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Land Board freezes cottage site rents

Idaho's top elected officials have agreed to freeze the rents they charge cabin owners on state lands for the next year. The narrow, 3-2 vote brought sighs of relief from cabin owners who crowded into the old courtroom where the state Land Board meets, some of whom had traveled from Spokane. The vote averts a 15 percent rent hike that the board had tentatively approved in June for 2009.

The Land Board also voted to set a June 15 deadline to come up with a new system for setting rents for state-owned cottage sites at Priest Lake and Payette Lake, with members agreeing with leaseholders that the current system isn't working. "It is a disaster in North Idaho - the real estate market has crumbled," Chuck Lempesis, attorney for the Priest Lake State Lessee Association. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com. ( Full post )

When zero earnings are (relatively) good

Idaho's state endowment fund lost 4 percent in November, the state Land Board learned this morning, "which brings the fiscal year-to-date to a whopping 25," said manager Larry Johnson. The loss to the fund in November was 4.4 percent; fiscal year to date, it's 25.2 percent. "We're in very unusual times," Johnson told the Land Board. "If it's a small consolation, so far in the month of December we've earned zero. The investment managers are performing as we would expect they would." ( Full post )

Idaho Supreme Court orders Payne resentencing

The Idaho Supreme Court has ordered that death row inmate Darrell Edward Payne be resentenced for the abduction, rape and murder of Boise State student Samantha Maher in 2000. In a unanimous ruling,the high court found that the full day of victim impact testimony given before Payne was sentenced was unduly prejudicial. During the testimony, witnesses described Payne as evil, a sociopath, a monster and not even human, and they expressed their wishes that he rot in hell or be tortured. Click here to read the court's decision, and below for the full report from the Associated Press. ( Full post )

No 'faithless electors' here

Idaho's portion of the Electoral College met today at noon, and the four electors, John Erickson, Melinda Smyser, Ben Doty and Darlene Bramon, dutifully cast their ballots for Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin. Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who was presiding along with Gov. Butch Otter, said, "They are free to vote their conscience." But all four followed the state's election results. In fact, Idaho's never had a "faithless elector," Ysursa said, which is the name for one who chooses to vote differently from what the election results dictate, but other states have. He and Otter recalled a Washington state elector who refused to vote for Jerry Ford, instead casting a ballot for Ronald Reagan. And Ysursa said in 2000, one Washington, D.C. elector refused to cast her vote in protest of the national election results, though Al Gore had carried the district. ( Full post )

Idaho gets cash, toy safety promise

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and 37 other state attorneys general have reached a settlement with Mattel Inc. and Fischer-Price Inc. over lead point in toys manufactured in China and sold in the United States. The settlement resolves a 16-month investigation that followed a voluntary recall of the company�s toys for excessive lead paint in 2007; it was filed today in Ada County District Court. As part of the agreement, the companies agreed to meet new, more stringent standards for lead in toys several months ahead of required timelines passed last year by Congress. �When it comes to lead ingestion, there simply is no safe level for a child,� Wasden said. �I am pleased that Mattel is taking steps to ensure the safety of their toys for Idaho�s children.� The firms also agreed to notify the state if excessive lead is found in any of their products. ( Full post )

Campaign expense: Pig, sheep, rabbits

Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, reported some unusual campaign expenditures during this year�s campaign � a pig, a sheep, and a pen of rabbits. �I kept the pig,� the North Idaho senator said. �I paid my campaign back for the meat at market price.� The rest of the animals � purchased at auction at the Benewah County Fair � Broadsword donated back to the 4-H kids who raised them. �It�s important for these kids to continue in the 4-H program,� she said. �Having people who are willing to support the program and buy the animals makes it work. We get this PAC money without asking for it � this is one way I can put it back into the community.� You can read more here in my column in today�s S-R Handle Extra. ( Full post )

Agreement reached on lynching mural explanation

Murals depicting white settlers accosting and then hanging a shirtless Native American man have been displayed openly in Idaho's temporary Statehouse for the past year, with a note from the state Historical Society promising that interpretation of the murals is "forthcoming." Now, after a year and a half of negotiation, the state and Idaho's five Indian tribes have agreed on wording for interpretive plaques, which tell of the bloody clashes between the cultures that occurred as white settlers took over the Boise Valley a century ago. The plaques will go up before this year's legislative session. You can see the plaques here and here, and click here to read my full story from today's Spokesman-Review. ( Full post )

Forecast calls for pain

Idaho's economic forecast calls for pain, the governor's chief economist says, even as state agencies struggle to meet budget cuts imposed earlier this month. After years of faring better than the nation, Idaho's economy is now looking at its worst outlook in a quarter-century, state economist Mike Ferguson said Friday. The bad economic news - including new figures out Friday showing that Idaho shattered its record for a single week's unemployment payouts over the past week - comes as numerous state agencies are ordering workers to take time off without pay and the state Department of Health and Welfare is cutting Medicaid payments by $35.2 million. Those cuts are to meet the 4 percent cutbacks in the current year's budget Gov. Butch Otter ordered this month, due to falling state revenues. The casualties include everything from 65 temporary workers at the state Tax Commission, who will lose their jobs the day after Christmas, to the annual state ceremony celebrating Martin Luther King Jr./Idaho Human Rights Day, which is falling to the budget knife at the state Human Rights Commission. You can read my full story here in today's Spokesman-Review. ( Full post )

It was corn starch from Texas

Hazardous materials teams scrambled today after an envelope containing a �white powdery substance� and addressed to former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne showed up at the state mailroom, but, as in 22 other states, the contents proved to be corn starch. ( Full post )

'It's not getting better'

Mike Ferguson, chief economist for Gov. Butch Otter, gave a briefing for reporters on the state's revenue outlook this morning, and said, �The economic outlook is changing rapidly, and it's not getting better. ... Idaho is actually leading in terms of the decline in economic activity.� Though Idaho has fared better than the nation economically in recent years, that's starting to change. �The recent economic information shows that Idaho is among the hardest-hit in terms of the economic downturn,� Ferguson said. ( Full post )

All the budget cuts

Gov. Butch Otter's additional 3 percent holdback adds up to $81.7 million, on top of his 1 percent holdback from September that totaled $27.1 million. But the total holdback amount now comes to $130.6 million � much more than the total of those two figures. Here's why: Otter also made four additional cuts in budget items that were funded this year with one-time money, when he announced the additional 3 percent holdbacks. They add up to an additional $21.8 million in budget cuts. ( Full post )

But what to get them?

The Libertarian Party is celebrating its 37th birthday today, having been founded on Dec. 11, 1971, and ranking as America's third-largest political party. So what to get the birthday celebrant? Here's what Idaho gave the party's presidential candidate this year, Bob Barr: 3,658 votes. That's 0.6 percent. ( Full post )

ITD touts efficiency moves

The Idaho Transportation Department has issued a 61-page report on efficiencies it says it's achieved in the past year, from millions saved through �Practical Design� changes to road projects, to $1,700 saved by inverting airport windsocks after one side wears out. Pam Lowe, ITD director, said, "The report details how our employees are improving customer service, cutting red tape, solving problems and saving money." Here's a here's a link to the full report. ( Full post )

Could Craig appeal again?

After losing his case at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig could appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, but he'd have to petition the court to hear his case. �Review is not automatic, and the court grants relatively few petitions,� said Steve Simon, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. Plus, Simon noted that the Court of Appeals ruling in Craig's case was issued as an �unpublished� opinion, which means it has no value as a legal precedent. �The Minnesota Supreme Court grants review of very few unpublished opinions,� he said. Here's a link to my full story in today's Spokesman-Review. ( Full post )

Craig: 'Nothing improper occurred'

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig has issued this statement: ( Full post )

Craig's Minnesota appeal denied

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has denied Idaho Sen. Larry Craig�s appeal in a restroom sex-solicitation case, rejecting each and every one of the senator�s arguments for overturning his conviction on disorderly conduct charges, to which he earlier pleaded guilty. The senator, who was arrested in a men�s room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June of 2007, argued that his mailed-in guilty plea contained insufficient facts to prove the crime; that the Minnesota law required �others� to be offended by Craig�s actions and that only one undercover officer in the next stall was affected; that the undercover operation in the men�s room constituted entrapment in that the officer �invited� Craig�s conduct; and that the Minnesota disorderly conduct statute is unconstitutionally overbroad and infringes on 1st Amendment rights to free speech. ( Full post )

House, Senate committees finalized

The House and Senate have posted their final lists of committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session, and there have been a few adjustments from the initial announcement at the organizational session last week, including Reps. Wendy Jaquet and George Eskridge swapping a committee, with Jaquet going on Energy & Environment and Sayler moving to Health & Welfare. You can see the full list of House committees here, and Senate committees here. ( Full post )

TV changeover problematic in Gem State

When television broadcasting switches to digital on Feb. 17, 2009, most Americans won�t be affected, because they already get their TV signals from cable or satellite. But in Idaho, more than 400,000 people still get their TV signals over the air � a percentage that�s well over the national average of 15 percent. In the Treasure Valley, a whopping 27 percent of households get their TV over the air, and they�ll all have to do something before Feb. 17 or they�ll stop being able to watch TV. �We�ve been pretty aggressive at trying to communicate to at least our viewers the fact that the conversion is coming � and they really need to take some action if they want a smooth transition from the television that they have now to the next step,� said Peter Morrill, general manager of Idaho Public Television. ( Full post )

ITD announces budget cuts

The Idaho Transportation Department has announced that it�s cutting its budget by $9 million and reducing administrative costs an additional $1.6 million, by transferring 18 administrative positions to �such critical services as bridge inspection, snowplowing, and road and bridge maintenance.� Pam Lowe, ITD director, said the agency is acting in accordance with Gov. Butch Otter�s direction to all state agencies to �act prudently and cautiously with taxpayer dollars.� Though ITD wasn�t subject to Otter�s newly ordered budget holdbacks because it receives no state general funds, the governor also ordered the agency to cut its administrative costs by 6 percent; the transfer accomplishes that. The other cuts are because of �declining revenue from the state�s fuel tax and economic slowdown,� the department said. Click below to read the full announcement from ITD. ( Full post )

Idaho unemployment jumps again

Unemployment has jumped to a 15-year high in Idaho, 5.8 percent. That�s up a half-point from the previous month, and more than double the rate from November of 2007; it�s the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the state. The Idaho Department of Labor reported that a record 44,100 Idaho workers are without jobs, and more than 8,700 private-sector jobs vanished in November as layoffs �swept across the Idaho economy.� Said state Labor Director Roger Madsen, �We�re facing one of the roughest economies Idaho has seen in decades.� ( Full post )