Check voter registration on Web site
BOISE – Idaho’s Secretary of State is urging all Idahoans to vote – and they don’t even have to have been registered in advance.
With the state’s same-day registration law, people can register at the polls by providing a picture ID and proof of residence, such as a utility bill.
However, a strong turnout in a high-interest presidential election is likely to lead to long lines at the polls on Tuesday, when polls statewide will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Secretary of State Ben Ysursa announced a new feature to allow Idahoans to check in advance to see whether they’re registered. At the www.idahovotes.gov Web site, simply click on, “Am I registered?” Idahoans also can click on the “Where do I vote?” feature to find their polling place information.
Early voting also is available in each county prior to Election Day; contact your county clerk’s office for information. Absentee voting closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, the day before the election.
New disabled vets discounts at state parks
A pilot program for the next three years by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and the Idaho Legislature will give 300 disabled Idaho veterans each year free entrance to state parks and a waiver of basic campsite fees. Participants will be selected by a lottery each year; this year’s will be held in December, and eligible vets are asked to submit applications before Dec. 1.
The program is for Idaho residents who are disabled veterans and whose service-related disability is rated at 50 to 90 percent permanent and total disability.
To apply or for more information, call the department in Boise at (208) 334-4199, or download an application form from the department’s Web site, www.parksandrecreation. idaho.gov.
Idaho seeing more HIV cases
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports that 37 cases of HIV or AIDS have been reported in Idaho so far this year, and additional reports are under investigation. That’s a 23 percent increase over the same time last year, and includes 13 cases involving people under age 25.
“HIV infections appear to be on the rise in young people in Idaho,” said Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist. “Some people are putting themselves at risk for a preventable infection which is lifelong and can cause serious illness and death. We are concerned that people think the risk of HIV is low since they have heard little about it in the news lately. This increase in new infections reminds all of us that the risk is real in Idaho.”
The jump in cases included a number from young southeastern Idaho residents who engaged in such risky behavior as having unprotected sex with multiple partners, including anonymous partners found through Internet sites.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 21 percent of those infected with the HIV virus, which causes AIDS, don’t know they have it and may unknowingly spread it through sexual contact or shared needles.
AG offers mortgage, foreclosure manual
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is offering a new free manual to help consumers avoid mortgage fraud and foreclosure. “We have seen far too many foreclosures in our state,” Wasden said. “We’ve also seen a number of deceptive mortgage rescue scams that offer false hope in order to cheat Idahoans out of their homes. We’ve written this booklet to help Idahoans avoid these scams, take appropriate steps to avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.”
The state Department of Finance helped put together the manual, which is available online for free at the Attorney General’s Web site, www.ag.idaho.gov, or Idahoans can get a copy mailed to them by calling toll-free (800) 432-3545.