In anticipation of March 6, also known as Super Tuesday, when Idaho will join nine other states to hold presidential primaries or caucuses, Mitt Romney is planning to return to the Gem State for at least one fundraising event.

A spokesman for the Romney campaign confirmed that Romney will attend a noontime fundraising lunch at the Boise Grove Hotel on Friday, Feb. 17. Donors will have to shell out $2,500 for a VIP reception and photo opportunity. The luncheon will cost attendees $1,000.

The official hosts of the event are Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, first lady Lori Otter and U.S. Sen. Jim Risch and his wife, Vicki Risch.

Romney attended a pair of Idaho fundraisers last year, appearing in Boise and Idaho Falls on June 20, 2011. Additionally, Romney stumped for Otter's re-election campaign in October 2010.

Following his win Feb. 4 in the Nevada Caucuses, Romney and his Republican challengers have turned their attention toward Colorado and Minnesota, which will hold caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

An Arizona judge's ruling that an American citizen cannot run for city council because she doesn't have "adequate" English-speaking skills is expected to have wide-reaching implications far from the dusty border town of San Luis, Ariz.

Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson ruled that potentital city council candidate Alejandrina Cabrera's command of English was insufficient for her to hold public office. She appealed to the Arizon Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on her case early this week.

Cabrera was born in Yuma, Ariz., but raised in Mexico, and like most of her neighbors, she conducts her life in Spanish. According to the U.S. Census bureau, San Luis is 98.7 percent Latino. However, Arizona state law stipulates that all office seekers for state or local elections be able to speak , read and write English without the aid of an interpreter or translator. Cabrera argues that the law does not set a level of proficiency.

In the wake of Mitt Romney's convincing win in Saturday's Nevada Caucuses, the former Massachusett governor joins other presidential hopefuls in turning their attention to Colorado and Minnesota, which hold caucuses Tuesday. Maine is already in the midst of a week-long caucus voting process that will wrap up on Saturday.

But for the most part, February will be a month for candidates to re-load in anticipation of the next landmark day-March 6, otherwise known as Super Tuesday. That's when Idaho will join nine other states that will all hold primaries or caucuses on the same night.

Meanwhile, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll was released Monday, indicating that President Barack Obama, for the first time, holds a clear edge over Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup. Overall, 55 percent of those who said they were closely following the campaign, said they disappproved of what GOP candidates have been saying. Additionally, by better than 2-to-1, Americans said the more they learned about Romney, the less they liked him. Judgments about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were about 3-to-1 negative.

Less than a week after former Democratic Party leader John Foster shocked more than a few former colleagues when he aligned himself with Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to support so-called "Luna laws," Foster's employer, Strategies 360, has cut its ties to the former journalist and executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party and closed its Idaho office.

In Dec. 2010, BW spoke with Foster as he was about to open a new Boise office for Strategies 360, a Seattle-based consulting firm. But last week, when Foster announced that he would begin assisting Otter's fight against opponents to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's controversial education reform package, he lost at least one high profile client—the Professional Firefighters of Idaho.

In an e-mail to clients, friends and contacts, Foster confirmed that he was no longer employed by Strategies 360, nor was his business partner Kate Haas. Foster also confirmed that the Strategies 360 Idaho office had been shuttered.

"I am confident that both Kate and I will land on our feet," wrote Foster.

Holding a caucus or primary on a Saturday may be convenient for some, but it's also the Sabbath for Orthodox Jews. That's the scenario playing out today in Nevada, site of the latest Republican Presidential Caucuses. But GOP leaders in Nevada have a solution.

Hours after most of the state's other caucuses end, Orthodox Jews will be welcome to participate in post-sundown caucuses. The New York Times reports that just 3 percent of Nevada's population is Jewish, "but they have a long history in Las Vegas...and the number of Orthodox Jews has grown steadily over the last two decades."

As soon as the sun sets and evening prayers end, Jewish voters are expcted to head to a Las Vegas school in order to participate in the 2012 presidential contest.

• Courtesy Elko Daily Free Press
• Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and first lady Lori Otter flank Mitt Romney.

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter visited the Nevada border town of Elko Friday to help welcome his friend and political comrade Mitt Romney who has brought his race for the White House back to a familiar region. In addition to being the former governor of Massachusetts, Romney considers Utah a second home with deep ties to his Mormon roots and his assignment as chief of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

According to a report in the Elko Daily Free Press, "Romney has an advantage in Nevada because he is a Mormon and has strong support from the state's Mormons which was apparent at the Elko rally."

Otter told the Elko audience that Romney "understands the issues in Nevada and Idaho."

Charles Stark, the former member of the Occupy Boise movement, who defaced the Federal Building on Jan. 2 and posted his crime on YouTube, has agreed to plead guilty to willful injury of federal property.

Stark, who was facing up to a year behind bars for the original charge of defacing federal property, agreed to plead to the lesser charge, which indicated that the damage was less than $1,000. Under a plea agreement, Stark would pay $743.56 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service, and serve five years of probation.

Stark was videotaped on Jan. 2 while defacing the Federal Building. He painted "F.U. 1867," referencing the National Defense Authorization Act, on the north, east and west windows of the Fort Street building, and "I'm not a terrorist" on the south windows.

Stark had been homeless up until his arrest, spending time at the River of Life mission for men and the Occupy Boise encampment outside of the Old Ada County Courthouse. Occupiers since have insisted that Stark is no longer a part of their encampment. According to attorney Dick Rubin, Stark was employed at the Bogus Basin ski resort in 2011.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney had one of those moments (which seem to occur with more frequency) that leave his political operatives with head in hands.

In an appearance this morning on CNN, fresh off his convincing victory in the Florida primary, Romney said the following:

"I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I'll fix it," said Romney. "I'm not concerned about the very rich. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 to 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling."

CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien asked the former Massachusetts governor to clarify his remarks.

"There are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say, 'That sounds odd,'" said O'Brien.

The legislative bill that would see the eviction of the Occupy Boise camp is no longer on a fast-track toward enactment, but that doesn't mean it's dead yet.

The State Senate Affairs Committee voted this morning to send House Bill 404 to the 14th Order. Simply put, lawmakers were uncomfortable with the measure's language.

Following two days of testimony, Idaho Falls Republican Sen. Bart Davis said he didn't like the bill's language, which would see the seizure of any camping equipment or personal belongings that weren't claimed by Occupiers when and if they were evicted.

"I have to admit that when I first saw the Occupy encampment, I was troubled by it," said Davis. "We may disagree on what the solutions are, but that's part of the public dialogue. I feel uncomfortable with the seizure and littering component here and I would like for us to look at modifications."

It appears as if New Gingrich's presidential campaign is wilting a bit in the heat of the Sunshine State. A string of new polls points to an advantage to Mitt Romney among likely voters leading up to the Florida Republican Primary, slated for Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Fifty delegates are at stake in the winner-take-all closed Republican primary. There are more than 4 million registered Republican voters in Florida.

In polls from Reuters, Sunshine State News, Quinnipiac, Rasmussen Reports, Insider Advantage and Monsmouth Survey, the former Massachusetts governor's lead over the former House Speaker ranges between 7 and 11 percentage points. Just a week ago, a poll by the Florida Chamber of Commerce indicated a dead heat, and surveys from Rasmussen and Insider Advantage gave the lead to Gingrich.