Posts published in “Briefings”

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for November 12. Would you like to know more? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

We're at work trying to make the Briefing a free-access publication through contributions. See our donation site at IndieGogo.

Election day is over, and in Idaho the big picture did not change greatly – major offices are in the same party’s hands, ad most of the lower-level offices are as well. But there are some new faces and some changes at lower levels. And the passage of Medicaid expansion in Idaho will set up a major topic of discussion in the upcoming legislative session.

After 18 months of grassroots organizing, Reclaim Idaho supporters across the state celebrated the passage of Proposition 2, which gives healthcare access to 62,000 people in the Medicaid Gap. Before Tuesday, an estimated 62,000 Idahoans made too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to qualify for the state exchange.

Trustees of the College of Western Idaho were reviewing the possibility of pressing for a recount after their proposed plant levy fell short in unofficial vote counts.

Boise Mayor David Bieter on November 8 announced that the city of Boise is suing 20 pharmaceutical companies for their role in the ongoing escalation of the national and local opioid crisis.

State regulators have set a deadline for parties to intervene in an Idaho Power case involving the study of on-site generation. The study is intended to identify the costs and benefits of on-site generation – primarily rooftop solar but any customer-owned generation source – on Idaho Power’s system, and to determine how those factors should be reflected in rates, rate design and compensation for excess energy.

Idaho’s first influenza-related death of the 2018-2019 influenza season occurred this week in a northern Idaho woman over the age of 50.

Electric bikes (e-bikes) are now becoming popular throughout the United States and there has been confusion about whether they are considered motorized vehicles and where people may ride them. The Salmon-Challis National Forest would like to clarify where e-bike riders are allowed to ride.

The Bureau of Reclamation has selected two projects in Idaho to receive $57,602 for small-scale water efficiency projects. The funding from Reclamation will assist the selected applicants with canal automation and the installation of water measuring devices.

IMAGE Sarah Brede skis the Christmas tree out of the forest. Most of the 2.5 million acres of National Forest System lands on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests are open for Christmas tree cutting. (photo/Idaho Panhandle National Forest, courtesy of Mike Brede) (photo/Idaho State University)

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for November 5. Would you like to know more? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

We're at work trying to make the Briefing a free-access publication through contributions. See our donation site at IndieGogo.

As Idaho comes to the end of the 2018 general election campaign season, campaigns in Idaho – as in so many places around the country – come to a fever heat. A sampling of press releases from the campaigns is included in this issue.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter on October 20 endorsed Proposition 2, the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative.

United States Attorney Bart M. Davis announced that Assistant United States Attorneys Jack Haycock, Ray Patricco and Traci Whelan will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 6, general election.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has scheduled a telephonic public hearing for a case involving the exchange of electrical assets between Avista and the Bonneville Power Administration.

A federal grand jury indicted a state-owned enterprise of the People’s Republic of China, a Taiwan company, and three individuals, charging them with crimes related to a conspiracy to steal, convey, and possess stolen trade secrets of an American semiconductor company for the benefit of a company controlled by the PRC government.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s Executive Committee focused on the study of autonomous and connected vehicles formally approved its initial report and will submit it to the Governor’s Office Nov. 1.

United States Attorney Bart M. Davis said on November 1 that his office’s Financial Litigation Unit collected more than $11.17 million in criminal restitution, fines, and assessments and in civil debts for the fiscal year that ended September 30.

Idaho State University’s faculty and President Kevin Satterlee have approved a new proposed Faculty Senate Constitution, the document that outlines the faculty’s role in shared governance at the University.

Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo on November 2 led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in requesting funding to modernize firefighting assets so the U.S. Forest Service can more effectively respond, in a cost-effective manner, to devastating wildfires.

The University of Idaho’s College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences aims to meet a growing demand for communication-related occupations by bringing back its degree in communication.

IMAGE Now in its third year, the Idaho National Laboratory-hosted Family Nuclear Science Night has found its stride, offering everything a K-12 student might want to know about fusing or splitting an atom – and much, much more. The event, held Oct. 18 the INL Meeting Center in the Energy Innovation Laboratory Building, is designed to get students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) by offering them unique activities.. (photo/Idaho State University)

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for October 22. Would you like to know more? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

We're at work trying to make the Briefing a free-access publication through contributions. See our donation site at IndieGogo.

As the trees turn around Idaho, and higher elevations prepare for consistent cooler weather, political candidates begin making their final pitches to voters. And Republicans hop on their biennial bus and travel around the state.

The Idaho Falls Residential Fiber Pilot Program is set to begin with a public meeting scheduled for October 23 at 6 p.m. at Taylorview Junior High School. Residents whose neighborhoods have been selected to participate in the pilot program have been identified and have received a letter from Idaho Falls Power and the Idaho Falls Fiber Network advising them of the date and time of the meeting.

State regulators have approved a rate adjustment that will lower natural gas rates for Avista customers. The change to the Fixed Cost Adjustment will decrease residential rates by 4.2 percent when it takes effect Nov. 1.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Idaho Water Resource Board will host an open house on November 8,, to share early-stage information about a feasibility study for increasing water storage capacity within the Boise River system, particularly at Anderson Ranch Dam.

The Idaho Water Resource Board toured two fish-conservation projects in the Lemhi River Basin that restored water flows to Bohannon Creek and Big Timber Creek to allow Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout to spawn in those streams for the first time in nearly a century.

Boise State University’s overall fall enrollment has reached another new record of 25,540 students, an increase of 5.7 percent over last year.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the largest in the nation with jurisdiction over nine states and two territorial courts. With the State of Idaho as part of that circuit, its judges have influence over Western issues that affect Idahoans. Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on October 24 chaired a hearing on a slate of nominees, including two selected to serve as judges on the Ninth Circuit.

Lieutenant Governor Brad Little released the results of the Licensing Freedom Act— Executive Order 2017-06— which required state agencies who administer occupational licenses to provide reports to the Offices of Lt. Governor and Governor no later than July 1.

IMAGE High school students, their parents and college transfer students check out health science programs at the ISU-Meridian Health Science Experience Night and Pharmacy Open House Oct. 23. (photo/Idaho State University)

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for October 22. Would you like to know more? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

We're at work trying to make the Briefing a free-access publication through contributions. See our donation site at IndieGogo.

Still more debates were held last week between candidates for state office as the general election reaches its final phase. The biggest debates had to do with finances in the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paulette Jordan.

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined slightly to 2.7 percent in September, continuing at or below 3 percent for the 13th consecutive month. The state’s labor force – the total number of people 16 years of age and older working or looking for work – was 853,076 people, essentially unchanged since July.

Idaho National Laboratory has completed a Technical Assistance Agreement with a company seeking independent evaluation of its test plans for improving a cybersecurity product designed to safeguard industrial controls and critical infrastructure.

Entomologists with the Idaho Department of Lands and U.S. Forest Service spent this fall sampling selected trees for infestations of tiny wingless insects that can have devastating effects on fir stands in Idaho and the region.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and Tamarack Homeowners Acquisition Company have agreed to a land exchange and bond-transfer agreement to settle outstanding debt associated with Tamarack Resort near Donnelly.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter reported positive initial feedback on October 18 from the 11 Idaho companies and organizations that joined him on a trade mission to Toronto, Canada from October 1 – 4, 2018.

The Boise City Council on October 17 approved the purchase of a downtown property to house a Boise Police Department microdistrict substation to serve Boise’s growing and vibrant downtown core.

President Donald J. Trump has signed into law legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, and Gary Peters (D-MI) aimed at helping small businesses safeguard their intellectual property with expanded education on obtaining and protecting patents.

The city of Nampa is beginning a process to review and update its Comprehensive Plan which guides growth and development in Nampa. Community members are invited to join in the process by attending open houses, completing surveys or participating in the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. The first advisory committee meeting will be held October 23.

IMAGE This is a smaller example of the type, but forests of political campaign signs have sprouted all over Idaho with the arrival of October. (photo/Randy Stapilus)

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for October 15. Would you like to know more? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

We're at work trying to make the Briefing a free-access publication through contributions. See our donation site at IndieGogo.

Still more debates were held last week between candidates for state office as the general election reaches its final phase. Wildfires continue active around the state even as winter firmly arrive in parts of eastern Idaho (though weather toward the west is distinctly autumnal).

The United States Senate this evening voted to confirm Ryan Nelson of Idaho Falls to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Final 2019 premium rates for individual and small group health insurance plans have been released by the Idaho Department of Insurance.

Idaho Fish and Game recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assume operations of the Hagerman National Fish Hatchery, which raises about 1.6 million juvenile steelhead for release in the Upper Salmon River Basin.

Idaho conservation groups issued a harsh rebuke to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter today after the governor committed the state to four more years of support for failed federal salmon policies.

The Micron Foundation announced a $1 million grant for universities and nonprofit organizations to conduct research into how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve lives while ensuring safety, security and privacy.

Governor C.L. “Butch”Otter announced the appointment of retired Fish and Game employee Don Hancock Beck Jr. to fill a vacancy on the Nez Perce County Commission created by the recent resignation of Commissioner Bob Tippet.

Jeanne Higgins, Forest Supervisor for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, is pleased to announce she has signed the decision memo for the Hanna Flats Good Neighbor Authority Project on the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo voted in favor of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act. Among many important upgrades to our waterways, irrigation systems and dams, the bill will help ensure water delivery to Idaho ranches and farms, and will increase water storage in the West. It also removes unnecessary red tape, making billions of dollars in deauthorizations to help reduce the deficit. The President is expected to sign the bill into law.

Christians and other faith leaders launched a week of prayer and action in support of Proposition 2, the Medicaid expansion ballot intuitive.

IMAGE Downtown Moscow was packed with crowds as the city’s popular farmers market attracted people from around the region. (photo/Randy Stapilus)

Local and regional journalism is in financial trouble and under attack from critics. That means we're all in trouble. Do you know what your elected officials are doing? If you don’t know, how can you keep them accountable? Studies are showing that governments are less efficient and more corrupt when the people see less of what they’re doing. And the same applies to other kinds of organizations.

For people in Idaho, The Idaho Weekly Briefing helps. We have been reporting about Idaho’s governments, business and other organizations, and the demographic and other changes sweeping the state, for many years. Our reports and analysis, some original and some curated from source documents, are packaged in an e-magazine 40 to 50 pages in length. Easy to scan quickly or read in depth.

I'm Randy Stapilus, editor and publisher. I’ve been reporting about Idaho for more than 40 years, as a newspaper editor and reporter, writing about a dozen books and editing periodicals about the state. My weekly column runs in newspapers serving Boise to Twin Falls, Lewiston, Pocatello and beyond.

The Idaho Weekly Briefing is read by legislators, activists, government and business leaders, and interested citizens, has always been sustained by subscription fees. We're launching this campaign to make the Weekly Briefing free of charge, freely available, through e-mail or download. No paywall, no ads, no subsidiary income stream.

We need $6,000 to underwrite the next year's Briefings - just enough keep the Briefing going free-access, for 52 issues.

But we hope to go beyond that, to continue into the future ... and to make the Briefing more than it is now. We want to add more features, news and investigative articles from writers around the state, mid-week updates, and much more. The more funding we receive, the more we can do.

As another organizer on IndieGoGo said about their effort, "This campaign is about so much more than money. It's about community - because success requires a huge backing of people who believe that it's possible, and want to be a force in making it happen."

We see the Idaho Weekly Briefing is a prototype. If we can make it work in Idaho ... with you as a contributor as well as a supporter ... it could inspire more efforts around the country. We want to be a part of that, and I’m asking you to become a part of it too.

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for September 24. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Campaigns roared ahead last week as candidates from governor on down hit the trail around the state. The climate cooperated, cooling down and tamping down the remaining wildfires from summer.

Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted to refer the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court to the full Senate. The committee voted 11-10 to report the nomination favorably to the full Senate for consideration. Timing on proceeding to the nomination will be determined by the Majority Leader.

A trade mission headed by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and put together by the state departments of Commerce and Agriculture was slated to take off for Toronto on October 1.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public comment on a draft hazardous waste storage and treatment partial permit renewal for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project on the Idaho National Laboratory.

The city of Idaho Falls City Council passed a resolution on September 27 authorizing Idaho Falls Power to begin a pilot program to examine the costs associated with providing high-speed fiber optic access to Idaho Falls residents.

Representative Mike Simpson voted this week for a series of bills aimed at protecting and expanding the historic wins accomplished by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The Bureau of Land Management Idaho Falls District and Caribou-Targhee National Forest on September 28 released a draft environmental impact statement analyzing different alternatives for expanding the phosphate mine at Smoky Canyon, east of Soda Springs.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced that Idaho, 49 other states and the District of Columbia have all reached an agreement with California-based ride-sharing company Uber Technologies, Inc. The settlement addresses the company’s one-year delay in reporting a data breach to affected drivers.

Friends of the Palouse Ranger District on September 25 personally delivered over a thousand signatures to the Boise offices of Senator Jim Risch, Senator Mike Crapo, and the Idaho Lands Department.

IMAGE After a second failed attempt in a year to pass a bond issue, the Idaho Falls School District is again reconsidering ways to upgrade its schools. The school board met Wednesday to discuss possible paths forward and to address why its $99.5 million request to rebuild Idaho Falls High School and remodel Skyline High School failed in August. (photo/IdahoEdNews)