The debate over whether the Kootenai County jail should be expanded and how the local justice system can be improved has rekindled. And this time, all of the players are at the table. Representatives of the National Institute of Corrections reaffirmed on Wednesday that the local jail is overcrowded and recommended that the community come together to discuss a myriad of justice-related topics before determining how large a possible facility expansion should be. The federal agency delivered its assessment of the jail and the judicial system to stakeholders at the county courthouse. The jail's capacity is 327 beds, but the inmate population has reached nearly 400 in recent days. That statistic, coupled with the jail's inmate population hovering at 75 percent being felons, widened the eyes of the institute's Mark Martin/Brian Walker, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: I don't think many of us support spending tax dollars to expand the jail for more prisoners who will quickly fill it up again. But you realize that some day we'll be forced to do so, right?