Commentary
FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccine may prevent looming hospital capacity crisis
Late last week, Idaho stood up its first Medical Operations Coordination Cell calls in response to COVID-19. The name may sound innocuous, but it could be the most ominous action taken so far by our health care system during this pandemic. To deal with the expanding overflow of patients, hospitals and EMS leaders are working […]
The content of Simpson’s salmon plan has been at forefront. But its character may matter even more.
Editor’s note: This piece includes numbered footnotes (*1, *2, *3, etc.) to maintain the structural integrity of the guest columnist’s original work. You can find the corresponding information at the end of this column. The beat goes on to salmon extinction in Idaho and northeast Oregon. New evidence is constant. A few Snake River sockeye […]
Idaho-grown lawyer nominated by President Joe Biden to become next U.S. solicitor general
President Joe Biden has nominated a native Idahoan, Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, to serve as next Solicitor General of the United States. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would be the second woman to head that office. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who served from 2009 to 2010, was the first. Prelogar would be the […]
We must address our housing crisis. Funding Idaho’s trust fund for first time is a way to start.
Idaho continues to make national news for its booming real estate market as people flock to the Gem State in droves, causing home values and rental costs to skyrocket. As a result, people who’ve lived here for generations are being forced to move to other states. In some cases, Idahoans are losing their housing and […]
Multiple use requires us all to share, care to preserve Idaho’s national forest lands
Many parts of the Boise National Forest are managed for multiple use. Near Cow Creek summit, west of Mountain Home, Angus cattle graze on mountain slopes. These are known as “rangelands,” which provide nutritious forage for livestock and wildlife. These are working lands for local ranchers like Charlie Lyons and Jeff Lord. The grazing pastures […]
Can Idahoans really be required to get COVID-19 vaccines? Case law says yes.
Hennings Jacobson strongly objected to the state’s requirement that he be vaccinated. He argued that “a compulsory vaccination law is unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive, and, therefore, hostile to the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best.” Similar arguments have been made […]
CSI program expands Idaho’s pool of educators, and it’s poised for further growth
It’s a fact of modern political life that naysayers get the media attention, but the real work – and often successes – goes unnoticed in the hustings of criticism. Here’s an example from Idaho’s continuing attention to school funding, teacher recruitment and retention. When it started in 2018, the teacher training and recruitment program at […]
Idaho needs to up its game in providing behavioral health services. These clinics could help.
There is a chronic shortage of behavioral health resources in Idaho. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that about 100,000 Idaho adults had an unmet need for mental health treatment in 2018-19. Children fare no better in the Gem State. Idaho has received a 46th place ranking among the states for child access to mental health […]
Collaboration key to protecting, preserving this historic Idaho gem
The historic Rock Creek Station and Stricker Ranch homesite have served as an oasis for visitors for more than 150 years. Dating as far back as 1811, this outpost just south of the Magic Valley city of Hansen provided explorers, trappers and mountain men a place to rest, refresh and restock water and supplies after […]
Health obstacles are not death sentences – but continued funding of NIH, CDC critical for cures
Talking with Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher about his recent cancer diagnosis a couple of weeks ago hit home with me. In many ways, being lucky is better than being good. The congressman’s cancer was discovered in conjunction with a routine physical examination. Fulcher, who normally is a ball of energy, just happened to mention to […]
Southern Idaho agreement reflects decades of water rights work, dawn of an orderly era
We’ve seen short water times before in Idaho, but this year’s extended drought has put into sharp relief the decades-long Idaho water adjudication process playing out in the Bellevue Triangle just South of Ketchum/Sun Valley/Hailey/Bellevue. Mostly, it’s been an orderly and legally-reliant curtailment, driven by clear prior court rulings and sound legislation which has established […]
All Idahoans can play a part in conserving water this drastic drought year. Here’s how.
As a lifelong farmer and the chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board, it’s been amazing to watch our state’s potential 2021 water supplies diminish from what was shaping up to be a comparatively decent winter with near-average snowpack in most areas of the state to a bone-dry spring. Although major drought conditions have been […]