Idaho Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell, had this to say on the appointment today of Michigan transportation official Brian Ness as Idaho's new transportation director: "I'm excited that we're heading in a new direction. I'm pleased to see that the process is over, the…
Newly named Idaho Transportation Director Brian Ness, who will start work Jan. 11, told Eye on Boise, "My focus has to be on moving the department forward, and that's what I intend to do." Asked why the longtime Michigan transportation official decided to apply for…
Yesterday, in response to a request from the Lewiston Morning Tribune, which has been editorializing against Gov. Butch Otter's silence on the firing of former Transportation Director Pam Lowe and her wrongful-termination lawsuit against the state, Otter issued the following statement:"I support the decision of…
The Idaho Transportation Board has named Brian W. Ness, an administrator with the Michigan Department of Transportation, as its new director. Current acting director Scott Stokes will return to his position of deputy director in early January as Ness takes over. Click below to read…
Idaho's unemployment rate has notched up again, this time by a tenth of a percentage point to 9 percent, the highest since June of 1983. The U.S. Department of Labor today revised Idaho's October rate up from the Nov. 6 forecast, based on additional data;…
While strolling across downtown Boise in the crisp fall sunshine a few minutes ago, I ran into none other than former Idaho Congressman Bill Sali. Of course, I had to ask him: Is he running again for his old seat in Idaho's 1st District? "Stay…
Click below to read the memo Gov. Butch Otter sent to state agencies last week asking them to further trim spending and limit all "non-essential activities wherever possible." In his luncheon talk to the Associated Taxpayers today, Otter said, "Folks, we are going to have…
Gov. Butch Otter, in his keynote luncheon speech to the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho today, spoke out strongly on the value of education, and how it's a central mission of the state per the Idaho Constitution. He shared how he was the first among nine…
Two local government officials, Bannock County Commissioner Steve Hadley and Coeur d'Alene City Councilman Mike Kennedy, are sharing their communities' budget challenges with the Associated Taxpayers conference. Kennedy said Coeur d'Alene's budget outlook is a difficult one, but there is one revenue source - income…
Gov. Butch Otter and state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna joined business leaders and others at a press conference today to announce a new, broad education strategy for the state, focusing on getting more Idaho kids to go on to post-secondary education, high standards and…
Here's a news item from AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A group that promotes homegrown Idaho products and services will get to spread out in the recently renovated Capitol, after all. The Capitol Commission, which oversees the building, had passed guidelines restricting public events to…
Budget cuts mean hits on state employees, legislative budget director Cathy Holland-Smith told the ATI conference. "Most of our costs are in personnel ... and you can't avoid that," she said. So when the state makes budget cuts, "You're either reducing people's pay, you're furloughing…
Among the budget cuts on which Gov. Butch Otter already has decided: He'll be the only governor next year who won't be a member of the National Governors Association, his budget chief, Wayne Hammon, just told the ATI conference. "It just costs too much money,"…
In fiscal year 2009, Idaho's state general fund revenue was down by 15.3 percent from the year before, exceeding the 2002 drop of 14.3 percent. Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget director, told ATI that the forecast for the current year, fiscal year 2010, calls…
Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, said he has to "violently agree" with Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, that Idaho can't just "play defense" in its budget cuts, and must focus on job creation. "That's what's going to dig us out of this hole," Fulcher said.
Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, the House assistant minority leader, said tax cuts in recent years have helped put the state in the revenue crunch it's in right now. "There's millions of tax revenue dollars that we don't have now that we desperately need," Ruchti told…
Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, the Senate majority caucus chairman, told the ATI conference just now that lawmakers this year will be looking at difficult budget cuts in the very areas where people most don't want them - education and health services. "Everything is on the…
Hundreds of business people, government employees, legislators and more are gathered in Boise this morning for the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho annual conference, which is traditionally something of a warm-up for the legislative session that kicks off in January. The program opened with a national…
Gov. Butch Otter's "efficiency" Web site, which asks Idahoans for their ideas on how the state can save money, has received 112 suggestions as of this morning, according to Otter's press secretary, Jon Hanian. "We know people have a lot of ideas and opinions about…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho has agreed to pay $50,000 and pledged to follow anti-discrimination rules to settle a federal lawsuit against state officials who awarded grazing leases to ranchers, not the environmentalist who had offered more…
Idaho's state Land Board approved a land swap with Avista Corp. today that'll give the utility land at Trestle Creek near Hope, which it'll use for a bull trout restoration project, in exchange for some easier-to-log rolling timberland a few miles away that the state…
Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick today unveiled job-training legislation he said he's been crafting for the past eight months. The measure, H.R. 4072, entitled the American Manufacturing Efficiency and Retraining Investment Collaboration (AMERICA) Works Act, would route federal workforce training funds toward programs that provide "nationally…
Idaho's first-ever female transportation director was fired, in part, simply for being a woman, a lawsuit filed today charges. Pam Lowe, who last week filed a "whistleblower" complaint against the state alleging that she was fired for resisting political pressure to favor a big campaign…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden says Idahoans who had trouble canceling their Vonage Voice Over Internet Protocol service may be eligible for refunds, as part of a new multistate legal settlement. Consumers with unresolved complaints dating back to January 2004 may be eligible; they must…
Here's a link to my full story from Saturday's Spokesman-Review on the latest on Idaho's state budget crunch, from Gov. Butch Otter appealing for money-saving ideas from citizens to Moscow Democratic Rep. Shirley Ringo's proposal for a 5 percent income tax surcharge to stave off…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
