On tonight’s “Idaho Reports” program on Idaho Public Television, I join Jim Weatherby, Mike Ferguson, and hosts Melissa Davlin and Aaron Kunz for a discussion of the events of the legislative session’s third week, from budgets to listening sessions to candidate announcements; also, Davlin and…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gun-rights advocates are resurrecting a measure aiming to allow concealed weapons on Idaho university campuses. A bill is up for consideration Monday in the Senate State Affairs Committee. In 2011, that panel's members…
Randy Jensen formally announced his candidacy for state Superintendent of Schools today as a Republican; from the state Capitol steps, the longtime middle school principal and former Fulbright scholar said, “I will make decisions based solely on what’s best for kids in Idaho. … Now…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Three current workers and one former worker at Idaho's largest private prison are suing their employer, Corrections Corporation of America, in state court over what they say is a dangerous work environment. Mark…
From 2007 to 2012, traffic crashes in Idaho dropped by 18 percent, according to research by Scott Stokes, deputy director of the Idaho Transportation Department, while fatalities and serious injuries on Idaho’s roads fell 25 percent. “That is saving the lives of approximately 80 people…
Click below for a full report from AP reporter John Miller on the concerns raised at a Statehouse public hearing today about Optum, the private contractor that the state Department of Health & Welfare is paying $10.5 million a month to administer outpatient behavioral health…
Idaho Public Television now gets 62 percent of its operating budget from private donations, General Manager Ron Pisaneschi told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today. “High-quality programming translates into higher than average contributions levels,” he said. “We are doing considerably better than our peers.” Compared to…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge says a Boise-area hospital violated federal antitrust laws when it purchased Idaho's largest independent physicians' practice. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill made the ruling Friday, ordering St. Luke's Health…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said the current federal lawsuit challenging Idaho’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is the reason he believes this year is not the time for a hearing on the “Add the Words” bill. “Why do they want to float something…
Backers of the “Add the Words” legislation, to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act to ban discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, announced today that GOP leaders in both houses have informed them there will be…
Close to 30 people testified at today’s Health & Welfare listening hearing, and complaints about Health & Welfare behavioral health contractor Optum topped the list of concerns. “We had a client burn his family’s house down,” Nikki Tangen told lawmakers. “We can’t call Optum and…
Jim Baugh, executive director of Disability Rights Idaho, told the House and Senate Health & Welfare Committees today that legislation is needed to correct an unintended situation in which people with developmental disabilities are being pushed out of the supports they need to work. “What’s…
Complaints about Optum, an Idaho Health & Welfare contractor for outpatient behavioral health under Medicaid, have continued to mount at this morning’s public hearing on Health & Welfare issues. Doug Loertscher, who owns and operates two mental health agencies in Boise and Nampa, said contacting…
In continuing testimony at the Health & Welfare listening session in the Lincoln Auditorium this morning, more than a dozen people have spoken so far. They’ve pleaded for expansion of Medicaid in Idaho; highlighted perverse incentives in current policies for developmental disability services that are…
Ian James Bott was the first to testify at the listening session on Health & Welfare issues. A 30-year-old college student with autism, he spoke of how he had to pay out of pocket for extensive dental work, including a bridge. “I’m hoping that people…
A crowd is gathering in the Lincoln Auditorium this morning for a “listening session” on Health & Welfare issues; the public is invited to speak, with testimony limited to 3 minutes apiece; both the House and Senate Health & Welfare committees will be listening. On…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
