A Tragic Loss
Moscow City Councilman John Dickinson Missing, Presumed DeadMoscow City Councilman John Dickinson is missing, presumed dead, after an accident that occurred Sunday night on Interstate 84 in Oregon. Councilman Dickinson, 62, had stopped his car to assist another motorist when a third car crashed into the scene. Dickinson either fell or jumped from the bridge over the John Day River where it meets the Columbia. The waters at this intersection are swift and cold, and the drop from the bridge is some thirty feet. It is unlikely that Dickinson could have survived the fall or the 40-degree water temperatures. What began as a rescue effort was, by Monday afternoon, being described as a recovery.
John Dickinson was a friend and a political ally. He was a retired University of Idaho Professor and the founder of Sirius Idaho Theatre. John was a strong advocate for smart growth, the environment, and the people of Moscow. I will miss him personally. The community will miss him even more. We have a lost a compassionate and caring man, and an important and outspoken voice for justice and equity in Idaho.
State of Your Money
Otter’s Budget: Will it Fly?Gov. Butch Otter presented his budget to the legislature in his State of the State speech yesterday. Keep in mind that this is just his proposal – the legislature makes its own decisions.
Otter's proposed budget has some goodies for some groups. A 5% increase in salary for state employees is a big jump; most raises over the past few years have been in the 2 and 3% range, if that. So they should be happy - except that it will be offset by an almost 6.8% increase in what they pay for benefits.
Increasing the grocery sales tax from $25 to $90 per person is something, but it's not eliminating it and it's not the $100 suggested by Governor Jim Risch. But it's better than nothing.
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Capitol Commentary
Otter: The Cost/Benefit/Broncos Governor
Idaho Governor Butch Otter’s State of the State speech today outlined plans to unravel a state agency, reduce the grocery tax, deny illegal immigrants government benefits, increase pay for state workers, provide more prison beds, grant needs-based college scholarships for Idaho students and modernize the communications systems for law enforcement.
More issues unfolded in a short speech delivered calmly by an experienced pol who is clearly comfortable in his own skin. A feeling of goodwill contrasted sharply with last year’s speech by former governor Dirk Kempthorne, who managed to tick off practically everybody with some wacky and impractical budget proposals and a seeming inability to give away credit for jobs done. But Otter showed a politician’s skill with the inevitable “How about those Broncos?” by singling out individual legislators for their service and by paying tribute to award-winning and much-loved Idaho Commission on the Arts’ director Dan Harpole, who died of cancer in December. Later, the governor honored the service of State Trooper Chris Glenn downed by a suspect’s bullet and now paralyzed. Glenn’s family were in the gallery for the profound ovation and applause from every hand under the rotunda.
Those and other human and humane references in the governor’s speech made him, at times, sound like a closet Democrat.
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State of the Statehouse
Idaho: First Day at the Capitol
The first session of the 59th Idaho Legislature kicked off at 1:00 with Governor Otter's State of the State speech, after which reporters, videographers, lobbyists and citizens mobbed up in the rotunda outside the doors of the House, asking questions, shooting news footage and chasing after legislators for their reactions to the speech. My report on the speech will follow.
NewWest.net/Boise will be in the Statehouse fulltime for the session. I’ll be writing several pieces a week under the column head “State of the Statehouse” – a roundup of current issues, happenings, mood and progress in the legislature, government agencies, nonprofit groups, lobbyists and citizens with bills they’re hoping to pass.
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Idaho Gubernatorial Inaugural Ball
Legislators Had A BallIdaho's gubernatorial inaugural ball is "the people's inaugural," and for twenty bucks anybody can come to the Capitol and rub shoulders with their elected officials. In fact, given how crowded it was, one could hardly avoid it. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
I was a good girl. I didn't wear my Howard Dean t-shirt. I didn't wear my Idaho 2004 Democratic Convention t-shirt. I didn't wear the t-shirt that says "I'm sorry my president's an idiot -- I didn't vote for him" in eight languages.
Hell, I even wore my pearls.
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Capital Commentary
Idaho Democrats to Hold “Counter-Inaugural”
According to Julie Fanselow of Red State Rebels, Democrats will counter the official $550-a-plate inaugural dinner "to celebrate four more years of good times with the Idaho GOP in charge" with an event of their own. Her post also includes:
"If, however, you are a working stiff who knows which party is truly fighting for your interests, you might scrape together $25 to join us at Dems Under the Dome, set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Piazza di Vino, 212 N. 9th Street. We'll be honoring our 12 - count 'em - 12 Ada County Democratic legislators (including the five fabulous freshmen), toasting Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and having some fun before we start doing battle with LawERence Denney and the rest of them sumbitches in the legislature on Monday."
These are schizophrenic times for Idaho Democrats, whose meager statewide progress contrasts with national gains. Lacking a current local hero, they may need to turn toward D.C. to fill that void. How that plays in Idaho remains to be seen.
Capital Commentary
Inaugural Mood Sunny Despite Cold
Boise woke to startling, sunny cold on Friday. Downtown, the streets surrounding the Statehouse were lined with police cars, TV news rigs, the bomb squad truck - complete with dogs - and various delivery vans pulling up with potted flowers and paraphernalia. Red, white and blue bunting flapped in the cold wind. The greeting of the day was, “Way too cold, how ‘bout them Broncos, huh?” Everyone was bundled up and complaining good-naturedly; an inaugural apparently brings good cheer.
Inside the rotunda, mobs of schoolchildren in matching outfits of black and white with red scarves were being marched around by their teachers, having a quick tour before their turn to sing. Clearly best-behavior lessons had been applied.
A naughty little boy was pulled aside quietly by a young teacher. She knelt down and whispered something to him, smiling. He nodded, his little face serious.
In the elevator, a Statehouse worker with a toolbag over his shoulder grinned at me and said, “What a ruckus, huh? Loudern’ when the Indians have a press conference.”
At noon, Clement Leroy “Butch” Otter was publicly sworn in as Idaho’s new Governor, a 19-gun salute rang out – military protocol for a state governor is 19 - kids sang and flags waved. Otter gave a mighty short and nonspecific inaugural speech and other ceremonial happenings happened.
There was a good feeling in the air as the crowd broke up and the rotunda filled up with more schoolkids, who provided all-day singing on risers smack-dab under the dome.
There’s something about the sound of children singing that sets a mood of all’s-right-with-the-world.
After the crowd went home, Statehouse workers started preparations for Saturday’s Inaugural Ball, and a different kind of ruckus commenced. Coat racks, chairs, flowers, food carts and audio systems appeared. The guy with the toolbag showed up and made the rounds of people needing help with this or that.
Another guy on a ladder looked down at Toolbag Guy. “Hey Tom,” Ladder Guy said, "how about them Broncos?"
Employee Shortage Stymies Growth
Idaho: Skilled Help WantedOne thread common to a number of today's presentations to the Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee was that the growth of Idaho's economy was slowing not because of a lack of jobs, but because of a lack of skilled workers with which to fill them.
Dr. Kelly Matthews, an economist with Wells Fargo Bank, said Idaho's employment had grown 4.6% in 2006 after growing 4% in 2005. Idaho was one of the top 4 states in the nation for growth, along with Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. However, he predicted that growth in 2007would be just 3.2% because of a lack of workers. With an unemployment rate of 3%, there's not many people out there looking for jobs, he said.
Bob Fick from the Department of Commerce and Labor concurred, noting that December was the 20th straight month with an unemployment rate below 4% -- a figure that some economists call "full employment." Idaho's economy is likely to be regulated up or down by the future availability of qualified, skilled workers, Fick said, and investing in Idaho's work force is essential, he continued. When he was questioned by Senator Hill about this, he said that with an unemployment rate of 3.3-3.5%, labor shortages in certain skill areas that will only get worse unless something is done.
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How housing affects Idaho's economy
Bubble? There’s No Bubble. Go Broncos!The main focus of today's Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee hearings had to do with the real estate and construction industries, and with representatives from those industries assuring the committee that just because housing prices had fallen 25% over the previous year -- and on a month to month basis, sometimes more than 40% -- of course didn't mean we were witnessing the bursting of the housing bubble or anything like that.
And several of them mentioned the Broncos' stunning Fiesta Bowl victory earlier in the week, because at least everyone could agree on that.
On the other hand, those industries also had a whole wishlist of things the legislature could do to help them.
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Idaho Economic Forecasting
Guessing at Idaho’s EconomyWhat is arguably the most important part of the state budget setting process started today with the first meeting of the 2007 legislative session's Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee. While it's not nearly so well known as the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee -- with which it shares a room, a structure, several members, and a number of presenters -- it's the work done by this committee that enables JFAC to do its job. After all, they can't spend the money til they know how much there's going to be, can they?
But it's a challenge. Due to the way that Idaho structures its fiscal year -- July to July -- the committee is estimating what the economy will be from six to 18 months from now. And the various presenters all have their own perspectives -- and their own axes to grind. Plus, the committee gets to find out how well it did a year ago when it went through the same process.
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