Commentary
To protect Idaho’s youth, we should provide health care options — not take them away
As a doctor, I have seen a lot of people in their most vulnerable moments. But some visits with patients stick to your soul and never leave. I’ll never forget one of my most heartbreaking visits, when a transgender patient looked at me with pleading eyes and asked, “Am I safe here?” My patient was […]
March 29 is a time to recognize America’s Vietnam War veterans
When many Vietnam veterans returned home from serving their country, they were met with indifference, even hostility. The war had divided the public and feelings ran high over that ill-fated war, particularly in the late 1960s and continuing for more than a decade. It was an ugly war that took the lives of 58,220 U.S. […]
It’s time to stand up to political intimidation. Our democracy demands it.
The envelope arrived with a Blanchard, Idaho, return address. “How quaint,” I thought. “Old-fashioned snail mail from Idaho.” But this was no love letter. “You are hereby notified that you are violating federal copyright laws … You have been found to be illegally posting or reporting or continuing to post the photo In support of […]
On National FOIA Day, let’s celebrate a law ‘vital to the functioning of a democratic society’
For many of us, March 16 is a special day. Happy birthday to James Madison, and happy Freedom of Information Day to everyone else. National Freedom of Information Day celebrates the ability of people to look at most government records and is observed on the birthday of the man who wrote the First Amendment. The […]
Introducing a new grassroots movement built on community and respect in Canyon County
If you follow Idaho’s political news, you’ve likely seen new faces, heard new ideas and participated in new conversations. It seems, at times, that civil conversations with compromise, collaboration, negotiation and understanding have been tossed aside for civil unrest with riots, demonstrations, threatening individuals or assemblies that have become disruptive. Nationwide, we’ve seen troubling displays […]
Democrats do the work, while Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson takes bows
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson should be sending thank you notes to Democrats and President Biden, for they have given him a wealth of material for press releases. Since the first of the year, Simpson has sent out more than a dozen news releases about how he has “secured” funding through the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus […]
Change is needed in Idaho’s abortion laws before it is too late
To those who witnessed the fall of Roe v. Wade and the implementation of Idaho’s total abortion ban, the medical community accepts that broad access to abortion is no longer an option in Idaho. What most do not realize is the dramatic impact criminalizing medical care is having on recruitment and retention of physicians who […]
Idaho has been truly lucky to have had a man of integrity living among us like Gov. Batt
It was only appropriate that Gov. Phil Batt passed away on March 4 which was his 96th birthday – and the day we celebrate as Idaho Day. Perhaps more than any other political leader of the past half century, Gov. Batt personified what it means to be an Idahoan. Born on a farm in Canyon […]
Lava Ridge project shows lack of concern for wildlife, important cultural sites in Southern Idaho
South Central Idaho is facing three proposed wind turbine projects that would consume over 200,000 acres in our Magic Valley. And there are at least eight more proposals waiting in the wings. As a Magic Valley native who enjoys and loves our wildlands, viewscapes and open spaces, this is a concerning pattern. Specifically, LS Power […]
Fertile ground: How building communities helps retain Idaho physicians
In 1982, I started medical school at the University of Idaho with WAMI Medical Education. Today, Idaho’s premier medical school is known as WWAMI, which stands for the states that partner with the University of Washington School of Medicine: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (Wyoming had not yet joined the regional medical school when […]
Idaho’s House Bill 71 would make it harder for parents to give children the best chance to thrive
Being a parent is hard. Everyone can agree on that. Every day we, as health care providers, bear witness to parents dealing with really hard things, trying to do the best they can for their kids. Everyone wants their kids to be happy, to contribute meaningfully to their family and community, and to thrive. That’s […]
Idaho legislators are weaponizing government against transgender kids and their doctors
Idaho’s legislative culture warriors are at it again, weaponizing the government against families with transgender kids and criminalizing their doctors. House Bill 71, which passed the House of Representatives on Valentine’s Day, now goes to the Senate. If it is enacted into law, it might result in a few suicide attempts by stigmatized transgender kids […]