Thursday, August 03, 2006

Gorilla Warfare

The week has gotten away from me and I have yet to post a rant. Thursday's papers gave me all the fuel I needed and I haven't looked locally for some time.

My oh my, our 800 pound gorilla, the Emperor Duane Hagadone, is mad! The romance is over. The bloom is off the rose - or rather the Bloem. I love the temper tantrums that come our way when the Emperor doesn't get his way. True to form he's lashing out rather than looking within. Cheers to Mayor Bloem and Council members Kennedy, Hassel and Edinger for putting the brakes on the annexation of Blackwell Island. I have a couple of questions. Why do you "negotiate" annexations rather than stating the terms. And why does Council member McEvers not recuse himself from voting on any Hagadone issue if it be true Hagadone holds the lease on his restaurant? Is that not conflict of interest?

Having been well covered in both the Coeur d'Alene Press and the Spokesman Review I won't go into details. However, questions needed to be answered and were not. Rather than complying, Hagadone chose to demean the Mayor on a personal basis, to the press. This is so far beyond professional I find it deplorable. He claimed her vote was a personal vendetta. Excuse me? Is it not he who went to the press? And is it not he who has made the accusations? It's personal all right. He didn't get his way. And maybe, just maybe it's beginning to dawn on him his grip is loosening.

That brings me to developer Stone who, it would seem, aspires to be Mr. Hagadone's protege. His willingness to pick up the fees Hagadone evidently didn't want to pay leads one to wonder what quid pro quo he expected.

Two things are just sticking in my craw. If Mr. Hagadone has this $20 million he's determined to invest - if not the Gardens, Blackwell Island, why doesn't he just endow the Kroc Center or the Library? Why is he nitpicking over the width of the pathway and why did he stipulate a slip for "city only" owned patrol boat knowing full well the city doesn't own one. To give Mr. Stone some bargaining power?

The example of the way business is practiced by these developers smells. Don't worry about the bloom being off the rose Ms. Mayor - this isn't a botanical garden. It has a stench - like dead fish - or polluted silt.

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