Parker Howell

Longer-range unmanned military aircraft. More fuel-efficient hybrid electric vehicles.

A Spokane private, nonprofit biomedical research center is a prime contender for a potential tens of millions of dollars Washington legislators authorized this session to spur medical research and economic development, a local lawmaker and center leader said. The Institute for Systems Medicine, a newly forming project by regional universities and hospitals that will aim to discover earlier diagnostics and better drugs, may vie for state sales tax money routed to a new "health sciences and services authority" covering the Spokane area – if Spokane County commissioners and the state Higher Education Coordinating Board sign off on the idea.

Spokane financial planner Dave Baker received a surprise after returning from a recent, three-week trip to Germany — a $4,730 phone bill. Most of the charges in the 32-page Cingular Wireless invoice stem from Baker's use of a cellular laptop card for business while traveling. Baker said he struggled to get the card to work and had to download files repeatedly, hindering his business. When he returned, his bill showed he used hundreds of thousands of kilobytes of data transfer service at about 2 cents each while roaming overseas.

Coeur d'Alene is one of the top 10 places to retire young, according to picks released online Thursday by Money magazine and the head of Portland-based Sperling's BestPlaces. Money Magazine's Web site, CNNMoney.com, featured the lakeside North Idaho city along with other U.S. locales offering "thriving economies and plenty to do," according to the online package. Other top picks in the West include Anacortes, Wash., and Logan, Utah.

BOISE – Frustrated lawmakers are heading home from their three-month legislative session without the one thing many had as their top priority to accomplish this year: Relief from the sales tax on groceries. "I'm frustrated and disappointed," said Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene. "The governor had a little bit different idea than we did – now nobody gets anything. He doesn't get his idea, we don't get our idea."

BOISE – Starting next year, Idaho boaters will pay $7 more annually to register their vessels, but Gov. Butch Otter wants to explore sharing costs among users of smaller and non-motorized watercraft, such as canoes and kayaks. Otter allowed a bill boosting the boat registration fee, House Bill 200, to become law without his signature, despite concerns that it is "not adequately inclusive of all Idaho recreational watercraft users," he said in a statement Thursday.

BOISE – The House approved a $3.5 million advance Thursday on federal grant money that may be headed for Idaho's cash-strapped rural schools. House Bill 330 aims to distribute the money from an education reserve fund to rural schools to replace part of the state's Craig-Wyden payments, which have expired but which state lawmakers expect to be approved in Congress later this year. The funds would help districts create teacher contracts and set budgets this spring without making drastic cuts.

BOISE – Tougher septic system requirements for North Idaho will not take effect this year, after the House signed off on legislation Tuesday overturning the rules. Several North Idaho lawmakers spoke in favor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 121, which stops new Panhandle Health District rules mandating larger tanks and drain fields for some large homes.

BOISE – Lawmakers unveiled another measure Monday designed to curb manipulative voting across party lines in Idaho's primary elections. Senate Bill 1244 would require Idaho voters to publicly register with a party or as independents, and it would limit party members to voting on that party's ballot. But unlike similar failed proposals this session, the bill would allow independents to choose their ballots on Election Day.

BOISE – Adult Idahoans will need proof they are legal U.S. residents before receiving benefits provided by state or local governments, according to a bill passed Thursday by the House and sent to the governor's desk. Senate Bill 1157 aims to cut services to illegal immigrants, but contains some exemptions, such as for children and emergency medical care. It passed 47-21

BOISE – Idaho drivers could buy "Support Our Troops" specialty license plates under a bill passed by the House on Thursday. Money from the $35 plates, available in 2008, would help fund Support Our Troops Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports military families. The funds would provide emergency food, shelter and medical assistance, said Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene.

BOISE – The House approved about $1.4 million Wednesday to continue funding a program to divvy up rights to North Idaho water, despite one Panhandle lawmaker's concerns that part of the bill would hinder those efforts. Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, contended that language in Senate Bill 1205 might undermine the legal process of water-rights adjudication – determining who has rights to how much water – in the Coeur d'Alene/Spokane river basin.

BOISE – A North Idaho lawmaker's bill to give owners of property adjacent to some surplus state transportation land first shot at buying the parcels died in a Senate committee Wednesday. The Senate State Affairs Committee declined to act on House Bill 144, a measure proposed partly to aid a Coeur d'Alene developer acquire land to build a commercial center at an Interstate 90 off-ramp west of the city.

BOISE – A last-ditch effort by homeowners and builders to stop stricter septic system rules for North Idaho gained approval by the full Senate Tuesday. The measure to overturn the new Panhandle Health District rules, Senate Concurrent Resolution 121, requires endorsement by the House and governor before the session ends – potentially as early as Friday. If passed, it will throw out regulations requiring bigger drain fields and septic tanks for some large homes.

BOISE – Lawmakers sent a clear message Monday that English should be Idaho's official language. After a lengthy debate, the House voted 46-20 to pass Senate Bill 1172, which restricts government business to English with a few exceptions, such as for law enforcement and public schools. Opponents cast the bill as discriminatory toward Latinos and other immigrants, but supporters contended it encourages diversity and unifies Idahoans.

BOISE – Coeur d'Alene homeowners and builders are fighting stricter septic system rules that they worry could stand in the way of building or expanding pricey lakefront homes. But Panhandle Health District officials say the new rules, which require bigger drain fields and septic tanks for some large homes, are needed to protect the lake from leaking sewage. Barring legislative action, the regulations are expected to take effect later this month.

BOISE – North Idaho all-terrain vehicle riders have at least one more year to cruise paved roads. A Senate committee killed a bill Thursday that would have banned the off-road vehicles on city and county roads unless local officials passed rules to allow them.

BOISE – Genetic-test results will stay off-limits to insurance companies when setting disability insurance rates, after a House vote Wednesday. After a two-day debate, the House voted 44-26 against Senate Bill 1107, which would have let insurers consider genetic-test information when setting prices for long-term-care and disability-income insurance.

BOISE – Some North Idaho home-builders worry that a new Panhandle Health District rule will prevent them from building or expanding homes because of increased septic system requirements. But a Panhandle senator's attempt Wednesday to stop the rule and give stakeholders more time to negotiate failed in a Senate committee.

BOISE – Idaho teachers oppose a proposed salary plan allowing them to trade tenure for more pay, and they want a role in considering alternatives, educators told lawmakers Wednesday. Several school administrators said they support the alternative model, which offers at least $3,000 more to teachers to give up their rolling contracts, because it will help them attract better employees. But teachers said they have been conspicuously absent from crafting the legislation, which they see as complex and unjust.