Along with hunters who are headed out wolf hunting in the morning in the Lolo and Sawtooth zones, there'll be members of the national media. "Today was the busiest day with the media I think we've ever had," said Ed Mitchell of Idaho Fish &…
One concern raised by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy raised when he issued the 2008 injunction stopping wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana was the lack of evidence of genetic mixing between the wolf populations in the various states. "I don't think he was provided…
Jenny Harbine, attorney with Earthjustice, the environmental law firm that's representing the conservation groups that sued over wolf delisting, said of today's court proceedings, "Well, obviously we didn't get a ruling, and the judge stated that he would issue a ruling expeditiously. We don't know…
Get this: Idaho wasn't supposed to be allowed to offer any oral arguments this morning at the wolf hearing in Missoula, but U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy surprised officials from Idaho and Montana this morning by shifting gears at the last minute, and agreeing to…
While a federal judge ponders whether to issue an injunction stopping wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana, Idaho Fish and Game officials are hurriedly preparing signs to warn away hunters in case an adverse ruling comes down before the start of Tuesday morning's scheduled hunt.…
Congressmen Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick were asked, in a question submitted by a City Club audience member, if they'd support banning health care industry PAC contributions while Congress debates health care reform. "I can answer that no, Mike, how about you?" Minnick responded amid…
The City Club of Boise has an interesting double bill for its luncheon today: Republican Congressman Mike Simpson, and Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick, at a forum dubbed, "Red Elephant, Blue Dog, A Conversation." Sitting collegially side by side, the two said they do work together…
The hearing this morning in federal court in Missoula this morning over a possible injunction to block upcoming wolf hunting seasons in Idaho and Montana ended without a ruling from the bench, but U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, according to the Associated Press, said he'll…
Here's what happens with most tort claims against the state, though the one filed by fired ITD Director Pam Lowe is hardly run-of-the-mill: Idaho's risk management office, in response to a public records request, reported that the state received 1,867 such claims in the last…
Legal experts say ousted Idaho Transportation Director Pam Lowe has grounds to dispute her firing, not necessarily because of her explosive allegations about sex discrimination and political pressure, but because of an unclear Idaho law. The dispute also threatens to embarrass a governor who's up…
While the national media wonders what Sarah Palin’s doing and what she’ll do next, she’s holed up working on her book, her dad said today. “Sarah’s been out of town for almost a month now,” said Chuck Heath, who is on a campaign swing through…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has ripped into challenger Rex Rammell for "reckless and inflammatory statements" about shooting the president, though Rammell said he was just joking. Saying "I reject and condemn this kind of rhetoric," the governor said such statements "gravely damage confidence in the…
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo issued the following statement about the comments regarding shooting President Obama made by gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell, who like Crapo is a Republican: “Rex Rammell’s comments are in very poor taste and should not have been said. Remarks like these should…
GOP gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell says "anyone who understands the law" would know he was just joking about buying a hunting tag to shoot President Barack Obama, "because Idaho has no jurisdiction to issue hunting tags in Washington, D.C." This after the Idaho Republican Party…
In more news from the campaign front, the Times-News reported today that GOP gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell was highly critical of Gov. Butch Otter for not purchasing a wolf hunting tag on the first day they went on sale, which Otter didn't do because he…
Oopsy. Ken Roberts' congressional campaign sent out a press release first thing this morning noting that Roberts, R-Donnelly, the current House majority caucus chairman who's running for the 1st District congressional seat, has now been endorsed by 30 legislators from the 1st District. The release…
Fired ITD Director Pam Lowe says in her wrongful-firing tort claim that she was ousted just as she prepared to cut back or eliminate a multimillion-dollar contract with a politically well-connected firm, after strong pressure from the governor's office not to do it. But the…
Every state has now created a “transparency” Web site to allow residents to track federal economic stimulus money, but according to a report by a good-government group, some sites are better than others. Washington ranked among the top three in the nation, while Idaho tied…
The Times-News in Twin Falls reports today that its local member of the Idaho Transportation Board, Gary Blick, has repeatedly refused to comment to the paper since emerging as a key figure in the firing of ITD Director Pam Lowe. Lowe's tort claim against the…
The law firm representing fired ITD Director Pam Lowe in her wrongful termination claim against the state, Strindberg & Scholnick LLC, specializes in employment law, and is the firm that last year won a $4.2 million settlement on behalf of more than 300 employees of…
A look at fired ITD Director Pam Lowe's tort claim against the state for wrongful termination shows some explosive allegations, beyond sex discrimination and improper dismissal. Among them: That Jeff Malmen, then Gov. Butch Otter's chief of staff, called Lowe and ITD Board Chairman Darrell…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has been saying for two years that he wanted to be the first to bid on an Idaho wolf hunting tag, but today, when unlimited sales of the tags opened at Fish & Game offices around the state, at vendors and…
The court hearing in Missoula next Monday before U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, on a possible injunction to block the impending first-ever wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana this fall, is following rather swiftly after the 13 groups that earlier sued in federal court over…
Here's the 4:45 p.m. total of wolf hunting tags sold today in Idaho: 4,196, of which 61 were to non-residents. All the rest went to Idaho hunters. There's no limit on the tags, and they continue to be sold both at vendors like sporting good…
Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget director, reports that he bought a wolf tag during his lunch break and got tag No. 3,080. "That was at like 12, 12:30," he said. "So I imagine they'll sell five or six thousand by the end of the…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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