In a fairly big shakeup in Idaho media circles, the new Idaho Education News has announced that it’s hired Idaho Falls Post Register Statehouse reporter Clark Corbin and Idaho Statesman editorial page editor Kevin Richert as its two new staffers who will cover education news…
The Idaho Commission for Libraries has launched a new “citizen tools portal” to help people access, track and participate in state government in Idaho. It includes information on following the legislative process, accessing the courts, and finding and verifying news online. You can access the…
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Jerome County Sheriff’s office, saying it violated the employment rights of an Army National Guard member. Mervin Jones, a corporal for the sheriff’s office, suffered a knee injury while deployed to Iraq in 2004,…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter took an upbeat tone in his sixth State of the State message to lawmakers today, urging them to start where they all agree and get things done for the state – including his proposal for Idaho to run its own health…
As he closed his “State of the State” message, Gov. Butch Otter noted Idaho’s recent ranking of second in the nation for volunteering. That’s “in our DNA,” he said. “It’s who we are. It’s who you are, and I’m proud to join you in pressing…
Gov. Butch Otter recalled Anne Veseth, the 20-year-old college student and seasonal firefighter who was killed in August while fighting a fire in Clearwater County. “We owe her and thousans like her a fighting chance while protecting our forests and rangelands,” Otter said. “That’s why…
Gov. Butch Otter departed from his prepared remarks, just as he was highlighting “the damage that federal court rulings can do to our traditional industries and our Idaho lifestyle.” The governor told lawmakers, “In fact we learned just this morning that Idaho won its case…
Idaho would build a new 579-bed secure mental health facility at the prison complex south of Boise, under a $70 million bond plan that Gov. Butch Otter is proposing to lawmakers. “More than a quarter of the inmates in our state prison system have some…
Gov. Butch Otter has called for adding five more seats to the WWAMI collaborative medical school program that allows Idaho students to attend med school at the University of Washington, with the seats targeted to a program aimed at rural areas. He also is calling…
A perhaps surprising announcement from Gov. Butch Otter: At least for now, he’s opposing expansion of Idaho’s Medicaid program largely at federal expense, though a working group he convened to study the issue called for the expansion. “There’s a lot more work to do, and…
Gov. Butch Otter defended his support for a state-based health insurance exchange. “Rejecting the opportunity to assert ourselves will result in an unresponsive, one-size-fits-all federal exchange wreaking havoc on some of America’s most reasonable costs of coverage,” Otter declared. “At its core, this is a…
The personal property tax on business equipment, which Idaho’s largest businesses are pushing hard to repeal this year, is something “nearly everyone agrees is an unfair drag on our economy,” Gov. Butch Otter told lawmakers in his State of the State message. He said, “Whether…
A legislative initiative Gov. Butch Otter is outlining is an expansion of the “Hire One Act” that he successfully pushed for in 2011. The new legislation would clarify the existing tax credit for new employees, plus add $1,000 to the employer’s credit if the new…
Gov. Butch Otter is highlighting university-business collaborations in the state and efforts at Idaho’s community colleges to address workforce development issues. He’s also paying tribute to Katie Pemberton of Canfield Middle School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho’s 2013 teacher of the year. “She’s earned that recognition…
Education policy in the wake of the voter-rejected “Students Come First” laws is a hot-button issue as this year’s legislative session convenes, and Gov. Butch Otter had some strong things to say about it in his State of the State message. “I do NOT seek…
Otter’s first hint about the state budget he’s proposing for next year: He doesn’t want state government to grow as fast as “our economy and the people’s ability to pay for it.” Therefore, he said, his budget will call for a 3.1 percent increase in…
Gov. Butch Otter has begun his “State of the State” message to a joint session of the Idaho Legislature, and as he began, he noted the snowy weather outside. “I consider it an omen, that if God’ll help us with this and our watershed, He…
The House and Senate have now convened, in advance of Gov. Butch Otter's annual "State of the State" and budget message to a joint session of the Legislature, which will occur in the House chambers. The governor's speech, laying out his agenda for the legislative…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
