Bloglander

Final five It’s not everyday that “five people got fired” is considered good news. But when 71 city employees were told they would lose their job in September, not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-could-have-been is a major success story. (SR)

Steal this bear There are many things that are tempting to steal form a pawn shop. But thieves at Northwest Christian Thrift Store decided the bear skin rug was their path to material satisfaction. Apparently the Siberian tiger rug was being watched too closely. (KXLY)

Make a wish (for your parents) One of the most fun parts of Christmas, of course, is the buying of gifts for others, instead of getting gifts yourself (unless you get LEGOs.) A program called “Santa’s Workshop” lets sick kids at Sacred Heart Medical Center shop for their siblings. (KREM)

Look, a lot of lake Your polar bear plunge run is that much shorter. Lake Coeur d’Alene is at its highest level since 1995, due to high levels of snowfalls in June. (CDAP)

I hear Las Vegas’s recession is nice this time of year The state of Nevada grew by a startling 35 percent this year. That, of course, is one of the reasons why the housing market in this country collapsed. People surefire-bet big, and busted. Thanks, Nevada. (NYT)