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Idaho Weekly Briefing – May 21

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for May 21. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

The governor’s primaries are done, with Brad Little winning on the Republican side and Paulette Jordan on the Democratic. A string of other contests, notable among them races for the first U.S. House seat, lieutenant governor and superintendent of public instruction. Next: A breather, then the launch of general election campaigning.

A year’s worth of campaigning led up to the evening of May 15: Primaries in the Republican and Democratic parties that settled the nomination – and in some cases the tenor – of a number of major office races. The top line was the race for governor, won on the Republican side by the candidate from the inside, Lieutenant Governor Brad Little, and on the Democratic by the candidate from the outside, former state Representative Paulette Jordan.

Representative Mike Simpson announced that the Fiscal Year 2019 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill protects funding for the Idaho National Laboratory, the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, and cleanup activities in Idaho. Simpson is Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, which passed the bill through the full House Appropriations Committee this week, and had the lead role in deciding funding for all Department of Energy programs.

Air Combat Command officials announced the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB will test a new wing organizational structure. The experimental structure, initiated by the commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Holmes, directs the 366th Fighter Wing to create an organization that will test possible ways to improve squadron readiness, develop unit leaders and encourage innovation. Changes at the wing are expected to start this month.

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent in April, continuing an eight-month run at or below 3 percent. The state’s labor force – the total number of people 16 years of age and older working or looking for work – continued to increase, gaining 1,242 people from March to April for a total of 849,373.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources issued a final notice on May 17 to more than 400 ground water irrigators who have yet to comply with an order requiring installation of approved flow meters on ground water pumps in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region.

Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests visitors should be prepared to encounter personnel working on and near Forest Service roads near the Orogrande community this summer as fuels reduction and restoration projects move forward.

The Board of Ada County Commissioners will be holding a public hearing on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 9 AM to consider Ordinance No. 833 that would amend Ada County code to include a new section for unmanned aircraft. This public hearing will occur during the Open Business Meeting in the Commissioners’ conference room on the 3rd floor of the Ada County Courthouse.

PHOTO Would you release a 30.5-inch rainbow trout if you caught it? David Raisch of Pocatello did, and he's now a state-record holder. Raisch caught his record fish in late March and recently submitted it into Idaho Fish and Game's catch and release records, which allows anglers to claim a state record while letting the fish live. The program started in 2016, and it complements the traditional "certified weight" records that require anglers to weigh the fish on a certified scale, which means the fish is typically killed. Raisch was fly fishing in the Snake River when he landed the record rainbow, which coincidentally is where the previous record of 29.3 inches was caught. (photo/Department of Fish & Game)
 

Idaho Weekly Briefing – May 14

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for May 14. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

And it’s (almost) all over but the voting, for the primary election at least After more than a year on the campai9gn trial, Raul Labrador, Brad Little and Tommy Ahlquist are about to find out which two of them will have a fairly free calendar the next few months. Contenders in a string of other competitive primaries will learn the same on Tuesday night.

Idaho’s gubernatorial candidates combined to raise more than $6.6 million during the reporting period that ended Tuesday.

Ryan Nelson, an attorney from Idaho Falls, was on May 9 nominated to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. When confirmed, Nelson will take the seat of Judge N. Randy Smith, who announced he will take senior status later this year.

The U.S. Forest Service projects that the upcoming wildfire season will be another historic year of destruction across several western states. Thanks to bipartisan legislation, the U.S. Forest Service is well-positioned to lay the groundwork to stabilize its wildfire fighting efforts beginning this year and well into the future.

State regulators have determined that differences in the electricity usage and load characteristics of Idaho Power customers with on-site generation and customers with standard electric service warrant the separation of the two groups. As a result, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission ordered the closure of the company’s current net-metering classification and the creation of two new classes for customers with on-site generation, Residential and Small General Service.

Albertsons, Inc., a national retail grocery chain, violated federal law when a class of Hispanic employees in San Diego were subjected to harassment and a hostile work environment through the implementation of a no-Spanish policy, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed last week.

More than 830 acres of forested state lands affected by wildfire or wind blow-down events were treated this spring to prevent infestations of bark beetles.

Self-advocates and mothers with children gathered at the offices of Idaho’s members of Congress urging Idaho representatives to protect and preserve existing Medicaid. Deliveries began at Senator Crapo’s office and made additional stops at Senator Risch and Congressman Simpson’s offices. Advocates have been carefully watching the Congressional agenda after multiple attempts to cut or add new burdensome regulations to Medicaid over the last year.

PHOTO More than 830 acres of forested state lands affected by wildfire or wind blow-down events were treated this spring to prevent infestations of bark beetles. Idaho Department of Lands and U.S. Forest Service employees stapled 11,475 “bubble capsules” filled with a pheromone produced by Douglas-fir beetles to trees affected by the Clearwater Complex Fire near Kamiah and the Tepee Springs Fire near Riggins in 2015. Several infested stands near Rexburg in eastern Idaho also were treated. (photo/Department of Lands)
 

Idaho Weekly Briefing – May 7

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 30. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

As votes start to drop, various forms of political conflict accelerate, including sharp discussion about a new form of political mailer. Meantime, the arrival of spring coincides with a renewed look at the prospects for wildfires this year.

allot initiative to bring quality, affordable health care to 62,000 people by expanding Medicaid in the state. Over the past several months, a diverse group of volunteers, from Bonners Ferry to Driggs, have been collecting signatures from citizens covering the entire political spectrum to qualify the initiative, which would bring health coverage to residents who are caught in what’s known as “the health coverage gap.”

A 48-page printed publication called “The Idahoan,” self-described as “written by conservatives, information for everyone,” was broadly distributed around Idaho last week, evoking numerous questions and an inquiry to the Idaho secretary of state’s office.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing an $8,500 fine to Idaho State University for failing to maintain control and surveillance of one gram of radioactive material.

After more than five years of bipartisan collaboration, Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch joined Representative Mike Simpson on May 2 at the National Interagency Fire Center to mark the end of the practice known as fire borrowing. Also present was Vicki Christiansen, Acting Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

Vista Outdoor Inc. on May 1 announced its strategic business transformation plan, designed to allow the company to focus resources on pursuing growth in its core product categories.

The Bureau of Land Management marked a milestone in the administration’s effort to better align plans for managing Greater Sage-Grouse habitat on federal lands by publishing a draft environmental impact analysis of proposed changes to resource management plans in Idaho.

PHOTO U.S. Senator Mike Crapo has held scores of small meetings in recent months at communities around Idaho, many of them in communities too small to be cities, sometimes in houses where no public buildings would have been available. This photo shows one of them, a constituent meeting held at a house in Pleasantview, in Oneida County (image/Senator Crapo)
 

Idaho Briefing – April 30

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 30. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Early voting is about to kick in, and the various primary contests – a considerable number of them, in both parties – are reaching their final pitches. Lots of endorsements are coming in (and need to; they’d do little good in another couple of weeks).

About 1.7 million acres of forest land in Idaho is family-owned, representing about 36,000 landowners and 56 percent of all privately-owned forest land in the state. As much as 560,000 acres, or 33 percent of family owned forests in Idaho, are likely to have new owners within five years, according to a new survey released on April 24.

The Challis-Yankee Fork, Middle Fork, and North Fork Ranger Districts recently advertised five timber sales for public bid. Four sales on the Challis-Yankee Fork and Middle Fork Ranger Districts are salvage timber sales, which is material being harvested that is dead or dying and is being removed in order to improve the health of the stand.

The City of Boise on April 24 released its bi-annual Livability Report to highlight and outline progress on the broad array of city initiatives that are enhancing Boise’s celebrated livability.

Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently set rules for the 2018 migratory bird season, which includes ducks, geese, mourning doves, American crow, snipe and coots, and sandhill cranes.

Idaho Power has proposed decreasing the portion of its rates that changes every year due to the variable costs of providing power to its customers.

Idaho public health officials are warning Idahoans to avoid consumption of products that contain kratom because they could be contaminated with Salmonella. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Public Health Districts, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are collaborating on the investigation of Salmonella infections linked to the consumption of products containing the plant substance kratom.

State regulators have suspended a surcharge that helps qualified Idahoans afford basic telephone service for the second consecutive year as the number of recipients and contributors continues to decline.

PHOTO The state Department of Lands is launching a program to try to block invasive insect species from invading Idaho, setting up trapping sites at various locations around the state. This rtap set is located near the Canadian border. (image/Department of Lands)
 

Idaho Briefing – April 23

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 16. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Campaigns for major office in Idaho roared ahead this week, with a number of major debates in many of the top contests held, and a string of new television spots released. Little additional polling has surfaced, however.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has approved routes for segments of the Gateway West electric transmission line project on public lands in southwestern Idaho, connecting previously authorized routes in southern Wyoming and eastern Idaho. The project will improve the nation’s energy infrastructure and boost the economy in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West.

State regulators have approved a settlement agreement in a case involving the relicensing of Idaho Power’s largest hydropower complex. The settlement allows approximately $216.5 million in expenditures related to the relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex to be designated as prudently incurred and eligible for inclusion in customer rates at a later date.

The Idaho State Board of Education on April 19 voted to increase tuition and fees for fulltime undergraduate resident and nonresident students at each of Idaho’s four-year institutions effective in fall 2018.

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 2.9 percent in March, ending a six-month run of 3 percent and remaining at low levels last seen in 2007 and 2008. The state’s labor force – the total number of people 16 years of age and older working or looking for work – increased by 1,646 from February to March for an all-time record high of 848,097.

The Salmon-Challis National Forest announced they will be extending the comment period on the Wild and Scenic River Draft Eligibility Report to July 16, 2018. The Forest was originally seeking comment by May 4.

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has been very open about his support for Lt. Governor Brad Little, and on April 10 he makes his endorsement official.

One of Pocatello’s busiest intersections will be getting a facelift. Starting April 23, crews will begin work on the intersection of East Alameda Road, Jefferson Avenue, Hiline Road, and Pocatello Creek Road.

PHOTO As soil temperatures rise and snow melts, reforestation efforts are underway on private lands burned in the 2015 Clearwater Complex Fire. The Idaho Department of Lands in partnership with the Idaho County Soil and Water Conservation District is leading the tree replanting effort. Approximately 27,000 Ponderosa Pine seedlings were just planted on 90 acres of private land in the Lolo Creek drainage. The seedlings are part of a larger project that will bring more than 130,000 seedlings to private forestlands hardest hit by the 2015 catastrophic fires in the Clearwater basin. The project targets non-industrial private lands that are at extreme risk of landslides, insect and disease outbreaks, and weed invasions post-fire. (image/Department of Lands)
 

Idaho Briefing – April 16

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 16. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Candidate debates have become almost old hat in Idaho this cycle, since contenders for governor have been sharing stages for most of a year. But more major activity on this front is picking up, as two of the major statewide debates aired late last week.

A Boise federal grand jury has indicted four current correctional officers employed by the Idaho Department of Correction, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis said. In another case, the grand jury indicted a former IDOC correctional officer, a former IDOC inmate and the inmate’s associate.

Idaho National Laboratory, together with the Idaho State Board of Education, is breaking ground on two new research facilities: the Cybercore Integration Center and the Collaborative Computing Center.

The Idaho National Laboratory reported that on the evening of April 11, a barrel containing radioactive sludge ruptured when it came into contact with air. The agency said that no injuries were reported and no waste escaped into the outside environment. Some emergency operations were undertaken on April 12, but those were concluded by the day’s end.

The city of Idaho Falls and its partners on April 12 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the city’s newest park – Heritage Park, at Snake River Landing.

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has been very open about his support for Lt. Governor Brad Little, and on April 10 he makes his endorsement official.

The city of Boise’s biennial citizen survey is now open to all members of the public interested in participating.

PHOTO KSAS, 103.5 KISS FM’s Morning Show Host Keke Luv (Steve Kicklighter), along with his fellow on-air hosts, Lucky The DJ and Mateo, will once again draw attention to child abuse in the Treasure Valley. As in past years,Keke will urge the community to discuss and push forth the “Cycle to Break the Cycle” message during the 175-consecutive-hours live broadcast. Keke is asking his listeners to help him achieve the community awareness goal by pedaling stationary bicycles that are each connected to a power inverter that will provide electric power to the radio station’s studio custom built at the event. (image/Townsquare Media)
 

Idaho Briefing – April 9

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 9. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Major stories coming from an unusual direction this week: The hiring of new presidents at two of Idaho’s major higher education institutions. (On top of putting the UI athletic director on lease.) That work isn’t done yet – the hiring for Boise State University still awaits – meaning that changes for higher ed in Idaho this year could be significant event if the proposed reorganization plan (that the legislature rejected) went nowhere.

Idaho Power is joining seven other electric utilities in the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), enabling the company to buy low-cost energy from across the region in real time.

University of Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear has been put on administrative leave for 60 days while investigators and university leadership work to better understand process failures in reporting sexual assault complaints in 2012 and 2013, what has been done since then, and what should be done in the future.]

Local health organizations are joining the effort to put closing the coverage gap on the ballot in Idaho. Following another year of legislative inaction, advocates are eager to give the voters of Idaho the chance to decide.

The Bureau of Land Management has begun implementing an experimental targeted grazing project aimed at reducing fuels and associated fire risk and protecting rehabilitation efforts within the Soda Fire zone. Participating local ranchers will be grazing livestock along 36 miles of Owyhee Front roadways from approximately Marsing to Murphy from now through June.

Boise State University officially has begun construction on the $50 million Micron Center for Materials Research.

Representative Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, sharply criticized a federal court decision he contends is forcing the waste of $40 million in hydropower based on dubious scientific grounds in the name of helping salmon.

After nearly 32 years on Kimberly Road the Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor’s Office will be moving. The new Supervisor’s Office will be located at 370 American Avenue in Jerome.

PHOTO The Department of Energy last week officially approved the contract modification that enables a five-year extension for Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) to manage and operate INL through September 30, 2024. (image/Idaho National Laboratory)
 

Idaho Briefing – April 2

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for April 2. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

With little drama, the Idaho Legislature called it quits early last week, and governmental activity in the state largely took a breather – aside, perhaps, from reconsidering what did and didn’t happen at the Statehouse.

The Challis-Yankee Fork Ranger District, Salmon-Challis National Forest, recently signed a decision to implement the South 21 Project. The South 21 Project planning area is located approximately 15 miles northwest of Stanley, Idaho on the Middle Fork Ranger District, administered by the Challis-Yankee Fork Ranger District

Managing a large sterile lake with big, long-lived predators and a fluctuating prey species poses a big challenge for fisheries managers, and Payette Lake at McCall is the latest case where managers are asking anglers what they would like to see in the future.

For the bioeconomy to continue expanding, biomass must be produced and converted into biofuels in a cost-effective way. In September, Idaho National Laboratory bioenergy researchers helped meet those cost challenges by reducing the modeled cost of growing, harvesting, storing, transporting and preprocessing biomass from $149.58 per dry ton to $82.86 per dry ton.

The Idaho Department of Correction is investigating a disruption by Idaho inmates at a contract-bed facility in Texas.

Idaho State University’s College of Arts and Letters started its on-campus dual-enrollment pilot program in the fall of 2017 and has almost tripled the program’s size from 10 students to 29 in just one semester.

A bridge that has stood in Pocatello for more than 50 years is getting a bit of work. Recently, crews began work on the substructure that supports the Benton Street Bridge. The project will use various techniques to rehabilitate the structure with plans calling for reinforcing the concrete using carbon fiber wrapping, installation of a corrosion protection system, and repairing the column footings below ground.

PHOTO A lightning storm hits at the Salmon Falls Reservoir. The photo was released by the Bureau of Land Management last week. (image/Bureau of Land Management)
 

Idaho Briefing – March 26

This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for March 26. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.

Nearly all substantive legislative work for this year’s Idaho session was concluded on March 22, but final adjournment was held off, primarily in case legislative action is needed to deal with one or more gubernatorial vetoes.

The steady shift of Idaho’s population from rural to urban counties continued between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Six urban counties – Ada, Canyon, Kootenai, Bonneville, Bannock and Twin Falls – had a combined population of 1,116,173, accounting for 75 percent of the growth in the state’s population and 65 percent of overall population. The state’s total population was estimated at 1,716,943.

The 366th Civil Engineer Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base is in the process of gathering information to conduct an environmental assessment for air and ground training spaces in urban areas located throughout Idaho. Training in urban areas allows MHAFB aircrew to experience conditions similar to those faced in combat.

Representative Mike Simpson on March 22 applauded the House passage of H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which included monumental benefits for Idaho and Western States.

Legislative sessions preceding general elections for statewide elected officials mark the point when salaries for those offices are fixed by the legislature, and lawmakers acted on that subject in this session.

The city of Nampa will begin rebuilding 2nd and 3rd Streets South from 12th Avenue to 16th Avenue South on March 27.

Holding steady for the sixth consecutive month, Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3 percent in February.

Senator Mike Crapo, who has served as the lead Republican sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act, on March 21 reiterated his support for justice for trafficking victims and voted in favor of H.R. 1865, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which passed in the Senate on a 97-2 vote.

PHOTO By the end of last week, things were relatively quiet in the Statehouse rotunda. This image looks across to the House chambers, shortly before the floor session on Thursday morning. (image/Randy Stapilus)