On tonight’s “Idaho Reports,” I discuss ADA updates to the state Capitol and upcoming interim committees; co-hosts Melissa Davlin and Aaron Kunz are joined by commentator Jim Weatherby, Dean Ferguson of the Idaho Democratic Party and lobbyist Ken Burgess of Veritas Advisors to discuss the…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has named Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, the new director of the state Department of Insurance, replacing former director Bill Deal, who retired at the end of 2014. Cameron, a 13th-term state senator, co-chairs the powerful Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which writes the...
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today upheld U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill’s earlier decision that Idaho’s “pain-capable abortion” ban was unconstitutional. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the appeals court held that banning abortions from 20 weeks on is “facially unconstitutional...
Jonathan Medema, a deputy Ada County prosecutor who ran unsuccessfully for judge last year, has been appointed a 4th District judge by Gov. Butch Otter; Medema was appointed to the post that opened with the retirement of 4th District Judge Thomas Neville. Medema has been...
The restructuring at Superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s State Department of Education continued this week with the termination of school improvement and support director Greg Alexander, Idaho Education News reports; Alexander had been with the department since January of 2012, and was hired under previous schools chief…
When Kelly Buckland and Bobbie Ball rolled their wheelchairs into a meeting with state public works officials, bringing a list of specific changes needed in Idaho’s state capitol restoration project to accommodate people with disabilities, they thought they’d gotten the state’s attention. “They seemed really...
After Idaho Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, penned a guest opinion published in The Spokesman-Review on May 17 that was critical of the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s lobbying efforts against the child support enforcement bill, IFF President Wayne Hoffman has stepped up a war of words…
In a move that illustrates the landscape’s slow but steady recovery from major wildfires, about 54,200 acres of public land north of Mountain Home has been reopened to non-motorized public use, the BLM says, after restrictions that followed the 2013 Pony and Elk fires. After…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter issued a five-page executive order today implementing his greater sage grouse conservation plan, which is aimed at conserving the bird and its habitat to avoid a listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Otter said the move “demonstrates Idaho’s commitment to…
Five years after completing a three-year, $120 million renovation of its state capitol, Idaho is preparing to spend another $400,000 to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act – after state officials wrongly assumed the historic structure was exempt. “We were…
Two Democratic state representatives are calling on the state Board of Correction to end a $4.5 million annual deal to house 226 Idaho prison inmates in a Colorado private prison operated by Corrections Corp. of America, saying, “We believe the department needs to develop and...
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Ada County Republican Central Committee has selected its first and second choices to replace Sheriff Gary Raney who is resigning at the end of June, picking Raney's favored candidate, Capt. Stephen Barlett, as its second choice...
Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign today named Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador to an official role with the campaign, as western states co-chairman. “In this role, Congressman Labrador will provide the campaign with important insights from grassroots leaders,” the campaign said in a statement. Paul said,...
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A retired Chicago physicist has put his 1988 Nobel Prize up for auction. The minimum bid for Leon Lederman's medal is $325,000. The 92-year-old says it's been sitting on a shelf for decades…
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced an $11 million multi-state settlement with Classmates Inc., Florists’ Transworld Delivery Inc. and FTD.com Inc. over misleading marketing and billing practices, including signing Idaho customers up for goods or services unless they specifically rejected the offers. “Idaho consumers…
Larry Kenck, chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party, will resign Saturday for medical reasons, the party announced today; party Vice Chair Jeanne Buell will become acting chair and will head the search for Kenck’s replacement. Kenck was just re-elected in March to a second two-year...
More staff changes are being announced at the state Department of Education, where Lisa Colon is being promoted to director of teacher certification and the professional standards commission. Colon is currently the department’s educator effectiveness coordinator; she’ll replace Taylor Raney, who announced in March that…
The chairs of the Idaho House and Senate transportation committees, Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, and Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, will be featured in a free panel discussion and Q-and-A session on Thursday from 6-7:30 p.m. in Meridian, sponsored by COMPASS, the community planning association. The…
Here’s Rep. Heather Scott’s reaction to the news that Oberto Brands in Seattle, a leading manufacturer of beef jerky, is planning to send her a free case of jerky: “Wow! That is awesome! What a generous act of kindness.” Scott, R-Blanchard, attracted the company’s attention...
The unsettled weather that’s brought rain, hail, wind and thunderstorms to the region isn’t entirely over yet, but this week’s weather in Boise is expected to gradually calm down and warm up to hit 90 degrees by next weekend. This photo is from McCall on…
Meeting yesterday in Pocatello, the Idaho Transportation Board selected 27 projects, totaling $46.8 million, to complete in 2016 with funding from the recently approved gas tax and registration fee increases that lawmakers passed ruing their regular session this year. You can see the full list…
Our lawmakers are a bit quirky Some of their theories are murky But back they did come From where they are from And earned a full case of beef jerky.
An Idaho nonprofit funded by the Albertson Foundation today released a free bilingual “Parents’ Guide to Idaho’s School and Learning Choices,” available in both Spanish and English. “All Idaho parents, regardless of their native language, should have access to information about the growing choices available…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho city may have to redo its school board election after officials found problems with ballots in one district. The Idaho Press-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1HxwSIo ) that the Canyon County Elections Office announced…
At a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing today on wilderness legislation for the Boulder-White Clouds and Jerry Peak mountains, Rick Johnson of the Idaho Conservation spoke in favor of the bill on behalf of a coalition of 26 groups, reports Rocky Barker of the Idaho Statesman,...
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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