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Posts published in “Day: April 25, 2007”

First in, first out

In a more normal cycle, Robert Vasquez wouldn't have even entered the race for U.S. Senate this early. As it is, he's not only been in but now, also, out.

He was quoted as saying: "We have been unable to meet the funding goals, which are required to run a viable campaign. I cannot in good conscience continue to raise funds, without the viable chance to run a winning campaign."

Okay. (Though his web site doesn't yet make reference to the withdrawal.)

We'll note here too the flurry in the last couple of days about Boise City Council member Alan Shealey, a Republican, making reference to entering the race. He may be well advised to consider the hurdles much as Vasquez has.

Meantime, incumbent Republican Larry Craig will let everyone know his plans in due course.

Of comments, spam, &tc

In the last few months we've seen a spike in comment spam, and finally hit a point where manual management of it was becoming a pain. So we tweaked the system a bit and yesterday added a new spam-killer to the architecture.

It appears to be working correctly, killing out the junk while letting through the genuine stuff. But let us know if you try commenting and nothing shows up. The spam-killer does not seem especially over-eager, but it may need some adjustment as time goes on so that it doesn't harvest the good stuff along with the bad. (You can mail on this, or whatever, to stapilus[at]ridenbaugh.com.)

Changing the water rules, maybe?

Norm Semanko
Norm Semanko

Toward the middle of today's guest opinion in the Idaho Statesman by Norm Semanko, who leads the Idaho Water Users Association, was this bit of deliberate non-provocation:

Idaho's Prior Appropriation Doctrine, embraced in its constitution and statutes, has worked well for Idaho for over 100 years. Augmented by additional water supplies including storage reservoirs, it has provided certainty and stability during times of shortage for farmers, cities and businesses alike.

The governor's water summit was not a referendum on whether to change Idaho's longstanding set of water laws. There will be no constitutional convention or other revamping of Idaho's water laws.

The guest opinion was a statement of support for Governor Butch Otter's recent water summit at Burley, which did not result in any immediate resolutions but did, as Semanko notes, have the virtue of bringing many of the players face to face. The fact that such a meeting might have real usefulness (and why followup meetings probably would be a good idea) is testament to Idaho's gradually growing difficulties with effectively managing its water supply.

The summit wasn't, as Semanko says, "a referendum on whether to change Idaho's longstanding set of water laws." But left unsaid was this question: Should that be considered? Should, for example, the prior appropriation doctrine (first in time, first in right) be tossed in favor of some other principle?

That would mean thinking outside of long-standing tradition. But some of the emerging water issues are non-traditional, too. Some large-scale careful consideration might be in order.