Global warming won't heat up in Bonner County until later this summer
The North Idaho Global Warming Conference has been postponed due to a lack of what is in the title of the conference. Please check back in August Š around the 13th.
It looks like we have turned the corner and even the permafrost piles in and around the county are shrinking because of the rain.
Attorney General Lawrence “Larry” Wasden has a way of making me feel old. Even though his official biography on the Idaho AG’s Web site fails to list his age, when I first met him in 2002 I had him pegged for his late 20s.
He has aged a lot in his six years in office, he now looks like he is in his early 30s. With a little research, including a receptionist at the AG’s office who snickered at my request when I asked his age and sent me to his media office for what apparently is a state secret.
I have found out he is 50, has four children and three grandchildren.
Now I really feel old Š
Our AG has done a wonderful job as the state’s 32nd Attorney General. What is really impressive is that he was traveling through the state and he isn’t even up for re-election.
He is definitely the “Peoples’ AG.”
He is beating the drum for consumers to be extra careful about giving up their personal information in these troubling economic times.
He shared several stories of people receiving calls from so-called jury foremen who are asking for Social Security numbers. Some people are giving up that information because they are worried about getting sideways with the law.
Also as devious are the scams from people purporting to represent mortgage foreclosure options. While some of these businesses are legitimate, Wasden warns many are not.
”If you are in need of help with your mortgage, the first step is to go back to your original lender,” he said.
Wasden says one of his other priorities is to keep the 127 attorneys in his department long enough for them to gain experience in all legal matters of the state.
The problem is with the exception of one attorney, each of the other 126 make less salary than the average Idaho attorney’s salary.
Turnover and a continual loss of experience keeps Wasden looking for new talent as well as in front of state leaders who ultimately control his purse strings.
Wasden is also helping Idaho’s economy by bringing the National Association of Attorneys General to Idaho in May. As president of the NAAG, he is tackling the issue of energy from a legal point of view and out of sight of politicians and special interests.
It’s easy to see why Wasden won re-election in 2006 with 62 percent of the vote. He’s ambitious, has Idaho’s best interests at heart and continues to reach out.
My prediction is that if he starts to look his age and perhaps grows some facial hair, a future Idaho governor or U.S. senator shook my hand as he left my office Tuesday.
Speaking of summer parties Š I came across a photo of a great summer party last August. I am running it as a reminder that summer is just around a snowy corner.
There are many great parties in and around Lake Pend Oreille in summer, but I have to believe Charles and Kathryn Rieger had the honor of having the most distinguished guest last year.
L. William Seidman, 85, is the chief commentator on CNBC and is publisher of Bank Director magazine. He serves on numerous boards. From 1985 to 1991, Seidman was the chairman of the FDIC under presidents Reagan and Bush. He also worked as President Reagan’s co-chair of the White House Conference on Productivity and President Ford’s Assistant of Economic Affairs.
“He’s a great man,” Charles Rieger said. “He made quite a statement when he was director of the FDIC and would ride his bike to work instead of being chauffeured.”
Seidman also started his own college in Grand Rapids, Mich.
It’s amazing who pops up on the radar screen in and around Sandpoint.
Here’s to summer parties. Although, I would just settle for summer.
From Bonner County Dispatch: “On April 20, deputies responded to a report of large cows with big horns on the roadway on Dufort Road.” Drivers were reportedly asked to steer clear in order to avoid an udder disaster.
David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.