A Caldwell family is suing the U.S. Forest Service for more than $1 million, the AP reports, after a large dead tree at a remote campsite fell and injured their then-6-year-old son during a camping trip in 2010. A wind gust blew down the dead tree in the Boise National Forest; the family contends the Forest Service was negligent because it didn’t remove the dead tree and it posed a hazard at the campsite. You can read the AP’s full report here.

A federal appellate court has revived a lawsuit brought by homeless Idaho residents against the city of Boise over ordinances that bar sleeping and camping in public spaces. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling sends the 2009 lawsuit back to Boise's U.S. District Court for consideration. Click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.

Idaho is the first of 10 states that have enacted 'fetal pain' abortion laws since 2010 to have its law overturned, the Associated Press reports today. Yesterday's ruling from U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill also struck down two other Idaho laws dealing with abortion. Arizona also has a fetal pain law that's being challenged in court; the Idaho case could affect that, as both states are within the 9th Circuit. The other states that have enacted such laws are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.

The Idaho State Police has launched an investigation into staffing levels at the state's largest private prison after state officials said they found discrepancies in the prison's monthly reports, reports Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone. The Idaho Correctional Center south of Boise is run by Corrections Corp. of America, which has held the contract for a decade; both the contract and a legal settlement set minimum staffing requirements. Boone reports that Correction Director Brent Reinke told the Idaho Board of Correction this morning that he asked the state police to investigate because the department found “potential anomalies” during an audit; an AP analysis of the prison's records showed some guards apparently working 48 hours straight; double-posting, where one guard is shown as working two different posts at the same time; and vacant security posts.

Click below for Boone's full report.

A former Idaho probation and parole employee is suing the state Department of Correction, charging gender discrminiation and creation of a hostile work environment after her brief relationship with a co-worker turned violent, the AP reports. The lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court; click below for a full report from AP reporter Todd Dvorak.

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The state of Idaho is suing the federal government for nearly $1.6 million because state attorneys say members of the U.S. Navy's Reserve Officer Training Corps negligently caused a fire at the University of Idaho. The lawsuit was filed in Boise's U.S. District Court earlier this week. Deputy Idaho Attorney General Mike Gilmore says members of the Navy ROTC program at the University of Idaho caused serious damage to a World War II-era building when charcoal briquettes were left smoldering after a BBQ last year. The state contends that that the federal government was responsible for the upkeep of the ROTC building, and that Navy ROTC officers and students should have known that dumping briquettes in a flowerbed would pose a fire risk. Click below for a full report.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press and the Idaho Press-Tribune: NAMPA, Idaho (AP) ― A nutrition services worker who was fired from the Nampa School District has taken the first step toward suing the district, filing a $1 million tort claim over his dismissal. The Idaho Press-Tribune (http://bit.ly/RCEdKh) reports that Todd Young filed the tort claim last month, contending he was harassed and then fired in May after he talked about waste in his department in a local television news report. In the report, Young said the school district wasn't saving money as planned because workers were discarding Styrofoam trays meant to be recycled. District officials released a statement saying that Young was fired for making racial remarks about a minority. Young is asking for no less than $1 million and his reinstatement in the job.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) ― A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the University of Idaho by a student who fell from a fraternity house window in 2009. The Lewiston Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/MYkJv7 ) that 2nd District Judge Michael Griffin tossed the suit on Friday brought by former student Amanda Andaverde of Caldwell and her parents. Andaverde was a 19-year-old sophomore when she fell from an upper story window during a Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat house party and suffered debilitating injuries. The university recently rejected the parents' $1 million offer to settle the case. In court earlier this month, a UI lawyer told the judge the university can't control what students do on private property and shouldn't be held liable for accidents. Andaverde family attorney Warren Dowdle says a decision to appeal is pending. Click below for a full report.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) ― A University of Idaho attorney says the school can't control what students do on private property outside of school hours, and so it can't be held liable for injuries a 19-year-old sophomore sustained when she fell out a fraternity window after a party. Lewiston attorney Theodore Creason presented the school's arguments in 2nd District Court Wednesday, asking Judge Michael Griffin to throw out a lawsuit from former student Amanda Andaverde and her parents. The Andaverdes contend the university, state board and several fraternities and sororities on the Moscow campus didn't do enough to ensure the safety of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house where their daughter was injured in 2009. The judge took the matter under advisement and will issue a written ruling at a later date; click below for the full report.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― The Idaho Department of Correction has agreed to increase staffing and dramatically increase medical care oversight as part of a long-running lawsuit over conditions at a prison south of Boise. The agreement filed with the U.S. District Court in Idaho Tuesday afternoon guarantees that the court will continue to review conditions at the Idaho State Correctional Institution for at least two more years before ending a decades-old lawsuit between inmates and the state. Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke said the agreement represents a significant step forward in the lawsuit, which was filed exactly 31 years ago. The agreement comes after a court-appointed expert made a scathing assessment of the medical care provided to inmates at the prison. The state and its medical contractor, Corizon, have disputed those findings. Click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.

A federal judge has invalidated both the new anti-union laws pushed through by Idaho GOP lawmakers last session, saying they violate federal law. The two measures, SB 1007 and 1006, both expansions of Idaho's Right-to-Work law, sought to ban “job targeting programs” and “project labor agreements” and proposed steep penalties for violations; an injunction in July blocked SB 1007 from taking effect.

Both bills were sponsored by Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, who acknowledged that there was “a lot of talk about” legal issues with the bills, but said, “I thought that we were OK.” Goedde said, “We had instances where the carpenters union from Portland was disrupting work, and I think that was the real emphasis behind the effort.” He said the issue was brought to him by former state lawmaker Dean Haagenson of Coeur d'Alene, who is with the Inland Empire Associated Building Contractors. The Inland ABC, which filed an amicus brief in the case supporting the two bills, already has filed a notice of appeal to the 9th Circuit, saying it should have been allowed to intervene as a full party in the case.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill wrote in his 39-page decision that the various programs targeted by the bills weren't, as the Inland ABC argued, “a form of compulsory unionism.” Wrote Winmill, “Nothing about a job targeting program … makes union membership compulsory. Because Idaho is a right-to-work state, membership in any local in Idaho is entirely voluntary.”

John Littel, regional political director for the Carpenters Union, said, “We were pretty surprised about how much momentum there was to really, I think, try to take a bite out of the unions, and specifically the carpenters.” He added, “Regardless of what a legislator thinks or feels about a union's right to exist or not, these are protected activities.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

A federal judge has refused to unseal a settlement agreement between an Idaho inmate and a private prison company involving allegations of rampant violence at Idaho's privately operated prison, the Idaho Correctional Center south of Boise, the AP reports. The Associated Press had asked the court to unseal the settlement between Marlin Riggs and Corrections Corp. of America. However, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge said Wednesday the interests of Riggs and the company in keeping the settlement confidential outweighed the interest the public has in learning its terms; click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A potential class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest private prison company over allegations of violence at the Idaho Correctional Center has been settled in federal court. The agreement between the inmates and Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. In it, CCA doesn't acknowledge the allegations but agrees to increase staffing, investigate all assaults and make other sweeping changes at the lockup south of Boise. If the company fails to make the changes, the inmates can ask the courts to force CCA to comply. The inmates, represented by the ACLU, said in their lawsuit that the prison was so violent it was dubbed “Gladiator School,” that guards used inmate-on-inmate violence as a management tool, and that assaulted prisoners were frequently denied medical care.

A federal judge is now pondering whether Idaho's newest anti-union laws should be blocked while they're challenged in court, the Associated Press reports; the two laws, intended to weaken the power of labor organizations in Idaho, were passed during the 2011 legislative session and are scheduled to take effect July 1. Two unions are challenging the measures as unconstitutional; U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill is expected to rule this week on a request for a preliminary injunction; click below for a full report from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  Here's a news item from the Associated Press:  MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (AP) — The city of Mountain Home has agreed to let a church hold worship services at a local building after church leaders sued, saying its parishioners had been discriminated against. No Limits Christian Ministries sued in federal court late last month, saying that the city's zoning rules violated the U.S. Constitution because they specifically barred religious groups but allowed other clubs and organizations. The church had sought a conditional permit to allow it to worship in a vacant building it owned, but the city originally denied the church's request.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge approved a settlement between the city and the church that recognizes the church as a “permitted use” of the property and allows it to begin holding services in the Main Street building; click below for more.

The Idaho Supreme Court has tossed a lawsuit ruling that resulted in one of the largest jury awards in Idaho history, the AP reports. The court’s ruling today essentially sent a case between MRI Associates and Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center back for a new trial; a jury had initially awarded MRI Associates more than $63 million in damages, though a judge later lowered that to about $36 million. Click below to read the full story from AP reporter Rebecca Boone.