Chris Peck

Does anybody have a fan? Smoke needs to be cleared from Spokane City Hall, smoke mostly being blown by the new, anti-downtown mayor, John Talbott, and his pals from Seattle.

Dr. Spock's death this week at 94 came too soon. His work wasn't done.

Let's hear a quiet cheer for the voices of moderation. Many other voices are heard these days speaking up for their rights, their complaints and their demands. With the dawn arise the Limbaugh wannabes on the radio. At bedtime appears Jerry Springer and the yelling, screaming and swearing horde that defines his TV show.

It is 8 a.m. and my feet are stuck to the floor at the University Inn. Stuck because someone young spilled a large carbonated beverage the night before, and it soaked into the carpet of the motel room.

The vandalism of the runner statue is a sad reminder of the importance of art. File/The Spokesman-Review

Well, we still have Eastern Washington University to kick around some more. After much talk by legislators and state oversight groups in the last few weeks, it seems clear EWU and Washington State University won't be merged anytime soon. Instead, the Higher Education Coordinating Board has put together a long list of suggestions on what Spokane and EWU should be doing to improve the higher education opportunities in the region.

Neither Valentine's Day nor Groundhog Day is the biggest milestone of February. The big one is known as It's End of Flu Season Day. The bad news this year is that flu season started late, meaning kids began dropping like flies in mid-January, and flu season is expected to run late, meaning parents will be dropping like flies well into March.

Perhaps you saw the story about the 19-year-old who tried to use a stolen credit card with the name of the Spokane County coroner on it to get money at an Idaho Indian casino. As police tell it, the kid had obtained a stolen credit card with the name Dexter Amend on the front.