;-) Good riddance, Boise Cascade

After years of polluting and profiting off the public environment, we won't miss ya. We don think you should have been forced to clean up on your way out.

:-( Egg-faced city councilors

Way to go city council members! You managed to completely miss the mark with your decision to amend city code to allow urban chickens. By requiring a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet you effectively cut off low-income families - the ones who could have benefited the most - from setting up a coop.

:-) A new leaf

Nursery sales are down, but we'd never know from the number of backyard gardens sprouting up throughout the city. For anyone who hasn't tried it yet, we encourage you to stop by a locally-owned gardening shop for tips and supplies to get started.

}:-( FDA accountability

Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration forced a recall of three Zicam cold remedies after users reported permanently losing their sense of smell. While homeopathic remedies, like Zicam, currently escape FDA certification, the larger problem with the agency is it's reliance on studies conducted by drug and food producers when granting approval. If it stands even a slim chance of making a buck, do you really think they're going to be honest about potential dangers?

:-) Same-sex marriage

Let's make this real easy. If it's so important to protect the sanctity of marriage, we vote to let the religions have it. From here on out, granting marriage is solely the realm of churches. Civil unions, and ALL the rights that come with it, are granted by the state. "Just Unionized" sounds like a celebratory cheer for employees of Wal-Mart and Starbucks, but we'd happily smear it on a car window with shoe polish just the same.