Bloglander

$12 million under our car seats? The Spokane City Council on Monday looked for spare shekels to fix the budget shortfall. And they are looking at your car — considering a tax on parking stalls and a possible $20 license tab fee. (SR)

Gulp! Tiny town annexes huge development Like a mouse that's swallowed an elephant, the Coeur d'Alene lakeshore town of Harrison, population 300, voted to annex the huge Powderhorn Ranch development's 2,000 acres and proposed 1,300 homes. (CdA Press) 

Gettin' some steam with that shot A North Spokane coffee shop is perking up some trouble now that the baristas are working in bikinis and tall boots, a look that one customer says might as well be espresso porn. Helpfully, KREM has posted 26 pictures. (KREM)

And, speaking of skin shots The new body scanners that take a peep under your clothes are now up and running at the airport. (KXLY)

Alaska plane crash The former head of NASA and former Republican Sen. Ted Stevens are believed to have been on a plane that crashed Monday near Bristol Bay. (BBC)

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"There's not a musician in this town that doesn't know that man," Steve Lyons, a longtime friend of Pieroni's who called to give us the band news, says. "I wasn't a musician — I was a friend of his. If I went out with John, there was not a place I could go where people didn't say 'Hey John, how you doin?'"

"He's just one of those guys."

Memorial services for Jon Pieroni will be held later this month, with a tribute show at Bluz at the Bend on Aug. 22 (details to come). Cary Fly, another longtime Spokane musician, started a Facebook page titled Jon Pieroni News. That page — which includes nearly 100 photos of Pieroni and is overflowing with thoughts on the man — can be viewed here. 

As we've learned with bands like Jucifer, the White Stripes, Juanita & the Rabbit, Black Cobra — there's a lot of noise that can be made by a duo. And John Calvin is no exception to that rule. Far from their home of Shreveport, La., JOHN CALVIN is a two-man-band that couples a talk-yell style (think Steve Albini on Shellac's Terraform) with droning guitars and heavy-on-the-crash-cymbal drums. They make songs with titles like "Pretty, Pretty Princess Has a Pit Stain." Awesome.

BELUGA — the occasional side project of locals Aaron Powell and Bob Homburg (Belt of Vapor) — show their power as a duo alongside John Calvin.

And, lastly, not a duo but still awesome: PIGS. The Oakland, Calif., band hammers out blues-metal riffs, sliding sometimes toward sludge-metal. A band that would make both Fu Manchu skater-types and Hank III fans happy (see video below). MOOTSY'S. 10 pm. $5. Gotta be 21.

For something a little more varied and a little less metal, head on over to Empyrean for the first round of SPOKANE'S GOT TALENT. Yes, Spokane's version of the top reality show America's Got Talent is in it's second year. Organizers say that they expect about 40 performers to try out tonight, and 40 more this Saturday. Expect everything from mariachi bands to ventriloquists. EMPYREAN. 6 pm. Free. All-ages. 

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Kirsten Harrington was the quickest of those. You can read her account in The Inlander on Thursday. In the meantime, sate yourself with some menu goodness. (The menu has nearly 100 items. Click here to download the whole thing.)

Oh, and also: Go to the place, for God's sake. We've had Indian downtown before. It didn't work out so well. So patronize. We don't want Taaj going the way of Bombay Palace. 

We don't really know when this video was shot or what event it took place at. Regardless, I just can't get enough of the look on Sarah Palin's face when she hears this heckler is a school teacher. Also, please stop talking Bristol Palin.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of Bloglander, to the first edition of City Hall Eyeball, our weekly round-up of what's happening in government meetings around the region.

I know, I know. B-O-R-I-N-G. But don't fret. With a little bit of love and a crap-ton of sarcasm, government proceedings can be really, super not-boring.

For instance, this evening the Spokane City Council will discuss putting a new tax on vehicle license tabs to help plug the $12 million hole in the city's budget. Councilman Bob Apple, who will propose the fee, as well as sending it straight to the voters this November, will begin the bidding at $20. CanIget$25canIget$25? Going once...

In today's Spokesman, Apple says a little bird told him some of his peers on the council might consider an $85 fee. Sold! 

Expect ever-present council stalwarts Henry Valder and George McGrath to moan at the podium about this tax. And then expect Council President Joe Shogan to finally put the meeting out of its misery at the midnight hour.

And as part of its "consent agenda" — which means they'll vote once on a bunch of items — the council will vote to build trailheads on either end of the Ben Burr Trail, recommend three properties for the Spokane Register of Historic Places and decide whether Rocketman Pyros can fire fuselages off the fourth floor of the Red Lion Inn at the Park at 9:45 pm on August 27.

Busy, busy. 

Any tips on hot tips about proceedings around the region? Write to nickd[at]inlander[dot]com. 

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Republican John Ahern, currently up against two foes in his quest to retake Washington's 6th District Legislative seat, has his lawn signs out in full force. But a quick glance at one of them on the way into work provided evidence he may not be as hardcore a conservative as he likes to think he is.

Though a steadfast denier of human-affected global warming (telling the Spokesman-Review it's responsible for "less than one-half of 1 percent," though what that percentage was or referred to was left unclear), Ahern appears to be re-using the signs from (one of) his earlier re-election campaigns, merely taping over the "Re" part of "Re-elect John Ahern."

Whether these signs were stored by Ahern himself or just the person who planted them in the front lawn, it's clear that, knowingly or not, someone's doing their part to save the planet (even if it saves money, too). John Ahern: Accidental Environmentalist.

Note: From a semantics standpoint, the signs don't even need to be taped over. Since Ahern was in fact elected at one point, you could still advocate for his re-election; though implied, the word does not require concurrent terms of service.

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Today's opening will close the book on a few frustrating chapters in the annals of liquor license compliance for the bar. Back in mid-June we reported on some issues the state had with "forkable dishes." That drama was resolved at the beginning of June, with Johnson saying then that it would take 2-4 weeks to get the joint opened. They pushed the outer edge of their timeline but that extra time seems to have been spent in glorious thankful revelry. The bar hosted a private party last night for people who helped make Bon Bon a reality.

Johnson, who most recently tended bar at Mizuna (but has worked at half a dozen bars around Spokane), has a laudable take on cocktails: begin with classic flavors and give them a contemporary twist. That's a sensibility we can definitely get behind — three or four or five times in the course of an evening. Then we'll call a cab.

Another cop struck A Spokane police officer on his way to help chase a stolen vehicle fractured his neck when his vehicle was struck by that of a 19-year-old woman, who may have been drunk. (KXLY)

Former West aide back in trouble TJ Sneed, a 27-year-old former legislative candidate and aide to Jim West is in trouble over a North Idaho condo development, four years after being convicted of fraud in federal court. (SR) 

Tab fees? The Spokane City Council will consider tonight whether to levy a fee on license plate tabs to help bridge a budget gap. (SR)

Baker talks After maintaining silence during KREM's investigations into whistleblower cases at his office, Spokane County Assessor Ralph Baker finally talks to Randy Shaw. (KREM)