Gov. Butch Otter will give his State of the State and budget address to a joint session of the Idaho Legislature starting at 1 p.m. today to lay out his agenda for the legislative session, speaking in the House chambers. I'll be live-blogging; check back...
Idaho law enforcement, refugee resettlement and faith leaders have scheduled a competing session for Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol entitled, “Meet Your Neighborhood Refugee,” at the same time that two anti-Islamic speakers, Shahram Hadian and Christopher Holton, will be speaking in…
The Idaho Republican Party’s central committee, at its winter meeting over the weekend, voted to do away with a 2011 party rule that required all candidates to vow compliance with every plank of the party platform, and required the party chairman to monitor that compliance…
When the Idaho Legislature convenes Monday, it will face a push-pull between two competing goals for the session: a desire for a quick, “all business” session that wraps up well before the May primary election, versus a desire to roll out hot-button issues on which…
State Labor Director Ken Edmunds’ remarks to a legislative committee last week that Idaho is losing half its college graduates within four years after graduation – likely due to low pay – are explored in my Sunday column, along with the hiring of Idaho’s new…
During the Idaho legislative session, one thing keeps me sane: Skiing on the weekends up at Bogus Basin. So what better way to prepare for the upcoming State of the State than a weekend on the slopes? There was a Saturday of superb conditions, on-trail...
Tonight’s “Idaho Reports” tackles public land management and the disputes that that led to the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, in a discussion featuring co-host Melissa Davlin, Rebecca Boone of the Associated Press, Frankie Barnhill of Boise State Public Radio and…
Texas Tech University President M. Duane Nellis will step down this month but remain on the faculty. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in December reported that Nellis told students, faculty and staff at the school that working in a chancellor-led system was "more challenging" than he thought...
Lawmakers on the joint Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee are meeting all day today in the Lincoln Auditorium, hearing reports on various sectors of Idaho’s economy as they examine revenues available for the state budget in the coming year. Jon Ness, CEO of Kootenai...
Expo Idaho, home of the Western Idaho Fair in Ada County, has put a moratorium on gun shows, the Idaho Statesman reports today, after two accidental firearm discharges at gun shows there in the past three years. This weekend’s Lewis Clark Trader gun show will...
An Uzbek refugee authorities say intended to kill personnel at a military base or civilians at crowded Fourth of July celebrations in downtown Boise, Idaho, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Fazliddin Kurbanov received the sentence Thursday; he will also face deportation proceedings…
Rep. Neil Anderson, R-Blackfoot, has wrapped up the state worker pay hearing this afternoon after extended comments from former state Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, now the director of the state Department of Insurance; Cameron said his agency struggles to keep key workers and fill positions....
More than 30 state employees have submitted written testimony to the joint legislative committee on Change in Employee Compensation; that’s in addition to a half-dozen or so who have signed up to testify in person this afternoon. First up today was Stacy Pearson, vice president...
After hearing various presentations about state employee compensation today, the joint legislative committee on Change in Employee Compensation is running about 10 minutes late; it's just gone on a 10-minute break, and then when it returns, will begin taking public testimony. A new state report…
The Legislature’s Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee heard a rather startling statistic this afternoon from state Department of Labor Director Ken Edmunds: Idaho is losing half of its college graduates within four years of their graduation. “We’re only retaining 50 percent of our college...
Both of Idaho’s federal magistrate judges, Ronald E. Bush and Candy Wagahoff Dale, have been reappointed to the federal court for a second eight-year term, the court announced today. The reappointments followed a review process by a merit review panel, as required by federal law,…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal today for a new $30 million program to provide basic preventive medical care to the estimated 78,000 Idahoans who now fall into the “gap” population, making too much to qualify…
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said he’s been involved in meetings over the summer to try to find a compromise between the “Add the Words” proposal to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and concerns about religious liberty. “I...
Though minority leaders have some reservations, Gov. Butch Otter’s proposed new $30 million Primary Care Access Program is drawing support overall from legislative leaders. “Not doing anything is not an option, as far as I’m concerned,” said Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum. “It’s unfortunate…
Legislative leaders from both parties are now addressing reporters at the AP Legislative Preview this morning, and there’s much agreement on a top priority: Education funding. “Staying on track from where we started last year – that seems to be a foregone conclusion,” said House...
Here are some more topics Gov. Butch Otter addressed at this morning’s AP Legislative Preview: OTTER PAC: “I have had tremendous support from folks in the Legislature, at the local level, at the county precinct level. My effort is to help those folks in operations…
Gov. Butch Otter has been declining to answer questions that go directly to what he’ll be presenting to lawmakers in his State of the State message on Monday. Among them: Whether he’ll push to increase higher education funding as he has for K-12 funding, and…
Here are some more issues Gov. Butch Otter has addressed this morning in response to questions from reporters at the AP Legislative Preview: PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Otter acknowledged that lawmakers have called for moves against the organization, including an investigation. “We have had legislators and a...
Gov. Butch Otter has announced that Megan Ronk will be the new director of the Idaho Department of Commerce. “She’s been there a long time,” he said. “She’s prepared to hit the ground running. I have every confidence, because of her past performance, that I…
Here’s what the House and Senate Health & Welfare chairs had to say about Gov. Butch Otter’s gap-population health-care proposal today: Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley: I want to thank the governor of the state of Idaho and Director Armstrong for bringing this initiative. We do...