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Eye On Boise

Catching up on the news…

Here’s a roundup of some of last week’s news developments while I was gone:

HEALTH GAP: The Idaho Legislature’s interim working group on the state’s health insurance coverage gap met on Thursday, and heard from an array of presenters, including Idaho doctors, health officials and others who presented data on the benefits to the state of closing the gap, and one Maine state health official who spoke against Medicaid expansion. Alec Porteous, a finance officer for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said his state, which hasn’t expanded Medicaid, has faced rising health care costs; its legislature has repeatedly passed Medicaid expansion while its governor has vetoed it. Porteous said much of his data had been prepared by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a free-market advocacy group founded by a former Maine legislator that seeks to block Medicaid expansion.

The committee meets again Aug. 29. Idaho Statesman reporter Bill Dentzer has a report here on Thursday’s meeting; there’s also more info online here, including full presentations from the meeting.

BOARD OF ED: The state Board of Education met in Pocatello, and among its decisions was a 4-4 vote against a proposal from the University of Idaho to continue to allow alcohol for tailgaters in parking lots adjacent to the Kibbie Dome before Vandal football games. The board’s vote means UI tailgating now must be dry. The board also approved a five-year contract that will shift pouring rights for non-alcoholic drinks at UI for the next five years from Pepsi products to Coke.

The state board also approved a 40-year lease between Idaho State University and the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine, a new for-profit medical school that will be built on ISU’s Meridian campus.

SCIENCE STANDARDS: New K-12 science standards that state lawmakers rejected this year – which include for the first time references to global warming and the Big Bang theory – won't be submitted to the Legislature again until 2018, the AP reported. State officials said they won’t be ready in time for the 2017 legislative session. There’s more info here; Idaho’s school science standards haven’t changed since 2006.

KRISTIN WINS GOLD: Boisean Kristin Armstrong won a third straight gold medal in the Olympic time trial cycling event in Rio on Wednesday. The win, which came a day before her 43rd birthday, makes her the only cyclist — male or female — to win three consecutive golds in the same discipline. Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said the city is planning a welcome-home celebration.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM: Also on Wednesday, evangelist Franklin Graham prayed with thousands at a rally on the steps of the Idaho state Capitol, with the crowd estimated at 3,800. He encouraged Christians to get out and vote. KBOI2 News has a full report here.

ENERGY SUMMIT: A two-day Intermountain Energy Summit wrapped up Wednesday in Idaho Falls with a focus on the need for clean energy innovations in the face of climate change. Speakers included Gov. Butch Otter and GOP Congressman Mike Simpson; the Post Register has a full report here. Among Otter’s comments, referring to Idaho winters: “I remember when it was colder than a dead Eskimo. So yes, it’s changed.”

FOOTHILLS AIRSTRIP REJECTED: Ada County commissioners rejected a plan for a private airstrip in the Boise foothills north of Table Rock; the city of Boise and two conservation groups had filed an appeal. Opponents cited concerns about wildfire risk and impacts to wildlife and the surrounding environment; the Idaho Statesman has a full report here.

OTTER HIRES DC LAW FIRM: Idaho EdNews reported Tuesday that Gov. Butch Otter has hired a Washington, D.C. law firm as the state scrambles to secure nearly $2 million in federal “e-rate” funding for Idaho schools; it’s one of the many remaining pricey complications from the failure of the Idaho Education Network. EdNews reported that Otter will pay the firm up to $7,500; the full report is online here.

RISCH SPEAKS ON CIVILITY: And on Monday, Idaho GOP Sen. Jim Risch spoke to the Boise City Club on civility, as part of the club’s year-long civility project. I have yet to find any news reports about what the senator said, but the City Club has more info about the session on its website here, and Chuck Malloy has a column here at Idaho Politics Weekly.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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