Thanksgiving

Some of us, myself included are going to have a free dinner Thursday at the "Flippin Frog'" the former Bay Cafe. Dinner with all of the fixin's will be served between 1:00 and 5:00 pm.

I am contributing my infamous dressing, since the birds will be fried and unstuffed.

As we approach the holidays look for some interesting things about to happen in the next week or so regarding the availability of Diamond Cup 2014 tickets locally for stocking stuffers.

I renewed my car license last week and picked up my state park sticker which you can buy along with a car license for just $10 bucks. Don't forget to ask for the sticker. It's a great buy and is vital to the financial health of the park system.

I am busy soliciting sponsorships for the Diamond Cup next fall. For a small or even large business, the donation is a tax write-off as well as great publicity. The souvenir programs last for years opposed to newspaper ads that expire with the next day's news. People keep them for years. I recently rceived the one from the Seafare race in Seattle for the year I graduated from Renton High School. It was kept for all these years since 1956.

Advertising and/or sponsoring the race will get you an ad in the program that will last like an encyclopedia. A gift as they say, that keeps on giving.

An office relocation for the race is  at 1105 Sherman has just been established and we should have phones and wifi hooked up in the next few days.

Have a great Thanksgiving, I'll see you next week.

Why I Blog

Sometimes when things are slow and no news is flying around the community, I wonder why I continue to do this thing. Last week, if I needed reminding, I found out.

I received a phone call from a last name that I recognized on caller ID, but not the first. James Dotson. After a few minutes of conversation I finally realized two things. I was speaking to a guy retired from United Airlines that we used to call<"Airline Mike." Mike is apparently his middle name.

The second was that he had a much better memory than mine. He recollected when I was driving cab in Coeur d'Alene and even who I was living with at the time. (Cute young Texas girl.) Mike went through about an hour of remembrance from when he lived here.

Actually, he kind of didn't live here. As an airline employee, he worked out of Seattle four days a week. Leaving a car at Spokane airport, he would fly free to and from Spokane, then drive to his hideaway here in Bayview.

He bought and remodeled several homes including a float home. Mike was a genius at minutely getting everything he built perfect. Mike moved away about ten years ago if my memory serves me, which it often doesn't. We weren't friends, just acquaintances that respected each other.

Mike Dotson was calling from West Virginia, where he was raised as a child. He returned to his roots where he is ... yes, remodeling another home. This one an ancient brick home with a carriage house next to it. The bricks he tells me, are about sixteen inches thick.

While it is always good to hear from people that have moved away, it occurred to me that most probably, he contacted me because through this blog he kept track of the happenings here in Bayview, Idaho. So I'll keep plodding along, writing when I have something to say and gliding a bit when there isn't any news of import. Thanks for dropping in, Mike. Glad to hear from you.

New Sponsors Welcome

 

Now that the political season is behind us and the 2013 Diamond Cup is also, it is time to start planning for the 2014 Diamond Cup.

While last year's race had many problems all due to time constraints, instead of six weeks to raise funds to support the race this year, we have nine months. This doesn't mean we can sit back and relax though. Hydroplane races are very expensive. Between now and Labor Day week-end we need about 1 million in new funds, most of which will come from corporate sponsorships, but ticket sales will still be critical.

If we can arrange it in time, perhaps you can purchase tickets for stocking stuffers at Christmas.

Steps are being taken to tighten up security at the site, and those that strolled past security to watch the races free will no longer be able to do so. Some new ideas are being explored even as we speak regarding local sales outlets rather than just Tickets West.

Several personnel changes have taken place to firm up control of the event. One particular legitimate complaint was from people that paid big bucks to have their boat on the log boom only to see others tie up without paying. That will not happen anymore either. Boats roaring up to the log boom without regard to the wake left endangered the boats racing on the course. The half mile no wake zone will also be rigorously enforced with the assistance of the Kootenai County Sheriff Department.

We want this to be a fun filled adventure and a safe one for the drivers on the course. 2014 will be that way.

Anyone wanting to become a race sponsor can either e-mail me at:bayviewherb@gmail.com or go the the Diamond Cup website. If you e-mail me personally, I'll follow up myself. Questions about the race can also be sent to me.

Nurturing Your Community

Elections are all about caring. Caring about your community and how it is administrated on your behalf. Tomorrow will be critical to that end.

Depending on where you live, either radical Liberals or radical Conservatives will control your area's  politics. This is because radicals are more motivated to vote than the average person.

Here in the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls area recent years have found an influx of Constitutionalists and anti-government types that have claimed Republican labels so that they have a chance to win elections. During the recent school Board election in Coeur d'Alene, the public became aware of a right wing takeover by the so called Regan Republicans. I say so called, because I knew Ronald Reagan back in 1964 and 65 when he was preparing to run for California Governor. I had his daughter Maureen and then husband, Dave Sills over to my house for dinner. These pretenders would not have supported Reagan and he would not have supported their exclusionary activities either. The attempt to take over the school board failed as it should again in this election. I believe that with Widmyer as mayor and those others such as Kiki Miller and Amy Evans. If Amber Copeland were not running against McEvers, I would favor her. Perhaps she can oppose last election's mistake, Adams when he next is up for election. 

Many of these types are refugees from the John Birch Society, a very extreme group. Whether you favor the progress our two cities have made economically, more jobs, diversified economy, increased tourism and items like the Kroc Center, which was opposed by these RR types, the education corridor, a route to a full time four year campus, The beautiful park and pond at Riverstone, plus the shops and other infrastructure, or want to return to the bad old days of unemployment, lack of professional diversity, your vote is more vital tomorrow than perhaps at any time in the history of these two cities. Those that oppose government should not be elected to run it.

Vote which ever way you must, but please don't leave the decisions to others who may not think like you do. Participate in this landmark election. Be a part of your future.

2013 Diamond Cup

This is a well written recap of the race and the people who run it.

http://www.unlimitednewsjournal.net/October_2013.html

Bayview's Own USS Zumwalt

the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard. U.S. Navy photo


This picture might look familiar to those that live or play in Bayview, Idaho. The small scale model of what morphed into this ship was tested here by the naval research detachment. This came to Bayviews through the courtesy of Lawrence Killingsworth, otherwise know as the scourge of the Pend Oreille Seas. More can be seen at:gCaptain.com.

It is great to see our friends at the base are not hanging out at the water cooler all the time.

"General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on Monday successfully launched the Navy’s first Zumwalt-class destroyer at their Bath, Maine shipyard. The ship, the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), will be the first of three ships in the Navy’s newest destroyer class, designed for littoral operations and land attack.
The ship began the transition from Bath Iron Works’ land-based construction facility to a floating dry dock on Friday. Once loaded into the dry dock, the dock was flooded and the ship was removed from its cradle. By late Monday, the dock had been flooded and the ship was floated off and tied to a pier on the Kennebec River.

SEE ALSO: DDG 1000 Pics – Billy Badass Has Arrived
“This is the largest ship Bath Iron Works has ever constructed and the Navy’s largest destroyer. The launch was unprecedented in both its size and complexity,” said Capt. Jim Downey, the Zumwalt-class program manager for the Navy’s Program Executive Office, Ships. “Due to meticulous planning and execution, the operation went very smoothly. I’m extremely pleased with the results and applaud the combined efforts of the Navy-industry team.”

Curbing Radicalism

Never in this region's history has it been more vital to pay attention to candidates in local city and county elections. The example of the Adams victory in the last Coeur d'Alene city council election should serve as a warning. His actions and declarations, threatening the elderly lady mayor physically should be a warning for the election coming next week.

With the Coeur d'Alene city election having three vacancies on the council and Mayor, a huge change could take place if the radicals score another victory.

In the race for mayor, we have a successful businessman, a guy heavily invested in our area with three businesses and a background as a comptroller, running against a Woman that hasn't come out in favor of anything. My dad would have called her a ginner. In every issue she has taken a position on she has been against something or someone.

Souza has attacked and re-attacked everything in sight in the name of Libertarian purity. Her whole issue is shut the treasury down along with any spending project whether needed or not. Along with her candidacy is a slate of Libertarians that along with others have fled the ineffective Constitution Party to attempt a takeover of the Republican Party. To many outside our area, they think all Republicans are radical due to the image portrayed by these radicals. We are not.

The huge leap forward that the city by the lake has taken in the last few years is an astounding one. The Kroc Center, Education Corridor, Riverstone, the creation of a model park from what was essentially a vacant field with a baseball diamond and a large parking lot are all projects these radicals opposed.

I urge you to vote for Widmyer for Mayor and Kiki Miller et al for a retention of common sense. Vote against the wrecking ball of radicalism by voting. It has never been more vital that you do so. Remember the old adage, "You get the government that you deserve."

LCDC The Truth

There has been a ton of negative propaganda against the Lake City Development Corporation, which is a chartered group that operates from tax increments. This simply means that if, in the case of Riverstone of which I have the most information, here are the facts.

The 2012 tax base, which is when tax rates are applied determines how much tax money is owed the county, was 3,052,000. Just a little over 3 million dollars. The land consisted of a former lumber mill, shut down. It also contained a large gravel pit which was also no longer in use, except perhaps by the Mosquitos that bred there.

The number of jobs that used to be in the area, were 5. Number of businesses, 1.

Amount of public money spent in Riverstone, zero. Now lets zip to the present.

First, the new tax base, created by the private development of Riverstone, also in 2012, is $95,000,000. 95 million dollars of tax base that did not exist before. That number is in the lexicon of Urban Renewal, is called tax increment, or the increased value that now can be taxed by the county.

Included in that development are 63 new businesses, 757 new jobs and 459 new residents living in the condos that were tastefully intertwined in the commercial community.

No public money was used to develop this project, just city owned roads and public improvements. Over 3 Million dollars has been paid to the city of Coeur d'Alene in fees along with a lake that was developed from the eye sore gravel pit that previously existed Twenty plus acres of Riverstone private property was donated to the city. That included the new park, and lake, improvement to Northwest Blvd and the prairie trail, a section of the Centennial Trail that borders the Spokane River and passes through Riverstone.

All URA funds were spent on   publicly owned ground and invested in the infrastructure of the city of Coeur d'Alene. $250 million dollars were invested privately to develop the project. For some unknown convoluted reasoning, a small group of anti-government people led by but not limited to such as Sims and Mayoral candidate, Souza seem to think this is Socialism. Since no public money is invested in Riverstone, and the tax base went from 3 million to 95 million, causing huge amounts of tax dollars to accrue to the city of Coeur d'Alene, I'm at a loss, and as a conservative believing in small businesses and private enterprise to see where this is anything close to a liberal project.

Building a community from tax dollars earned from these tax paying developers is the best of Conservative political principles.

Other projects that were made possible by Urban Renewal, are the Kroc Center, The Education corridor adjacent to North Idaho College, the prairie trail and the new public library. In many cases, the library is used by detractors of urban renewal for meetings they hold to stir up trouble. Seed money for the McEuen Park transformation was also provided by the Urban Renewal people.

I lived in Coeur d'Alene back in 1970-72 when the mills were down, the mines were down and people were leaving town in droves. Primarily driven by the Coeur d'Alene Resort, tourism has replaced many of those jobs which then a thriving community, attracted hundreds of small businesses.

So then, what we have are anti-growth, anti-government radicals trying to take over in this upcoming election, all of the huge advances our community has experienced. Not because the common sense candidates for Mayor and city council are not qualified, but because they do not toe the Anarchist line.

I urge you to vote for common sense candidates such as Widmyer for mayor and the other main stream candidates like Kiki Miller and other Balance Coeur d'Alene candidates that have been screened and interviewed as to their views for the future, not the route to yesterday. I read an account yesterday, of a drowning man saved by a fellow rafter. His name is Steve Widmyer. Perhaps Steve can save a city from the same fate.

I Have Returned

The principals involved with the Diamond Cup Regatta have asked me to return to the fold. All is well between them and myself. I am not sure what my duties will entail, except you will probably hear my voice when calling the Diamond Cup phone number, which is 208-664-3338. This will not take place for a week or so, but it will happen. They also tell me I'm going to have more responsibility.

I suspect that I will be heavily involved with media relations, as I was last Summer. This is the slow season, but it is never the slow season when it comes to fund raising. Last year we had a total of two months to organize and fund the race. It got done, but with those time limitations  it was pretty ragged.

This year is different. We plan on boosting our boosters so to speak insofar as  making a company donation pay off in publicity for those donors. Now is not to early to donate to the cause. You can contact me at : bayviewherb@gmail.com with any questions relating to supporting the 2014 race.I'm going to be contacting local marinas, since water sports come in all sizes and speeds. So, if you have a need for speed, give me a call. This is a good time to claim a loss on your tax return for 2013. Ask us about how.

I look forward to working with the community and the fine people that I met last year. Let's jump start our fund raising by responding soon. In the period prior to us getting phone coverage at the office, please feel free to call me at home.208-683-9107

This is going to be a great year. With the experience behind us and the physical installations already built it will be much simpler. We ask those people that live in the vicinity of the race course to play fair with us as it costs a lot of money to put the races on and cheaters minimize the chances of continuing year after year. It doesn't cost an individual much to attend the race, but collectively, it is a huge part of our funding. It's early and I'm already excited.

Widmyer For Mayor

As a resident of Bayview, I can't vote in the Coeur d'Alene elections. It's really a pity, since the city also represents the county seat and the center of most activities in Kootenai County.

In the past I have remained quiet about municipal elections held in areas I don't live in. Then it occurred to me that many of the radical rightists that oppose Widmyer live in Post Falls and just drop in to agitate in Coeur d'Alene from time to time.

My heart favors Copeland for council, that spunky young lady that wants to get further involved in her community. Unfortunately, she is running against a popular incumbent.

One thing that jumps out at me is this political freak Adams that somehow flummoxed the electorate into electing him to a position of responsibility. He claims that it is downtown business interests that are backing Widmyer and others.

First, as a conservative, if in fact that is what he is, (questionable) he should applaud the business interests stand since pro-business is a Republican core principle. So what is left that we can label him as? I suspect he is more an anti-government loner that just hangs out with hate groups. Not racial hate, though I have no knowledge one way or the other on that, but just plain hate everything groups.

There are a few in every generation that does not believe in any form of government or regulations. That is their right. They shouldn't however,  be trusted with public office that they opposes on principle. I can only hope that my neighbors to the south show more sense this time around. Anarchists we do not need.

Tom Clancy, R.I.P.

Little more than a footnote appeared in the press recently as Tom Clancy died at age 66. Arguably the preeminent Thriller/Military fiction writer of our time is gone. Gone way before his time.

I have, I believe all of the books that were written by him, numbering well over 50 and they weren't minimized in size. Executive Orders, one of his best, Threat Vector and most others number more than 800 pages. Eight hundred pages of I can't put the book down is a wholesale loss of productivity on the part of the reader.

His writing career started out while he was an Insurance agent, with a degree in English. His first book, "The hunt for red October." was published in 1984 closely followed by "Red Storm Rising,: then a deluge of cold war related tales.

When the cold war ended he created wars with an expansionist Japan, the reversing course, sided with Russia against a land grab in Siberia by the Chinese.

His detail was so uncannily accurate that he was questioned by authorities as to where he got his classified information. He calmly pointed to open source information available to anyone that wanted it.

There are others of my favorites. Steve Coonts, Dale Brown, W.E.B. Griffin, but nobody can replace the master. You'll be sorely missed, Big Guy.

Outrageous Closures

The closure of the World War 11 memorial which is in open space, but allowing a rally consisting of left wing politicians and illegal immigrants is a devastating insult to our war dead. But wait, there's more. Mount Rushmore is also closed. Why is that significant? Mt. Rushmore is operated by a private contractor that charges admission. There are no public funds in play at all. The illustration shown below says it all. The Obama administration is showing it's ass to the world. (picture stolen from author, Stephen Coonts on Facebook.)

The Golden Years

Some rather astounding changes happened when I got old and retired. I disappeared. Yes, I still occupy space and use oxygen needed by others, but I became a non-person. No longer are my opinions valid, nor my knowledge legitimate. It isn't just me, I've noticed that other older people are treated the same way.

You see, those that have come after me already know everything important and when an older person offers a remark, it is a put down to the younger less experienced. Ergo, I am making them stupid. These are fellow adults I'm referring to here.

The first few years that I no longer worked, I faded into the woodwork as the saying goes. My twenty years experience in the Real Estate and mortgage lending field, invalid. Then a few years later, the Spokesman-Review gave me an opportunity to be creative again, writing a weekly column on community events and people features. Folks accepted that, I guess as an old Geezer's ramblings.

More recently, and still unwilling to go back to being a non-person, I became active in the committee to bring Unlimited Hydroplanes back to Coeur d'Alene after a 40 year absence. Suddenly, when that was over, I sensed an uneasy relationship with those around me.

A month ago, a renown loudmouth yelled at me to SHUT UP, HERB! More recently, a younger person, roughly 35 years my junior repeated that slur. I asked him why he was trying to intimidate me. His response was, "You think you know it all." I pointed out that I had never made that claim, nor had I ever suggested that I was more intelligent than others, though this guy was determined to proving that point.

Apparently, I am not adhering to the role that younger people feel I belong in. One in which I don't make them feel like underachievers. Well,their feelings are their own and I won't take responsibility for them. But I won't sit down, shut up or in any other disrespectful way, kowtow to bullies of any age, regardless of their tendency to ape a troglodyte.

Conflicts

Friendship is a precarious  place, always. When one faces the necessity to contradict that friend, it is even worse. Last week, I blasted an article that was written about the Diamond Cup by my friend, Jeff Selle. In that story, and in subsequent conversations with his editor, Mike Patrick, I determined that it was primarily Doug Miller's  reluctance to return calls that spurred the  dialog.

It wasn't the attack against Miller that stirred me,. it was when it turned into a diatribe against the race and it's future that did.

Nowhere in the dialogue or lack thereof, was there any objective referrence about what went down and how to fix it. I regret that I felt it necessary to defend what appeared to me as a position that very well could have doomed fund raising attempts in future years.

Bayview Oktoberfest

Oktoberfish

Well the weather has cooled the water down and here we are again ready for some fishing. The annual fishing derby held in Bayview will kick off with an auction Friday at 6:30 which will include dinner if you are a ticket holder.

The derby itself will run Saturday and Sunday October 5th and 6th. Hours are from dawn Saturday am to 4:00 pm Sunday afternoon.

Prizes are lead by the Golden Trout traveling trophy, followed by Rainbow trout prizes for size 1st and second with third being the largest weight. All proceeds are awarded to the winners with 1st at 50%, 2nd 30% and third 20%.

There are also floating buoys worth $50 each. For additional information call Ralph's at 208-683-2218.

The weather guessers have forecasted from 59 to 62 degree highs with partly sunny skies for Saturday and Sunday. No wind problems were mentioned.

Tea Party Congress

This year is shaping up to be a radical change in the way Washington works. The "Tea Party," which is really undefined can safely be known for two things.

One is that they are right of the main Stream Republican Party. Two, and most important is that is was a spontaneous, grass roots uprising by amateur politicians and supported by many that up until the last election chose to stay uninvolved.

Now we as a nation are faced with the inevitable consequences of an out of control president, one that ignores the congress when he can and the Young Turks that were responsible for wresting the house from democratic control.

The primary issue is Obama Care. A program that even many of the original supporters are calling a train wreck. It simply wasn't planned out at all. The vote legalizing it in most cases wasn't scrutinized by committees or the Congressional oversight people. It was rushed to a vote by the democratic leadership fearful that if they waited until people understood all of it's ramifications, they wouldn't have passed it.

We could have easily controlled medical costs by merely passing tort control, limiting liability for the medical industry and radically reducing the class action leaches that pass themselves off as attorneys. 

Large sectors of our population cannot afford the premiums in an all inclusive plan. Those that live in poverty will have their premiums paid for by the federal government. (read more bureaucrats and departments.) As most thinking people realize, the government doesn't pay for anything. They take it from us and then dole it out in lock step with their socialist goals.

Back to the dilemma. If the president doesn't back down, and he won't, and the House of Representatives do not either, our government will shut down. Obama would love that because he is counting on us to blame the Republican Party for their intransigence rather than his bankrupt program.

One of two things are going to occur in the next election. Either the electorate will side with Obama and the hard line Republicans will be voted out of office ... Or, the grass roots that got them there will stay strong and send even more Tea Party types to Congress. This is a major turning point. Do we minimize the federal government back to manageable size or do we leap off the cliff as Lemmings. Time will tell.

$85 Billion

This weekend's paper noted that the federal reserve is buying another $85 Billion in treasury bonds. They have been buying them at the rate of once per month for well over a year. I can't count that high, but do any of you wonder why they are doing this?

Our government has been selling bonds both domestically and internationally for many years, letting the market set the rates and prices. Suddenly and in concert with the administration, the fed is undercutting the market. They claim it is to accelerate growth and job creation, yet while the stock market is doing well, unemployment is still very high. No, don't pay any attention to the statistics on that subject. Remember Will Rogers, who once said there are lies, damn lies and statistics.

Unemployment is kept track of by benefit applications. If a person lost his/her job back in 2008 they are no longer counted, since they have already run out of benefits. Thousands that lost their jobs to cheap Asian labor, represent the uncounted. Perhaps they can be counted by trips to the food bank and food stamps.

Back to the non-recession we are in. According to the statisticians, (see damn lies) our Great Recession ended in 2008. Well, that was when the stock market recovered, mostly due to Obama throwing money at large industry, and doling out millions to individuals.

Something to remember here. This is our money being thrown at us. No, we haven't paid that money yet. That is for future generations to do. Another old quote, I think from Thomas Jefferson, said, "When the government finds out they can bribe the people with their own money, democracy is lost." That is paraphrased, but the intent Is clear.

Back to the lead paragraph. $85,000,000,000 per month for over a year. There are several things wrong with this formula including a massive inflation due soon, similar to 1980-1982. The most serious though is where is the federal reserve getting the money to spend on this program. The fed is not a taxing agency and has no real
income. If you haven't guessed yet, I'll tell you. They are just figuratively printing it. I say figuratively because they do  not print out $85 billion dollars in $100 bills each month. They merely go to their computers and send a message to the treasury that they now have that much on deposit at the central bank and oh by the way, please send the bonds to us.

This my friends is what the FBI calls a Ponzi Scheme, which if done by a citizen earns you many years in a federal penitentiary.

If in the next several elections we haven't changed our votes, we won't have to worry about Tea Party extremism, just the wackos we already have.

Out Of Groceries?

It has occurred to me that there might be a few residents in Bayview that with the Mercantile closed, have no access to groceries. If you or if you know of someone that needs a ride to the store, please call me at 208-683-9107.

I'm happy to help out, but just so there are no misunderstandings, this doesn't mean that if you are out of cigarettes or beer that I will give you a ride. I am available to either the Little town Market in Athol, or Super One in Hayden.

Store No More

The weekend was an active one as in addition to the Farragut Reunion, the Bayview Mercantile closed it's doors. Citing the expense of hiring all of the help, the Bjergos were feeding a loss.

Both have well paying jobs with Scott operator of the Mail Boat and Jeannie a Registered Nurse. This left the store with a larger payroll than it would support. A Mom & Pop operation would fit well, but not if all the help was hired.

It has been more than 15 years since Bayview has been  without a convenience store. It will be sorely missed. Want a quart of milk or a half rack of beer? Drive eight miles to Athol, which has three. The winners will be the operators of the Little Town Market on highway 54.

Those elderly and unable to drive will not be able to shop with a golf cart anymore. This is a huge hit to the unincorporated town of Bayview.

The store is going back to the bank which will be looking for a buyer when they take possession, which could take most of the winter months. If it is still closed next summer, the cost to tourism will be high. Scott and Jeannie ran a good shop and will be missed.  Living in the apartment above the Mercantile are the Darnells, Clint and Jamie. They will have to move soon, as the power will be disconnected.