Idaho
updated
3:40 a.m.
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Monday candidate filings for office in Idaho yielded a few nuggets worth note here: There are now two Democrats filed to take on Republican Senator Mike Crapo, so he won’t be unopposed again in November as he was six years ago. But which will it be? Tom Sullivan of Tetonia, an unknown factor in state [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Mon 4:48 p.m.
HAMMER FLAT LOVE FEST, HALFWAY HOUSE CONCERNS, TRASH CAN SCOFFLAWS REVEALED 3/9/10 Calley Spear Boise, ID 83706 345-8511 Hammer Flat: I just wanted to say I’m so glad that the City Council decided to purchase Hammer Flat. That is so awesome. Thank you for your foresight and thank you for making Boise one of the best places to live. Good bye. 3/9/10 Jamie Voss Hammer [...] Related posts: Mayor...
Boise Guardian - Mon 4:07 p.m. - 2 clicks 
Idaho Internet service providers (ISPs) say that the way that the Idaho Education Network (IEN) is being set up could end up costing schools up to five times what they currently pay to connect to the Internet--ongoing annual costs that would have to be borne by the general fund after a $3 million two-year grant runs out. The ISPs also deny Department of Administration charges that they are com...
New West Boise - Mon 11:22 a.m. - 4 clicks
Nice little Q&A by Tim Woodward in the DAILY PAPER Sunday. Seems the Boise Airport didn’t really need the $29 million five story parking garage stopped by the GUARDIAN editor five years ago. In fact, there isn’t even demand for a surface lot that cost just $2 million or so to build. [...] Related posts: Does Boise Parks Violate Parking Lot Law? State Workers Targeted B...
Boise Guardian - Sun 3:43 p.m. - 3 clicks
March came in gently, but it's roaring through the midsection. Winds forecast to gust over 40mph this afternoon, after snow down to Boise's elevation (at least) overnight. Sunshine now, and the temps forecast to be over 60 in a couple days! What's not to like about springtime in the Rockies? I've got a tennis match scheduled in... 45 minutes. Should be interesting. [It was, wild and windy....
Fort Boise - Sat 12:40 p.m.
Idaho Steelheading Adventures, Part I: We're All Bozos on This Bus is here. Part II Steelhead mornings are for fishing, and vocal communication is generally frowned upon. This lack of conversation is due to ruffled feathers from the drive up and the fact it's 6:00 a.m. Our heads feel like Tony Dogs in Martin Scorsese's film "Casino," right before Nicky Santoro gives the final turn of ...
New West Boise - Fri 5:29 p.m. - 6 clicks
Ada County has a couple of openings in the Development Services Division, thanks to the “at will” employment policy. Word on the street is a building inspector and Planning and Zoning administrator were AWOL from the office at mid afternoon Thursday. Seems they visited a nearby watering hole during duty hours and are no [...] No related posts....
Boise Guardian - Fri 1:42 p.m. - 3 clicks
Editor's Note: Two weeks ago I posted a hard-hitting column about recreation fees leading to privatization of our public lands and how the Forest Service facilitates the process by turning over management of so many campgrounds and other recreation areas to private concessionaires. After this commentary went online, I was contacted by Warren Meyer, who runs one of the major companies involved in p...
New West Boise - Fri 1:00 p.m. - 8 clicks
"I suspect that I will be as the vote gets closer. But I’m reasonably set in my ways ." -- Congressman Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) speaking to Erika Bolstad of the Idaho Statesman on whether or not he has been spoken to by Democratic leadership regarding his upcoming vote on health care reform. Reasonably set in his ways? And "hell is just a sauna"... ...
Political Game - Fri 12:26 p.m. - 6 clicks
Continuing a process begun with Representative Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, in 2008 of inviting retiring members of the Idaho House to serve as Speaker for part of the day's session, Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, handed the gavel to Representative Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, who is leaving the House to run for Congress. And in keeping with other "firsts," such as Henbest's first woman...
New West Boise - Fri 12:26 p.m. - 5 clicks
It’s gotten a good deal of attention in Idaho, some in Washington and a little in Oregon. But from any of those angles, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s “Love Letter to Our Neighbors” merits a little thought. The core of it is business solicitation, specifically going after businesses in Oregon and Washington which are seeing their [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Fri 10:48 a.m. - 5 clicks
It's dated as news (posted Feb. 24, before Coulter had been released from jail in Haiti), but Timothy Egan's take on the missionary impulse , that "lingering personality disorder of Western culture" makes interesting reading. "[T]he curious case of Laura Silsby raises questions about cultural imperialism: what makes a scofflaw from nearly all-white Idaho with no experience in adoption o...
Fort Boise - Fri 9:28 a.m.
Before fleeing Idaho for more fertile ground in the national spotlight, Bryan Fischer, formerly of Idaho Values Alliance infamy, was more than than happy to hijack the tea party movement.......
The MountainGoat Report - Fri 7:29 a.m. - 4 clicks
UPDATE He has: Otter filed for re-election this (Friday) morning. What follows may still be food for thought, though. This post may be rendered useless speculation tomorrow or next week, and odds are it will be. Can’t help posting it, though, just because it seems to shine some light on a political dog that didn’t bark [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Thu 5:44 p.m. - 5 clicks
Monday was a deluge, the rest of the week a trickle, in Idaho candidate filings. That’s not unusual; the pace doesn’t ordinarily pick up again until near the end, which is a week from tomorrow. No posts on this the last couple of days because there wasn’t a lot to say – the fitful filings have [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Thu 5:24 p.m. - 4 clicks
After two days of testimony, mostly in opposition, Idaho's House State Affairs Committee voted to pass this year's version of the "conscience" bill, which lets medical professionals such as nurses and pharmacists refuse to perform medical actions or fill prescriptions that could cause an abortion--as well as emergency contraception--or hasten the end of life. The bill has already passed ...
New West Boise - Thu 1:22 p.m. - 4 clicks
The Idaho House of Representatives is about to consider a “no texting bill” that passed the Senate Wednesday. Interestingly, we don’t see any exemptions for coppers and firefighters. The Fed transportation people, AAA, and just about everyone who has watched a car weaving slowly down the road agree that reading and writing on computers while [...] Related posts: BFD Ambulance Issue Probably N...
Boise Guardian - Thu 11:45 a.m. - 5 clicks
I saw "Hobson's choice" in print for the second time in a couple days and I was wondering where that expression came from when I saw that today's was Rick Hobson, joking with his own name in a letter to the Statesman . In his case, the choice was posting the names of successful Idaho wolf hunters on his blog . (Sadly, the pun doesn't really work; the original Hobson's choice, "a free ch...
Fort Boise - Thu 10:55 a.m.
On the heels of Ruchti's announcement that he would not be seeking re-election, Rep. Donna Boe has announced she will not be running again for the District 29 seat she has held for fourteen years. In a statement released to the local press , Boe said it is time for new blood representing Bannock County. She continued, "[w]ill I miss the Legislature? At times. However, it is time to m...
Political Game - Thu 9:08 a.m. - 4 clicks
"Despite Rex's fringe status, Idaho Democrats (actually in sheer numbers a fringe party themselves) and the media never tire of attempting to tie him to mainstream Idaho Republicans, and those Republicans continue to dismiss him as a crank." -- Bill Croke in "Tyrannosaurus Rex," an article for The American Spectator about Idaho gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell and his fring...
Political Game - Wed 9:05 a.m. - 3 clicks
In a brilliant act to cut development in the Foothills, Team Dave has apparently seen the light and joined the GUARDIAN GROWTHOPHOBE movement. Boise City Council Tuesday made public the purchase of Hammer Flat – a 701-acre wintering range for mule deer, elk and antelope in east Boise – using funds generated by the [...] Related posts: GUARDIAN Offers Yet Another Transit Plan ...
Boise Guardian - Tue 11:26 p.m. - 5 clicks
We’re going to take a big step and post the following information which comes from Andy Hedden-Nicely, a one time Democrat politico for the U.S. senate, and one time founder of the Boise WEEKLY. As with any one-sided post from outside the GUARDIAN fold, we will gladly accept opposing views of approximately the same [...] Related posts: We Are In Midst Of Economic Civil War Luna Seek...
Boise Guardian - Tue 10:40 p.m. - 6 clicks
Both KPVI and the Idaho State Journal reported today that Representative James Ruchti will not be seeking re-election to the Idaho House. Ruchti was first elected to the House from District 29 in 2006 when former Rep. Elmer Martinez, a fellow Democrat, decided not to run again. Prior to his run for the House, Ruchti served as the chairman of the Bannock County Democratic Party. Since Ruc...
Political Game - Tue 8:28 p.m. - 10 clicks
During the Vietnam War an Army officer explained a village had to be burned “in order to save it.” Idaho Parks Director Nancy Merrill finds herself in that same situation today as she considers allowing dune buggies to chew up the tallest free standing sand dune on the continent to possibly make a few bucks to [...] Related posts: Who Can Drive Safely AND Text? What To Do With The Big Hou...
Boise Guardian - Tue 10:43 a.m. - 6 clicks
Some of them, anyway. This is the first official day of campaign ‘10 in Idaho, because it’s the first day candidates were allowed formally to file for office. (In Oregon, they’ve been doing it since last fall.) A good many of them did that on Day 1, but the deadline for filing isn’t until a [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Mar 8 - 6 clicks
Freedom of Information in Idaho is being attacked by some of the people who have taken an oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of Idaho–coppers. The police bill approved last week by the senate state affairs committee would allow police, prosecutors, and prison guards to conceal their private phone and home address numbers [...] Related posts: Court Rules Against Boise City In R...
Boise Guardian - Mar 7 - 4 clicks
Who could vote against condemning a terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Two U.S. Congressmen did. One is coming to Idaho in three weeks. Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted......
The MountainGoat Report - Mar 5 - 3 clicks
DOGFIGHT WITH F-35, TRASH TALK, PHOTO OP AT REDLIGHTS, SNEAKY SMOKERS Dan Buerstetta 5473 S. Broad Wing Way Boise, ID 83716 336-4464 F-35: I attended the meeting that the government put on regarding the F-35, I’ve read articles, and I’m very much against it. I think it would be devastating for the tax base, homes will devalue dramatically with this extremely loud [...] Related posts: Mayor Hot...
Boise Guardian - Mar 5 - 7 clicks
Money decisions are where your priorities hit the road. Talk is cheap; when you decide how money is allocated, you’re putting something closer to your true self out there. That seems to be hitting home with Idaho state Senator Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, who is a member of the legislative budget committee but not part of [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Mar 4 - 4 clicks
This is how our Idaho Republican party rolls. They take care of their own personal issues to the detriment of the people of the State of Idaho. Two examples. As Governor, Jim Risch jammed through a shift of taxes from property to sales. This was his signature achievement of his short term as Governor (or, as Geoff would say, his term as short Governor), and he crowed about it at every opportunity...
IdaBlue - Mar 4 - 4 clicks
Today the Idaho Statesman reports that Congressman Walt Minnick "would have no trouble being the vote that kills President Barack Obama's health care plan — if it still doesn't include......
The MountainGoat Report - Mar 3 - 5 clicks
The Council on Developmental Disabilities was signed into law by then-governor John Evans in 1978. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that the loudest advocate for its continued funding is Governor Evans himself. In an opinion piece penned by Evans running today in the Idaho State Journal , it ran much earlier in other papers across the state , former Governor Evans reminds readers why the Co...
Political Game - Mar 3
As others have pointed out, in a week full of hilarity at the Idaho Statehouse, this has to be one of the most hilarious statements made by an Idaho Legislator.......
The MountainGoat Report - Mar 3 - 3 clicks
Mike Gwartney (left) and Butch Otter at a check presentation/Office of the Governor The hottest person of controversy in Idaho right now may be not the governor, C.L. “Butch” Otter, but the director of the Department of Administration, Mike Gwartney. Though many of Gwartney’s critics evidently are missing the point: If Gwartney is rightfully controversial, then [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Mar 2 - 6 clicks
(Editor's Note: I can't seem to bring myself to work on a certain writing project and I am completely disappointed in the Idaho Legislature today as I've watched their votes grow increasingly more dumb by the hour (the voter ID bill yesterday and today's trifecta of stupidity--an unconstitutional gun law , immunizations , and Barrett's gold & silver as currency bill). When did ...
Political Game - Mar 2 - 13 clicks
News came yesterday that Idaho Blue Dog Congressman Walt Minnick has not changed his mind on health care reform and will vote against it regardless what iteration of the legislation......
The MountainGoat Report - Mar 2 - 8 clicks
For some time, the discourse emanating out of the local tea party crowd has teetered on the edge of rationality. The more vocal members of the Pocatello Tea Party have written screeds in the local paper, the Idaho State Journal , and many of those columns have subsequently been posted on the ISJ "blogs" that serve as the online home to op-eds previously submitted and printed. Over the last y...
Political Game - Mar 1 - 7 clicks
First up – Frank Rich’s op-ed at the New York Times. The title says it all: ‘The Axis of the Obsessed & Deranged.’ Oh, come on – you know Idaho is represented. From 1996 by Timothy Egan, NYT. BOISE, Idaho, Jan. 10— She says Westerners are at war with the Federal Government, believes that white [...] ...
Left Side of the Moon - Feb 28 - 4 clicks
Not to harp too much on the Pocatello Tea Party, but this one was not to be missed. The headline was “Ten Reasons Why We Need a State Militia Now.” Here are the ten: Attacks by international “terrorists” Invasion by illegal immigrants Infusions of illicit drugs Depredations of criminal enterprises organized and operated [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Feb 27
There are plenty of people in this country who are here illegally, and one effective way to get a handle on that would be to block their employment. So how far should legislators go in that direction? In Idaho, there’s House Bill 497, backed by Representatives Phil Hart and Raul Labrador, and its statement of purpose [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Idaho) - Feb 27 - 5 clicks
Miffed that they don't have supreme authority over every state government employee salary or retiree pension, Idaho Republican legislators are proving once again that local control is best, 'cept when......
The MountainGoat Report - Feb 26 - 3 clicks
PRESS ADVISORY Contact: Diana Painter E-mail: paindian@isu.edu For Immediate Release ISU Students Protest Proposed 9.9 Percent Tuition Hike POCATELLO-- Over 200 of students protested in front of the Idaho State University’s Administration Building holding signs and chanting to demonstrate their anger over the proposed 9.9 percent tuition increase ISU recently submitted to the State Boa...
Political Game - Feb 25 - 4 clicks
Outdoor Idaho will be re-airing their program "Let Me Be Brave," chronicling the story of four Special Olympics Idaho athletes who competed in the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Idaho. The documentary follows four athletes, Reuben, a snowshoer from Boise; Alicia, a snowboarder from Caldwell; Juli, a skier from Rupert; and Robyn, a floor hockey player from Ontario, Oregon. ...
Political Game - Feb 24
Idaho Governor Butch Otter says his job isn't any fun. He says it's tough making cuts to state government and he deserves some compassion for doing it. Really. He said......
The MountainGoat Report - Feb 24 - 6 clicks
First the Cassia County Clerk was accused of grabbing a female county employee by the wrists and was asked by the county commissioners to work from home . Then that clerk, Larry Mickelsen, announced he would not be seeking re-election and would retire June 1, 2010, giving him time to get the 2011 budget process underway. Under pressure from the county Republican party, Mickelsen moved up his reti...
Political Game - Feb 23 - 2 clicks
Years from now Citizens United v Federal Election Commission will stand as one of the most stunning decisions in American jurisprudence. Rescinding a century of case law, the Supreme Court has offered corporations freedom to participate in our election process as if they were individuals with votes and voices. Writing in today's Idaho State Journal on the Citizens United decision and how the...
Political Game - Feb 21
Yesterday Idaho Governor Butch Otter released a scathing opinion accusing the press of a lack of civility and glossing over the facts when reporting on his proposed budget cuts this......
The MountainGoat Report - Feb 20 - 6 clicks
Idaho is no California, but there have to be Idahoans out there who scratch their heads at the thought of a state so embedded in an economic crisis not looking for revenue wherever they can find it. Though we think of revenue hunting in California as a potential marijuana-legalizing endeavor, the California Senate has passed legislation targeting sales on internet sites like Amazon and Oversto...
Political Game - Feb 19 - 3 clicks
The Idaho potentates involved in such matters have kicked into high gear in an effort to get the Air Force to site 1 - 3 squadrons of the new F-3 aircraft here. As I understand it (and admittedly my understanding is not deep or fully informed), an operational squadron could go to Mountain Home, and a training squadron could be put on Gowen field. One, or the other, or both. And somewhere along t...
IdaBlue - Feb 19 - 2 clicks
You had to know this was coming. The man that Idaho State Senator Mike Jorgenson (R-Hayden Lake) relied on for legal help in drafting his controversial anti-immigration bill has been......
The MountainGoat Report - Feb 18 - 4 clicks
This report came out a couple of weeks ago but it's worth noting here, especially given the legacy of assertion, distortion and misinformation foisted upon Idahoans with fetish-like frequency. From......
The MountainGoat Report - Feb 17 - 3 clicks
From Think Progress , Sen. Crapo is exposed for voting against the stimulous bill, yet bragging about the positive effect it is having in Idaho. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) Bragged About Job Creation, Environmental Clean Up Benefits Of Recovery Package. According to KIDK News, Senator Crapo gushed: “Approximately $400 million plus, maybe as much as $465 million will come to INL right here in Id...
IdaBlue - Feb 17 - 2 clicks
New Mexico might be moving its bank accounts, and the money in them, to local banks and credit unions. Putting that money in local financial institutions will allow them to lend locally, and will also help them survive these tough times. How about if the super-majority in the Idaho legislature considers something similar? That would be a more fruitful use of time then trying to keep minorities ...
IdaBlue - Feb 10
House Majority Leader Mike Moyle has introduced a bill to require photo ID in order to vote in Idaho. Such a move is typically associated with racist efforts to keep minorities from voting, and is a favorite cause of the most far-right wingnuts around the country. I'm especially dismayed that the House State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to introduce this bill. Unanimously. So, in additio...
IdaBlue - Feb 9
“Most of these children’s parents died in the earthquake just a few days ago” CBS had video of a bit the interrogation ‘after having attempted to cross the border’ in Port-au-Prince of those 10 Americans Baptists from Idaho. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ “We simply wanted to help these children. We did not understand all your rules.” Mmhmmm . . . . Filed under: [...] ...
Left Side of the Moon - Feb 8 - 2 clicks
