Here's a news item from the Associated Press: LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) ― Officers in northern Idaho didn't have much trouble resolving a stolen vehicle case after the missing car drove by while police were taking a report from the owner. The Lewiston Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/NN5beq…
Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit a three-year low in July, falling two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.5 percent, the Idaho Department of Labor reports. Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point in July, to 8.3 percent. The Conference Board…
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and Congressman Mike Simpson are inviting the public to a discussion of the "fiscal cliff" and financial and debt issues facing the country, on Monday at the Idaho Statehouse. The discussion will feature Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has issued a statewide disaster declaration due to wildfires, allowing Idaho National Guard troops to be mobilized to help fight fires burning across the state. The declaration, signed yesterday, is for the next 30 days, but notes that it could be…
A new invasive insect has turned up in Ada and Kootenai counties, prompting warnings from the state Department of Agriculture. The Japanese beetle, a half-inch-long, shiny metallic-green bug with copper-brown wing covers, destroys trees, rose bushes, stone fruits, garden and field crops, and its larvae…
Here's how bad western wildfires are getting: Not only are dozens of homes burning in central Washington near Cle Elum and two towns preparing for evacuation in Idaho, but 250 rafters were stranded for up to two days on the Middle Fork of the Salmon…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Idaho plans to fly flags at state government buildings at half-staff through Sunday, to honor a firefighter and a soldier who were recently killed in the line of duty. Anne Veseth, a 20-year-old…
An eight-week ban on tents at the Occupy Boise vigil site on the grounds of the Capitol Annex in favor of lawn care has ended, but the tents haven't returned. Occupy members told the Associated Press they might wait until fall, as any tents erected…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Fire managers are trying to gather residents of two small central Idaho towns to discuss evacuation plans as the Trinity Ridge wildfire grows closer. The Great Basin National Incident Management Team announced that…
Wondering where the state's finances stand? The Division of Financial Management recently revised its fiscal year 2013 General Fund revenue forecast downward by $29.6 million to $2.6077 million; add that to the state's beginning balance for fiscal year '13, which started July 1, and there's…
Federal prosecutors are calling for Idaho Rep. Phil Hart's proposed bankruptcy plan to be dismissed, saying it's improper, it wouldn't appropriately satisfy his half-million-dollar federal income tax debt, and it relies on an income source that will disappear at the end of this year: His…
As gas prices shoot up dramatically across the nation, Idaho's escaped much of the latest jump, AAA Idaho reports, with Idaho's average gas price now sitting at $3.59 per gallon. That's 11 cents less than the national average, and 40 cents below the West Coast…
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that fugitive "sovereign citizen" movement leader Samuel Davis of Council, Idaho, who calls himself "I am: Sam" in court documents to symbolize his refusal to recognize the establishment, has been arrested in North Dakota. Davis, 57, faces nearly five years…
The death of 20-year-old U.S. Forest Service firefighter Anne Veseth of Moscow while fighting the Steep Corner fire near Orofino is highlighting the dangerous job crews face as at least a dozen blazes continue to burn across the state, the Associated Press reports. Veseth died…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) ― A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the University of Idaho by a student who fell from a fraternity house window in 2009. The Lewiston Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/MYkJv7 ) that 2nd…
One in six Idahoans now receives Social Security benefits, according to the Idaho AARP; the program marks its 77th anniversary tomorrow, amid debate about its future solvency. Idahoans collect $3.6 billion a year from Social Security, with the average monthly benefit check at $1,130, AARP…
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Stage 1 Air Quality Alert for 10 southern Idaho counties, including mandatory bans on all open burning. The counties affected are Ada, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Washington, Lemhi and Custer. The DEQ has also…
Here's an odd one from today's Boise Police crime report: A 27-year-old Boise man is facing extortion charges after he found a woman's lost phone over the weekend, then allegedly contacted her demanding payment or he'd sell it. The victim had lost her phone downtown…
An inmate at Idaho's Pocatello Women's Correctional Center apparently committed suicide yesterday; 51-year-old Cindy R. Jones was found hanging in a shower area at the women's prison at 4:38 p.m., and paramedics were unable to resuscitate her. It was the second suicide in two years…
Despite high hopes, Idaho's renewable energy sector has had a rough ride, reports the Associated Press, with major projects that the state enthusiastically touted ending up mothballed or killed, from Hoku Corp.'s $400 million Pocatello solar polysilicon plant to Micron Technology's solar energy venture, Transform…
For the dog days of summer, there was a fair amount of news happening in Boise last week while I was off on vacation. Here are some highlights: * Public records revealed that the state has sent another $15,760 payment to the private law firm…
I'm headed off for a week's vacation; I'll be back on Monday, Aug. 13th and catch up then. (Yes, I'm changing the vacation photos every day or two; you can see more here). Let me know what I miss, and have a great week...
Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce President Kate McAlister wasn't expecting it when a woman in her 60s walked up to her at a community function, hugged her and started crying. "She said, 'I want you to know that because of what you did, for the first…
Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey reports today that the controversial practice of appointing just independents and Republicans - and no Democrats - to some state boards that are required to not be dominated by members of one party has been placed in jeopardy, because the…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Former Republican U.S. Sen. Larry Craig aims to scuttle federal campaign charges against him by arguing his infamous July 11, 2007 Minneapolis airport bathroom visit that ended in his sex-sting arrest was part…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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