Aquifer bill faces opposition from Clark

Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, came out in strong opposition to a bill from two other North Idaho lawmakers that would allow an aquifer protection district to be set up to generate fees for the protection of the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

Clark said that, among other problems, it isn’t clear in HB 650 who will pay what fees if the district is set up.

“Big ideas take time,” Clark said. “This is a big idea.”

This angered Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, the bill’s sponsors.

Nonini said Clark’s opposition was unfounded and rooted in the fact that it was a North Idaho policy without his name on it.

The House Resources and Environment Committee will revisit the bill Wednesday. The plan is to be amended to include a requirement that the district be approved in an election and that it be made clear that the law applies only to the Spokane Valley/ Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

– Meghann M. Cuniff

SANTA ANA, Calif.

Man sentenced for condo scam

A former real estate agent in North Idaho has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for bilking home buyers out of millions of dollars by selling illegally converted condominiums.

Phil Benson, 73, was also ordered to pay nearly $680,000 in restitution to Stewart Title, which insured the condo sales.

He arrived at U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., Friday in a wheelchair and was breathing with the aid of an oxygen tube. Benson, who is battling cancer, missed an earlier sentencing hearing, saying he was too ill to travel from his home in Hayden, Idaho.

Benson’s scheme attempted to circumvent a 1984 city law requiring apartment owners to modify their properties and pay a $7,000 conversion fee before the units could be sold.

He pleaded guilty last year to 24 counts of fraud for helping sell 47 apartment units as condominiums for $11.2 million. Former Huntington Beach Mayor Pamela Houchen has also pleaded guilty to fraud charges and will be sentenced later this year.

Judge David O. Carter gave Benson a reprieve until April 11 to begin his 70-month sentence. The judge said he wanted to give Benson time to complete a round of chemotherapy.

– Associated Press

BOISE

Senate panel kills ‘sobriety checkpoints’

Legislation to let Idaho set up “sobriety checkpoint” roadblocks to catch drunken drivers was defeated in a Senate committee Monday.

After more than an hour of testimony for and against SB 1349, the Senate Judiciary Committee killed the bill on a 5-3 vote. Senators said they were concerned about violating innocent drivers’ rights.

The checkpoints, which Idaho conducted in the past until a state Supreme Court decision ruled them illegal, stop every driver in an attempt to catch those driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Also on Monday, the Senate unanimously passed SB 1397, which increases Idaho’s already tough penalties for drunken driving. “It’s what is needed in order to protect our citizens,” said Sen. Hal Bunderson, R-Meridian, who sponsored both bills. The stricter-penalty bill now moves to the House.

– Betsy Z. Russell