Parting Shot -- 4.15.15
One-year-old Peter Ermoian of Seattle, Wash. plays in a bed of tulips near the West Lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington today. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
Hump Day Wild Card -- 4.15.15 5
In listing the seasons in Idaho -- winter, non-winter, construction & silly (during legislative sessions) -- Uncle Bob forgot to mention one, that applies to Huckleberries Online: vacation season. Yeah, yeah, I know you guys think I take too many vacations. But you know what...
Idaho OKs 3.5% UI Tuition, Fee Hike 17
Idaho’s state Board of Education on Wednesday approved the lowest tuition increases for the state’s four-year colleges and universities in the last 15 years, including a 3.5 percent hike in tuition and fees at the University of Idaho. Board members said the increases will go…
Wonkette & 'Idaho Paranoid Stupid' 7
Online mag Wonkette is having a field day with the latest bout of "Idaho Paranoid Stupid." Quoth: "The Idaho Legislature’s 2015 session came to an exciting end Friday with a small group of nutjob Republicans killing off a bill to enforce child support judgments so Idaho wouldn’t have to fear living under the yoke of radical Islamic law.
PM Scanner Traffic -- 4.15.15
Scanner Traffic for Wednesday afternoon 20 items + AM Scanner Traffic link) includes police looking for male on mountain bike who texted his wife in Post Falls that he'd killed someone. May be bogus report.
Cutline Contest -- Time2Vote 10
An activist who made a spectacle of herself at a European Central Bank press conference today is featured in the Cutline Contest. Tuesday Winner: Psalm 37.
IACI Reinstates Profane LaBeau 7
The leader of Idaho's pro-business lobby has been reinstated after being placed on leave for sending a profanity-laced email about a state senator. The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry reinstated Alex LaBeau as president on Monday. He had been placed on leave in early…
HucksOnline Blogos: City Crews Fix Osprey Web Cam At McEuen Park 3
HucksOnline Blogos Roundup: A malfunctioning camera on the center pole at McEuen Park was replaced Wednesday morning and should be functioning by later today. The camera was donated by Open Eye of Liberty Lake, Wash. Coeur d’Alene-based Thorco Inc. donated use of its boom lift to install the camera + much more ...
Mary Wary Of Child Support Bill, Too 24
In responding to Taryn Thompson's poignant Facebook post in support of the Child Support bill killed by the Idaho House Judiciary & Rules Committee, state Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene, admits to having second thoughts about the legislation she voted for.
Anderson, Arpaio Serve Vegan 15
Actress Pamela Anderson, right, serves the first all-vegetarian meal to inmates at the Maricopa County Jail, making it the first jail in the country to go entirely vegetarian today in Phoenix. Anderson, a PETA honorary director and long-time vegan, also toured Tent City after serving…
Sims Explains Controversial Vote 32
In an interview with The Daily Beast, state Rep. Kathy Sims, R-CdA, provides the bizarre reasoning why she voted against the Child Support services bill, which was killed in the House Judiciary & Rules Committee on a 9-8 vote. The Daily Beast delves into the anger that many elected Republicans have about the embarrassing GOP fringe.
GOP Women To Hear Anti-Islam Pastor 29
Shahram Hadian, the anti-Islam pastor at the center of the Child Support services storm in the Idaho Legislature, will speak to the Bonner County Republican Women on "Unveiling True Face of Islan: A Wake Up Call for the World." The event is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Tuesday at the Sandpoint Community Hall. Cost of the event is $5 per person.
Clock Ticking On Child Support 2
Idaho has received its formal, 60-day notice from the federal government that it will lose $16 million in child-support enforcement funds if Idaho doesn’t bring its system into compliance with federal rules within 60 days. Idaho Public TV reporter Melissa Davlin reported on her blog…
Quartet Buys Coldwater Campus
A group of four investors has purchased the bulk of the former Coldwater Creek corporate campus in the city of Kootenai near Sandpoint. Lew Patrick, who owns Sandpoint Storage and Patrick Properties, formed the investment group, L3M, LLC. The purchase from CWC Creditors’ Liquidating Trust…
Hydro Backers Cancel 2015 Races 5
Organizers of the 2015 Coeur d’Alene Silver Cup unlimited hydroplane race announced they have postponed the event scheduled for July and are now planning a 2016 event instead. Keith Allen, vice president and race director, said more time is needed to raise money for the…
AM Scanner Traffic -- 4.15.15 3
PM Scanner Traffic (13 items, so far) includes warning by Kerri Thoreson re: the penalty you face if, like the guy in the red pickup above, you decide to avoid traffic jam, caused by construction on e/b I-90 in Post Falls, by crossing over freeway median.
Legislators, Not Islam, Real Threat 9
In an editorial, the Twin Falls Times News comments that Idaho legislators are the real threat to Idaho, not Sharia law: "It’s no secret the Republican Party in Idaho is a fractured mess, but if you needed any more evidence, the middle-of-the-night fiasco over a child-support bill that capped the legislative session last week is perfect proof."
Statesman: Special Session needed 2
And yet another Idaho newspaper calls for Gov. Butch Otter to step in and fix the mess created by the 9 ideologues on the Idaho House Judiciary & Rules Committee. The Idaho Statesman is asking for a special session to overturn the 9-8 vote that killed the important Child Support services bill in committee. Is Butch getting the message?
Risch, Crapo Back Rural School $$$ 5
Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch both joined the majority in a 92-8 vote in the Senate last night to pass H.R. 2, legislation to permanently take care of the “doc fix” Congress has annually been passing on Medicare reimbursement rates, and also provide…
AM Headlines -- 4.15.15
Idaho Records/Coeur d'Alene Press Stolen valor: Fake Marine accused of rape/Press Bids for new Post Falls school to be requested/Press Bonner County calls for public review of bridge proposal/Bee
Recalling Legislators ... 15
... Just for the sake of arguments, does anyone know what it would take to recall an Idaho legislator?
Taryn: Why Child Support Bill Vital 13
Last night, Taryn Thompson received a call from a family friend who challenged her support of the Child Support bill that was torpedoed by the House Judiciary & Rules Committee last Friday. The friend wondered if she was afraid that she'd lose child support payment from her ex, if the irresponsible committee vote held up. Taryn provides her reply.
Poll: Veto $95M Road Bill 2
Tuesday Poll: Half of Hucks Nation wants Gov. Otter to veto the $95 million road bill that taps into general fund (schools, welfare, etc.) for funding. An exact 69 of 138 respondents (50%) want Otter to veto the bill. 65 of 138 respondents (47.1%) want…
There Oughta Be A Law ... 14
Tongue firmly cheeked, Huckleberries Online proposes its first legislation -- ever -- to limit the number of Idaho Panhandle Tea Party representatives from serving together on the same legislative committees.
SR: Special Session Needed 4
The Editorial Board of the Spokesman-Review agrees with its counterpart at the Coeur d'Alene Press -- Gov. Otter should call a special session of the Idaho Legislature to undo the mess created by Nuxoll, Sims, Cheatham & Co. in the Idaho House Judiciary & Rules Committee. Will common sense prevail? Or will the Tea Party have the last say?
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.