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Idaho legislator Priscilla Giddings makes bid for lieutenant governor
Idaho State Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, announced Friday she plans to run for lieutenant governor, according to Idaho Reports and the Idaho Press. Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin this week announced a campaign for Idaho governor. Giddings said that without McGeachin in the lieutenant governor’s seat, Idaho would have “a vacancy in Idaho leadership which […]
Who’s getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Idaho? Who isn’t? Here’s the data.
Some of Idaho’s wealthiest and least vulnerable communities have reached higher levels of protection from the virus that causes COVID-19, while the more vulnerable remain at risk. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare provided COVID-19 vaccination data by ZIP code, and by week, to the Idaho Capital Sun. The data, obtained through a public […]
McGeachin campaign website, since taken down, says she’s running for governor
A website with campaign information and videos of Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, which was taken down Tuesday evening after the Idaho Capital Sun inquired about it, said the longtime Republican is running for governor in the GOP’s May 2022 primary. If she runs and wins the primary, she’ll run in the Nov. 8, 2022, general […]
Idaho overpaid road builders millions for shoddy work. State says it won’t happen anymore.
Idaho has overpaid road builders for substandard work. For how long is unclear, but one estimate based on the Idaho Transportation Department’s asphalt paving budget suggests it may have overpaid $4.3 million in a single year. The apparently deficient material remains on Idaho roads. The state has not issued penalties, required contractors to repave the […]
All the COVID-19 variants are here, Idaho. What does that mean for daily life?
Even public health experts have a hard time keeping track of the letters and numbers. There’s B.1.1.7 and P.1 and a few others of the “B” lineage — and, now, B.1.617 and its babies, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. They’re a growing crop of coronavirus variants that have emerged around the globe, usually discovered amid a […]
Idaho further opens, going to Stage 4 to allow gatherings of any size
Idaho is moving to Stage 4 in its plan for reopening the state’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic. That means Idahoans will be allowed to have gatherings of any size. Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen announced the move to Stage 4 during a media briefing Tuesday afternoon. Click here to see what Stage […]
State of Idaho opens an adolescent psychiatric hospital in Nampa
Idaho teens will now be able to get treatment for psychiatric and behavioral health needs at a new facility in Nampa. The Department of Health and Welfare on Monday announced the opening of State Hospital West, on the campus of the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center in Nampa. The hospital will offer “more intensive comprehensive behavioral […]
What’s behind vaccine hesitancy in Idaho? It’s not just political.
It’s a novel coronavirus. The only thing that could stop it was a novel vaccine. An estimated one-third of Idaho’s population was infected by the COVID-19 virus as of late February, according to one highly regarded data scientist’s model. And now, more than one-third of Idaho’s population, has been vaccinated against it. But Idaho public health […]
Hundreds of Idahoans have lost their lives ‘for a paycheck’
Patrick L. Anderson was 25 when he died. He worked on oil rigs. He worked as a wildland firefighter. Those jobs, he survived. It was moving dirt in a residential development north of Boise that killed him on Oct. 5 — his first day at work. Mario Vazquez Vergara was 35 when he died. He […]
Southwest District Health says it won’t “infringe on the rights” of residents during pandemic
The board that oversees Southwest District Health on Tuesday passed a resolution vowing not to issue or enforce COVID-19 restrictions or vaccine rules. The health district has never issued a mask mandate or other rules beyond those issued by the state. When local business owners and physicians asked the board to pass a mask mandate, […]
Saturday events honor memory of Idaho workers who died on the job
At least three dozen Idaho workers lost their lives on the job in 2019, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Many of them were employees in Idaho’s agriculture and construction industries. OSHA each year around Workers Memorial Day recognizes people who died in work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses. Labor unions will host […]
Idaho governor signs ‘social justice’ bill, but chides Legislature for passing it
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed a bill into law that is premised on the idea that public schools and teachers are indoctrinating students into a “social justice” worldview. In a letter to House Speaker Scott Bedke, the governor suggested the Legislature’s approach may damage Idaho public education. The pandemic gave students, parents, teachers and […]