Wallace, Wasden against Prop. 2

Both candidates for Idaho attorney general came out against Proposition 2, the regulatory takings initiative, during a debate broadcast live this week on Idaho Public Television.

Republican incumbent Lawrence Wasden and Democratic challenger Bob Wallace, a Boise attorney, both said they had “serious concerns” about the initiative, which would force local governments to pay landowners for lost potential value if new regulations limit their ability to fully develop their land.

Wasden said the measure is unclear and problematic and essentially is nothing but a “lawyers’ relief bill.” Wallace agreed, adding that it would “upend planning and zoning” in Idaho. Both said the portions of the initiative that deal with eminent domain laws are “superfluous” because they merely repeat current law, leaving the regulatory takings measure as the operative change. Wallace said that makes the initiative a “Trojan horse.”

The two faced off as part of the Idaho Debates, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Idaho Press Club and Idaho Public TV. Those debates continue Sunday with the 2nd District congressional candidates and Tuesday with the 1st District congressional race.

Lawyers criticize marriage measure

Forty-one attorneys from throughout Idaho have signed a statement objecting to HJR 2, the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships, citing an array of legal concerns.

The lawyers said the measure, as written, could hamper legal protections for some battered women who live with their abusers but aren’t married to them, and affect court proceedings to enforce private companies’ employee benefits for unmarried partners.

Boise attorney Thomas Chandler, one of those who signed the statement, said, “We decided it was essential for us, as members of Idaho’s legal community, to express our concern over what we fear will be serious damage to the fabric of rights and responsibilities in Idaho should this amendment become part of the Idaho Constitution.”

The measure is on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Moscow, Idaho

Diners remember fatal UI fire in ‘56

Survivors of a fatal fire on the University of Idaho campus gathered Thursday at a private dinner to mark the blaze’s 50-year anniversary.

The fire at Gault Hall killed three young men in 1956.

Another student, Paul D. Matovich, was convicted of setting the blaze. Matovich had covered the fire investigation and the aftermath on campus for the school newspaper, The Argonaut. His detailed coverage raised suspicion among investigators.

Sentenced to 25 years in prison, he was released in 1968 from the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise.

Thursday’s observance honored the three students who died: Clair Shuldberg, of Terreton, John Knudsen, of Idaho Falls, and Paul Johnson, of Davenport, Wash.

Meridian, Idaho

Molester gets 20-year term

A Meridian physical therapist convicted of molesting a 14-year-old patient has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Fourth District Judge Joel Horton, told James Zane Parmer, 48, that he preyed on vulnerable women.

Parmer, who insists he is innocent, could be eligible for parole in seven years. He fought back sobs at his sentencing hearing Wednesday. “I’m convicted of a crime I didn’t commit,” he said. “I know the truth.”

An Ada County jury convicted Parmer in August of felony lewd conduct with a minor. It was his second trial, after the first jury deadlocked in July.

Several women testified that they had been molested by Parmer during physical therapy sessions. Parmer’s lawyer complained that their testimony was not relevant to the 14-year-old’s case. He said touching required for treatment may have been mistaken for fondling by the teen.

Spokane

Nursing school to break ground

Ground will be broken today on a $34 million nursing school in Spokane, a project intended to help address a shortage of nurses when it opens in 2008.

The new Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing building will cover 87,000 square feet on the Riverpoint campus. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony will start at noon at the site of the new building, next to the Health Sciences Building.

Several university officials and local representatives are expected to attend, WSU said in a news release.

The current college is located near Spokane Falls Community College. At its new location, it can serve as a regional center for education and research and will be closer to downtown medical services, WSU said. It will be able to educate more than 500 students on site, as well as others through distance programs.

Olympia

Fossils of salmon 1 million years old

Scientists said that salmon fossils found in Mason County five years ago are about 1 million years old.

Several salmon fossils were discovered by two anglers on the banks of the South Fork Skokomish River on forestland owned by Green Diamond timber company. They were entombed in the silty sandstone of the eroding river bank.

The fossils date to the Pleistocene Age, said Gerald Smith, a retired University of Michigan professor who worked on the research team.

The Pleistocene Age lasted from 1.8 million years ago to 11,000 years ago.

Several specimens were removed for analysis and others remain in place at the undisclosed and protected site, Green Diamond spokeswoman Patti Case said.

The specimens that were removed are housed at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle, but are not on display. The goal is to have plaster casts made of the fossils for display in this area, Case said.

From staff and wire reports