"I appreciate everyone that came and testified," Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, said after a half-dozen people spoke. He suggested the Governor's Housing Committee schedule a meeting in the next 30 days or so and "absorb what we heard today and wee where we go." Rep.…
Among those testifying on Idaho's governor's mansion: Mike Kostanecki, pictured here, spoke in favor of keeping the Simplot home as Idaho's official governor's residence. "My main concern is, What are we going to do with Simplot Hill?" he asked. "It's a part of history. ...…
Fire officials suspect a dangerous mixture of cleaning solvent, dirty rags and high explosives likely led to a destructive blast that sent the wife of a southern Idaho legislator to the hospital with second-degree burns, the Times-News and the AP report. Amy Wood, wife of…
The Governor's Housing Committee has opened its two-hour hearing in the state Capitol, room WW55, on whether or not to keep the former Simplot home atop a green, grassy North Boise hilltop as the state's official governor's residence. There are about 25 people in the…
Here's how fiery the debate between state schools chief Tom Luna and Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, got at the City Club of Boise today: After the debate, Cronin accused Luna of grabbing his arm after his opening remarks and berating him. "He grabbed my arm…
State schools Supt. Tom Luna made a comment shortly before the end of today's City Club of Boise forum on school reform, saying, "Any carpenter can build a barn, any jackass can kick it down." Asked what he meant by that, Luna said afterward he…
The City Club of Boise forum has wrapped up with thunderous applause after an extremely lively debate between state schools Supt. Tom Luna and state Rep. Brian Cronin over the school reform laws, Props 1, 2 and 3 on the November ballot.
Rep. Brian Cronin said national scientific studies have shown no link between merit pay for teachers and improved student achievement. State schools Supt. Tom Luna countered that it's working in New Plymouth. "If you really are interested in the truth, take a look at New…
Rep. Brian Cronin was asked how he reconciles his role as a state legislator with his role as a paid consultant for the No on Props 1,2,3 campaign. "I reconcile it this way," he told the City Club of Boise. "This is very simple. I…
Rep. Brian Cronin, at today's City Club of Boise forum on school reform, said, "Technology plays an important role as a tool, but it is not an end in itself, and it is being treated as such in this. ... There is no evidence to…
State schools Supt. Tom Luna was asked about a deteriorating relationship between teachers and himself. "This divide is not between teachers and me," he said. "It is between union leaders. ... They spent $185,000 to unseat me, this is the union leaders. They have never…
The first question from the audience was for state schools Supt. Tom Luna, asking why he didn't unveil the reform plan until after he was re-elected in 2010. Luna's response: "I've ran on this platform three times and made it very, very clear about the…
Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, in his opening statement today, said the "Students Come First" school reform laws were not reforms. "They turned a temporary fiscal crisis into long-term permanent underfunding," he said, charging that they were used by political leaders to justify under-funding schools. "The…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna is speaking first at today's City Club of Boise forum. "About 30 states have passed some form of education reform in the past two years," Luna said. "Education reform in the state of Idaho is absolutely necessary, not because…
Moderator Jim Weatherby is welcoming the crowd to the City Club of Boise, but said that first, as a professor, he wanted to lecture the crowd: "One of City Club's highest values is promoting civility," Weatherby declared. Therefore, he asked the crowd not to applaud,…
There's a sellout crowd at the City Club of Boise today for the forum on the "Students Come First" school reform laws, featuring state schools Supt. Tom Luna and state Rep. Brian Cronin. In addition to the lunch crowd of close to 400, the listening-only…
Idaho state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and state Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, face off today at the City Club of Boise over the "Students Come First" school reform laws, which Luna wrote and of which Cronin is a leading opponent, along with serving…
Today is the day that Idahoans will get to weigh in on what to do with Idaho's official governor's mansion, the former J.R. Simplot home on a grassy hilltop in north Boise, topped by a giant American flag. The Governor's Housing Committee, chaired by Sen.…
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