastrous war and security-state policies, as the Washington Post reports: ( Full post )