An anonymous tip about a fight, of which no evidence was found, didn't provide reasonable suspicion for two Coeur d'Alene police officers to block in and arrest a man for drunken driving while he was parked in the parking lot of an apartment complex, the…
Idaho's Hispanic population has continued to increase at three times the rate of non-Hispanics, according to the latest U.S. Census figures. Overall, 10.2 percent of Idahoans are Hispanic, but the census found that in nine of Idaho's 44 counties, all in southern Idaho, the figure…
Here is state Treasurer Ron Crane's official statement about his political intentions:"After much thought and careful consideration I have determined I will not be a candidate for U.S. Representative from the 1st Congressional district for Idaho. I am extremely grateful and humbled by the outpouring…
A former volunteer firefighter from Parma is headed to federal prison for six years, for six felony counts of setting fires on public land. Clyde Dewayne Holmes Jr., 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill to 72 months in prison, followed by three…
Soaring numbers of Idaho smokers are trying to kick the habit, the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare reports, to the point that they've used up the rest of the year's worth of funding for a free nicotine replacement therapy program. Since last July, Project…
Rex Rammell has had to change the colorful graphics on his giant, decorated "Conservative Express" RV twice in the last month and a half. First, he changed, "Time for a new kind of Senator" to "Time for a new kind of Congressman," when the former…
Musing on some of the things some lawmakers said about him this year, Gov. Butch Otter said this week, "In the heat of battle there's some passion that sometimes is released. I'd like an opportunity to set down and let 'em know where I thought,…
Rex Rammell, a former elk rancher and veterinarian who ran for the U.S. Senate as an independent in 2008, garnering 5.4 percent of the vote, announced a couple of weeks ago that he'd challenge U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson in the Republican primary next year, but…
Idaho already had more than 70 options for special license plates, from breast cancer awareness to snow skier to Pearl Harbor survivor. Now it's got four more, as Gov. Butch Otter signed a bill into law today creating a "Gold Star Family" license plate for…
Here's a link to the final, 17th week of this year's legislative session in photos as a slide show. And you can click below to read the various limericks and haiku in which I chronicled events of the final, tumultuous week.
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the final day of Idaho's legislative session today - the 117th day - and here's a link to my sidebar on the snafu in which Rep. Frank Henderson's Garwood-to-Sagle bill got killed in the House…
Otter's message as lawmakers leave town: "If an admittedly stop-gap measure can provide a level of certainty and predictability, this is it. Our work is just beginning, but this will enable us to meet our most immediate needs ... while planning how best to pay…
"I'm a user-pay guy, and the people that buy gasoline use the roads," Gov. Butch Otter said, explaining why he wanted a gas tax hike to fix roads. But he said more than that, he wants revenue to fix the roads, and he wants certainty…
Opening his press conference at the close of the legislative session, Gov. Butch Otter said he wanted to "run over" some of what happened, then stopped himself, amid laughter, saying perhaps that wasn't the best phrase. "I've already signed 313 pieces of legislation," he said.…
When Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, moved to adjourn the House for the session - sine die - Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, responded, "Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how happy I am to second that motion." Unlike most days, when Speaker Lawerence Denney…
"This is kind of tough for me," House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the House just now. When SB 1147, the bill to allow design-build contracts at ITD, arrived at the House, it'd been amended in the Senate. "To kind of clarify one of…
The Idaho Senate has adjourned sine die, Latin for "without a day," meaning they've ended their work for the legislative session. Lt. Gov. Brad Little banged a rubber mallet on a foot-long wooden handle that serves as his Senate gavel, to close the session. "Very,…
The Senate has passed its final bill, SB 1245, the appropriation for the agricultural research and cooperative extension service. Now, with some final comments, the Senate is preparing to adjourn.
The Senate has voted 27-3 in favor of SB 1147, the bill from Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, to allow ITD to have design-build contracts. The bill also now includes the original thrust of HB 286, the measure from Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, to pinpoint…
The Senate has just agreed to amend SB 1147, the design-build bill for ITD - adding into it the sections from HB 286 about the Garwood-to-Sagle project on Highway 95 in North Idaho. Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell, told the Senate, "These amendments should…
The House has voted unanimously, 58-0, on final passage of HB 338, the ethanol bill as amended in the Senate. "We're still waiting on one appropriation bill from the Senate to come over," said Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, the House majority caucus chairman. The House…
HB 303a, a controversial education funding bill that spawned a following "trailer" bill, has won final approval in the House as amended in the Senate. The vote was 57-2.
Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, asked the House to not concur in the Senate amendments to his bill, HB 286, and the House unanimously agreed. Henderson said lawmakers long ago signed onto policies stating that they wouldn't pick highway projects, they'd leave that role to…
The House has been waiting around all morning for the Senate to send it the last few bills. Now, the House is preparing to go on the floor. First up: "Probably not concur to the Senate amendments in HB 286," said House Majority Caucus Chairman…
Senators have reluctantly approved HB 376, to shift the ISP and state parks off the highway fund a year from now, as of July 1, 2010. Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, dubbed it "pretty much a shell game" and said it offers "an illusion of having…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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