HUCKLEBERRIES: No foolin': High rises here to stay

Some subscribers, as Elvis would say, were all shook up April 1 when they read about the 120-story skyscraper coming to Coeur d’Alene’s waterfront.

Tongue firmly cheeked, “reporter” April Fuhl told of plans by developer Victor E. Kruschev to build the monstrosity east of The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Shockingly, the plan called for hundreds of suites to be reserved as headquarters for Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and the American Communist Party.

Editor Mike “April Fuhl” Patrick beamed that day as he fielded calls and emails from concerned citizens.

Our waterfront is holy ground, even on April Fools' Day.

So, you can imagine how residents reacted 40-plus years ago when developer Terry Phillips proposed to construct an 11-story building between Tubbs Hill and the North Shore Resort Hotel (today’s Coeur d’Alene Resort). The City Council approved his project on a 4-3 vote with then mayor Don Johnston casting the tiebreaker. The proposal also called for filling in 20 feet of lake for overflow parking.

The council vote ignited a yearlong battle that would result in legal action by a citizens group, called Save Our Shoreline, a countersuit by Phillips, and a sweep of city offices by four SOS candidates opposed to the plan: mayor Jim Fromm and councilmen Jim Michaud, Steve McCrea, and the late Bob Brown.

The “Gang of Four” instituted tight rules that would limit building heights on the shoreline — that is, until Duane Hagadone got their OK in the mid-1980s to transform the North Shore into his Resort. As part of a planned unit development, Hagadone agreed to build the boardwalk for public access.

In late 1985, after he was defeated for re-election, Fromm reminisced with this reporter in his office about shoreline protection and his tenure. The outgoing mayor could see construction workers across McEuen Park adding an 18-story tower to Bob Templin’s original seven-floor North Shore.

Fromm quipped, “We certainly saved the shoreline, didn’t we?”

In the 21st century, of course, downtown high-rises have been encouraged by city officials to attract year-round residents who would support nearby restaurants and businesses. McEuen Terrace, Parkside. One Lakeside. And, soon, The Thomas George. High-rises are sprouting like dandelions.

If you have a million bucks or two, you might see Lake Coeur d’Alene from your 10th-floor balcony.

Surname slip-up

In April 1997, Jim Lien was among the VIPs who slogged through mud to break ground on the future Woodland Middle School. In 18 months, he would be the school’s first principal.

But this Huckleberry isn’t about the retiree’s career 25 years ago. It’s about how the Lake City mispronounces his last name despite his decades as a local education leader — and his years playing bass guitar for the popular Rhythm Dawgs.

Jim’s daughter, Katie, provided a pronunciation guide at Lyfe coffee shop recently. The family’s surname isn’t pronounced “Leen,” as you might suspect. It’s pronounced “Lee-in,” Katie told Huckleberries, like “alien without the A.”

Says Katie: “Most people mispronounce it. Even some of our longest and dearest friends pronounce it ‘Leen’ (like a lien on a house).”

Not to worry. The “Lee-ins” are OK with those who mangle their name. Katie: “We don’t mind at all.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Enclosed for you herewith you’ll see/some dollars that once lodged with me./I send them each year without fail/so you won’t throw my (butt) in jail — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Dear Taxperson”).

• The late Larry Strobel was many things during his 84 spins around the sun: a fourth-generation resident, a mailman, founder of the Perfection-Nots marching band — and a Girl Scout. In April 1952, when Larry was 15, a smart-aleck columnist for the Coeur d’Alene High student newspaper joked: “Larry Strobel claims that he is a Girl Scout. He scouts around for girls.”

• KXLY chief meteorologist Kris Crocker spent Easter sans email after her phone was KO’d in a too close encounter with a car. She needed her phone for the two-step verification process to log onto email. But that wasn’t the worst of her trial. During her cell blackout, Kris lamented, she lost her Wordle winning streak, a record she describes as “impressive.”

• My Two Cents: The toxicity from CDA’s Far Righteous Moral Guardians was on display at the City Council meeting Tuesday. During the public-comment period, a censorious crank slimed two members of the Arts Commission as “Satanic artists.” Props to Councilwoman Christie Wood who called out the troll for his character assassinations.

• Has it really been 30 years since Publisher William Cowles III, 60, died while jogging? Bill’s death on April 18, 1992, sent shock waves through The Spokesman-Review newsroom. Bill launched “The Great North Idaho Newspaper War” on the cusp of 1980 by invading the Panhandle with a competitive staff. In 1994, son Stacey opened the SR building on Northwest Boulevard. The lights went out on the bureau and the shared Idaho dream of the Cowles Sept. 1, 2017.

• A Post Falls reader did a double take when she spotted the following vanity plate on a bronze Toyota Tundra: “FJB 46.” She didn’t get the meaning until she saw the “Let’s Go Brandon” sticker in the back window. Someone at the state DMV was snoozing when that one got through.

Parting Shot

Idaho winters have claimed another victim: Rebecca Cleveland-Schroeder. And the Reclaim Idaho activist wasn’t an Idaho newbie either. Rebecca was born 43 years ago in the Gem State. But she has fled to Arizona, where clean air and temperatures way north of 32 degrees have improved her overall health. The move also has worked well for her son, who has health issues. “The summers are glorious (in North Idaho), if you can see the sun through the wildfire smoke,” Rebecca told Facebook friends. She teased by adding a screen shot of the 10-day forecast for Tucson that shows six straight days of temps from 90 to 97 degrees. Sunny but not perfect. “My body is in Arizona, but my mind is still in Idaho,” she said. “I think it may always be.” As they say, you can take the girl out of Idaho, but …

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You can follow D.F. "Dave" Oliveria on Facebook and/or contact him at dfo@cdapress.com.