Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Health officials say a Boise resident whose dog is likely infected with plague will start an antibiotic treatment as a precaution and other humans who had contact with the dog are being monitored.…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army says it has pushed back the date for a preliminary hearing for Bowe Bergdahl the sergeant who left his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years. Bergdahl…
Thirty-eight Idaho high school seniors have been awarded “Governor’s Cup” scholarships to college, funded by the annual Governor’s Cup golf tournament at which corporate sponsors, lobbyists, lawmakers and state officials gather to play golf, fish, shoot, dine and mingle. Last year’s fundraiser was a “banner…
Health insurance companies offering plans on Idaho’s state insurance exchange are proposing big increases in premiums for 2016, the AP reports, citing increased medical costs and changes in utilization over the past year. Among them: Blue Cross of Idaho is proposing average increases of nearly…
Double Down Betting Bar and Grill in Idaho Falls is finding itself in an increasingly precarious position, the Idaho Falls Post Register reports today. Not only could the off-track betting parlor lose its “instant racing” machines if a court challenge filed yesterday by the Coeur…
The Idaho Supreme Court has issued an order this evening setting a briefing schedule in Coeur d’Alene Tribe v. Denney, the instant racing challenge. Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, who is represented by Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, is ordered to file his response to…
David Adler, a constitutional law expert and the president of the new Sun Valley Institute, calls the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s court challenge of the instant racing repeal bill veto “a great constitutional question,” that is “laced with great political questions as well.” Adler said, “The…
I just heard back from Gov. Butch Otter’s office on today’s legal challenge, filed by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, of Otter’s attempted but belated veto of SB 1011, the instant racing repeal bill. Mark Warbis, spokesman for Otter, said in an email, “We have no…
A constitutional question raised in today’s Idaho Supreme Court filing by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is whether the state is essentially taking the position that Idaho has a “pocket veto” under the Idaho Constitution, allowing the governor to veto a bill without actually taking any...
Here’s a link to the 23-page Petition for Writ of Mandamus the Coeur d’Alene Tribe filed with the Idaho Supreme Court today, asking the justices to order Secretary of State Lawerence Denney to certify the instant racing repeal bill into law. In addition to asking…
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is asking the Idaho Supreme Court to declare Gov. Butch Otter’s attempted veto of the instant racing repeal bill invalid, and enforce the law banning the slot machine-like devices on its effective date of July 1. The lawsuit, filed...
Bob Geddes, who as of this week is the new director of the state Department of Administration, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview last week that he thinks the department may still have a role with something like the defunct Idaho Education Network school…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: SEATTLE (AP) — It's been a long road back to health for the bear cub Cinder who was found badly burned after last summer's Carlton Complex wildfire in north-central Washington. She was found under a horse trailer…
The school year is all but over, but the contractor handling Idaho’s new standardized test needs an extension, writes Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News. The results from this spring’s student testing on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test by Smarter Balanced have been trickling in…
The Coeur d’Alene school board voted 4-1 last night to keep John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” as an option for the district’s teachers to assign their 9th grade English classes, prompting one outspoken opponent to call on people to pull their kids out of…
Federal officials are releasing a bull trout conservation plan for five states on Thursday with the goal of easing the way toward removing bull trout from the endangered species list, where it’s been listed since 1999, the AP reports. The plan, on which public comments…
A Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group has asked three state attorneys general to investigate a Utah lawmaker who has led a push for western states to take control of federal public lands, the AP reports, saying Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory has actually been funneling money…
Kitty Gurnsey, the longtime state lawmaker and JFAC co-chair who was the last Republican to represent Boise’s North End, died Sunday at the age of 87. When Gurnsey was first elected to the Idaho House in 1974, defeating an incumbent in the GOP primary, she...
Longtime Sen. Dean Cameron, asked how he decided to make the move from serving in the Idaho Senate and co-chairing the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to heading the state Department of Insurance, said, “This whole thing’s been rumored for some time, but honestly, nobody had…
North Idaho Sen. Shawn Keough is in line to become the first-ever female Senate co-chair of the Idaho Legislature’s powerful joint budget committee, and if she gets the post, it would mark another historic first: Both co-chairs of the powerful joint committee that writes the…
Hecla Mining Co. has agreed to pay $600,000, under an agreement with the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice, for releasing pollution into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River over a five-year period, writes S-R reporter Becky Kramer. The U.S. Environmental Protection…
Here’s an interesting contrast: While Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch pursue a secret process to name a recommended replacement for longtime U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge, who will take senior status July 3, a much different and more open process is under way…
Poison hemlock is now in full growth around Idaho, noxious weed officials are warning, and people are being asked to watch for it and remove it wherever possible; hand pulling, while wearing rubber gloves, is recommended, along with herbicide treatments. “This dangerous noxious weed presents…
Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador tells the Idaho Statesman he waited too long before endorsing Mitt Romney for president in the last presidential election, limiting his influence; that’s why he’s decided to get in early this time, endorsing Rand Paul for the GOP nomination and joining his campaign team,...
The way the numbers are currently shaping up, Idaho will have another $44.6 million or more to spend on road and bridge repairs next year, in addition to the $95 million provided by this year’s transportation funding bill, which includes a 7 cent per gallon…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
| June 2015 | ||||
| 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 |
| 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 |
| 08 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 |
| 02 | 01 |
