One move to change Idaho’s public defense defense system that’s getting support from an interim legislative committee: Reducing caseloads for public defenders by changing some misdemeanors to infractions, reports Idaho Reports co-host Melissa Davlin. People charged with misdemeanors are entitled to a public defender if…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers on a committee charged with improving Idaho's broken public defense system have killed a resolution that would have given the state full responsibility for assigning attorneys to indigent defenders. Earlier this year,…
Former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, the newly named finance chairman for the Idaho Republican Party, has filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit in Washington, D.C. of a September judge's order that he pay $242,535 to the U.S. Treasury…
The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline will expand to 24/7 staffing this Wednesday, adding Sunday days and Sunday through Thursday overnights to its existing hours. The hotline, at (800) 273-TALK, also is celebrating its second anniversary, and is recruiting volunteers to become trained crisis phone workers,…
A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that the cleanup of mining contamination in the Coeur d’Alene Basin has resulted in improved water quality, with concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc significantly reduced since cleanup activities started in the 1990s, S-R reporter Becky…
As we head into this week’s heavy Thanksgiving travel period, here’s a local tale of travel mishaps overcome: Boise State’s Talkin’ Broncos speech and debate team won a major debate tournament – for the fourth straight year – despite a long and harrowing bus trip…
A federal grand jury in Boise has indicted 14 gang members and associates of the Norteno, or Northside gang, which is active in Nampa and other parts of the Treasure Valley, for multiple crimes including trafficking in methamphetamine, conspiracy and gun violations. Federal drug trafficking…
Average wages grew in 36 of Idaho’s 44 counties in 2013, the Idaho Department of Labor reports, although the average wage in the state remained at just 75.6 percent of the national average. That was an improvement from 2012, when Idaho’s average wage was 74.4…
Idaho Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, last week sent a guest editorial out to Idaho newspapers that's sharply critical of the Otter Administration's handling of the now-voided $60 million contract for the Idaho Education Network high school broadband project. "Why did this occur? It is an…