State Official Able To Needle Himself

Jim Hawkins, the former state commerce director who’s heading up Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s child immunization push, says he’s got a new nickname:

“The big shot.”

He also claims that immunization is rapidly becoming - what else? - contagious.

Getting allies where he can

Rep. Don Pischner, who’s made it his personal crusade to see the Mica-to-Belgrove section of Highway 95 south of Coeur d’Alene upgraded, was horrified when the stretch was the site of another fatal accident last weekend.

A Washington State University researcher was killed and a University of Idaho professor seriously injured, Pischner said.

So when Robert Hoover, University of Idaho president, told the Legislature’s budget committee that UI is getting higher rankings nationally, Pischner asked him whether access was a factor in any of those rankings.

“You people suffered a pretty tragic loss this past weekend on the north-south highway,” Pischner said.

Hoover bit. Access does count, he said.

And a safe north-south route is “just crucial.”

From Capitol dome to golden arches

Each year, the cattle and woolgrowers associations put on a hearty buffet lunch for legislators on the fourth floor of the Capitol. This year, they invited Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

Because of an old and somewhat murky tradition that the governor should have an invitation from leadership to go up on the third or fourth floor during the legislative session, Kempthorne called Senate President Pro-tem Jerry Twiggs and House Speaker Bruce Newcomb to his office.

But when the Governor asked if he could go up to lunch, Twiggs answered, “No!”

“Then I just jokingly said, `I’ve always wanted to tell a governor `no,”’ Twiggs said. “We had a laugh about it.”

However, the upshot was that Kempthorne didn’t go upstairs for lunch. Although some plates were sent down, at some point that afternoon the chief exec dined on McDonald’s take-out.

We know what’s important

According to a report published by the state controller’s office this month, 82 state employees now make more than the governor. That’s down from 142 last year, but the governor’s salary has climbed from $85,000 then to $92,500 now.

Most of those on the higher-paid list are medical doctors who work for Health and Welfare, college presidents, deans or top administrators. There’s also a sprinkling of coaches and athletic directors.

Boise State University President Charles Ruch was the highest-paid state employee, at $146,578, when the list came out on Jan. 4. But something’s changed since then:

The state Board of Education approved a new contract for BSU head football coach Dirk Koetter this week that slipped him ahead of his president - to $147,500 - and into the top-dollar spot.

So that’s what you call it

Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Hayden, is taking some heat as a new committee chairman for letting his Commerce Committee hearings go on way, way too long. The problem? Long, detailed, lawyerly questions from the committee that tend to drag things out.

Thus, the memo that Crow sent out to his committee members, saying in part: “Thought one: Once one has determined that a rule … or bill is dead, there is no extra credit given for dismemberment.”

They’ve heard of it

Lawmakers seem to be familiar with Washington Water Power’s new name, Avista Corp., right off.

Do they just really pay attention? Or is it because of the shiny, silver thermal coffee cups with the new company logo so many are carrying around?