Treasured Valley

Posts Tagged ‘Morning News’

Headlines:

• Nampa I-84 widening starts this month. The final step in the project to widen Interstate 84 from Franklin Road to 11th Avenue in Nampa is scheduled to start the last week of June.
• Video comics come to newspaper websites, including Idahostatesman.com. The innovative comics are the vision of a former Saturday Night Live top writer.
• One Life is a Journey. Behind the scenes of Boise State Public Radio is a man you rarely hear on the radio. But he has everything to do with keeping what you do hear on the air.
• Foster Father’s Day. Celebrating all fathers: dads, step-dads, grand-dads and even foster dads. The message at one Father’s Day celebration today was “you don’t have to have your own kids to be a great dad.”
• Boise Gay Pride. Thousands of people gathered together from around the state, whether they’re gay or straight to spread one common message, Saturday.
• Boise Refugee Day. World Refugee Day took over the Grove Saturday, with educational tools, music, dancing and more. Refugees continue to contribute to Boise’s growing and diverse culture.
• Report: Revoke NCA’s charter. Hearing officer Ken Mallea has recommended that Nampa Classical Academy’s charter be revoked “due to its failure to demonstrate fiscal soundness” as required by state law.
• Williamson family celebrate 100 years of farming in Idaho. On Saturday, the Idaho Historical Society will recognize the Williamsons for one hundred years of farming.
• Two alarm fire engulfs cars, apartment complex. A two alarm fire in Boise on Sunday afternoon displaces one woman as five engines and two truck companies respond to the blaze at an apartment complex on Camelot dr.

Idaho Politics:

• Eye On Boise: New analysis: Ward’s entire announcement speech was plagiarized, not just Obama parts.
• Viewpoint: Plagiarism in politics.

• Labrador fails to disclose roles. Republican congressional hopeful Raul Labrador failed to include his past role as president of a company that sold self-help kits on legal immigration to America in a U.S. House of Representatives filing this year.
• 43rd State Blues: The Money Breaks for Minnick.
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: A Father’s Day Wish.
• Kevin Richert: Minnick launches a ‘ban earmarks’ website.
• Idaho Reporter: U.S. House passes $30 billion small business loan plan with support of Minnick, not Simpson.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• The Dead Acorn: Chair Man Of The Bored.
• An Experiment in Finding the Wayward: When you get lifed by life.
• Doin’ it all, Idaho Style: CULTURE: A Button Collection at the Boise Public Library.
• Industrial Revelations: Foothills Learning Center; Fire Node Proposal.
• One Girl Revolution: Growing Older and Growing Up.

Food & Drink:

• Boise Co-op: Beautiful Local Lettuces.
• Payette Brewing Co.: Star Garnet Black IPA.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: A Wild Night with Wild Turkey.
• Boise Foodie Guild: Boise Saturday Market.
• Patio Daddio BBQ: Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Skewers & Dirty Rice.

Treasure Valley News:

• Newsweek ranks 4 Boise high schools among best in the U.S. For the first time, all four traditional public high schools in Boise were listed among the top high schools in the United States by Newsweek magazine.
• Meridian School District approves budget. The Meridian School District has approved its budget for the 2010-2011 school year.
• Road Sharing 101 Adds Cans to the Mix. Ustick Road has certainly had its widening issues over the years, but if you’re a bicyclist who commutes regularly, the stretch of road just east of Cole Road might not be wide enough still. Especially on trash day.
• Idaho teen meth use drops 52% from 2007 to 2009. That’s compared to a decline of less than 10 percent among teens nationwide.
• I-84 work on track despite rain. Work on Interstate 84 has not been disrupted by the rainy weather, Idaho Transportation Department spokesman Reed Hollinshead said Tuesday.
• Natural gas simmers below Treasure Valley surface. Gov. Butch Otter said Idaho is on the verge of becoming a natural gas producer.
• Senate Debates Benefits Extension. More than 4000 Idahoans lost their unemployment benefits last week. As Boise State Public Radio’s Adam Cotterell explains, that’s why thousands of Idahoan’s are waiting to see what the senate does.
• Mercury spill closes Meridian movie theater. A broken electrical part on a popcorn maker at the concession stand at the Majestic theater in Meridian has caused the facility to close for the rest of Tuesday, according to officials.
• Lake Lowell flush with water. This year’s long, rainy spring could be good news for bird-watchers and irrigation customers alike.
• The Fish Were Biting For Local Vets. America’s finest are casting out and kicking back at a ranch in Caldwell.
• i48 2010 Winners. Is the next James Cameron in the house? On June 23, the Egyptian Theatre was packed to its high rafters with movie buffs. While it’s certainly not unusual that a movie theater would be filled with movie goers, what made this film foray special for many of them is that they were waiting to see their own creations up on the silver screen as part of the seventh-annual “Best of i48″ awards ceremony.
• Tour the St. Jude Dream Home.

• Marty Tadman to speak at Friday Fatherhood banquet. The Healthy Families Network, a Treasure Valley nonprofit organization that promotes positive marriages and parenting, will honor a Father of the Year at its first-ever “Celebrating Fatherhood” banquet on Friday.
• The Ada Community Library director hopes Sunday’s arrest will end a bizarre vandalism spree. Ada Community Library director hopes Sunday arrest will mean end of bizarre vandalism spree.

Idaho Politics:

• Fort Boise: Pet . ti . fog . ging.
• Eye On Boise: Hart used legislative session to hold off tax man four times, starting in first year in office.
• 43rd State Blues: Idaho Republican Party on Taxes: Consistency, Hypocrisy or Stupidity?
• Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick gets big-business backing. Though he’s a Democrat, incumbent 1st District Rep. Walt Minnick is lining up support that ordinarily goes to Republicans – from big business.
• Kevin Richert: House upholds health insurance mandate; Idaho reps back repeal.
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: Liberals Are In Trouble But At Least Jimmy Carter Is Smiling.
• Idaho Reporter: Dems release revamped platform, call for troops to come home from both fronts of war.
• NewWest Boise: Western Ideas Spur Idaho Democrats At Convention.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• The Workings Of A Strange Mind: Deer and Black Bears and Elk, Oh My!
• Julia Green Illustration: Old Man and the Sea-HAT.
• DOWNBOI: Milky Way? Tapas Estrella? Can’t wait for SALT TEARS EATING HOUSE!
• Boise Pinball Review: Family Guy, Neurolux, 6/11/2010.
• Kenton Lee: Mindset: Those “Less Fortunate”.

Food & Drink:

• Behind the Menu: La Vie en Rose.
• Duck Eggs Benedict at Le Cafe De Paris. Leave it to the French chefs at Le Cafe de Paris to restore eggs Benedict to the lofty heights from where it once commanded breakfast respect.
• Mundovore: Kabocha Squash Winter Stew.
• Shrimpy Shrimp Supply. Thousands of miles away in Idaho – how is the BP spill affecting our lives? As Boise State Public Radio’s Adam Cotterell found out – it could start at the dinner table.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: What Whiskeys Will I Like?
• Drink Beer – Ride Bikes: Symposium Bar.
• Boise Co-op: Wine n Dine on the Waterfront at Lake Harbor.
• Eat Boise: Pattypan Squash.

Treasure Valley News:

Idaho Politics:

• Boise’s Beverage-Themed Politics Alternative. Twenty or so people crowded into the upstairs room at the Fixx coffeeshop on June 9, for the fourth meeting of the Boise Coffee Party, a local chapter of the national group that arose as a grassroots response to the Tea Party. The Coffee Party’s mission is to provide an outlet for citizens interested in crafting public policy through cooperation in government rather than a deepening of the culture war.
• Idaho Reporter: Ringo rebuffs GOP criticism over tax commission lawsuit.
• Kevin Richert: GOP blasts Democrat’s lawsuit over tax agreements.
• 43rd State Blues: Thank goodness he’s a Democrat!
• idaho18: Question for the Governor.
• Dennis Mansfield: Washington Post article on Raul Labrador’s race.
• Boise Guardian: Mayor Hotline May 29 to June 4.
• Fort Boise: The escalating hysteria.
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: Going Green, Is It Really Just About Making Greenbacks? AND The U.S. Needs Oil, Drill Baby Drill.
• Ridenbaugh Press: Hart on and in taxes.
• Eye On Boise: Rep. Hart contests state income taxes, claims extra time for appeal due to session.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• The Dead Acorn: Le Tour de Nampa.
• Cool, Calm & Collected…: A question for those of you with thumbs of green.
• FameFifteen: Good Music This Weekend? Yes Please!
• Inspired Designer: What Home Means to Me.
• The Justice Gambit: Perpetuating Prison Violence.
• Boise Daily Photo: Back Alley Waterway.

Food & Drink:

• The Beer Nut: Bummer: Oskar Blues beers leaving Idaho.
• Savor Idaho. Savoring Idaho. Food, fun, drink and good weather for the event at the Old Penitentiary, but it was more than a good time.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: Please Gubna, Say it Ain’t So…
• Payette Brewing Co.: Stout Pilot.
• Mundovore: Boise Urban Foods Map Take II.
• BoiseBrewBlog: Pale Ale (Un-named).
• Treasure Valley Food and Wine Blog: Syringa Winery.
• Brick Oven Bistro Blog: Where’s the Pork?
• Northwest Food News: Market & Garden Report: Morel Mushrooms.
• Taco Trucks Idaho: El Gallito.

Treasure Valley News:

• Creating a stronger Treasure Valley food system may be the best path toward economic recovery, researcher says. The current food system takes about $2 billion in potential wealth out of the greater Treasure Valley region every year, a new report released on Thursday found.
• Boise Rescue Mission is feeding more people. The number of people in need usually drops over spring and summer, said Boise Rescue Mission Director Bill Roscoe. That’s no longer the case. The mission served more meals in May (916 a day) than in December (888), when need traditionally peaks.
• Rain and Fire. All this rain is making Boise look like Ireland. But what is doing for our wildfire threat?
• Rain causes road, campground damage. Heavy rain has damaged campgrounds and roads near popular summertime recreation spots in the Payette National Forest, leading to some closures.
• Last Video Stores Close in Nampa. Video stores are disappearing from the landscape. They’re getting harder or even impossible to find. (ed. I guess you’re only a “video store” if you carry Harry Potter or Twilight movies, it would appear that the “video stores” that specialize in Spanish language films aren’t really “video stores” even though they are, in fact, “video stores” — someone’s blinders are showing.)
• A Busy Wildfire Season is Predicted. With all the rain we’ve seen, fire season may come later this year, but it will likely be a busy one.
• Wet spring could mean bigger wildfires this summer.

• Meridian man charged with enticement. A Meridian man was arrested Monday for alleged enticement of a minor over the Internet.
• Boise will keep TRACON after all. Keeping the facility in Boise will delay opening the new tower up to a year.
• ‘20/20’ talks with locals on Caldwell teen’s case. Representatives of the ABC news program “20/20” were in Canyon County Tuesday conducting interviews with people involved in the Zachary Neagle case.
• Locals tout idea to stop oil spill. Millions of gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in the 51 days since the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, threatening wildlife, fisherman and countless others.
• Middleton School District cuts salaries. Middleton School Board members voted Tuesday to reduce salaries for all district employees for the coming school year.
• Boise Airport reopens economy lot to find space for an upswing in travelers. The Boise Airport economy parking lot reopened Tuesday with limited mid-week entry to accommodate the upswing in passengers using the Boise Airport this summer.

Idaho Politics:

• Note: Idaho’s stance on human rights is pathetic. I’m weary of writing every June that Idaho’s treatment of its gay and lesbian citizens is inexcusably bigoted. State leaders have made it clear they’re not interested in extending anti-discrimination protections to the gay and lesbian community.
• Kevin Richert: Minnick says ‘strong medicine’ is needed to avert a budget crisis.
• Plug Ugly. Dick Cheney, there’s who to blame. Dick Cheney, the only vice president in recent memory so malevolently creepy you wouldn’t want your children sitting on his lap. Dick Cheney, the man who let loose the dogs of oil.
• Sen. Crapo holds phone town hall. Idahoans can join Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, during an iTownhall forum Wednesday to get an update on federal spending, health care and other issues.
• Dennis Mansfield: Helen Thomas – a loud picture of a quiet bigotry.
• Idaho Reporter: Health and Welfare says drug abuser study will have to wait a while longer.
• Eye On Boise: More money transferred for tax refunds.
• Otter tries to make hay with China trip. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” is trying to make hay with his trade mission to China.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• Ponderings from Idaho: iPhone 4…iOS4.. Some Thoughts.
• The Dead Acorn: Sleeping The Sleep Of The Innocents.
• TechBoise: Have a great startup idea? Teach yourself to program.
• Boise Daily Photo: The Short House.
• Idaho Birding Blog: Idaho Bird Photos.

Food & Drink:

• Boise Weekly reviews The Modern Hotel and Bar – review 1, review 2.
• Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed. Eagle’s crown jewels. by Rachel Krause Nothing says Eagle like a piping-hot plate of deep fried gonads.
• New Beer Bombers. When it comes to beer, sometimes more is better. Sometimes more is more. While the 12-ounce format drives the majority of beer sales, most craft breweries offer a lineup of larger format bottlings. The 22-ounce bomber is typically reserved for special or seasonal releases, though some, like Ninkasi, release only in bombers. Here are three different new brews.
• Boise Foodie Guild: Rudy’s Food Trivia.
• Savor Idaho. Pat, can I buy a viognier? We imagine there would be far fewer weepy “bankrupt” faces–and far more hiccup-y Vanna White stumbles–had Wheel of Fortune taken a cue from Savor Idaho and changed its name to the Wheel of Wine. Pat, can I buy a viognier? The Wheel of Wine allows Savor Idaho attendees to take a spin and win prizes from local businesses in exchange for a donation to the Idaho Wine Commission’s Idaho Wine Scholarship Fund.
• Treasure Valley Food and Wine Blog: Gin Tasting? Hmmmm.

Treasure Valley News:

• Conservation at Zoo Boise. Zoo Boise has come up with new ways for patrons to help conserve…and have some fun too. That led to the story of the giant pigeon.
• $2M WinCo expansion breaks ground in Nampa. WinCo has broken ground on a $2 million expansion project at its Nampa location on Caldwell Boulevard.
• Idaho Foodbank now serving free lunch for kids. Six-year-old Megan Robbins of Boise, above, gets a hot dog, broccoli salad, orange and milk at Ivywild Park on Monday courtesy of the Idaho Foodbank. The free summer lunches at 10 locations throughout Boise started Monday and will end Aug. 20. Children ages 1-18 are eligible. Adults can purchase meals for $2.
• Mountain West Opts Not to Invite BSU. Boise State will not be getting an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference – at least for now. Commissioner Craig Thompson says the decision not to expand the nine-team conference is due to the potential shake-ups of other athletic conferences. Officials from the Big 10, Pac 10 and Big 12 are all considering adding new schools.
• Mountain West opts not to expand; BSU will ‘wait and see’.

• Car crashes into Nampa restaurant. A 79-year-old motorist drove her Cadillac DeVille through the side of the Lucky Star Mongolian Restaurant in Nampa at 11:37 a.m. Monday.
• Once a ballet star in NYC, now a chiropractor in Boise. Afshin Mofid has spent the last 10 years as a Boise chiropractor. His patients invariably are surprised to learn that he was once a star of the New York City Ballet
• Canyon Highway District to evaluate intersection of Middleton, Linden. The Canyon Highway District may install four-way stop signs at the intersection of Middleton Road and Linden Street after receiving several phone calls from people who said the intersection is dangerous. A patron also requested the Canyon Highway District look at the intersection a month or two ago.
• Turning Waste Into Energy. You may not want to call it “waste” anymore, because what goes down the drain in Meridian, could save the city money.
• Graduation Patrols Net Dozens Of Underage Drinkers. It was graduation weekend for many students in the Treasure Valley and that meant plenty of parties for police to patrol.
• CWI to transfer farm business program to ISU. Because of a cut in funding, College of Western Idaho officials are working to transition the farm business management program into a distance education offering through Idaho State University.
• Teachers have few options with cuts. Some teachers have fared better than others in the months since Idaho lawmakers opened the door for school districts to negotiate lower employee pay and benefits to help balance the books.
• Valley County declared disaster after floods. Several roads in the county have been washed out by flooding including South and East Fork roads. Commissioners estimate damage estimated to be around $400,000.

Idaho Politics:

• Idaho lawmaker sues state over secret tax deals. A legislator has sued the state over secret tax deals, alleging they allowed some wealthy and politically connected taxpayers to get millions in breaks.
• Can’t We All Just Get Along? Boise State Public Radio’s Adam Cotterell talks civility with the chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• Eye On Boise: Former ITD chief Lowe files response, hearing set for July in wrongful-firing case.
• The Johnson Post: Should Judges Think?
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: Labrador Poised For Success.
• Kevin Richert: Senators stick up for spuds.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• Sidewalk 208: From the market, June 5.
• Boise Pinball Review: Elvira and the Party Monsters, Dino’s, 6/2/2010.
• moping with intent to gawk…: You bright and risen angles…
• Treasure Valley in Motion: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
• The Workings Of A Strange Mind: Anxious for Oregon.
• Simply Grove: Where I eat…

Food & Drink:

• Patio Daddio BBQ: Pizza Steak Sandwiches.
• Eat Boise: First-Timers at Rick’s Press Club.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: Back From the Long Weekend!
• Drink Beer – Ride Bikes: Looking ahead…
• Mundovore: Cuban Food in Boise?
• Random Teaspoon: Low-fat Cranberry Strawberry Panna Cotta.

Treasure Valley News:

• Food Stamps. We’re number one in the nation when it comes to the percent increase in food stamp usage – up 43 percent over the past year.
• Valley crashes kill 3, injure 8. Separate crashes in two counties Sunday killed two teenagers and a motorcyclist, and hospitalized eight others.
• Boise woman becomes a mortgage crusader on Facebook. Lael Youngblood thought her mortgage misery had ended Dec. 24 when she signed and sent back permanent modification papers to Bank of America.
• ACLU Drops IDOC From Prison Suit. On June 3, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it had amended its suit against Idaho’s largest prison, removing the Idaho Department of Corrections Director Brent Reinke and the Commission on Pardons and Paroles from the suit’s list of defendants.
• Washouts, fires, rescues: ‘A colorful 72 hours,’ McCall Fire Chief says. When McCall Fire Chief Andrew Lemberes got a call Friday from the Snowden Wildlife Sanctuary on the east side of Payette Lake, “They told us that water was rising a foot every 45 seconds,” he said.
• Payette River flooding homes. Early Sunday morning the river rose more than 13 1/2 feet causing it to overflow into residential area.
• Funnel cloud aftermath. A whirl wind sucked up more than a dozen trees in Surprise Valley and caused thousands of dollars in damages.
• Boise residents start cleaning up after huge storm.

• Warhawk to honor Korean, Vietnam vets. Nampa will soon be home to a museum expansion dedicated to Korean and Vietnam war veterans.
• ‘Thunder’ rolls through area. Hundreds turned out to support members of the military at the Idaho Rolling Thunder benefit ride.
• It worked to get Betty White on Saturday Night Live. Now a group is using Facebook to start a grassroots movement to fill in ‘The Boise Hole.’
• Is Idaho Green? Boise mayor Dave Bieter said at Wednesday’s State of the City address Idaho is losing business because we aren’t perceived as a green state. Boise State Public Radio’s Adam Cotterell gages Idaho’s green energy momentum.
• Nathanial Hoffman is leaving the Boise Weekly to write a book on illegal immigration.

Idaho Politics:

• Idaho Reporter: Geddes says there could be changes to GOP Senate leadership next year.
• Eye On Boise: Labrador responds to Minnick modified line-item veto bill.
• 43rd State Blues: Idaho Republican Disconnect Between Education and Our Economy.
• Boise Guardian: Mayor Hotline May 22 to 28.
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: Dems Don’t Own Hollywood: Pt.2.
• Ridenbaugh Press: Searching the parents.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• Doin’ it all, Idaho Style: STAYCATION: Idaho City.
• Fort Boise: Ocean Intervention III.
• Cool, Calm & Collected…: I just need to tell you something cool.
• Uncle Boise: Coffee Kick Start — Lucy’s Coffee & Espresso – Not Processed With Peanuts.
• Boise Style: Pet Pig Style . . .
• Industrial Revelations: Garden Walk-about.

Food & Drink:

• Northwest Food News: The Edible Underground: Speakeasies for the foodie set.
• Brewforia Blog: Why can’t I buy the beers I want, no matter where I live?
• Greek Food Festival. Hungry for a vacation but can’t get out of town? Then step into the Greek Orthodox Church in Boise, and be transported straight to the Adriatic.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: Here We Go Again!
• BoiseBrewBlog: Clearing out the “Cellar”.
• The Beer Nut: Beer cans and BPA and Summer in a can*.
• AnchorMommy: Strawberry Banana “Ice Cream”.
• Boise Foodie Guild: Tapas Night At Le Café De Paris In Boise.
• Brick Oven Bistro Blog: Server by Day, Chanteuse by Night: The Not So Secret Life of Rebecca Wright.
• IdahoFoodies: Glorious garden day.

*A minor correction in the beer can story, New Belgium Ranger is available in cans at Brewforia as are a host of other canned beers that can only be found there.

Treasure Valley News:

• Hunger Bites. How one Service Club is working to raise awareness about poverty in the Treasure Valley.
• $45 million solar plant in the works for Boise. In addition to a lease agreement with the city, an interconnection with Idaho Power has to be negotiated, and the plan needs FAA approval due to its proximity to the airport.
• Solar power plant to be built near the Boise Airport.

• County gives wrong number for emission testing questions. Canyon County commissioners released the wrong governor’s office phone number for county residents to call with questions about vehicle emission testing.
• Academy leader will step down. Nampa Classical Academy headmaster Val Bush will resign his position with the school.
• Caldwell, county clash over dispatch funding. Caldwell and Canyon County officials have clashed about whether the county should charge the city for emergency dispatch services.
• Opening time for pools. It’s opening time for outdoor public pools in Nampa and Caldwell, just in time for summer vacation.
• Eagle man wins $250,000 in lottery scratch game. John Edom, a manager at Hewlett-Packard Co., purchased the winning ticket Thursday, May 27, at the Airport Chevron in Boise. Edom bought the ticket – part of the $20 Idaho Millions game – while waiting for family members to arrive at the Boise Airport.
• Alaska plane crash victims have Idaho ties. The woman and her family were critically injured in the crash in Anchorage that also killed one of her children.
• SUPERVALU to layoff 60 employees. SUPERVALU, which owns Albertsons stores, employs about 2,800 people locally.
• Baseball Mom Wants Vandals Caught. A park is becoming a frequent target of vandalism.

Idaho Politics:

• 43rd State Blues: Republicans Need RNC Help to Defeat Minnick.
• Boise Guardian: Gas-Fired Power Plant Aborted, City Headed For Solar Deal.
• Idaho Conservative Blogger: Obama Administration “Don’t Waste A Good Crisis” Unless The Crisis IS Obama.
• Idaho Reporter: Idaho dependent on federal loans to make unemployment payments.
• Constitutional line-item veto? Rep. Minnick idea gets legs. Another try at cuts: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in 1998 that the line-item veto violated the Constitutional provision that legislation be passed by both houses and presented in its entirety to the president.
• Eye On Boise: Allred – with pickup truck – touts ‘fair share’ fees for heavy trucks vs. cars, pickups.
• Larry Craig Totally Tricked By The Daily Show. Ha, ex-Senator Larry Craig sent out an email saying that he would be appearing on The Daily Show, but that “they won’t be discussing the past”—i.e. his gay restroom sex scandal. Uh, has he ever seen the show?
• State of the City Recap. This morning, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter gave his annual State of the City address to a packed house at the Boise Centre. While major topics included successes of the last year, a discussion of the city’s economic-development philosophy and the need for a local option taxing to see the city reach its full potential, the highlight of the morning was the unveiling of a new large-scale solar-power project west of the airport.
• Boise mayor wants local option to raise sales tax. On Wednesday, Bieter said he wants lawmakers to give cities such as Boise the option of adopting a city or county-wide sales tax increase.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• AnchorMommy: The Big Move: We’re getting closer!
• Inspired Designer: the Bath.
• The Justice Gambit: More Erosion of Miranda Rights.
• Boise Daily Photo: Quail Eggs.
• Boise Style: Short Skirt, Tights and Boots . . .
• Highway 12 Ventures: Reflections On One Year Of Blogging.

Food & Drink:

• Kuna Melba News business of the month of June: Indian Creek Winery. The classic “family owned and operated” business can be found at Indian Creek Winery. After he gained experience volunteering part time at a winery while stationed in Ramstein Germany, Bill Stowe and wife Mui, retired in Kuna in 1982. Attentive to the microclimates that affect grape growing, the cool Kuna climate was perfect to start a winery of their own.
• Behind the Menu: The “Odessey” of Periple Wines.
• Patio Daddio BBQ: BBQ Central Radio – Take Six.
• Eat Boise: Stuffed Noodles.
• Northwest Food News: Twig’s Cellar, Boise.
• Morels, yes. Yogi, no. I was bear hunting in the woods this weekend. Yes, bear hunting. Don’t be shocked. We are in Idaho. Anyway, while I was my friend Ryan and I were hiking, we came upon a wonderful spring treasure: Morels.

Two Food-Related Must-Reads:

• Understanding Local Food Economics. How much money is spent on food in the Treasure Valley? And what potential is there for economic development and job creation by eating more locally grown food? Data tilled up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that 80 percent of the retail value of food (around $800 billion every year) goes into the fancy sport coats of agricultural middlemen–food processors, brokers, buyers–while farmers bank only 20 percent. The Treasure Valley Food Coalition is fed up with those stats.
• Michael Boss in the Idaho Business Review: Another one bites the dust …

Treasure Valley News:

• One of the Best Things to Happen to Boise in the Last Year. Wednesday morning Boise mayor Dave Bieter is delivering his annual state of the city address. The speech includes a look back on what the mayor sees as the city’s big successes of the past year. One of those will be the opening of Boise’s newest branch library. Boise State Public Radio’s Adam Cotterell takes us to that library to check out its community impact.
• Blueprint Boise gets a remodel. Blueprint Boise is under construction and nearly complete. The city’s land use plan for the next 20 years hasn’t been updated since 1997. It’s not too late to have your say.
• Assessing your 2010 property assessment. Homeowners throughout the Treasure Valley are starting to see property assessments come in the mail and for many the hits keep on coming. Both Canyon and Ada County Assessors say they’ve seen a 25 to 30 percent drop in home values in the last two years alone.
• Boise mom gets brief phone call from daughter in Israel. Teresa Mohammadi of Boise got a phone call from her daughter Fatima who was on board the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara when the vessel was boarded by Israeli commandos Monday.
• Idaho fines private prison for contract violations. Ten of 13 drug and alcohol counselors at the prison near Boise aren’t qualified to provide treatment under CCA’s contract with the state, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
• Look Up for Gunners. “Most of the time, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game gives us authorization to use lethal means.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program has pursued a pair of wolves in the Boise Foothills for almost a month now after the wolves killed at least 11 sheep grazing Upper Hulls Gulch.
• County leaders’ pay scale unusual. Canyon County pays its three commissioners based on length of service and chairmanship, a system that could be unique among the 44 counties in Idaho.
• Emissions testing begins in Canyon County.

• Local program stands out. A local program that makes low-income households more energy efficient is the first in the nation to earn full funding from a federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contract.
• Gardening The Meter Way In Boise. If Ken Meter could have his way, dinner on any given evening would be basil pesto severed with a healthy salad and perhaps even a dab of horseradish spread on the side. “I like to keep it pretty simple when it comes to using what I grow,” Meter said. “That’s actually a reason I have a garden.”
• Nampa School District proposes furloughs. Nampa School District has proposed contract revisions for the 2010-2011 school year including furloughs and other cost-cutting measures.
• Man charged with stealing TV before Boise store opened. Mike Portillo, 35, is charged with felony grand theft.
• Boise police: Cashier stole more than $17,000 from store. Jamie C. Austin, 34, is charged with one count of felony grand theft after Boise police say she stole the money from a cash register over a six-month period.

Idaho Politics:

• IdaBlue: Schadenfreude (re: Canyon County emissions testing).
• Loonier Than Ever. The libertarian lifestyle has gone beyond mere loony. It is now officially dangerous. This is the third (but unlikely the last) in a series that revolves around what to this observer is obvious: Libertarians—those perennial “also-rans” in American politics—are loony.
• Idaho Reporter: Idaho GOP hires ‘Victory Director’ to assist Labrador, other candidates.
• Idaho Freedom Foundation: Textbooks distort history, promote government dependency.
• Eye On Boise: Idaho GOP hires on two full-time staffers to run ‘parallel campaign’ against Minnick.
• Idaho Democratic Senate candidate faces big tax bills. The Teton County businessman says his tax woes help make him the best choice for U.S. Senate.

Treasure Valley Blogs:

• The Dead Acorn: Woods Too! Woods NOT!
• Two Dozen Other Stupid Reasons: Flight.
• V for Victory!: The Roses Are Coming.
• Treasure Valley in Motion: Summertime Blues.
• Stueby’s Outdoor Journal: Wild & wacky weather calls for creativity, good shelter.
• Simply Grove: Bungalow…
• Pearman Photography: Let’s See What Develops @ Bricolage.
• NICK5HOE.COM: WordPress.org vs WordPress.com [INFOGRAPHIC].
• moping with intent to gawk…: “DAY, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent.”…

Food & Drink:

• Behind the Menu: Meet Janie Burns, Local Food Champion.
• Boise Weekly does Jalapeño’s Bar and Grill — review 1, review 2.
• Boise Foodie Guild: Robin’s Quinoa Salad.
• Eat Boise: Iced Latte Season!
• Pinot Gris. Pinot Gris is the perfect choice for this weird, spring Idaho weather. This wet-and-wild spring has been so cold that I’ve been hesitant to give up the red wines of winter. Spring is supposed to be a season of transition, but this is Boise, where weeks of record lows can be followed by a sudden shift to record highs.
• Beer & Whiskey Brothers: Oskar Blues Old Chub:If It Isn’t Scottish, It Crap!
• Payette Brewing Co.: Back in Action.
• The Martini is Dead, Long Live the Martini. The traditional martini month in Boise slipped by without much fanfare, but the city’s cocktail culture seems to be getting back to the classics.