I have good news and bad news for you today. The good news? The 2016 Legislature is nearing end. The bad news? All the lackluster legislators who claim to represent us will soon be back in town pestering us for our votes. Oh well, the sun is shining today. Spring officially gets here Monday. And the Zags have advanced to the round of 32 again.
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a campaign rally at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Friday. Sanders also visited Boise Friday. He will make a stop in Spokane Sunday. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)
Idaho women’s head coach John Newlee knew the best chance of toppling top-seeded Baylor was excelling in what carried the Vandals all season long: domination from the 3-point line. The Lady Bears weren’t about to let that happen. ... Baylor rolled past the Vandals 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday in Waco, TX.
Seventeen Kootenai County teens took part in the free dental screening offered through the Panhandle Health District. In three hours, hygienists gave each of the students a fluoride varnish and put protective sealants on 87 teeth. ... The dental screenings were part of a health fair at Lakes Middle School.
Scanner Traffic for Friday PM (26 items & counting + link to AM Scanner Traffic with 17 more items) includes suspicious male on Tubbs Hill yelling about aliens ...
A deputy arrested four people -- three from Washington and one from Cataldo -- on mail theft charges, among other things, after a routine, early morning traffic stop for speeding. The four allegedly had pilfered a large quantity of mail from Cataldo, Hayden, Spokane, Spokane Valley and Elk, Washington.
The daily roundup of posts from the Huckleberries Online blogosphere includes a photo set of the lunch froum involving Sheriff Ben Wolfinger and his "constitutional sheriff" challenger John Green. Also: Beers du jour/On Tap, We the people (don't matter)/Better Idaho, Zags may have another run in them/Grip, City design panel has vacancy/CdA Today.
Tweetable: "What would you rather have: your team suffer a massive upset in the 1st round of the #NCAATOURNAMENT or not make the tournament at all?" -- Executive Producer Melissa Luck.
I'm beginning to think that Spokane streets must be far worse than the ones in the Coeur d'Alene area. Now, The Bard of Sherman Avenue offers a second rhyme in recent days re: the state of disrepair in his new hometown of Spokane. Enjoy.
“What a historic day in Idaho’s history will go down today. I’m very proud and honored to be here today, to be able to vote on this great piece of legislation, and I hope you all give it a green light” -- Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard re: approval of permitless carry by the Idaho Legislature.
The House has suspended its rules and taken up SB 1389, the bill to allow Idaho residents age 21 or older to carry concealed guns without a permit inside city limits. After debate on both sides, the bill passed, 54-15. It’s already passed the Senate, so the measure now goes to the governor’s desk.
Former President Bill Clinton will campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton, in Spokane on Monday, Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced. Next week is a big one in Democratic politics in the Inland Northwest. Idaho is holding its Democratic presidential caucus on Tuesday and Washington holds its Democratic caucus next Saturday.
In his column today, Wayne Hoffman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation says that the politicians trying to resolve Idaho's Medicaid gap are the same ones who caused the problem. Quoth Hoffman: " Maybe instead of creating a new program and enrolling more people in government services, they should try to undo the damage they’ve already done."
In an op-ed article in the Coeur d'Alene Press, Trustee Tom Hearn and Superintendent Matt Handelman of the Coeur d'Alene School District take aim an the Albertson's Foundation's Don't Fail Idaho campaign.
Police evacuate a woman and a small child during a police raid in the Molenbeek neighbourhood of Brussels, Belgium, on Friday. Two French police officials have told The Associated Press that Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from Islamic extremist attacks in Paris in November, has been arrested in Belgium's capital after four months at large.
Hucks Nation is split re: number of downtown high-rises in Coeur d'Alene. A plurality of Hucks Nation, 86 of 230 (37.39%) says high-rises are important to help sustain the central business district. However, there is significant opposition to the high-rises, too. Today's Poll: How much further will the Gonzaga Bulldogs go in NCAA Tournament?
In his weekly column, Randy Stapilus of the Ridenbaugh Press pooh-poohs the logic of some political people that leaves spots on the ballot empty because their party isn't expected to win. You never know what's going to happen to the favored candidate, Stapilus says. And he uses former U.S. senator Larry Craig as an example.
After gaining national attention for his comment about rape -- that most reports involve consensual sex -- Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland apologized in an op-ed article in the Idaho Statesman.
The daily roundup of AM Headlines includes Jim Meehan's story of Gonzaga's dominant win over Seton Hall in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night. Also: Idaho Records/Coeur d'Alene Press, Girl Scout cookie tax bill falters/Press, Zags experience too much for Seton Hall/SR, Permitless carry bill headed for signature/Press ...
Idaho Gov Butch Otter join the effort by Republican legislators to raise homeowners' property taxes. The bill removes the inflation index from the homeowners exemption. The net effect will be an increase in taxes for homeowners with a home valued at more than $200,000. Remember that when your legislator asks for your vote.
In his weekly Cheers & Jeers column, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase gives JEERS ... to Idaho state Rep. Eric Redman, R-Athol: "Redman has sponsored a bill aimed at prohibiting Idaho courts from considering foreign laws. As in Sharia Law. Since when did any Idaho judge deviate from federal and state law?" Full column below.
In his post-game commentary, columnist John Blanchette/SR says everyone should have seen the Gonzaga beat down of Seton Hall coming: "Hey, this wasn’t survive and advance," writes Blanchette. "This was a snuffing. Allow the Zags a we-told-you-so."
Loren Michelle Toelle, the wife of Coeur d’Alene gastroenterologist Stanley Alvin Toelle, pleaded not guilty to felony drug distribution in federal court Thursday. Her son, Sean Lee Jackson, pleaded not guilty to related drug charges at the same hearing in Coeur d’Alene. Both are Las Vegas residents and are in federal custody.
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.