Gov. Butch Otter has named Dustin Miller head of his Office of Species Conservation; Miller has been acting administrator in the office since former head Nate Fisher resigned in March. Miller, who holds a degree in environmental science from the University of Idaho, previously served…
Idaho's 2nd District congressional candidates are raising big bucks for their campaigns, Boise State Public Radio reports today, with Democratic challenger Nicole LeFavour raising $156,016 so far for her run, and incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Simpson taking in $955,982. BSU radio reports that LeFavour has…
9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge N. Randy Smith has been inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame, which was established in 1995 to recognize those, living or dead, who have "advanced the common good of the state of Idaho." A display in the lower-level…
As Idaho moves toward transferring hundreds of state-owned cabin sites on scenic Priest Lake to private owners through land exchanges or auctions, the state wants to protect the value of the land - and nearby state endowment land - through restrictive covenants. Most Priest Lake…
The state of Idaho's legal bill for fighting the wrongful termination lawsuit from former Transportation Director Pam Lowe: $540,479 and counting. Information obtained under the Idaho Public Records Law shows that's how much the state has paid the Boise law firm of Holland & Hart…
Gov. Butch Otter is sporting a shiner today, after a tree limb he was cutting over the weekend snapped back and hit him in the face. "With those windstorms that came through, I can't tell you how many trees I've lost," Otter said. "It was…
The Idaho Department of Correction has signed a contract with Corrections Corp. of America to pay the private prison firm more than $4.8 million in the current fiscal year to house Idaho inmates at a private lockup in Colorado, the Associated Press reports. With the…
First it was Boise (by the fairgrounds); now Canyon County's got 'em too - mosquitoes that test positive for West Nile Virus. The new batch to test positive came from a trap in south Nampa near the Shaffer's Access to the East Side Recreation Area…
Former Idaho Transportation Director Pam Lowe, contacted at her new job in Delaware, said of her settlement with the state of Idaho in her wrongful-firing lawsuit, "All I can tell you is this has been resolved, and I'm pleased with the resolution. ... I can't…
The state of Idaho has settled a lawsuit filed by fired former Transportation Director Pam Lowe, who charged she was illegally let go for standing up to political pressure and was discriminated against because she was female. Lowe was the Idaho Transportation Department's first female…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Idaho has reached a $1.7 million settlement with a pharmaceutical company over allegations of excessive wholesale prices paid by the state's Medicaid program. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced the deal Monday with Watson…
State Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, refused to answer numerous questions about his finances in a meeting Friday with creditors in his bankruptcy case, a move attorneys called unprecedented and likely to imperil his case in court. An attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has named the 26 members of two working groups he's appointing to explore issues surrounding a state health insurance exchange and a possible Medicaid expansion under the national health care reform law; state Health & Welfare Director Dick Armstrong will chair…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Idaho is further from its goal of doubling college completion rates by 2020, even as more people earn degrees nationwide. The U.S. Department of Education released numbers Thursday showing 39.3 percent of adults…
The first West Nile virus in Idaho mosquitoes has been found in mosquitoes in a trap near the Expo Idaho fairgrounds, prompting a warning from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare. This is much earlier than last year, when the first West Nile didn't…
Two peregrine falcon chicks born in a nest high atop a downtown Boise office tower fledged this morning, the Peregrine Fund reports, testing their wings between 6 and 7 a.m. today. The young birds are doing well, and a third is thinking about following them.…
That 2,000-acre wildfire that was set off this week by a car accident on I-84 south of Boise? Turns out the driver was a 19-year-old woman fleeing the destructive Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs, who had loaded her most-valued possessions into her car -…
Gov. Butch Otter is lauding the state's year-end financial position, saying, “I’m grateful that Idaho’s economy continues to improve and that more Idahoans are finding work.” Otter also says he doesn't consider the state's year-end excess revenue, compared to its projections, to be a surplus,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― Idaho ended the 2012 fiscal year with more revenue than forecast in January, allowing the state to replenish reserves to nearly $90 million after draining the rainy day funds since the economy soured…
Ken Roberts, a farmer and former school board member from Donnelly, says he's "willing to dig in and learn" as a new full-time state tax commissioner. He'll be one of four members of the Tax Commission; the others are former state Sen. David Langhorst, D-Boise,…
When current House Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, leaves the House and instead becomes a state tax commissioner on Monday, he'll leave behind what's shaping up to be a battle for leadership in the House GOP caucus. Late yesterday, Roberts acknowledged that he had…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has named state Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, to the Idaho State Tax Commission, a full-time post; Roberts is currently the House majority caucus chairman. Roberts will resign from the House and begin his new job on Monday. Roberts will fill out…
The Treasure Valley's air quality has gotten so bad - with an orange air quality alert issued by the state DEQ - that tonight's scheduled k.d. lang concert at the Eagle River Pavilion has been canceled. CTTouring announced the cancellation "due to the poor air…
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, the Grill at 8th and Main, offices of the Holland & Hart law firm, 1st American Title, the Idaho Fitness Factory and more will join the Idaho headquarters of Zion's Bank in a new 18-story office tower to rise at the corner…
S-R columnist Shawn Vestal has a provocative column today entitled, "Why defend an anonymous troll's right to insult?" in which he takes on the free-speech arguments in the current case involving an anonymous Huckleberries Online commenter whom the Spokesman-Review is being ordered by a court…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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