Controversy over Gov. Butch Otter’s appointment of Joan Hurlock of Buhl to the Idaho Fish & Game Commission is delaying the Senate confirmation hearing on the appointment, with Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, scheduling a hearing tomorrow for Otter’s other June 2012 appointee,…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a request that the courtroom be closed for part of a convicted murderer's mental competency hearing. The Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/ts2JbV) reported U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge made the…
Groups that serve the deaf and hard of hearing across Idaho have displays in the 4th floor rotunda of the state Capitol until noon today as part of a legislative breakfast sponsored by the state Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Steven Snow,…
After Col. David Brasuell presented the budget request to JFAC this morning for the Idaho Division of Veterans Services, Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, asked about the division’s excess funds, for which Brasuell had outlined an evaluation process the department is working through to determine the…
Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey reports today that just two months after legislative leaders affirmed their decision to remain among 17 states that don’t archive video of floor proceedings and make the footage available to the public, they’re now rethinking that decision. Idaho Public Television,…
Idaho has the 16th lowest smoking rate in the nation, the head of the Division of Public Health at the state Department of Health & Welfare told lawmakers yesterday. “However, we still have 17.2 percent of our adult population smoking,” Elke Shaw-Tulloch told JFAC. And…
The Idaho Education Association has released a report on its recommendations to improve public schools in Idaho, a year in the making from the IEA’s Education Excellence Task Force, which included a dozen top teachers from around the state. The recommendations range from making preschool…
Idaho’s Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance, which is funded almost entirely by a $3.6 million federal grant, worked with 21,631 victims in 2012. Director Luann Dettman said, “Violence is preventable when we act.” Idaho saw 22 people die in domestic violence incidents in…
JFAC this morning is continuing its full week of health and human services budget hearings; up first this morning was the Indirect Support Services division of the state Department of Health & Welfare. Budget writers quizzed H&W Deputy Director David Taylor about past years’ audit…
Twin Falls Times-News reporter Melissa Davlin reports that a “quiet wave of kindness” is sweeping through Idaho’s Capitol. The reason: Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, is asking friends and colleagues to do 37 small acts of kindness in memory of his son, Ritchie…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
