Boise State University has backed out on a commitment to join the Big East, the Associated Press reports, and will instead remain a member of the Mountain West. The school and the conference announced today that they've come to an agreement to keep the Broncos…
Though Idaho's senior senator likely will be required to have an ignition interlock device installed in his car after his Virginia DUI arrest, that wouldn’t have been the case in his home state of Idaho. Idaho doesn't require the devices for first-time DUI offenders, but…
More than 6,000 unemployed Idahoans have now seen their federal extended unemployment benefits terminated, the Idaho Department of Labor reports today. The program to provide jobless workers with extended benefits during the recession expired last week; Idaho workers who were getting the payments got their…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A report from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare shows that 199 Idaho residents died from being shot in 2010, and most of those deaths were self-inflicted. The Times-News (http://bit.ly/TsFl5e) reports…
Idaho state agriculture officials have backed down on a new commercial feed rule, the Idaho Business Review reports, after the J.R. Simplot Co. and others objected to applying it to potato processors; they will now be exempt from the new rule. Click below for a…
The U.S. Department of Justice and the BLM have reached a settlement with Custer County over a remote mountain road that county officials had threatened to use a front-end loader to reopen, the AP reports. The BLM had closed the road in 1999; the dispute…
The Associated Press reports that a second blood-alcohol test conducted on Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo about an hour after his Dec. 23 drunken driving arrest registered 0.14, well above the original roadside test result of 0.11, and the higher reading is the one that will…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter announced today that he'll form a broad stakeholders' group to examine the best ways to improve Idaho's schools in the wake of the failure of the voter-rejected "Students Come First" reform plan, and said he's not looking for legislation in 2013.…
The Washington Post’s “Crime Scene” blog reports that when Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo was stopped early Sunday morning for running a red light and arrested for DUI, he told the police officer who pulled him over that he had “consumed several shots of vodka,” according…
Bogus Basin has announced that it'll open for night skiing on Wednesday, Dec. 26th, and also that day will open the No. 3 Superior chairlift, the resort's newest high-speed quad and the last major side of the mountain not yet open for skiing. Starting Wednesday,…
It's amazing how much difference a few inches of snow can make. Our local ski mountain was starting to look a little like a bran muffin in places on Saturday, but after 3 inches of snow overnight, Sunday morning it was transformed into a glittering,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence in a Washington, D.C., suburb, authorities said. Police in Alexandria, Va., said Sunday that the Idaho Republican…
This shot of sunrise at Bogus Basin this morning was taken before the lifts opened, but not before skiers already were getting their gear ready and heading out to the lift base. Despite early-season conditions, it was a very fun opening day for Boise's local…
Well, that's it for me for now. I'm off for the next week and a half; will be back at work on Dec. 31. I may still post a few things while I'm off; but they might just be ski photos or the like... Let…
With the business lobby IACI pushing hard for elimination of the personal property tax on business property and many lawmakers talking about it as the 2013 legislative session approaches, the Idaho State Tax Commission has released its first-ever comprehensive analysis of the tax in Idaho.…
New rules governing small renewable energy projects in Idaho will likely make it tougher for wind and solar developers to succeed but will be helpful for new dairy digesters and small, canal-based hydroelectric projects, reports AP reporter John Miller. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission issued…
A federal bankruptcy judge has dismissed former Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart’s second bankruptcy filing, opening the way for federal authorities to go after his log home in Athol for back federal income taxes, and for the state to launch collection efforts over his state…
It's looking mighty pretty up toward Bogus Basin today, with the recent new snow shining in the sunshine, and now Boise's non-profit ski resort has announced that it'll open up for skiing on Friday.The resort will open its front side plus the No. 6 Pine…
Idaho’s state Land Board heard a “year in review” presentation this morning culminating in the presentation of a giant facsimile of a check for $31,292,400 to high school students, made out to “Idaho’s Public Schools.” Capital High School choir students who attended the ceremony also…
Idaho voters rejected a rollback in teachers’ collective bargaining rights in the November election, but the state’s school boards association is gearing up to try to put some of the same provisions right back into Idaho’s laws. “We really tried to focus on the things…
Condemned killer Joseph Duncan will be back in an Idaho federal courtroom in January, for a two-week hearing on whether he was mentally competent when he waived his right to appeal his death sentence. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge is now sorting through issues relating…
It's official: A Powerball lottery ticket worth $1 million has expired without its winner claiming the prize. The ticket-holder, who bought the winning ticket at a Maverik store at Locust Grove and McMillan in Meridian in June, never came forward by the deadline, which was…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A newly-minted Idaho lawmaker changed his Internet biography after questions about its accuracy. When Rep. Mark Patterson was elected in Boise's District 15, his Facebook site listed him as a University of Southern…
Idaho state Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, who was appointed chairman of the House Business Committee a day after he celebrated his 90th birthday, is excited about his new role. “The composition of the whole committee includes a number of experienced legislators, so I think…
Buoyed by the results of a private poll commissioned by Education Voters of Idaho, some backers of the failed “Students Come First” school reform laws – including Gov. Butch Otter – are calling for reviving “parts and pieces” of the voter-rejected laws. But the leaders…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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