7: Blogs | Hard 7

Kids at camp preserve dying art

Penmanship, letter writing � talk about old school. Does anybody still practice these ancient art forms? ( Full post )

Hands off the merchandise at the dump

Been to the dump lately? ( Full post )

Scouts deserve praise and thanks

Every Monday night when I was growing up, my father would leave our dinner table early to be at the church basement by 7 for his weekly Scout meeting. ( Full post )

WASL takes hold on Class of 2008

We sat in the crowded Spokane Arena last Sunday, straining to catch a glimpse of our graduate among hundreds of classmates dressed in billowing black gowns and sporting mortarboards. ( Full post )

Assessment variations baffling

This week, 170,000 property owners in Spokane County got nifty little postcards from the Assessor's office. The little card looks a lot like one of those inserts that get stuck between the pages of magazines, and falls out annoyingly when you bring in the mail. But this little piece of paper is significant � it's notification that property has been valued for next year's taxes. ( Full post )

River gets the attention it deserves

We tend to be a little blas� about the river that runs though the heart of our city. Even the falls, for which the city was originally named, get barely a glance most of the year. No big deal. ( Full post )

Where to draw the line on teen drinking

Turns out I made a mistake a few weeks ago when I reported in this column that parents could host an underage drinking party as long as they had the consent of the parents of all kids in attendance. Bottom line is, you can't do it. No matter if you take away the car keys, lock the doors, supervise every kid, and stay up all night � it's against the law. ( Full post )

Lyons case another blow to police credibility

I don't want to pick on the police department, but they keep painting bullseyes on their backsides. ( Full post )

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 )