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heard in idaho

"It's kind of like going out in the field and seeing a dead cow that's been a dead cow for a few days with all the flies on it. This bill had so many lobbyists working it right from the get go."

-Idaho Speaker of the House Bruce Newcomb, speaking with KBCI Channel 2 after watching his controversial aquifer recharge bill get canned by the Idaho State Senate.

Thank you anyway

It took less than an hour for the Idaho State Senate to ratify and send to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (he of the Interior Secretary nomination) one of the more momentous environmental votes of recent history.

With a 30-5 vote, the Republican-dominated Senate agreed with its similarly Republican House to install a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the state for two years.

The vote surprised few who'd seen the bill's momentum and its robust public support. Least surprised was Sempra Energy, the San Diego energy firm that hoped to build a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in a rural county of southern Idaho. Just an hour before the Senate's vote, they shipped a letter to Kempthorne and leaders of the Senate saying, in effect, "We're outta here."

Anyone who thinks Idaho has permanently dodged a coal-fired power plant, of course, is still kidding themselves. [more]

Room for everybody

Hallelujah, said headline writers: Boise's Hole will soon become Idaho's tallest building.

News today from the Downtown development sector tells us a new contractor will take over a long-stalled project to build an office-condo tower smack in the middle of River City. The old construction hole had become its own landmark, generating Web sites calling for its recovery, and requiring waitstaff at restaurants in the popular district to come up with new answers to visitors' questions about "that hole."

The hole's redemption comes at a time when Idaho leads the nation in construction jobs, but also at a time when Boise may not exactly be pining for more hotel rooms. [more]

Turning down the house

A couple of weeks ago I sat in the office of a high-ranking State Senator who practically rubbed his hands in anticipation when he said, "This is where it gets interesting."

It's true that the last weeks of a legislative session tend to generate the most heat, action and, if you're a junkie for these sorts of things, fun.

After the jump, signs of the legislative apocalypse on the horizon: the boxes are out, the rhetoric is hot, and the spouses are jumping ship. [more]

Easter in the snow

I say, you can have your spring with your flowers and short-sleeved shirts. I'll take both, thank you: a Hawaiian shirt while skiing.

Today we sing the praises of a high and wild snowpack, one Idahoans haven't seen in a few years.

Today we thank the U.S. Forest Service for being nice to ski resort owners, whom we love only when the skiing is good.

Well, it's good: the Sun Valley Ski Resort and Brundage Mountain are both announcing extra days in their seasons this year.

You can thank Ullr later.

The digs

We awoke to the sound of large metal machines the other morning. And in any go-go Western city, you might expect to have construction noise be the backdrop to your morning rituals.

But more and more, I'm not seeing construction in my neighborhood so much as deconstruction. It turns out that as real estate values climb, it's better for owners of older houses (or investors therein) to simply walk away from the charming yet saggy structure they've purchased, and level the thing.

It's the West in the 90's, so of course there's a term of art for such houses: you call them "scrapers." And it's hard not to wonder, as the machines move about, if maybe you're living in one. [more]

Saying No

When a major conglomerate proposed to build a coal-fired power plant in south-central Idaho, casual observers could be forgiven for thinking it would be a shoo-in.

They would have been very wrong, however. Because now that Sempra Generation's plans have had time to sink in, the idea of a major industrial facility in the farms, rivers and fields of Idaho has inspired response from the grass roots to the Capital dome.

The blowback against Sempra has been startling for many reasons: for its volume, for its wide-ranging adherents, and for the bipartisan nature of its champions. The only question is, will it work? [more]

Heard in Idaho

"If you're golfing, you should take yourself and smack yourself with a stick. You should be up here skiing."
-Regan Rowe.

I might put it more delicately, but it's true: it's spring in Idaho, and the skiing is fine.

Thanks to KBCI Channel 2 for the story, which you can read in full here.

The Raid comes to Idaho

We Idahoans do pride ourselves on our outdoor hardiness. From working in the woods to running through them, Idahoans of all stripes are justified in seeing themselves as outdoor folks par none.

So the little reality check headed our way this summer should be a heady experience: "The Raid" is coming to Idaho.

No, I'm not talking about armed conflict. The Raid Gauloises is the sort of adventure racing phenomenon that begat the X-Games, that pre-dates the X-Terra. It is so "X" it used to not even have one in its name.

And they'll be at Tamarack in June. [more]

Shuffling the deck

Yesterday's announcement of Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to succeed outgoing Interior Secretary Gale Norton sets into motion a series of political happenings, some of which might resolve themselves today.

Certainly the big question is about Kempthorne's own legacy, which some observers (ahem) questioned before the announcement came.

Today that questioning continues. [more]

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