Tonight, the League of Women Voters, Transform Idaho and the AAUW are sponsoring an educational panel discussion on Idaho's school reform referenda; the forum, which is free and open to the public, will be at Centennial High School from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. “The objective…
1st Congressional District GOP Rep. Raul Labrador reports today that he's raised $177,609 in the latest campaign finance reporting period - a total of $797,686 for the election cycle to date; he's spent $87,073 ($510,197 to date), and had $290,984 in cash for his campaign…
Mike Lanza, chairman of the "Vote No on Props 1,2,3" campaign, asked why the National Education Association gave $1.06 million to the campaign against the school-reform measures, said, "Because they're an organization of teachers and they support their subsidiary organizations around the country. Their membership…
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa says he's likely to demand that a group helping finance the campaign to save Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's education reforms reveal the names of its contributors, the AP reports. Education Voters of Idaho collected at least $200,000…
Ken Burgess, spokesman for Yes for Idaho Education, is defending his group's use of an edited clip from a July 2009 speech by a retiring NEA official in a campaign commercial that says it shows "the national teachers union as they explain why the union…
The latest campaign commercial in the school reform fight comes from "Yes for Idaho Education," the group leading the campaign in favor of Propositions 1, 2 and 3, and features an edited clip from a July 2009 retirement speech by then-National Education Association general counsel…
A lawsuit charging that Idaho schools are violating the state Constitution by charging fees has expanded to include wider school-funding issues at the heart of a long-running lawsuit that prompted the state's school funding system to be ruled unconstitutional in 2005 by the Idaho Supreme…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's appointment of Brandon Woolf as Idaho's 21st state controller, with the retirement of controller Donna Jones. Idaho's state controller is the state's chief fiscal officer; manages the state's payroll and financial management and reporting…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter called a press conference this morning to name acting state Controller Brandon Woolf permanently to the position, with the news that state Controller Donna Jones is retiring to focus on recovering from injuries sustained in a May 25 car accident. Woolf,…
Idaho has a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to enshrine a right to hunt, fish and trap in the state Constitution - a concept that likely would generate virtually no opposition in the outdoorsy state but for the specific inclusion of trapping. Thirteen other…
A new statewide poll out sponsored by the Idaho Statesman newspaper shows Idahoans deeply divided over the school reform referenda measures on the November ballot, Propositions 1, 2 and 3. The poll of 625 likely voters, conducted last week and released over the weekend, showed…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
