Images from the memorial service for Katy Benoit Aug. 30, 2011, at Boise High School. (Idaho Statesman/AP photo: Chris Butler)

By filing the claim, Katy Benoit’s family has taken the first step toward suing the University of Idaho over its hiring, supervision and retention of their daughter’s former professor, lover and killer, Ernesto Bustamante. The tort claim puts the university on notice of damages the family could seek in court. The claim was filed Dec. 8; the university did not file a response within 90 days, which ended earlier this week. That means the Benoits are free to file a lawsuit against the university, which they had not done as of Friday afternoon. U of I officials declined comment Friday. A lawyer for the Benoit family did not respond to a request for comment and details about the allegations in the claim. Moscow police say 31-year-old Bustamante shot and killed Benoit, 22, at her off-campus home Aug. 22 — the first day of fall classes — and then killed himself the next morning/Patrick Orr. Idaho Statesman. More here.

Thoughts?

You can be reasonably certain when the University of Idaho and Moscow Police will not trigger an alert: When someone fires a gun at a dormitory. When he flees the scene. And when for hours, if not days, nobody knows where he is — or who he is. So it went Sunday. Somebody fired a .45-caliber gun at Targhee Fine Arts Hall, a small dormitory filled with art and architecture students. A bullet crashed through a window, struck a ceiling fixture and then bounced back down into a a cinder block wall. Miraculously, it intercepted no human along the way/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: In light of the murder-suicide involving former assistant professor Ernesto Bustamante, shouldn't the University of Idaho have a better response to shooting situations than this?

In an editorial today, Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune lambastes state Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, (pictured) for his insensitive remark that a gun safety class might have prevented the murder-suicide at the University of Idaho that claimed the life of grad student Katy Benoit: “That transcends oafishness. It's beyond ugly. It exceeds insensitivity. Inhumane doesn't begin to describe it. Such talk from anyone is irresponsible. From an elected official charged with writing our laws and embracing our standards of decency, it is nothing short of depraved. Complete editorial here.

Question: Do you think Rep. Hagedorn has learned a lesson in using this tragic matter to push his political agenda?

The sun was deceiving as Amidy Fuson walked her dogs in 17-degree weather along Centennial Trail in Coeur d'Alene today. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

• Downtown Spokane outage shuts down district court/Spokesman-Review
• Labrador starts re-election fund-raising w/large share of out-of-state $$$/Reporter
• Officer in Spokane pedestrian fatal is 8-year veteran/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• Major Cheney pot ring involving EWU campus busted/KXLY
• Flyers make it out of Spokane, face uncertainty elsewhere/KREM
• Lawmaker: Sell guv's mansion to fund Idaho parks/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Powerful IACI backs Luna's education reforms/Bill Roberts, Statesman
• Endangered gray wolves begin migration from Idaho/Associated Press
• Idaho school secretary charged with embezzlement/Associated Press
• Legislation would permanently ban 'spice'/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• House votes down POST fee increase/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• UIdaho tuition bill passes House 60-5/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise

Here’s a news item from the AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Athletic officials from Boise State and Idaho are talking about options for keeping the rivalry alive after the Broncos switch conferences. Boise State is moving from the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West Conference next season. The change could spell the end of a gridiron rivalry the Broncos have dominated in the last decade. But leaders from the two schools are at least talking about future matchups. Vandal Athletic Director Rob Spear said he was contacted last week by Bronco Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. Spear says Bleymaier is working on a proposal to schedule games beyond 2011. For now, the Broncos and Vandals are slated to meet one more time — in Moscow Nov. 12.

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Moscow police say a University of Idaho senior died of respiratory arrest, apparently due to alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking to celebrate his 21st birthday. Emergency personnel responded to a report of an unconscious man at Sigma Nu fraternity at 2:42 a.m. Tuesday. They located Benjamin Harris of Burley on the third floor and began CPR. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Gritman Medical Center. Assistant Police Chief David Duke says Harris may have had as many as 15 shots in two-and-a-half hours as he celebrated his birthday Monday night. A preliminary investigation indicated Harris died of respiratory arrest caused by alcohol poisoning. The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner after review of the toxicology reports.

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — The University of Idaho and more than 250 retired employees have settled a lawsuit over changes to the retirees’ insurance benefits. The settlement was approved by the Latah County District Court on Thursday, and it says that barring a financial emergency, health insurance premiums for retirees won’t increase by more than 10 percent over the previous year. The settlement also holds that life insurance benefits won’t drop below $10,000. The terms of the settlement were short of what retirees had hoped for, but it means they won’t have to pay the university’s attorney’s fees. The retirees had originally contended that the school agreed to pay the full tab for medical and life insurance premiums, but later revised the benefits. But the school maintained — and a judge later agreed — that it had reserved the right to change the benefits.

Larry Forney, University of Idaho professor of biological sciences and director of the Initiative for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies (IBEST), just had this research http://bit.ly/aBcdvd published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He acknowledges the public’s general reluctance to talk about it, and admits freely that it’s not a polite dinner conversation topic. But Forney also knows that silence on a topic that affects 3 billion people globally is detrimental to women’s health. Brace yourself: it involves the “V” word! There is a great deal of controversy or stigma about vaginal health. Even recently in Spokane, Gonzaga banned The Vagina Monologues production on campus. Silence may impact women’s health since few women or their doctors are comfortable talking about vaginal health openly/Joni Kirk, University of Idaho public relations, More below in drop-down box. Also: Study provides new insights about women’s reproductive health. And: Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women

Question (from Joni Kirk): Are you afraid to talk about this issue, and if so, are you contributing to the problem? 

Boise State University and the University of Idaho will meet on the football field this Saturday amid all the usual rivalry, but a day earlier, the presidents of the two universities say they’ll set rivalry aside to talk research. UI President Duane Nellis and BSU President Bob Kustra are scheduled to meet with faculty researchers on Friday for discussion and lunch, joined by state Board of Education members, focusing on collaborative research work between the schools on water and energy issues. Those collaborative efforts include work by the Center for Advance Energy Studies, the Idaho Network for Biomedical Research Excellence, the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research in Idaho, according to the schools.

The research discussion will take place at the Stueckle Sky Center, which, of course, is at Bronco Stadium - the same place the two schools will clash on the field a day later.

The raucous, hostile behavior of some University of Idaho fans at Thursday night’s men’s basketball game against Boise State University prompted UI Interim President Steven Daley-Laursen to send an e-mail letter to the campus community on Sunday condemning those fans’ actions. The urgency of Daley-Laursen’s letter — he did not wait until Monday to send it — emphasizes the serious consequences of what happened. His description of the behavior as “ugly, outrageous and utterly unacceptable” is entirely accurate. We are living in a time when cameras are ubiquitous. Flagrant and embarrassing behavior in public is an invitation to be filmed and made a spectacle of on the Internet. It happened in the fall at a football tailgating event. Several UI students who openly attacked BSU had their exploits filmed and posted on the Web site of BSU’s student newspaper/Holly Bowen, UI Argonaut. More here.

Question: Do you support the interim president’s reaction to fan support for the University of Idaho? Or will his reaction squelch fan reaction that has been missing for years?

The University of Idaho is ditching a plan to allow students of the opposite sex to live together in campus suites when the fall semester begins in August. In a statement Thursday, interim university president Steven Daley-Laursen says he is not comfortable with the proposal because although the suites have private bedrooms, they include shared bathrooms/AP. More here.

Question: Did the University of Idaho make the right decision in the end?

Item: 20% of UI frosh failing academically/Travis Mason-Bushman, UI Argonaut

More Info: Twenty percent of the University of Idaho’s 2008 freshman class is on academic probation this spring, and that stark figure, released by the Office of the Dean of Students last week, put UI officials on a mission to help these students boost their academic performance and get back on track for graduation. A total of 405 UI freshmen were placed on academic probation as a result of their fall semester or cumulative grade point averages falling below 2.0.

Question: Do you think University of Idaho is that demanding academically? Or are many in the fall freshman class lazy or too busy with non-academic pursuits?

It is painfully obvious some would chose to room with a significant other. This is America, and two consenting adults are free to do whatever they can possibly imagine. However, this is with the state’s assistance. While I am sure our student body is doing everything possible to be “safe,” accidents do happen, and the state is currently working to prevent unwanted pregnancies and financially supporting single mothers. It is counterproductive for the state to simultaneously support mixed-gender cohabitation while at the same time pleading for people to abstain until they are financially solvent/Jeff Reznicek, UI Argonaut. More here.

Question: Is the University of Idaho sending mixed messages with its intention to offer mixed-gender housing?