This morning's state Land Board agenda included a recommendation to approve a stipulation to settle the title for some property on the shore of Payette Lake on which a 1942 deed had incorrectly identified the property lines, including part of the lakebed, which the state owns. The owner, who acquired the property in 1981, filed a "quiet title" action, resulting in the stipulation to make the correction. But when it came time to vote, Gov. Butch Otter, who chairs the Land Board, said, "For the record, the chairman will not vote." Secretary of State Ben Ysursa responded, "I had a hunch."

The property owner? Otter's ex-wife, Gay Simplot.