Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum hugs a boy during his visit to Bob's Diner in Carnegie, Pa., Wednesday. Santorum's main opponent, Mitt Romney, won Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Story here. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Question: Is it time for Santorum to bow out — and let Romney focus on President Barack Obama?

Long-term unemployment benefits are being reduced sharply in Washington and Idaho. Later this month, most unemployed workers will be cut off after 73 weeks of long-term payments in Washington, the state announced today. That’s down from the 99 weeks now available – a reduction of six months. As a result, an estimated 12,500 Washington residents who are out of work will lose their benefits after April 21, state Employment Security officials estimate. More than 11,000 others will exhaust their benefits within eight weeks of that date, and another 40,000 people on unemployment are at risk of being dropped from the program in the final half of the year. … In Idaho, jobless workers will see their extended benefits reduced by 29 weeks, to a maximum of 44 weeks, the Idaho Department of Labor said/Scott Maben, SR. More here.

Question: Are you — or someone you know — having trouble finding a job?

A couple enjoys the blossoms in an area of the tidal basin containing some of the oldest cherry blossom trees in Washington. The pink and white cherry blossoms that color the U.S. capital and draw a million visitors each spring began with trees that have survived for a century. It was 100 years ago this month when first lady Helen Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the bank of Washington's Tidal Basin. They were the first of 3,000 planted as part of a gift from the city of Tokyo as a symbol of friendship. The original pair still stands, along with about 100 of the original trees transported from Japan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Question: Which type of fruit tree is your favorite?

Multiple students were injured and at least three were airlifted from the scene after a Quincy School District bus rolled off the road on state Route 281 Monday morning just south of Quincy, Wash. Lt. Scott Martin of the Washington State Patrol says three students are in serious condition, but none of the students suffered life-threatening injuries. More here. (AP Photo/Columbia Basin Herald, Ryan Lancaster)

Dick Warwick, left, and Larry Arnold help set up the stage for a production of “Bus Stop” at the historic Empire Theater at Tekoa, Wash., on Monday. The restored Art Deco building opened in 1940 as a movie theater but is now used as a community performing arts center. Mike Prager SR story here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)

• Wastewater dumped into St. Maries River/Press
• Idaho Democrats react to McGee resignation/Kevin Richert, Statesman
• Washington gay marriage foes challenge ballot language/Jim Camden, SR
• Idaho Senate leader resigns amid sexual harassment claims/John Miller, AP
• Judge: Washington can't make pharmacists sell emergency contraceptives/SR
• Boise State will remain in Mountain West for 2012-13/Brian Murphy, Statesman
• Denney: Move to kill 2% pay raise for state workers more bark than bite/Dan Popkey, Statesman

Jon Downing thinks maybe he'll get married in two decades. Not because the 29-year-old necessarily wants to wait. But that's when he suspects it will finally be legal for him to do so in Idaho. “I'm hoping two years out,” said Downing, a Coeur d'Alene resident open to admitting he is gay, even when he expects a variety of reactions. “But the reality is it's probably going to take a little bit longer to change people's hearts and minds.” There are signs to indicate it's already happening, with same-sex marriage legislation whipping through the Washington Legislature and gaining approval on Wednesday, the day after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California's Proposition 8 outlawing gay marriage. Idaho following soon might be a tall order/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (AP file photo of a same-sex cake decoration in New York City)

Question: Do you think Idaho will legalize gay marriage in the next decade?

A political rivalry between two would-be Idaho governors, a fight over where Washington's capital should be, gold strikes in the Idaho Panhandle and more played into the current-day shape of the state of Idaho, according to historic maps unveiled to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee today after its budget hearing on the Idaho State Historical Society. Under one, drawn by Lt. John Mullan, the entire North Idaho Panhandle would have become part of Washington. Under the other, drawn by William H. Wallace, not only the Panhandle but all of Montana and most of Wyoming were drawn into the new Idaho Territory/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: A stone marker and sign sit at the Fourth of July pass commemorating the road built from Missoula to Walla Walla in 1862 under Capt. John Mullan's supervision)

• Bill would ban tanning beds for minors
• Thayn's '8 in 6' plan passes House 58-12
• House panel takes up oil/gas drilling legislation
• Idaho biz, ag groups talk economic incentives w/committees
• Whitehead on truck fees: Would 'look after interests of industry/ITD
• Senate R's caucus, then next further amendments to anti-Occupy bill

Question: Would you North Idahoans want to be part of Washington state?

Earlier, I published a list of the 10 most conservative states, compiled by Fellowship of the Minds: Conservatives Who Love America (from Gallup polling). Above you can find a list of the 10 most liberal states.

Question: Are you surprised that Oregon is No. 3 and Washington No. 4?

As supporters and opponents packed hearing rooms Monday around the Capitol, Washington moved a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage when the proposal gained its crucial 25th vote in the state Senate. State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, announced she would vote yes on Senate Bill 6239, giving it a majority in that chamber. The companion bill, HB 2516, has the votes necessary to clear the House, said Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has called for the Legislature to pass such legislation. Barring some unexpected shift, that suggests Washington would be the seventh state in the nation to pass a law on same-sex marriage. But it would be the first state where voters have the ultimate say on a bill passed by the Legislature/Jim Camden, SR. More here. (AP photo: Jane Abbott Lighty greets Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, after hearing the news that Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, had announced her support for legalizing same-sex marriage)

Question: Will Idaho pass same-sex marriage legislation some day?

Many of the wolves in northeastern Washington moved in naturally from Idaho.  But the Gem State is a dangerous place for the wolves to return. A radio-collared wolf from the Diamond Pack in east-central Pend Oreille County was killed Dec. 20 by a trapper in North Idaho a few hundred yards east of the stateline. Trappers have reported taking at least six wolves in the Idaho Panhandle during the state's first trapping season, which started Nov. 15 and runs through March 15.  Hunters have reported taking 28 wolves so far this season in the Panhandle, counting the one checked in at Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday. Statewide, hunters have tagged at least 173 wolves in Idaho so far this season and trappers have reported taking 24/Rich Landers, SR. More here.

Other Rich Landers/SR Outdoors blog posts:

• Survey: 27 wolves including 3 breeding pairs in Washington
• Snow-starved Bogus eliminates jobs, cuts pay
• Ice fishing possible but be careful out there
• Sportsmen help USFS buy land overlooking Lake Pend Oreille
• Idaho Panhandle releases draft forest plan for public comment
• Idaho Park N'Ski area offers free access Saturday

Question: Do you consider a statewide kill of 173 wolves in Idaho so far this year to be a reasonable harvest number?

Washington state’s minimum wage increases by 37 cents to $9.04 an hour starting on New Year’s Day. While the state’s current rate of $8.67 an hour is already the highest state minimum wage in the nation, a few cities, like San Francisco, have their own laws and have higher rates. San Francisco’s current rate of $9.92 jumps to $10.24 on Sunday, making it the first city in the nation to top a $10 minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $7.25. Idaho’s minimum wage matches the federal wage, although employees who earn tips can be paid a wage as little as $3.35 per hour in Idaho. Washington is among a handful of states where the minimum wage will increase Sunday/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Is Washington's minimum wage going to be too high? Or Idaho's too low?

The 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree arrives in Washington on Monday, following a 20-day cross-country tour that started in the Stanislaus National Forest in northern California. The 65-foot white fir tree will be illuminated during a ceremony scheduled for Dec. 6. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Question: When do you put up your Christmas tree? Real? Or fake?

From left; Frederick Ryan , Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole; Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Charles Snelling, chairman of the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, take part in the unveiling of a statue of President Ronald Reagan today at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. A nine-foot statue honoring Reagan has been unveiled at the Washington-area airport that bears his name, more than a decade after the facility was renamed for him. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Question: Do you consider Ronald Reagan to be a good-to-great president?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a fascinating report today measuring suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adults older than 18 in the United States. Residents of Idaho and Washington have among the highest percentages of “suicidal thoughts” but don't rank as alarmingly high in percentages of those who have actual plans or make actual attempts. In 2008-2009, when the scientific surveys were taken, 6 percent of Idahoans, age 18 and older, reported suicidal thoughts; In Washington, it was 4.7 percent. The U.S. average is 3.7 percent. Utah had the highest reported percentage of suicidal thoughts, at 6.8 percent. Georgia had the lowest percentage, at 2.1 percent/Rebecca Nappi, End Notes. More here.

Question: Would HucksOnline be indelicate if it asked: Have you ever had a suicidal thought?

The most violent job in Washington state isn't being a police officer or a security guard. It's working as a nurse's aide. Seattle public radio station KUOW-FM made that finding as part of an investigative series on workplace safety airing this week. The station found that violence strikes health care workers in Washington at six times the state average, and frontline caregivers in emergency rooms and psychiatric wards get assaulted even more than that. The single most violent workplace in the state is at Western State Hospital, where criminal defendants are taken when they are found incompetent to stand trial/Associated Press.More here.

Question: Have you ever worked at a violent job?

The first-ever ranking of peace in the United States finds the nation overall is the most peaceful since 1995.  Maine was ranked as the most peaceful state and Louisiana the least.  Washington ranked in at number 10, Idaho came in at 16, and Montana at 17. The rankings are drawn up by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an international think-tank that also issues a yearly Global Peace Index/USA Today. More here.

Question: Do you consider Washington more peaceful than Idaho?

Oregon boasts the second highest minimum wage in the country. Washington state leads the nation with a 2011 minimum wage of $8.67 an hour. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries mandates a minimum wage increase from $8.40 an hour to $8.50 an hour for 2011. For a 40-hour work week, the 10-cent increase means about $4 more a week. That translates to about $16 a month and about $192 a year before taxes. Some say that increase is great for workers but can put some strain on businesses trying to keep up with payroll/Kelly Koopmans, KBOI. More here. (H/T: Orbusmax)

Question: Is the minimum wage in Oregon ($8.50) and Washington ($8.67) too high? Or is the Idaho minimum wage ($7.25) too low? Or both? What would be a perfect minimum wage?

At Washington State University today, crews worked to clear the snow from Martin Stadium in preparation for the Apple Bowl Saturday between Washington State and Washington. (Photo courtesy of WSU media relations/Facebook page.

Question: Are you still interested in the outcome of the Apple Cup, despite poor performances in recent years by both teams?

Washington State is banning alcoholic energy drinks after the state Liquor Control Board adopted a rule Wednesday morning that will take effect Nov. 18.”The board is acting in the interest of public safety,” Washington State Liquor Control Board Chair Sharon Foster said in a written statement released by Governor Gregoire’s office. “Following the troubling incidents in Roslyn and in response to increasing reports of problems around the country, the board is acting now to ensure these products do not contribute to a tragedy before the Food and Drug Administration or Legislature can act.”The ban comes after nine Central Washington University students were hospitalized after a party in Roslyn last month. Authorities say they drank the caffeinated malt liquor beverage Four Loko/KXLY. More here.

• Cutline: Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire talks to reporters in Olympia, Wash., about the decision today by the state Liquor Control Board to ban alcoholic energy drinks, including “Four Loko” and “Joose,” shown in the foreground. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Question: Do you agree with Washington’s ban on alcoholic energy drinks?

But some areas are doing better than others, and for many of them, it isn’t an accident. Who’s doing the best job when it comes to fostering growth? Utah, according to our fifth annual look at the Best States for Business. The Beehive State captured the top spot in our rankings for the first time, after a four-year run by Virginia at the head of the list/Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes. More here.

• Full list: Washington’s No. 5, Idaho’s No. 12

Question: Is Idaho a good state to own a business, in your estimation?