Idaho Opinions

Outfitters' ads in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana conflict with politicians' claims about wolves As politicians in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana press for mass removal of wolves that they claim have decimated elk herds to the point that there are no more game animals to hunt, a review of websites of outfitters in those states are replete with photos of smiling clients posing with trophy elk and claims of success rates nearing 100 percent. A guest column by Todd Wilkinson.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle 5/21/2012

Idaho counties' commission races determined by energy issues Ada County Commissioner Sharon Ullman lost her race in the Republican primary to challenger David Case, due in part to Ullman's support of a waste-to-power project that voters viewed as a green-energy boondoggle, and in Washington County's commission races, incumbents Michael Hopkins and Dave Springer lost their races to Tom Anderson and Kirk Chandler over the incumbents' support of county regulations of the natural gas industry. A column by Rocky Barker.
Idaho Statesman 5/17/2012

Idaho congressional races may not be competitive, but they are colorful Next week's primary races for Idaho's three congressional seats may be notable only for the antics of some of the candidates, including one who law enforcement officials said threatened store employees with a gun, and another who said his campaign manager is a mule.
Idaho Statesman 5/10/2012

Idaho Senate's vote on regulating ATV hunts was the right one If the Idaho House had its way, the state Department of Fish and Game would have lost most of its authority to regulate where hunters could use ATV's to hunt, but thankfully, saner minds prevailed in the Senate and kept that authority intact--a wise decision for a state that values its wildlife.
Idaho Mountain Express 4/11/2012

Idaho counties, cities have reason to worry about oil, gas regulation Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed legislation that prohibits Idaho cities and counties from regulating oil and gas development within their boundaries, placing the authority instead with the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The commission has the same membership as the State Land Board, the panel that again allowed gravel mining in the Salmon River despite siltation and the effect the work has on spawning chinook salmon because money comes first.
Idaho Mountain Express 4/4/2012

Both sides embrace reform Legislators and other leaders from both parties are ready for education reform, whether or not educators are. And reform should start with an overhaul of teacher training programs.
Couer d'Alene Press 3/30/2012

2012 Legislature: Another year, another tax cut gamble Because the Legislature found no way to offset its just-passed ongoing income tax cut - through the repeal of some sales tax breaks, or from some other source - lawmakers are banking on revenue growth to pay for it. This is, in essence, a postdated check.
Idaho Statesman 3/30/2012

Sponsors concede their $35.7 million tax-cut deal is modest, but it fit the moment GOP leaders who backed a tax-cut bill acknowledged they couldn't prove that income tax cuts for corporations and about 17 percent of tax filers in the highest bracket would create any jobs.
Idaho Statesman 3/30/2012

Robbing Hood Jeers to Idaho Sen. Dan Johnson (R-Lewiston), who helped send a $35.7 million tax break geared toward corporations and higher-income individuals toward final passage. Cheers to U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, who stepped outside the relative safety of the GOP's anti-tax line and voted for a proposal to lower tax rates but eliminate loopholes in order to generate about $1.2 trillion in revenues over 10 years while cutting more than twice that much in spending.
Lewiston Tribune 3/30/2012

Robbing Hood Jeers to Idaho Sen. Dan Johnson (R-Lewiston), who helped send a $35.7 million tax break geared toward corporations and higher-income individuals toward final passage. Cheers to U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, who stepped outside the relative safety of the GOP's anti-tax line and voted for a proposal to lower tax rates but eliminate loopholes.
Lewiston Tribune 3/30/2012

Concussion bill places burden on our schools Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill requiring schools to develop rules for when students should be pulled from athletic events after suffering a possible concussion.
Idaho Press-Tribune 3/29/2012

Exchange excuses: The debate that wasn’t Remember the health insurance exchange? This was one of those issues that was supposed to keep the Legislature busy until adjournment. The idea never even got a hearing - partly because the Supreme Court gave some legislators a perfectly handy excuse, and partly because Gov. Otter never seemed terribly interested in getting a state-run exchange moving.
Idaho Statesman 3/29/2012

Unelected Idaho senator holds key to adjournment Sen. Dan Johnson (R-Lewiston), appointed in December to fill out the term of former senator Joe Stegner, has declined to say whether he favors a full Senate vote on a $35.7 million income tax cut that will benefit only corporations and individuals in the highest tax bracket.
Idaho Statesman 3/29/2012

Turns out Idaho tolerates waste, fraud and abuse A legislative plan to stop people from cheating the state out of unemployment benefits once they've taken a new job ran into roadblocks on the House floor.
Lewiston Tribune 3/29/2012

Idaho legislators miss chance to produce independent ethics panel Maybe the resignation of former Caldwell Sen. John McGee gave Idaho legislators the impression that the heat was off and they really didn't need to produce an independent Idaho ethics commission. If that's what they thought, they're wrong.
Idaho Press-Tribune 3/28/2012

2012 Legislature: The ugly ultrasound battle ends, for now A bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion has been tabled for 2012. But House State Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Loertscher said he would work with anti-abortion groups on a new bill next year.
Idaho Statesman 3/28/2012

2012 Legislature: Lawyer shopping, on the public nickel Some legislators want to find lawyers who'll tell them what they want to hear. And they want you to pay for their shopping spree.
Idaho Statesman 3/28/2012

The Idaho Higher Education Disinvestment Act of 2012 The House proposal to limit state spending to 5.33 percent of the state's personal income will have the likely effect of strangling future expenditures for Idaho's colleges and universities.
Lewiston Tribune 3/28/2012

2012 Legislature: Try, try again,for better or worse After three years in the making, the Senate gave its final thumbs-up to a bill that would ban texting while driving.
Idaho Statesman 3/27/2012

Legislators: Back Off, or Admit Your Hypocrisy Isn't this - the Idaho Senate, who voted to require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound - largely the same group of people who deride the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by laughingly referring to it as Obamacare and proudly proclaiming our state's intention to ignore it?
Twin Falls Times-News 3/26/2012

Ultraintrusion in Idaho Legislation approved by the Senate would carry governmental intrusion literally into the wombs of pregnant women, by having women see ultrasound images of the fetus they're carrying in hopes that they'll then decide not to terminate the pregnancy.
Couer d'Alene Press 3/25/2012

1990 battle easily eclipses 2012 ultrasound fracas In 1990, Gov. Cecil Andrus vetoed what would have been the toughest anti-abortion law in the country. And GOP women were upset enough to help Democrats to the governorship, a 21-21 tie in the state Senate, and their first U.S. Representative in the 1st Congressional District in 26 years in the ensuing fall elections.
Idaho Statesman 3/25/2012

Legislature needs to regain focus - and then go home The last three weeks of the legislative session has been consumed by the distracting, and unnecessary, ultrasound abortion issue. Lawmakers need to return to the nuts and bolts work of settling taxes and teacher pay - and then adjourn.
Idaho Statesman 3/25/2012

Idaho's Grumpy Gus governor gets more upbeat When it comes to justifying deeper than necessary cuts to schools, colleges and health care, Otter sees the revenue glass as half empty. When it comes to helping the rich to a bigger share through tax cuts, the governor's glass is overflowing.
Lewiston Tribune 3/25/2012

Why the ultrasound debate may not be over It may be premature to declare the ultrasound bill dead, as there are too many senators with a stake in this issue, and an undetermined, but perhaps significant, bloc of House members that considers this bill some combination of good policy and good politics.
Idaho Statesman 3/24/2012

Cheers & Jeers - Accomplishing the impossible Cheers to the Idahoans whose voices were heard on Senate Bill 1387, which would force women to undergo an ultrasound prior to an abortion. Cheers to Mike and Chantell Sackett, a north Idaho couple who won their long fight with the Environmental Protection Agency with a U.S. Supreme Court decision in their favor.
Idaho Falls Post Register 3/23/2012

Legislature finally gets serious on animal cruelty Facing the possibility of a strict ballot initiative by animal-rights groups, lawmakers have advanced two bills that would toughen the penalties for animal torture and make cockfighting a felony.
Idaho Press-Tribune 3/23/2012

Squeaking by Jeers to Senate Resources and Environment Committee Chairman Monty Pearce, who just squeaked by a formal ethics probe into his oil and gas lease holdings. Cheers to the University of Idaho Faculty Senate, for pursuing a measure to encourage the university to extend health insurance benefits to domestic partners, gay or straight.
Lewiston Tribune 3/23/2012

If Congress is a joke, what's the Legislature? In a speech to the Idaho House and Senate, GOP U.S. Representative Raul Labrador extolled the virtues of bipartisanship and civic duty and warned Idaho lawmakers not to emulate their Congressional counterparts by ratcheting up their rhetoric and trying to just score political points.
Moscow-Pullman Daily News 3/23/2012

Its time for wind to defend itself Evidence suggests wind developers are gaming the existing Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act [PURPA] - the federal law that requires electric utilities to buy energy from small-scale renewable energy projects that want to hook up to their systems. However, after years of price supports and federal and state incentives, wind power should begin to stand on its own two feet.
Twin Falls Times-News 3/23/2012