Essential StateImpact: Top 5 Posts Of The Week (According To You)
Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact
Before you head out for an adventure in the snow, take a look at our most-read stories from the week. (Photo taken near Idaho City, Idaho)
What We’re Reading: $8.5 Billion, And A Lot Of Problems
John Moore / Getty Images
A lock hangs from the front door of a foreclosed home.
Idaho’s housing market underwent a dramatic turnaround in 2012. The state’s foreclosure rate began to come down. Single family homes began to make up some of their staggering loss in value. Now, Boise is showing stronger signs of recovery than most metro areas, according to the Brookings Institution.
But 2011 — when Idaho posted one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation — is not yet a distant memory. That’s part of why we’ve kept a close eye on this week’s news of an $8.5 billion foreclosure settlement between banks and federal regulators. Continue Reading
Gov. Otter Acknowledges Idaho’s Doctor Shortage, Proposes One Step Toward A Fix
Joe Jaszewski / Idaho Statesman
Gov. Otter delivered his State of the State speech Monday, Jan. 7, 2013.
As we reported earlier this week, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter showed his support to Idaho’s medical educators and doctors by including money for additional access to med school.
Otter’s budget proposal includes funding for five additional seats at the University of Washington Medical School, the WWAMI program. That would expand the opportunity for Idaho med school students from 20 slots to 25. Otter’s proposal also includes $109,000 for Boise’s internal medical residency. Continue Reading
Albertsons Stores Reunited Thanks To Supervalu Deal
WerthMedia / Flickr Creative Commons
All Albertsons stores will again be under the same ownership. That’s one effect of a $3.3 billion deal announced Thursday between private investment company Cerberus Capital Management and grocery chain Supervalu.
Albertsons, the grocery chain founded in Boise in the 1930s, put itself up for sale nearly a decade ago. The company was split up. A group of investors formed Albertson’s LLC and bought the company’s underperforming stores. Minnesota-based Supervalu purchased the rest. Continue Reading
Idaho Legislators Give Initial Stamp Of Approval To Gov. Otter’s Revenue Forecast
Screenshot from Idaho Public Television
Lawmakers on the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (EORAC) have agreed to move the state budget process forward with a vote of confidence in Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s revenue estimate.
Gov. Otter unveiled his annual budget plan Monday. It assumes state revenue will increase 5.3 percent in fiscal year 2014 over fiscal year 2013. The budget proposal would spend $84 million more in general fund money next year compared to the current budget year.
Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill made the motion to approve the governor’s forecast, with the caveat that lawmakers have discretion to change that number if state tax projections begin to falter. House Speaker Scott Bedke agreed.
“At this point in time, I don’t see anything wrong with the governor’s more optimistic number,” Bedke said. Still, he added, he sees no problem with the Legislature adjusting that estimate as the session unfolds, and as tax collections peak later this year. Continue Reading
Idaho Seeks Flexibility In Medicaid Expansion Plan, But Feds Have Yet To Weigh In
Joe Jaszewski / Idaho Statesman
Gov. Otter delivered his State of the State and budget address on Monday.
In Monday’s State of the State address, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter made clear to lawmakers and the public that he’s not pushing to expand Medicaid eligibility at this time.
Instead, he has asked Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong to develop an Idaho-specific plan.
As StateImpact reported yesterday, Armstrong says the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will have to sign off on any effort by the state to build cost-sharing and accountability mechanisms into its plan. On this point, there’s a great deal of uncertainty. Continue Reading
Idaho Launches Government Transparency Website
State Controllers Office / State of Idaho
Transparency.Idaho.gov
In an effort to become more transparent, the state of Idaho has launched a new website that details state spending and revenue. Transparent.Idaho.gov was created by the state controller’s office, after the state continually received failing grades on its openness.
Last year during ‘sunshine week,’ StateImpact Idaho reported on two separate transparency report cards — one gave Idaho an “F“, the other a “D-“.
Then state controller’s office Chief of Staff Brandon Woolf said a transparency website had been a goal of the agency for the last six or more years. Woolf is now State Controller, and he says those report cards were a bit of a breaking point in pushing for a transparency website. Continue Reading
Cerberus To Buy Albertsons Grocery Stores In $3.3 Billion Deal
The investment group Cerberus Capital Management LP will buy Albertsons stores from Supervalu for $3.3 billion according to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Here’s more from the Times’ DealBook blog:
The Cerberus-led group will also buy up to 30 percent of Supervalu itself, paying $4 a share in a tender offer. That represents a 50 percent premium to the grocery chain operator’s 30-day average closing price and nearly 32 percent higher to Wednesday’s closing price.
At a minimum, the investor consortium will own at least 19.9 percent of Supervalu. – NYTimes.com Continue Reading
What Gov. Otter Meant When He Said “No” To Expanding Medicaid Eligibility
Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact
Dr. Ted Epperly is the Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho.
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said in Monday’s State of the State address that he doesn’t believe Idaho should expand Medicaid eligibility. “There is broad agreement that the existing Medicaid program is broken,” he said.
That wasn’t all the governor had to say on the issue. He mentioned a new responsibility for Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong. “I’m asking Director Armstrong to lead an effort to flesh out a plan for changing Idaho’s system with an eye toward the potential costs, savings and economic impact,” he said. “I hope to return in 2014 with specific proposals based on that work.”
That left a few people, this reporter included, scratching their heads. What does that mean, exactly? Continue Reading
Idaho Adds State Workers, Top Paid State Employee Is BSU Football Coach
Idaho had 327 more state employees at the start of this year than last. The state Controller’s office released its annual Legislative Handbook, formerly known as the Rainbow Report, last week.
The chart shows the total number of state employees at the start of each calendar year, going back to 2004. As the effects of the recession hit, and Idaho began cutting state agency budgets, the number of state workers declined.
As StateImpact Idaho reported last year, the state had laid off nearly 1,000 employees since 2007. The total number of state workers at the beginning of this year is above 2006 levels. Continue Reading