The state Tax Commission, sitting as the Board of Equalization, came up with a compromise plan for Bonner County taxable values today that will mean increases from 2005 levels, but not by as much as an earlier, disputed assessment that jumped values 62 percent countywide.Tax…
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Marilyn Howard is being treated for breast cancer, her office just announced, and is undergoing surgery today. “Once Howard recuperates from today’s surgery, she and her physicians will determine appropriate follow-up treatment,” said a statement from Jennifer Oxley, Howard’s new…
A split Idaho Supreme Court ruled today that a petition for a vote on whether the city of Boise should put a new 10 Commandments monument back in Julia Davis Park, where one was removed two years ago and given to a local church, should…
Just in case you're wondering, we've developed an online calculator so you can find out for yourself. How much would you save from the proposed reduction in Idaho's property tax? How much more might you spend with the proposed increase in sales tax? What's the…
Gov. Jim Risch today named David Brasuell the new acting administrator of the Division of Veterans Services, replacing Joe Bleymaier, whom Risch’s office said resigned last week. The Veterans Affairs Commission – which Brasuell currently chairs – is charged with nominating a permanent director. Brasuell…
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, sent out this rather interesting note today: “In anticipation that the Project Vote Smart staff will soon be slamming me for not responding to their survey, I’m sending my explanation as to why I did not respond to them or any…
Just how clear was Gov. Jim Risch about restricting the special legislative session on Aug. 25th to the property tax reform bill that he’s proposing? He’s the wording from his proclamation calling the special session: WHEREAS rising property taxes are a major concern to property…
Driving to the mountains this weekend? ISP wants you to watch out. They’re targeting failure to pull over and improper passing on mountain highways, and will keep it up for the next several weeks. They’re reminding motorists that Idaho law requires that on two-lane highways…
The Hill newspaper reported today that Idaho’s 1st District congressional race is one of 10 targeted by a GOP “Retain Our Majority Program” or “ROMP” fundraiser that raised close to $1 million. This particular fundraiser, according to the paper, is for “candidates in the most…
Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes told a Coeur d’Alene audience today that legislators from the southern part of the state have learned lessons about property taxes from their North Idaho counterparts. “Your northern Idaho legislators did a tremendous job last session to bring this…
Idaho’s own special state quarter, which will come out next summer, will feature a Peregrine falcon, the majestic, speedy raptor that was brought back from the brink of extinction by the Boise-based Peregrine Fund. And the only reason all of us know this today? Tim…
Lots has happened in the past two weeks, including Gov. Jim Risch’s replacement of state Corrections Director Tom Beauclair with former longtime Ada County Sheriff Vaughn Killeen. Beauclair’s been the director since 2001 and has 30 years experience with the department; Killeen has been a…
Gov. Jim Risch, in discussions with legislative leaders yesterday, settled on Friday August 25th as the date for a special session if he calls one this summer. “The date has been set aside,” said Risch’s chief of staff, John Sandy. “There are various reasons for…
Former state Transportation Director Kermit Kiebert of Hope has been appointed by Gov. Jim Risch to the state Board of Environmental Quality, to replace former state Sen. Marguerite McLaughlin of Orofino, who is retiring.Risch praised McLaughlin, a longtime Democratic state legislator who served in both…
Gov. Jim Risch issued an executive order this afternoon expanding HB 707, the bill that required those who lobby the executive branch to register and disclose spending just like those who lobby the legislative branch, to also specifically cover people who lobby his staff.“In reviewing…
Kirk Hall just showed all of us what we’re missing. Starting in Boundary County on May 31 and finishing just before the Fourth of July in Boise, Hall, 62, pedaled his bicycle into every one of Idaho’s 44 counties. Hall, who regularly commutes by bicycle…
Boise has been having a run of extremely wild weather in the evenings – booming thunder, dramatic forked flashes of lighting, wind-driven rain and masses of clouds that give the place a monsoon feel – followed each morning by clear, sunny, calm skies that make…
Artist John Horejs, a Twin Falls, Idaho native whose wildflower paintings and western landscapes hang in the collections of former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, billionaire J.R. Simplot, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn and others, pleaded guilty today to federal tax charges, along…
Boise State University political scientist Jim Weatherby – a well-known authority on Idaho politics who’s been following Idaho’s political scene for decades – will retire from Boise State this week after 17 years. Weatherby, 63, will become a professor emeritus, and still plans to follow…
Boise State University’s bookstore reports that it generated $1 million in proceeds for the university in the past year – in large part because of the popularity of BSU “Bronco” merchandise. The bookstore, which receives no state funding, sends its proceeds back to the university…
It’s often been said that Idaho has three capitals – Boise, Spokane and Salt Lake City. Here’s proof: A history teacher at Preston High School in Preston, Idaho, has been named Utah History Teacher of the Year by the Utah chapter of the Daughters of…
It seems it’s all a matter of perspective – the huge American flag hanging in the state Capitol these days isn’t really bigger than the flag that flies atop the former Simplot house – it’s actually smaller. Ric Johnston, facilities manager for the state, said…
Hard as it may be to imagine a bigger American flag than the one that flies over the Idaho House – formerly the Simplot home, which sits on a high-profile Boise hilltop and now is the official state governor’s residence, though it’s awaiting remodeling –…
Here’s a little-known fact: The Bulgan Aimak Province of Mongolia is “similar to Idaho in geography, topography and climate.”That factoid is brought to you by the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, in honor of the visit this weekend to Boise of Mongolia’s ambassador to…
Idaho Gov. Jim Risch has just announced he’ll close Idaho’s office in Washington, D.C. – which the state has had since May of 1999 – and instead open a constituent-service office in Coeur d’Alene and a similar one in Idaho Falls.Luke Malek, a Post Falls…