Here’s a link to my Sunday column on the week’s developments in the 1st District congressional race, from Rep. Raul Labrador’s campaign finance report sending signals that he’ll seek a third term – rather than run for governor – to the latest on former Democratic…
The U.S. secretaries of Agriculture and Interior were in Colorado today to launch the first of six pilot projects designed to protect the nation’s water supply from increased wildfire risk, and one of the projects is targeted for the Boise River drainage upstream of Boise.…
Condemned double murderer Timonthy Dunlap is suing Idaho state prison officials, contending that the elimination of baloney sandwich lunches on weekends in 2011 constitutes "cruel and unusual" treatment, and that he's lost weight and suffered a heart attack due to low sodium since the change,…
Growing up a Democratic activist in conservative Idaho shaped Bruce Reed’s life in national politics, much of it spent in the White House and on the campaign trail, reports S-R reporter Scott Maben. “Out here I learned that you can’t take anybody’s vote for granted.…
The odds are against 2nd District Congressman Mike Simpson being defeated by GOP primary challenger Bryan Smith – by 23 to 1, reports Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey. That’s based on a review of Idaho election history by a University of Minnesota political scientist, who…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Labor says the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June edged up slightly to 6.4 percent — marking the second straight month the state's jobless rate has crept upward.…
Jimmy Farris, the former NFL football player and Idaho native who took 30.8 percent of the vote against 1st District Rep. Raul Labrador last year, says he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll challenge the GOP congressman again next year. But Farris, a Democrat, said he…
No one has filed with the FEC yet to run against 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador in 2014, but a 23-year-old BSU political science student, Michael Greenway, announced today that he’ll challenge Labrador in the GOP primary. “I’m getting my campaign team together right now,”…
Idaho’s state tax revenue came in 6.5 percent ahead of forecast in June, closing out the fiscal year with a $92.5 million surplus over the $2.658 billion the state had expected to take in for the year. That’s 3.5 percent; it’s a 6.3 percent increase…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A man who once sought to take control of an Idaho ski resort using millions stolen from retirees should go to prison for 210 months, federal prosecutors wrote this week in their sentencing…
Plans being developed by the education stakeholders task force include a sweeping new “career ladder” proposal for Idaho public school teachers that would raise Idaho’s minimum teacher pay from the current $31,000 to $40,000, and that would boost the top of the state’s teacher salary…
The Idaho Department of Labor has scheduled eight job fairs at its offices around southwestern Idaho over the next week to help MAXIMUS Inc. hire up to 1,800 permanent and seasonal customer service representatives and operations support staff for a large call center it plans…
A national moderate Republican group is pledging to match the Club for Growth’s anti-Mike Simpson spending “dollar for dollar” in the upcoming GOP primary race, Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey reports, promising to make the 2nd District Idaho GOP congressional contest in 2014 a target…
A historic agreement 25 years in the making was signed today between all the various entities that provide emergency medical services in Ada County, bringing them into a joint powers agreement designed to provide a unified response system, anywhere in the county and regardless of…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Idaho man who reported a road-rage encounter with a Portland police captain is suing the officer and city. In August 2011, Todd Wyatt waved his gun and badge in the window of…
A squadron of U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters at Mountain Home Air Force Base that's been grounded for three months due to the federal sequestration budget cuts is now flying again, after Congress agreed to shift funds from overseas operations, the AP reports. Col. Chris…
Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador is sitting on the second-biggest wad of campaign cash he’s stockpiled since he’s been in office, with more than $277,000 in the bank. That suggests that Labrador is gearing up for a re-election bid for a third term, not for a…
Idaho got the lowest interest rate on its annual sale of $500 million in Tax Anticipation Notes this year since it started issuing the one-year notes in 1983, state Treasurer Ron Crane announced today. The state’s yield, or net expense, on the notes came in…
The Idaho Lottery presented its 10th straight record dividend to the state today, handing over $48.2 million from lottery proceeds for the state’s schools and state buildings for the year. “The weather isn’t the only thing that’s hot – your Idaho Lottery is sizzling, too,”…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Private prison company Corrections Corporation of America is asking a federal judge to deny a request from Idaho news organizations to keep documents open in a lawsuit over conditions at a CCA-run prison.…
The latest project to remove a longstanding dam to restore fish runs is in north-central Idaho, reports John Miller of the Associated Press, where the town of Troy and area farmers are working to remove an unused, 93-year-old dam that blocks steelhead from reaching prime…
Idaho has dropped plans to auction off three undeveloped lakefront cabin sites on Priest Lake this summer, and instead will look at possibly auctioning up to three other lots on the lake next year. “Those three were not the ideal locations, after on-site review,” Thomas…
The Idaho Department of Labor is seeking proposals for new workforce training initiatives that bring industry and educational institutions together in a partnership to enhance Idaho workers' skills. The new Industry Sector Grant program will start out by offering three two-year grants of up to…
A five-year project to use trees to promote the health of the Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer has wrapped up, with new trees planted, a blueprint for where to plant more, a boost for a Hayden program that uses poplar trees to drink up treated wastewater, and…
Idaho GOP Sen. Mike Crapo and Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet are calling for FEMA to shift priorities and dramatically step up its funding for wildfire prevention. In the last decade, just 0.5 percent of FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance spending went to wildfire-related work. “These…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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