An inability to manage data by administrators at the Commission of Pardons and Parole is creating inefficiency and delays in paroling Idaho inmates that have cost the state more than $7.2 million since 2009, the Associated Press reports. A performance audit report released Wednesday by…
Associated Press religion writer Rachel Zoll has an interesting story out suggesting that one of the winners of last week's election was the Mormon church, as, despite Mitt Romney's loss, the campaign prompted a new era of both learning about and acceptance of the LDS…
Flu season has arrived in southwestern Idaho, the state Department of Health & Welfare reports, with cases already being reported in schools and long-term care facilities. Dr. Leslie Tengelsen, deputy state epidemiologist, said it's shown up earlier than usual. “With the approaching holidays and planned…
Here's a news item from the AP and the Idaho Press-Tribune: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― A 15-year-old boy is seeking $1.2 million from Idaho and its correctional system, claiming the state failed to protect him from a prison staffer who sexually assaulted him. The Idaho…
The Idaho Community Action Network, a statewide non-profit advocacy group with more than 2,000 members, issued a report today calling strongly for Idaho to expand its Medicaid program to cover the working poor. That also was the unanimous recommendation of a 14-member working group appointed…
Pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline LLC will pay Idaho $1.33 million as part of a 38-state settlement over its promotion of its diabetes drug, Avandia. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and 38 other state attorneys general contended that the firm claimed the drug had cardiovascular benefits, when…
The Idaho Department of Labor is warning that emails being sent to employers seeking information on former employees who may have filed unemployment insurance claims are fraudulent, and employers should ignore them. The emails, purporting to be from the state "Division of Unemployment Assistance" and…
Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador says the Republican Party will never win the presidency again unless it can attract Hispanic votes, and he said that requires action on immigration reform. Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey reports that Labrador made the comments at a Capitol Hill news…
Ada County commissioners are seeking the return of $2 million from Dynamis, a company the county hired to design a waste-to-energy plant that's now the subject of a lawsuit, an investigation by a former FBI agent and opposition from residents. Click below for a full…
The ACLU of Idaho is charging that the Corrections Corp. of America is violating the terms of a settlement agreement it reached with the group in a 2010 lawsuit over prison violence at the CCA-run Idaho Correctional Center south of Boise, the AP reports, a…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press and the Idaho Press-Tribune: NAMPA, Idaho (AP) ― A nutrition services worker who was fired from the Nampa School District has taken the first step toward suing the district, filing a $1 million tort claim over his…
Hundreds of Boiseans turned out for a five-hour public hearing last night, with nearly all in favor of a proposed city ordinance to ban discrimination in housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Citizens shared emotional stories of living…
The Boise Police are planning to crack down on underage drinking around this Saturday's BSU home football game against Colorado State, including both underage consumption and adults who provide alcohol to people under age 21. In addition, the police will be patrolling for open-container violations…
A backcountry skier advocacy group, the Winter Wildlands Alliance, has filed suit in federal court, asking a judge to order the U.S. Forest Service to create plans for snowmobiles limiting their travel on public land, the Associated Press reports. "One snowmobile can track up an…
Idaho state schools Superintendent Tom Luna has announced that under the now-repealed "Students Come First" laws, teachers in 499 schools across the state will receive bonuses for their work last school year, while those in 155 schools will not. Data for 12 schools still is…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is reaching out to the opponents of the failed "Students Come First" school reform laws, including the leaders of the Idaho Education Association; they've been invited to an initial meeting with the governor's staff tomorrow. "I can confirm there is going…
A gang war that appears to have taken over parts of an Idaho private prison is spilling into the federal courts, reports Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone, with some inmates contending prison officials are ceding control to gang leaders in an effort to save money.…
Mike Lanza, chairman of the campaign that successfully overturned controversial "Students Come First" school reform laws, reacted with suspicion today to state schools Superintendent Tom Luna's call for collaboration on new reform laws. "His entire track record is not one of collaboration, and we believe…
A somewhat subdued Tom Luna, Idaho state superintendent of schools, pledged today to work with stakeholders to bring back only the pieces of his voter-rejected "Students Come First" school reform laws on which all sides can agree. "I think it's critical that we work together,"…
Idaho school teachers who earned $38.8 million in merit-pay bonuses last year under the now-repealed "Students Come First" school reform laws still must be paid those bonuses for their work last school year, according to an Idaho Attorney General's opinion released today by state Superintendent…
A southwestern Idaho hospital turf war is escalating, with medical groups suing a rival in federal court to block its latest expansion plan, the AP reports. Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center is the main plaintiff behind an antitrust lawsuit filed today that's meant to halt…
Spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise will be sent to eastern Idaho for study and storage, the Idaho Falls Post Register reports. The Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is being decommissioned after participating in every major conflict with the…
The Twin Falls Times-News reports today that House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, has publicly announced his run for Speaker of the House, taking on current Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale. "It's time for a change," Bedke told the newspaper. Leadership elections will take place…
Fifteen of the nation's top cartoonists, including Tom Richmond of MAD Magazine, Jeff Keane of the Family Circus, Mike Peters of Mother Goose and Grimm, Rick Kirkman of Baby Blues, Todd Clark of Lola, Mason Mastroianni of B.C. and more, will be in Boise on…
Corey Surber, chair of the governor's Medicaid expansion working group, said, "At this point I'm sensing consensus, but I'd like to do one more check." She asked working group members, if they didn't agree with Option 3 - expand Medicaid - with the identified caveats…