Late on Sept. 7, the Ada County Sheriff's Office received reports of a mountain lion near the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. When they responded, they found an approximately 80-pound juvenile cat hiding in bushes near the Connector, and shot it dead.

From a press release:

The Ada County Sheriff's sergeant who shot the mountain lion spotted the animal crouched near some shrubbery along a fence near the Connector. The animal appeared to be positioned, prepared to pounce. In order to protect himself, the other officers and St. Al's security staff who were also on foot nearby, the sergeant fired two rounds from his duty weapon. The mountain lion died instantly.

The carcass was then collected by Fish and Game.

• An Ada County Sheriff's sergeant fired two shots from his duty weapon to kill this 80-pound juvenile mountain lion late Wednesday near St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.

The City of Boise and Ada County have ironed out a long-standing dispute over magistrate court services.

Under a new agreement that will be voted on by Ada County Commissioners and Boise City Council Tuesday, the county will continue to provide court services for Boise for an annual payment from the city of $1 million. The payment will be partially offset by an estimated $250,000, which the city receives in fines and fees collected by the county for the city's magistrate cases. If approved by both Ada County and Boise City officials, the agreement will begin Oct. 1, the start of Fiscal Year 2012.

Vern Bisterfeldt, who served as Boise City Council member and currently serves as an Ada County commissioner, is happy with the deal.

"I've seen this issue from both sides of the table now," said Bisterfeldt. "And they say true compromise means everyone, in the end, must give a little. I believe the proposal we will consider tomorrow captures that sentiment, and I am encouraged by the progress that has been made."

But Commissioner Sharon Ullman disagrees.

"It is not in the best interest of Ada County taxpayers—even those within the City of Boise—for Ada County taxpayers to heavily subsidize the provision of Magistrate Court facilities and services," said Ullman.

Ullman claimed that the City of Boise collects more than $2.1 million in fines and fees.

"Let me reiterate: The City of Boise collects adequate revenue from Magistrate Court fines and fees to cover the full cost of the provision by the county of facilities and services related to those cases," she said.

Ada County commissioners will consider a new budget for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Tuesday evening. Ada County Clerk Christopher Rich is expected to unveil a spending plan of $192.5 million, an increase of 11 percent over the current budget of $174 million. Using the previous year's budget savings, county commissioners are expected to propose no increase in taxes in the General Expense Fund.

The largest slice of the budget "pie" (43 percent) is earmarked for public safety, including $52.6 million for the Ada County Sheriff's Office and $12.5 million for Emergency Medical Services. The new budget includes $6 million for an 88 bed jail expansion and an additional $2.5 million to fund positions associated with the jail expansion.

The proposed spending plan also includes $1.7 million to provide a 2.5 percent cost of living increase for county employees whose salaries have been frozen for the past three years.

The public will be able to weigh in on the budget when the hearing gets under way at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, in the public hearing room of the Ada County Courthouse.

You can read the tentative budget here.

The Treasure Valley's commute will never be the same once the Idaho Transportation Department opens the new Ten Mile interchange later today.

The 22-month project came in six months ahead of schedule and $1 million under an expected budget of $33.8 million. During construction, the project created more than 400 jobs.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Meridian's population grew from 42,481 to 75,092 between 2003 and 2010.

Ada County residents will be able to get one of the first new-look driver's licenses and ID cards on Monday, May 23.

The new cards feature not only traditional information such as name, address, date of birth, height and weight, but also a machine-readable bar code containing the personal data, micro-printing, ghost images and a laser perforated pattern that reveals the shape of Idaho when held to the light. And while not all security features will be evident, they will make it obvious if someone tampers with a card.

Current Idaho licenses or ID cards remain valid through their expiration date, but individuals can opt to renew a license or ID card within one year of the expiration date. Once applicants apply for a new card, they will leave the county licensing office with a temporary document, which is valid for 30 days. The new card will be produced at a central production facility and mailed to the customer within about 10 business days.

Processing begins May 23 at the Ada County Driver's License Office on Benjamin Lane in Boise. The new system kicks off a week prior for Payette County residents at the County Driver's License Office in Payette on Monday, May 16. By summer, the new licenses and ID cards are expected to be available statewide at all other 51 county offices.

Today Ada County commissioners awarded a five-year lease to Treasure Valley Racing, which hopes to re-launch horse racing at Les Bois Park.

Commissioner Sharon Ullman was the lone no vote, while commishes Vern Bisterfeldt and Rick Yzaguirre voted in favor of accepting the bid.

Last night Ullman offered a lengthy, multi-part explanation of her anticipated decision on her blog. Among the statements in her post titled "Just Say 'No' to Greene Group":

"For numerous reasons, I believe these people to be less than the upstanding, ethical citizens we want operating a gambling and alcohol distribution operation—heavily subsidized by county taxpayers—on Ada County property. Keep in mind that Les Bois Park is publicly owned and no property taxes will be paid on the real property. "

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"Why would we want the Greene Group people of Alabama, who were found by the Alabama DOI to have such shoddy, if not downright illegal, business practices, to run Les Bois Park?"

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"This situation reminds me of my first taste of the Greene Group, when their Idaho lobbyist Russ Westerberg and his assistant Joie McGarvin asked me out for coffee after I won the November 2008 election. Westerberg asked whether I was willing to put out a Request for Proposals for the Les Bois Park lease. Willing? Why wouldn’t I vote to put out an RFP, so the county could identify the best operator for the facility? I assured them that it seemed the most reasonable course of action.

At the end of the meeting, Westerberg asked me if I had any campaign debt that needed to be paid off. I assured him that I not only had no remaining campaign debt but that I also do not take money from special interests."

The horses aren't in the starting gate yet, but there's a good reason to start sprucing up Les Bois Park. Following an auction, which featured only one bid, Ada County commissioners awarded a five-year lease to Treasure Valley Racing Monday afternoon, clearing a big hurdle to bring thoroughbred racing back to the Treasure Valley.

County Commissioners Vern Bisterfeldt and Rick Yzaguirre voted to accept TVR's annual lease bid of $75,000. Commissioner Sharon Ullman voted against the agreement. The deal also requires TVR to share one quarter of 1 percent of its total take on live and simulcast racing in excess of $10 million.

Treasure Valley Racing is a new partnership of industry insiders that includes Harry Bettis, James Grigsby, Larry Williams and Linda Yanke, in addition to the Alabama-based Greene Group, which operates a simulcast facility in Post Falls.

"The process of finding a qualified operator for this facility has had many ups and downs over the years," said Yzaguirre. "I am happy to say that it appears racing finally is ready to make its return to Ada County."

Just last week, the Idaho Legislature revised a state law to allow racetrack operators to negotiate the number of live racing days, with a 15-day minimum. While previous racing seasons traditionally opened on Kentucky Derby weekend, the first weekend of May, TVR is not expected to begin races until June at the earliest.

Lawyers were introduced to a new witness-assistance program at yesterday's meeting of Idaho prosecutors: courthouse dogs. The dogs are intended to help comfort witnesses through the emotional stress of navigating courtroom processes.

Sunday is Ada County's courtroom dog, who was donated to the court four months ago and, according to Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower, has been a total success, especially with juvenile victims.

Former Boise City Council Member Vern Bisterfeldt was sworn Monday morning as an Ada County Commissioner, a job he previously held from 1987-1999.

Also, on the commission is Sharon Ullman, whom Bisterfeldt had hired a private investigator to scrutinize.

Conflict between the two goes back to before Ullman was elected, when she used to testify frequently at meetings, eventually receiving a letter from Bisterfeldt and another then-Commissioner, Gay Glenn, restricting her testimony because her statements "offered no meaningful input to the public policy process."

Bisterfedlt refused to comment to Citydesk on the purpose of the investigation, saying only "I had a reason."

Though both commissioners told BW there was nothing wrong and pledged to work together, they also made sure to do so in their public statements during the swearing-in ceremony.

Ullman also told Citydesk that when she was first elected she was "blocked from doing her job," to the extent that she was not even allowed access to her own phone. Ullman said she would "make sure Bisterfeldt wasn't treated the way she was."

Let the games begin ...

UPDATE: Commissioner Ullman clarified that she was allowed access to her phone but not control over it, which prevented her ability to answer certain calls.