Region in brief: Idaho borrowing to pay jobless claims

BOISE – Idaho has borrowed more than $91 million from the federal government to pay jobless benefits.

The Idaho Department of Labor says the state has paid out $627 million in state and federal benefits in the past year, more than twice the $247 million total for 2008.

The Idaho unemployment fund ran out of money in June as more people lost their jobs due to the economic downturn.

The state’s overall unemployment rate in November edged up one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.1 percent, with a record 68,800 people in the state out of work.

The state labor department said the state paid out a record $16.2 million in jobless benefits last week.

Husband of missing mom in Washington

SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah man considered a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife has left the state with the couple’s two young children, his attorney said Sunday.

Josh Powell’s attorney, Scott Williams, said in a text message to the Associated Press that his client went to his father’s house in Washington state for the holidays with his sons.

Powell’s wife, Susan, has been missing since Dec. 7. Josh Powell told police he last saw her at 12:30 a.m. that day when he took their sons on a camping trip and left her at home.

Police have called Josh Powell a person of interest and said he was not forthcoming in interviews with detectives.

Susan Powell’s parents and siblings, who also live in Washington state, have said that they were saddened that Josh Powell had been named a person of interest, but not surprised. The family and Susan Powell’s friends were planning a candlelight vigil Sunday night in Puyallup, Wash.

Williams said he was unsure whether Josh Powell planned to attend.

West Valley City police Capt. Tom McLachlan on Sunday said there are no restrictions on Josh Powell’s movements.

“He can come and go as he pleases,” McLachlan said, adding that police would still like to speak with him again.