In four years, 30 wind farms were approved in Idaho. Before that boom, the state had just one.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission today handed a key victory to wind developers currently operating in the state, but it did so while imposing an indirect limit on the amount of wind development Idaho is likely to see in the near future.
“There are very different implications for existing versus new wind developers,” the Idaho Conservation League’s Ben Otto said after reviewing the PUC’s decision. Continue Reading →
Click on the image above to see the Kaiser Family Foundation's map of states' health insurance exchange decisions.
When Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter opted in favor of a state-based heath insurance exchange, he came to a conclusion that many of his fellow governors did not. Only 18 states and the District of Columbia have declared they will build their own exchanges, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Seven states plan to create partnership exchanges, while 25 have defaulted to a federal exchange.
House Majority Leader Mike Moyle re-stated his opposition to establishing a state-based exchange in an op-ed published this weekend. “Uncertainty has been a hallmark of Obamacare from the beginning,” he writes. Continue Reading →
A freshman Idaho legislator says online information about his education that was posted until recently isn’t true. Republican Rep. Mark Patterson tells The Associated Press a staffer misunderstood the college he attended, and assumed he graduated.
Patterson tells the AP his staffer posted the inaccurate information on Patterson’s Facebook page. That information was then gathered by the Montana non-partisan Project Vote Smart, which tracks elected officials in all 50 states.
Through our legislator demographic posts, we also reported Patterson graduated from the University of Southern California in 1996, information we obtained through Vote Smart. Patterson didn’t return calls made by StateImpact in an attempt to fact check that information.
A National Association of State Budget Officers report shows states are spending a greater share of their general fund dollars on Medicaid, and a smaller share on education. The Washington Post‘s Wonkblog has summarized and graphed the findings.
In Idaho, total general fund spending on education has fallen by 11.6 percent since fiscal year 2009, while spending in the health and human services category has grown by 5.8 percent.
In November 2011, the New York-based Greek yogurt maker Chobani announced plans to build a multimillion dollar manufacturing facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, with plans to hire 400 people.
Today, 13 months later, Chobani’s Twin Falls facility holds its grand opening. New numbers show the yogurt maker hired fewer people than expected, and collected more subsidies than first reported.
A press release for today’s event says Chobani is opening with “over 300” employees. The New York Times reports the Twin Falls facility has 300 employees. That’s 100 fewer jobs than Chobani first announced, but Twin Falls City Manager Travis Rothweiler says there are more jobs to come. He anticipates Chobani will employ up to 500 people once the facility is running at full capacity. Continue Reading →
A view from the 3rd floor of the Montana State Capitol. Montana's Legislature archives all committee meetings and floor sessions.
Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey today wrote this blog post that raises this question: should the video or audio record of legislative proceedings be archived?
Since the Capitol’s recent upgrade, nearly every legislative committee hearing, and House and Senate floor session has been broadcast through Idaho Public Television. Those broadcasts are recorded, and according to Popkey, destroyed after five days. Continue Reading →
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been writing about the demographic make-up of the 2013 Idaho Legislature and how demographics can influence policy.
More than 40 percent of Idaho legislators identify themselves as Protestant. That’s in-line with religious affiliation for Idaho’s general population, which according to a 2008 survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found 38 percent of Idahoans identify as Protestant.
Data Sources: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Project Vote Smart, Idaho Legislators
Even though the Pew report is a few years old, a spokesman for the non-partisan research center said the data likely hasn’t changed significantly since 2008. Continue Reading →
House Speaker Scott Bedke says he'll try to find consensus on the health insurance exchange.
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter recommends Idaho build a state-based health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act. In his Tuesday announcement, Otter said there will be a health insurance exchange in Idaho; the only question is who will build it. It’s important, the governor said, for Idaho to have a seat at the table.
StateImpact Idaho‘s Molly Messick talked through what this decision means with Boise State Public Radio’s Samantha Wright. To listen, click on the audio player below.
The Idaho Statesman reports Micron is laying off 30 people who work in developing energy-efficient lighting. The Statesman reports Micron started the division “in 2009 with $5 million in federal stimulus money”.
“Thirty of the program’s 170 employees will be laid off, Micron spokesman Dan Francisco said Wednesday. Another 30 will remain with the program, which will concentrate on licensing LED technologies Micron has developed. One hundred and 10 employees have taken other jobs within Micron.” – Idaho Statesman
Company spokesman Dan Francisco tells the Statesman economic challenges and increased competition in the LED market pushed Micron executives to make the decision.
That’s also what forced Micron to shutter it’s solar company earlier this year. About 250 people were laid off when Micron closed Transform Solar, a collaboration between the Boise-based company and an Australian firm.
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