Idaho should continue its current system of sending money out to school districts to contract for their own broadband service for another school year, the Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee declared today, while longer-term proposals are enacted and implemented. The lawmakers voted unanimously in favor...
The Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee has passed two more motions. First, Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, made a motion to let school districts "opt out" if they want. Other members argued that was unnecessary, as all that has been discussed was making resources available to…
State Librarian Ann Joslin told lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee that libraries need assistance to provide much-used internet services to their patrons, for purposes including job hunts and more. “Clearly a lot of the public libraries have very little IT support,” she said,...
Looking at the different educational entities that were served by the now-defunct Idaho Education Network, the Broadband Access Study Panel has now passed another motion to include them: “This committee is committed to supporting the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the Department of Juvenile Corrections Educational…
The third point of agreement for lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee came with another unanimous vote: “This committee is committed to removing any barrier to school district collaboration in procurement of broadband and related services, including regionally and interstate.” Panel members said they…
After agreeing that they don’t want a repeat of the Idaho Education Network, lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee moved on to debating how the state could make resources available to school districts, for everything from help with contracting processes to technical and e-rate…
After hours of discussion and debate, the Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee has agreed on one point with a unanimous vote: It doesn’t want to repeat the defunct Idaho Education Network. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, proposed the motion, to “move away from…
Tonight’s “Idaho Reports” looks at the expansion of the four-day school week in Idaho, as part of a joint reporting project between Idaho Reports and Idaho Education News. Among the findings of the project: Nearly 40 percent of Idaho’s school districts now have students on…
The Idaho Supreme Court has issued a substitute opinion in the instant racing case, but it doesn’t change any of its conclusions from its earlier opinion, which held that Gov. Butch Otter’s belated attempt to veto legislation repealing authorization for the slot machine-like gambling terminals...
Current broadband service in Idaho schools falls short of the latest national standards, lawmakers heard this morning. The FCC has set a recommended standard of 1 megabit per student, or 1 Mbps per student, for 2017-18. Only three of 131 school districts and charter schools…
Idaho’s unemployment rate fell to 4 percent in October, as the seasonally adjusted rate dropped two-tenths of a percent. Job growth for the month was the strongest it’s been in a decade, the Idaho Department of Labor reports. The national unemployment rate for the month…
The Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee is meeting this morning at the Capitol. “We’ve heard from a lot of people so far, but now it’s time for us to talk about decisions,” Co-Chairman Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the group. Today, he said, the…
Tax-protesting former Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart failed to pay on time in his bid to buy back his Athol home from the IRS at a public auction, so now the IRS is planning to put the log home up for sale again in a...
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Although wolves killed fewer livestock overall in Idaho this year, the Cascade area defied the trend. The Capital Press reports (http://bit.ly/1NFkaVL ) that Idaho Wildlife Services investigated 91 wolf livestock killings during fiscal…
Idaho’s prison system met a key deadline in October to provide new training to all probation and parole staff on how to apply tailored sanctions for violations, better track offenders and make other changes designed to encourage offenders not to re-offend, state prisons chief Kevin...
At least four state lawmakers report they've made unannounced visits to state prisons and been given full access, as state's justice reinvestment initiative proceeds...
Idaho’s Death Row is down to nine offenders, one woman and eight men, now that Gene Francis Stuart has had his sentence reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Stuart pleaded guilty to murder by torture in the 1981 beating death of…
Idaho billionaire Frank VanderSloot today endorsed Republican Marco Rubio for president and said he plans to raise money for the Florida senator's presidential bid. VanderSloot told the Associated Press he believes Rubio is “the brightest of the bunch." VanderSloot was one of Mitt Romney’s national...
A councilman-elect in the central Idaho city of Bellevue will not be sworn in, as he says he was not seeking office. The Idaho Mountain Express reports Tyler Peterson filed for the office, but meant to withdraw...
The House Judiciary Committee today approved bipartisan legislation to reform federal sentencing laws that’s co-sponsored by Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador. The measure, H.R. 3713, dubbed the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, reduces some mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, including cutting a “three strikes”...
Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador is in an escalating battle with a reporter for Breitbart News, Politico reports today, with the congressman calling the reporter “not truthful” and the news outlet calling the congressman a “liar.” At the monthly "Conversations with Conservatives” session that Labrador and…
A publishing company that operates under the name “The Idaho Travel Council” has reached a settlement with Attorney General Lawrence Wasden over allegedly misrepresenting itself as affiliated with the Idaho Department of Commerce and other state agencies. The group agreed to disclose on its website…
Environmental groups filed lawsuits Tuesday in Idaho and Washington, D.C., seeking to force federal officials to reveal reasons behind allowing a wolf- and coyote-shooting contest in parts of Idaho, the AP reports. The lawsuits contend the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is violating the Freedom…
The state taxpayer-funded newsletter service through which Rep. Heather Scott sent out her missive today about refugees is a new venture for the state, for which $17,200 has been budgeted, according to Eric Milstead, director of legislative services. Glenn Harris, information technology director for the...
A West Ada school trustee is claiming legal victory over the district in a three-year-old lawsuit over student fees. Idaho EdNews reports that Russell Joki filed the case in October 2012, challenging fees he paid to West Ada schools on behalf of three grandchildren —…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
| Dec. 2015 | Nov. 2015 | Oct. 2015 | Sept. 2015 |
| Aug. 2015 | July 2015 | June 2015 | May 2015 |
| April 2015 | March 2015 | Feb. 2015 | Jan. 2015 |
