New West Network

My Page: Sharon Fisher

Obama-McCain Debate

Treasure Valley Democrats packed a local Indian restaurant to watch the first Presidential campaign and treated it like an old-style movie serial, cheering the hero and hissing the villain, and leaving no doubt whom they thought won the debate. [more]

idaho agriculture

Idaho is one of only four states that is not participating in a $22 million Federal program intended to help poor people eat more fresh fruits and vegetables by receiving coupons they can use at farmers' markets.

Representatives from a number of Idaho farmers' markets are attending an all-day Idaho Hunger Summit next month in order to urge Idaho state government to participate in the program, which helps both seniors and women and children. [more]

New Mexico Development

Two major development projects are opening up in Santa Fe this week: the Railyards, a brownfield project turning an old rail yard into a park and retail center, and the Santa Fe Convention Center, which is having a preview in advance of its grand opening next month with a series of free concerts sponsored by an organization, the homophobic views of which have caused Santa Fe's mayor to pull out of the event. [more]

Idaho's Transportation Funding Conference

As a lead-in to a belated public hearing on road funding to be held in Boise later this afternoon, Idaho Governor Butch Otter and the Idaho Transportation Board held an additional conference this morning to hear perspectives from sources ranging from the federal government, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the state of Utah.

Otter, who was criticized for holding six similar meetings around the state this summer while neglecting to hold one in Boise, told New West that a seventh meeting had always been planned but that scheduling it was delayed based on the availability of speakers such as Idaho Senator Mike Crapo (R) and the new administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, now in his sixth day on the job. [more]

idaho slated for radioactive waste

Still dealing with the fallout of being a repository for contaminated sand from Kuwait, Idaho is reportedly slated to be the dumping ground for literal fallout: radioactive remnants from a World War II-era Navy shipyard, according to a San Francisco alternative newsweekly. [more]

from the new west blog: obama's big night

If elections were judged on the basis of who has the most and coolest t-shirts, Obama would win hands down, at least here at the Boise Obama watch party in Legends at the Boise Spectrum, where some 75 people have gathered to watch the Montana and South Dakota results -- and, they hope, to see Obama go over the top.


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idaho history

Not far from Kuna is the cradle of Idaho’s hydropower industry, the Swan Falls Dam, on the Snake River Canyon. Built in 1901 to provide electricity to the Silver City mines, the dam continues to provide electricity today (though the powerhouse was rebuilt in the 1990s).

After the powerhouse was rebuilt, the old powerhouse was turned into a museum to celebrate its history, including pictures of the old and new powerhouse being built, equipment from the powerhouse, explanations of how electricity works, and vintage advertisements encouraging farmers and farmwives to use electricity.

In the wake of 9/11, access to the powerhouse was restricted as a security risk, but the museum and surrounding area – which is on the National Registry of Historic Places – has an open house one day a year in May during Idaho Archeology and Historic Preservation Month. [more]

Column "Agricultural" television

More farm, not so many huge tracts of land.

That's the consensus of the real farmers who are watching "Farmer Wants a Wife," the most recent variant of the so-called reality shows that pit a number of potential mates against each other while the searcher gradually winnows them out based on a series of tests.

At least, among those real farmers who have a satellite dish or time to watch tv during spring planting season. "Do we *have* to look at the girls?" complained one. [more]

presidential election

Western states that are largely controlled by Democratic governors are poised to play a role in selecting the next President, New York Times columnist Tim Egan told the Boise City Club this week.

Defining Western states as "public land states," a definition that he said excluded Texas, Egan said 8 of the 11 of them had Democratic governors. Moreover, four of them -- Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico -- are "swing states" that combined have 50% more electoral votes than the more traditional swing state Ohio.

Egan went on to describe the number of ways in which Democrats have captured key positions in those states. [more]

state politics: idaho

Facing what appeared to be defeat, Chair of the Revenue and Taxation Committee Representative Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, pulled a bill that would have removed a tax exemption for providing broadband Internet, after a long bipartisan debate against the bill.

A number of representatives – particularly those representing the rural Idaho areas that are currently underserved – urged a “no” vote on the bill until such time as all Idahoans had access to high-speed Internet. Several cited H543, a bill that takes the first step toward creating a statewide broadband network that is initially intended for education but will also support government and industry. [more]