Here's my full story from spokesman.com: By Betsy Z. Russell BOISE – Idaho’s religious exemption from charges of child abuse, neglect, child injury and manslaughter, passed in the 1970s to accommodate faith-healing groups, came under close scrutiny at a legislative hearing Thursday. “The religious exemption...
The Idaho Legislature’s interim working group on faith healing and children at risk wrapped up its meeting after powerful testimony from an array of presenters today, from an Ada County prosecutor who told of children suffering needlessly and prosecutors unable to act, to a faith-healing…
Dan Sevy, a member of the Followers of Christ and a practitioner of faith healing, told lawmakers today, “I want to point out that we believe in freedom of health care. Not free health care, but freedom of choice in health care.” Sevy, who lives...
Sara Walton Brady told the legislative panel on faith healing and children at risk that she believes her little sister, Mariah Walton, has been falsely portrayed as a victim of faith healing. She said her parents believed in treatment by natural herbs, and if they’d…
Linda Martin spoke quietly to state lawmakers today, a stack of coroner’s reports at the ready. “I represent myself and the children in my family that have passed away from what I believe is medical neglect,” she said. “I’ve been asking the state Legislature for…
Prosecutor Jean Fisher told lawmakers, “I’m asking you to look at this from a different perspective, because I think this is about the rights of children.” Fisher, who spoke on behalf of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association as well as the Ada County prosecuting attorney’s…
Jean Fisher, special crimes unit chief for the Ada County prosecutor’s office – a position she’s held for more than 20 years – just shared three tragic stories with lawmakers about children denied medical care by their parents on religious grounds. One involved a 16-year-old…
Roxanne Printz of the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare described for lawmakers how the department handles child protection cases. It received 22,000 calls in 2015, she said, and responded to 8,500 of those. About half of those were “coded as neglect,” she said. They...
State lawmakers are questioning Mary Jo Beig, an attorney with the Idaho Attorney General’s office, about how Idaho’s faith-healing exemption from child protection laws works. She offered an example: Two families who have a child with a broken femur that needs to be set. Both...
Mary Jo Beig, an attorney with the Idaho Attorney General’s office who has dealt with child protection matters since 1991, is now briefing lawmakers about Idaho’s child protection laws and religious exemptions. “The religious exemption is the only place in the child protective act that...
As this morning’s legislative committee hearing on faith healing and children at risk opened, Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, the panel’s co-chair, said, “To me, the issue is really about balancing interests, those of the state and those of the parents. I think that’s very key.”...
Here’s the agenda for today’s legislative working group meeting on faith healing and children at risk; the meeting runs from 9 a.m. to noon in room EW 42 of the state Capitol. It will be live-streamed...
A few tidbits from 1st District GOP Congressman Raul Labrador’s appearance in Eagle today: When a constituent told Labrador, a tea party conservative, that she never watches Fox News, Labrador responded, “I actually watch CNN more than any other, because I don’t want one side...
Interestingly, the Eagle café where GOP Rep. Raul Labrador met with an overflow crowd of constituents today, Wild West Bakery & Espresso, is owned by a former Democratic candidate for the same congressional seat the Labrador holds today. Naomi Preston, who also is a champion...
A constituent wearing a “Promise Keepers” shirt questioned Rep. Raul Labrador today about allowing Muslim refugees into the United States, saying he read the Koran after the 9/11 attacks, and then quoting extensively from it, including, “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them.” Labrador had this...
A federal judge has declared invalid the U.S. Forest Service's approval of a gold mining company's plan to reopen a 4-mile road in a central Idaho wilderness and drill core samples to find out if two of its claims are profitable enough to be mined. U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill in a ruling Tuesday said the agency violated...
Ada County is starting its transition to a new iCourt electronic court case management system today, and officials are warning of delays between now and Aug. 8 when the new system will be up and running. The system first rolled out in Twin Falls County…
A North Idaho woman who recently traveled to Mexico was infected with Zika virus, which can cause severe birth defects if the infection occurs in pregnant women. The woman, who was over the age of 60, is the first reported case of Zika virus infection…
Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador today blamed the “establishment in Washington” for the defeat of his ally and fellow Freedom Caucus member Tim Huelskamp, who lost his re-election bid in a Republican primary in Kansas yesterday. Labrador, speaking at a “Conversations with the Congressman” meeting at...
Firefighters are setting up sprinkler systems to protect buildings in the central Idaho town of Lowman as a wildfire on Wednesday expanded to 75 square miles. Officials say slightly cooler weather and winds from the northwest should help firefighters trying to prevent flames from reaching...
The Idaho Civility Summit wrapped up on a positive note today, with participants including elected officials, civic leaders and members of the press backing several moves to enhance civil discourse in the state, from education and training in the schools to formation of more City Clubs around the state...
Idaho health officials have released a list of providers that offer free ultrasounds for women seeking abortions as required under a newly enacted law. The 11 ultrasound providers that requested to be included on the list primarily are crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion; none offer abortion referrals...
Newly released emails show the Army was concerned that comments from U.S. Sen. John McCain could hurt Idaho Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s right to a fair military trial on charges of leaving his post in Afghanistan, the AP reports, and Bergdahl’s defense is arguing it’s grounds…
Though Idaho prides itself on its “famous potatoes,” the potato originated and was first domesticated in the Andean Highlands of Peru. That’s why the International Potato Center, known by its Spanish acronym CIP, is located in Lima, Peru. Now, the Capital Press reports, the University…
Boise is now the second-fastest growing construction job market in the country, the Associated General Contractors announced today, and the construction industry is starting to have a hard time finding qualified workers. “Your construction employment has grown by two-thirds in the last five years,” Brian…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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