Idaho officials concede the five-year, $2.1 million annual contract the state Department of Education signed Wednesday with a Tennessee company to install Wi-Fi service in public high schools may cost more per-school than deals districts negotiate on their own, the AP reports, but they insist…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Lottery officials say a ticket sold in Bonneville County in southeastern Idaho has won $1 million in Wednesday's Powerball drawing. It is the third time in five drawings that a ticket sold…
A 20-year-old Eagle man is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after being convicted of obstruction of justice in Florida in connection with wildlife from the Florida Keys illegally purchased for display at the Idaho Aquarium in Boise. Federal authorities say Peter Covino…
Idaho state schools chief Tom Luna on today defiantly issued a 5- to 15-year contract to a Nashville, Tenn. firm to run WiFi networks in Idaho high schools, dismissing criticism from lawmakers that they never authorized the multi-year contract, and passing over two home-grown Idaho…
Idaho State Department of Education spokeswoman Melissa McGrath said today that there are several reasons the department decided to set up its long-term WiFi contract for Idaho high schools with the vendors keeping ownership of all the equipment they install, meaning if the contract ends,…
The big wireless contract awarded to Education Networks of America this afternoon – to provide WiFi in every Idaho high school at a cost to the state of up to $35.5 million over the next 15 years – is a “standard practice” approach, the State…
Idaho state schools Superintendent Tom Luna has awarded a multimillion-dollar wireless contract to Education Networks of America, choosing the Nashville, Tenn. firm to provide WiFi in every Idaho high school for up to the next 15 years; the contract could cost the state up to…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho water quality regulators must go back to the drawing board after the federal Environmental Protection Agency rejected a rule that allowed some pollution to be discharged into state waterways without a review.…
I’ve had lots of readers asking me if there are any ties between Idaho state schools Superintendent Tom Luna and the companies bidding on the multimillion-dollar WiFi contract for Idaho high schools, which could run up to 15 years and cost the state up to…
Idaho schools Superintendent Tom Luna still plans to go ahead with awarding a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract for high school WiFi today, according to his spokeswoman, Melissa McGrath. “I hope it’s today – we’re just finalizing it, but hopefully within the next couple of hours,” McGrath…
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, says Idaho needs to be taking stock of what it already has as far as technology in its schools, in order to sensibly plan for additions. “A majority of legislators agree that we need our public K-12 schools and all of…
The board overseeing Idaho's health insurance exchange plans a 3-hour, 40-minute meeting behind a downtown Boise law office's closed doors where citizens will be barred Thursday — nearly twice as long as a public meeting scheduled later that day, AP reporter John Miller reports. Click…
Ron Pisaneschi, a 28-year veteran of Idaho Public Television, has been named its new general manager by the State Board of Education, to succeed Peter Morrill, who is retiring; Pisaneschi will start Aug. 5. “Idaho PTV is fortunate to have someone with Ron’s passion for…
Some lawmakers are questioning why a statewide contract would even be needed to install WiFi at Idaho high schools, rather than just giving the money to local school districts and letting them hire local providers to put in their wireless systems, which the districts then…
Here are a few more tidbits about the 15-year wireless contract that state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna is scheduled to award today: The RFP calls for a fixed price for the first five years, then allows for up to a 5 percent increase for…
Idaho state schools chief Tom Luna is about to sign a 15-year, multimillion-dollar sole-source contract for a private firm to set up WiFi networks in every high school in the state – even though the Legislature never approved the move, and legislative leaders who learned…
Idaho’s new “star ratings” for schools are the crucial report card that determines whether a school is meeting standards or not, and Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert reports that nearly 160 Idaho schools are appealing their ratings this year. About 650 schools receive star…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The city of Boise is getting about 200 new parking meters designed to prevent people from parking on someone else's dime. The Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/16V2HDm) reports the city is installing about 200 new…
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson put forth an appropriations bill today that would slash the EPA’s budget by $2.9 billion next year, a 35 percent cut that would drop the agency to a funding level below what it had in 1978 and block the Obama Administration’s…
Idaho GOP Sen. Mike Crapo and Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet have gotten a provision added to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill designed to prompt FEMA to prioritize wildfire prevention. The bill directs FEMA to develop a report identifying any funding obstacles and…
The Huffington Post has a story on Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador today, centering on speculation that he could run for governor of Idaho, challenging GOP Gov. Butch Otter. Labrador didn't comment, telling the HuffPost reporter, "You know, I don't talk about that. It's going to…
Idaho has so far balked at expanding Medicaid coverage for more low-income residents, part of President Barack Obama's insurance overhaul left optional for states by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare doesn't want to get caught flat-footed, just in…
Faced with the hot, dry and smoky weekend forecast for Boise, I fled to the west, trading that for warm, dry, and very, very windy in the Columbia River Gorge. It’s such a delicious reprieve that I’m extending my weekend for a day so I…
A tight deadline to get Idaho's health insurance exchange running means its designers are aiming for a streamlined, straightforward web site to greet consumers when they log in for the first time come Oct. 1, the date enrollment begins as part of President Barack Obama's…
A DC-10 jet fire retardant bomber flew into Idaho as part of an aggressive early attack on a pair of wildfires that have forced evacuations at two campgrounds and a Boy Scout camp, the AP reports. Paul Sever of the Central Idaho Fire Center said…