May is a multi-purpose month in Idaho, according to seven official proclamations (so far) signed by Gov. Butch Otter. May 2013 in Idaho has now been officially proclaimed as 2nd Amendment Protection Month, Building Safety Month, Community Action Month, Electrical Safety Month, Lupus Awareness Month,…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter today proclaimed May to be “2nd Amendment Protection Month” and is inviting arms and ammunition manufacturers to consider relocating to the Gem State. “The National Rifle Association ranks Idaho as a gun-friendly state whose laws are among the least restrictive in…
The federal Bureau of Land Management may permanently close a popular climbing site in southeastern Idaho, reports AP reporter Hannah Furfaro, over opposition from local rock climbers who argue the plan is too restrictive and was pushed through without stakeholder input. The 400-acre area known…
Spokesman-Review correspondent Kip Hill writes in Sunday’s paper, “While speaking to Latino voters in Boise about a decade ago, Raul Labrador caught the eye of Idaho’s highest-ranking Democrat in the state House of Representatives. The audience was captivated by Labrador, an immigration lawyer fluent in…
A few more tidbits from the first-quarter campaign finance reports: Yes, Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Raul Labrador both actually spent more than they raised in the first quarter of this year (Crapo raised $32,000 and spent $103,000; while Labrador raised $22,120 and spent $37,158).…
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo has by far the biggest campaign warchest of anyone in the Idaho congressional delegation, Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey reports today, with $3.3 million piled up. Popkey went through the first quarter reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, and reported…
The take from the first "Idaho Gives" day: More than $578,000 in donations to 500-plus Idaho non-profits, with nearly 6,200 people across the state making donations. "I really felt that if we got a couple hundred thousand dollars I would have thought we were pretty…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A Blackfoot woman who helped expose secret school district payments won kudos for making government more open. Joyce Bingham, a substitute teacher, was named Thursday as recipient of the 2013 Max Dalton Open…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BURLEY, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in south-central Idaho say a drug-sniffing dog found $27,000 worth of Marijuana on a passenger bus at a stop in Burley. The Cassia County Sheriff's Office tells The Times-News (http://bit.ly/11YByje) that Kuma…
Two themes — keeping families together and giving immigrants equal access to work, benefits and school — dominated a rally and march Wednesday in Boise, where more than 700 demonstrators urged lawmakers to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and system, the Associated Press reports. Demonstrators,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Labor and immigration activists are expected to rally and march in Boise in support for an overhaul of the nation's immigration system. The demonstration Wednesday is part of the May Day rallies planned…
Fifteen years after she was killed while walking along the Boise Greenbelt on her way to church, carrying a Bible, the Boise Police today arrested a suspect in the murder of 22-year-old Kay Lynn Jackson. Patrick Jon Zacharias, 40, has been charged with 1st degree…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: COUER D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A misdemeanor battery charged against a former northern Idaho lawmaker has been dismissed. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports (http://bit.ly/1037wqm ) the case against former Republican state Sen. Mike Jorgenson was dismissed late…
A pair of small but unseasonably early fires burning in California's wine country likely is a harbinger of a nasty summer fire season across the West, reports John Miller of the Associated Press. The first summer fire outlook for the upcoming season from the National…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has returned from a six-day trade mission to Asia, and reports that he views the mission to South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam as a success. During the trip, the Idaho Department of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding with the Taiwan…
Here’s some interesting historical perspective from Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey: The last time Idaho held a conflict auction for state-owned cabin site leases was in 1987, when the state Land Board auctioned off 22 lots at Payette Lake in an effort to establish market…
Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, sought unemployment benefits after leaving the state Legislature to run for Congress, the Idaho Statesman’s Dan Popkey reports today, but was denied. Popkey talked with legislative leaders from both parties; none supported the move. "My concern was much broader…