This is a summary of a few items in the Idaho Weekly Briefing for August 13. Interested in subscribing? Send us a note at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.
Some notable education studies emerged this last week, one on the number of female versus male students going on from high school to college, and another showing flat development on reading around the state. Both could become a factor in an increasingly heated superintendent of public instruction contest.
Several Republican members of the Idaho Legislature on August 8 endorsed the ballot measure to expand Medicaid and provide healthcare for the 62,000 Idahoans who fall into the state’s healthcare coverage gap. The endorsement follows the release of the Milliman Inc. report, commissioned by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, which found a significant cost-savings potential for taxpayers through Medicaid expansion.
The Bureau of Land Management Idaho Falls District and the U.S. Forest Service Salmon-Challis National Forest signed the Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness Plan and associated environmental assessment documents, marking the completion of a three-year planning effort.
Albertsons Companies, Inc. on August 8 said that it has mutually agreed with Rite Aid Corporation to terminate their previously announced merger agreement. Several prominent Rite Aid stockholders were reported to have opposed the idea and led to cancellation of a planned August 9 meeting.
Representatives from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and Idaho Power have concluded that the cause of a recent fish kill in the Snake River immediately below American Falls Dam was a lack of sufficient oxygen in the water.
Following Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, applauded the bill for providing a significant boost to small businesses across America.
The JR Simplot Company Food Group is voluntarily recalling approximately 379 cases of its Simplot Good Grainsâ„¢ Exotic Grains and Fire-Roasted Vegetable Blend due to the potential for wheat allergen which is not declared on the packaging.
The Boise City Council on August 7 approved an emergency ordinance prohibiting demolition, alteration or moving of any structures in an area of eastern downtown Boise because of an imminent threat to a historic 1897-vintage home. During a special meeting, council members also approved the pursuit of a local historic district that would encompass the threatened home and ten other historic structures in the immediate area.
Results from the spring Idaho Reading Indicator – the last time that early reading test will ever be given – are out, and they reinforce why educators are happy a new, online test will be rolled out statewide this fall, Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said Friday.
IMAGE Energetic efforts are underway to renew Pocatello’s Old Town – or downtown – area, including the area around this old hotel near the city’s railroad station. (photo/Randy Stapilus)