Thu., Feb. 4, 2010
"We all must face the reality of the current budget situation," Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden told legislative budget writers this morning. Holdbacks on the attorney general's budget so far have cut $2.8 million, he said. "My office is operating on a razor-thin margin. ...…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Idaho law currently makes it a misdemeanor for law enforcement officers or prosecutors who know about unlawful gambling to fail to prosecute it, and "the way gambling is defined in the code, it covers your mother-in-law's football pool," Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, told the House…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
The Panhandle Health District has decided to start work on revisions to its rule limiting expansion of North Idaho cabins on old, non-compliant sewer systems, but the move won't help a Pullman resident who built a big new home on Lake Coeur d'Alene and now…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Today is the annual "Pie Day" at the state Capitol, when the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators fills the fourth-floor rotunda with displays manned by home-schooled students, showcasing their studies and projects, and hands out a wide and tasty array of homemade pie to lawmakers…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Here's a news item from the AP: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Parks and Recreation Board unanimously voted to reconsider its decision to close Dworshak State Park in northcentral Idaho. The board said Wednesday it was reversing course and no longer considers closing state…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
More Idahoans are going hungry now than ever before, according to a new, once-every-four-years study released today by the Idaho Food Bank and "Feeding America," a national group. The numbers are up sharply - 142,200 Idahoans received emergency food last year, a 59 percent increase…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Even as Democrats in both houses have pressed this year for re-examining and possibly repealing some of Idaho's existing tax exemptions, the first new sales tax exemption to clear the House Revenue & Taxation Committee this morning came from a Democrat - Rep. Branden Durst,…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
There have been about 4,000 claims filed so far in the North Idaho water adjudication from water-rights claimants in the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane River basin, interim Idaho Water Resources Director Gary Spackman told JFAC this morning. He said he estimates 13,000 claims will be filed as…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Royce Chigbrow, chairman of the state Tax Commission, asked how he plans to address the "tax gap" of uncollected taxes, said, "Our plan is to work with the Legislature and to work with the governor's office, because we truly feel that our solution is to…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Questioned on how the state Tax Commission has coped with budget cuts and holdbacks, Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow said the Tax Commission has eliminated 10 positions, held open about 30 vacancies, and is imposing 20,000 unpaid furlough hours on remaining employees. "Were any of…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Idaho is losing $250 million a year in taxes due that simply haven't been paid, state Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow told JFAC this morning. "The tax gap is important, because it does impose an unfair burden on those who pay on time and accurately,…
Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Idaho Fish and Game officials say they're moving ahead with plans to reopen a public shooting range at Farragut State Park this spring, despite a so-far successful lawsuit from nearby neighbors that shut down the range in 2007. Since it was shut down by court…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho will continue to let people with more than $2,000 in assets receive food stamps, at least through May. The Legislature's House Health and Welfare Committee reaffirmed the waiver Tuesday allowing a family…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, aimed at punishing Idaho employers who hire illegal immigrants, could end up hurting refugees who come to the state legally, refugee advocates say, by preventing them from getting driver's licenses so they can work. Jorgenson's bill would…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
There's lots of high-tech film equipment up on the fourth floor rotunda today at "Media Day '10," which is showcasing media innovation and technology. Exhibits cover everything from university film programs to a screenwriters' group to other aspects of the "creative economy." As part of…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, asked DEQ Director Toni Hardesty whether the recent ASARCO court settlement will "in any way relieve the state of Idaho's taxpayers." Hardesty's response: "Unfortunately no." Under the mining firm ASARCO's bankruptcy settlement, Hardesty explained, Idaho will receive two sums: $1.9…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
The impacts of budget cuts on the state Department of Environmental Quality have included layoffs, furloughs, holding positions vacant, and cutting back or eliminating programs, Director Toni Hardesty told JFAC this morning. "It is just not possible to absorb these cuts without some level of…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Idaho Fish & Game Director Cal Groen says over the last 10 years, 70 percent of Idaho residents have hunted or fished, generating millions for the state's economy. Fish and Game is evolving, though, he said, with more people now viewing wildlife without hunting than…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa is proposing a possible savings in his budget from the $370,000 that the state expects to spend next fall on voter notification for the general election. Ysursa said Idaho has a new law requiring a pamphlet to go to…
Tue., Feb. 2, 2010
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa noted this morning that he's coming before JFAC for his budget hearing today on the day of the funeral for Atwell Parry, the former senator and JFAC co-chair from Melba who died on Friday. "He was a good man…
Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
When George Bacon, director of the state Department of Lands, made his budget presentation to lawmakers today, he was asked about the failed Tamarack Resort, which recently missed a $250,000 lease payment to the state for the state lands on which its ski runs lie.…
Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
Click below to read a full report from AP reporter John Miller on the latest campaign finance reports in the 1st Congressional District race; they show that U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick has outraised his GOP rivals combined, and offer a look at who's supporting which…
Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
Here's a link to my full story on the parks budget presented today by state Parks Director Nancy Merrill, which calls for a $5 million cut in state funding next year. She says Idaho's park system can move toward self-sufficiency by following a new "business…
Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
When it came time for the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon to take up HB 420, the bill from Rep. Carlos Bilbao to make graffiti a felony, committee Chairman Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, said, "Theyre going to have to have some amendments and they can't…
Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
Idaho's four-member congressional delegation has issued the following statement regarding the arrest of several Idahoans in Haiti on possible child abduction charges; the Idahoans, members of Baptist churches in Meridian and Twin Falls, were attempting to take children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic as…
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