After two years and $540,479 in taxpayer cost, the case of fired state transportation director Pam Lowe seems to be just getting started. And the start is sufficiently bad that, perhaps, the state ought to have second thoughts about its legal strategy. On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Ron Bush sided with Lowe and against the state on the first phase of her case. Lowe was not an “at-will” employee who could be fired without cause, said Bush. And so, 33 months after her July 2009 firing, round one goes decisively to Lowe. Bush hasn’t yet delved into Lowe’s two more explosive allegations: her claim that she was shown the door because she tried to scale back a contract for two politically connected vendors; and her claim that she was fired because she’s a woman/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.

Question: Is it time for the state to pursue a settlement in this seemingly no-win case?

Since the “supercommittee” superfailed to live up to its name, what should we call them now? How about the Do-Nothing Dozen? The sum of their work certainly adds up to zero. Twelve members of Congress — six House members and six senators, six Republicans and six Democrats — were appointed in August to try to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions. The group gave up Monday, agreeing only to do, well, nothing. Technically, the group’s three-month assignment ends today, the day before Turkey Day. Never let it be said that Congress lacks for a wicked sense of humor. But since it actually does take a couple days to write legislation, Monday was effectively the group’s deadline. To call the effort pitiful and disappointing borders on understatement. By playing to their bases, committee members reinforced the same partisan divide that they needed to transcend/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More here.

• Crapo touts collaboration in face of super-failure/Statesman

Question: Are hopes of a solution to our debt crisis gone now that the supercommittee has superfailed?

Ladies, too many of you aren't listening to the doctor. That's doctor as in physician; it's also Dr. as in Dr. Priscilla Bell, president of North Idaho College.  A new study reveals that in the last two years, more than one of every three Idaho women over the age of 40 did not receive cancer-screening mammograms. That puts Idaho dead last in the nation for screening. These vital tests for breast cancer can be life-savers. Ask Dr. Bell. She really wants you to. Almost one year ago, as word of Dr. Bell's illness quickly spread across campus, the college's leader urged the community to focus not on her health, but on theirs. “Get your mammogram,” she said. “That can't be overstressed”/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question (for Ladies of Hucks Online): Do you get cancer-screening mammograms regularly?

It’s not just a couple of disgruntled Democrats anymore who want to know what the Idaho Tax Commission is up to. The 13,000-member Idaho Education Association and two other teachers’ groups last week joined state Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, and her attorney, Robert Huntley, in a lawsuit over secret tax deals at the commission. “We take the allegations very seriously,” John Rumel, general counsel for the Idaho Education Association, told the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. “The representative’s allegations indicate that because of some sweetheart deals and corrupt practices, a substantial amount of funds that should be going into the coffers of the state are not getting there.” Dubious compromise settlements are cutting into tax revenue for education, Rumel argues, in a year when state funding for schools is down 7.5 percent/Twin Falls Times-News Editorial Board. More here.

Question: Should the Idaho Tax Commission be investigated for possible sweetheart deals with industry that may be costing the state millions in tax revenue?

Simply stated, we think it’s the most responsible - and civic-minded - way to address the community center’s financial needs. Fee increases range up to $7 per month. If this were a property tax increase for, say, the city of Coeur d’Alene, there probably wouldn’t be enough space in the newspaper for all the angry letters to the editor. But because the Kroc Center has provided a welcome family fitness option for many, there hasn’t been much complaining about the hikes at all/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Are you a member of the Kroc Center?