Going vertical
Keeping elected officials honest at all levels By Stan NormanReader Contributor There is a disturbing trend developing in the Idaho Legislature. Several bills have been introduced in the House that would effectively take power...
Tagged: idaho legislature
Bill deregulating short-term rentals heads to governor’s desk
Mayor Grimm: House Bill 583 is a ‘significant step’ away from ‘local control’ By Zach HagadoneReader Staff The bill to effectively eliminate almost all powers of counties and cities to regulate short-term rentals is...
Herndon joins Dist. 1 Senate GOP primary race
By Zach HagadoneReader Staff With the filing deadline in the May 19 Idaho primary set for Friday, Feb. 27, the field of candidates is filling after Scott Herndon announced that he would seek the...
Why clean water infrastructure matters more than tax cuts
By Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy GrimmReader Contributor At both the state and federal levels, leaders frequently emphasize affordability, economic growth and the importance of letting hard work pay off. Those goals are broadly shared. Yet...
The ‘carrot-and-stick’ method of legislating in Boise and how to change it
By Kathryn LarsonReader Contributor Our legislative session kicked off in Idaho this week. Buckle up. Last year, more than 1,000 bills were written, 789 bills published, about 350 voted on, 322 became law and...
Medicaid expansion cuts threaten access to care for everyone
By Hillarie MatlockReader Contributor People without health insurance are human and they still get sick. When they get very sick, they go to emergency rooms, like everyone else. Without Medicaid expansion, the cost of...
Political poison pills
By Rep. Steve Berch, D-BoiseReader Contributor When is a seemingly benign piece of legislation deceptive? When it has a poison pill planted within it to facilitate an ulterior motive. This growing tactic is a...
Sandpoint P&Z recommends approval of amended short-term rental ordinance
Rule change intended to get ahead of potential lawsuit, comes amid likely state legislation By Zach HagadoneReader Staff Changes to Sandpoint’s ordinance regulating short-term rentals will move forward, after members of the Planning and...
Sandpoint P&Z to consider ‘substantial overhaul’ of short-term rental regs
Push for deregulation coming from Idaho legislators and lawsuit threats By Zach HagadoneReader Staff Big changes are in store for how the city of Sandpoint regulates short-term rentals — or doesn’t regulate them —...
Preventable and predictable: Idaho’s budget crisis impacts us all
By Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, and Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-BoiseReader Contributors Transparency and accountability are hallmarks of healthy budgeting. So, let’s be transparent. Let’s be accountable. Everyone already knows how we got into our...
