Thursday, November 19, 2009
Former ITD Director Still Wants Her Job Back
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 1:14 PM
With news of the appointment of a new ITD director this morning, we were reading up on the fate of Pam Lowe's wrongful termination lawsuit, which The Spokesman-Review has been following. Former Idaho Transportation Department Chief Lowe, who threatened a lawsuit in August, filed suit last week and added six more counts to her complaint this week.
She alleges sex discrimination on the ITD Board, for which she tells the Spokesman's Betsy Russell, she has proof that will emerge at trial. But she also alleges cronyism, corruption and political favors all the way up to the Governor's Office that thwarted her efforts to do her job, as Russell reports:
Lowe contends that she was fired because she insisted on cutting back a $50 million contract with a politically well-connected contractor to manage a string of bond-funded highway projects, with Otter’s then-chief of staff, Jeff Malmen, and Transportation Board Chairman Darrell Manning directly pressuring her to keep the big contract intact. Malmen hasn’t responded to requests for comment; Manning has disputed Lowe’s charges.
You can read the lawsuit, courtesy of the Spokesman-Review. The state will respond in a few weeks.
ITD Hires Michigan Engineer for Director Slot
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 10:29 AM
- ITD
- ITD Director Brian Ness
"Ness possesses the professional background, leadership skills, and energy to make an immediate impact on transportation in Idaho," stated Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Darrell V. Manning in the ITD press release. "We know that his degree in public administration coupled with his transportation background will serve him well in effectively leading the transportation department."
Ness begins Jan. 11, 2010, replacing Acting Director Scott Stokes, who took over when former Director Pam Lowe was terminated in August. Lowe recently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Manning and the rest of the Board. Stokes will resume his former position as deputy director.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Boise Rescue Mission Dedicates New Shelter
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 3:44 PM
- City Light Guest House
The new shelter, called City Light Guest House, 1417 W. Jefferson, is in what was once a parking area for the apartments above. The Mission fully renovated the space with mostly donated labor and materials.
“Women with children have been the fastest growing population of homeless people over the past decade. With the economic situation as it is we have seen that number rise even faster. For the past several months, we have had up to 46 women and kids sleeping on the floor at City Light. In order to be sure we can meet this growing need, and to better accommodate the women and kids we’re serving, we are pleased to accomplish this project,” said Mission director Bill Roscoe.
- Mission residents Lavern Powe and Randy Marlette, Jr. provide security at the ribbon cutting.
The Mission also installed 82 new beds its men's shelter on 13th Street. All the new beds are a step toward filling the shortage of beds for homeless people in Boise, but the Mission is clearly not on board with homeless folks who sued the Boise Police Department for harassment a few weeks ago.
BPD Chief Mike Masterson, with Mission Director Bill Roscoe
We waited a while to ask Roscoe, who has not returned several calls from BW for several days now, and Masterson, about the city's anti-camping policy, but the list of donors Roscoe needed to thank took a very long time.
- Jean Lockhard, director of City Light, in the new shelter.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
education Minnick America Bill Short and to the Point
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Rep. Walt Minnick introduced a workforce training bill today that he's dubbed the AMERICA WORKS Act, as in the American Manufacturing Efficiency and Retraining Investment Collaboration Works Act.
The bill encourages community colleges and professional-technical programs across the country to design and offer training programs and industrial certifications that are transferable anywhere in the country. The bill is supported by manufacturers, labor and community colleges, what Minnick spokesman John Foster called the "three-legged stool" of the workforce.
Alisha Hyslop at the Association for Career and Technical Education, which represents teachers and administrators at community colleges, said they support industry recognized credentials that are national and portable, but she said the bill appears to be driven mainly by industry concerns, specifically the National Association of Manufacturers.
But Minnick also demonstrated support from organized labor, quoting the Pacific Northwest Carpenters union in his press release, along with representatives of NAM and North Idaho College.
But here's the best part; the bill is short, as in a page. Here it is in its entirety, from the Library of Congress:
A BILLTo require that certain Federal job training and career education programs give priority to programs that provide a national industry-recognized and portable credential.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `American Manufacturing Efficiency and Retraining Investment Collaboration Act' or the `AMERICA Works Act'.
SEC. 2. NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AND PORTABLE CREDENTIALS FOR JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS.
(a) Workforce Investment Act-
(1) GENERAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES- Section 134 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(f) Priority for Programs That Provide a National Industry-Recognized Credential- In selecting and approving training programs or services under this section, a State, a local board, and a one-stop delivery system shall give priority approval to programs that provide a national industry-recognized and portable credential, certificate, or degree.'.
(2) YOUTH ACTIVITIES- Section 129(c)(1)(C) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2854(c)(1)(C)) is amended by redesignating clauses (ii) through (iv) as clauses (iii) through (v), respectively, and inserting after clause (i) the following:
`(ii) to the extent available and appropriate, a national industry-recognized credential, certificate, or degree;'.
(b) Career and Technical Education- Section 3(5)(A)(ii) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended by inserting `that is nationally recognized and portable and which may provide a basis for additional credentials, certificates, or degrees' after `an industry-recognized credential'.
(c) Training Programs Under TAA- Section 236(a)(5) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(5)) is amended by inserting after the sentence that follows subparagraph (H)(ii) the following: `In approving training programs under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek to approve programs that provide a national industry-recognized and portable credential, certificate, or degree.'.
PS You may have to read the three other lengthy pieces of legislation this bill amends in order to fully comprehend this stuff. But it's still short.
Friday, November 13, 2009
education Tailgating for Books
Posted by Andrew Crisp on Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 3:15 PM
I hate to be late. Following the mantra to “show up at least five minutes early” expounded by my father, I’ve mastered the art of the casual, on-time stroll into events, parties etc.
At least, until now, thanks to citydesk editor Hoffman, who gave me 10 minutes notice for this assignment.
I boarded the elevator to the Stueckle Sky Center for an apparently formal noon luncheon with the President of my school, Bob Kustra and his rival fresh-off-the-boat chief at the University of Idaho, Duane Nellis, at exactly 12:08 p.m. I tapped the “close door” button repeatedly, until I emerged on the sixth floor, and was overcome by the panoramic view of Boise from the sky.
The luncheon, scheduled before tomorrow’s Broncos vs. Vandals football game, brings to light the little told story of partnerships between Boise and that school in Moscow.
I managed to maneuver to a nearby table, just barely catching the end of the remarks made by University of Idaho's new president, Duane Nellis. Frank Zang, Kustra’s media-relations guy, pulled me aside to fill in the details. Turns out I'd only missed cursory opening remarks; the banquet was more high-class tailgating than the research collaboration symposium promised.
At the tables around me sat numerous members of faculty from Moscow as well as from here in Boise. The professors are members of multiple groups that seek to foster a more heady research climate in the state of Idaho.
Working together, the faculty seek to further the relationship between Boise and Moscow, as well as with the Idaho National Lab, to help Idaho prosper in biomedical research, new energy development, creating research opportunities for students, and managing innovative water solutions.
Those in attendance were a part of the groups CAES, the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, EPSCoR, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, INBRE, the Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence and IWRRI, the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute.
Duane Nellis said: “It’s about competing on a national level. Without investing in higher education, we will lose our edge against other states."
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
religion Bryan Fischer Says No Muslims in U.S. Military
Posted by Rachael Daigle on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 11:07 AM
It sounds like Boise's old buddy Bryan Fischer is continuing his headline making habits in his new home. The former Idaho Values Alliance director, who relocated to Tupelo, Miss., last summer to take a job with the American Family Association, is making waves with his call to kick out all Muslims from the U.S. military in the wake of the Ft. Hood shootings last week.
Writes Fischer in his Focal Point blog:
It it is time, I suggest, to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military. The reason is simple: the more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired, believe it is their duty to kill infidels. Yesterday's massacre is living proof. And yesterday's incident is not the first fragging incident involving a Muslim taking out his fellow U.S. soldiers. (Nov. 6)
It's an argument that builds on an Aug. 27 post in which Fischer posited that devout Muslims cannot be good Americans.
Fischer's comments also briefly riled the feathers of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who called Fischer a "knee jerk racist."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Bill Sali Roberts Drops out of Congressional Race
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM
“It is with great reluctance that I withdraw from the race for the First District congressional seat of this great state. For the past several days, I have been dealing with an unexpected health issue that has affected my candidacy and hampered my ability to make this run. I feel that it is my responsibility to my family to step out of the race at this time and concentrate on my health.”
Roberts said he had carried the "conservative banner" as far he was able, and said that two potential conservatives have approached him about the race.
An hour and a half after Roberts' announcement, Eagle Rep. Raul Labrador told Dan Popkey at the Idaho Statesman that Roberts had been referring to him and that he would be running for the post.
- Vaugh Ward at BW HQ
Ward, who has now taken to referring to Minnick as "Walter," tried not to talk about the congressman too much, but could not help himself in a few instances.
"This idea of voting no isn't enough," Ward said. "There's a lot of hand wringing ... my intellectual honesty is not a curiosity, it's what I believe."
Ward also positions himself as a conservative, a real Idaho Republican, asserts that he does not see eye to eye with Sen. John McCain, though he worked for his presidential campaign in Nevada and stresses his relative youth. He fired off a list of Idaho politicos and their ages when they entered politics: Steve Symms, 34; Larry Craig, 35; Dirk Kempthorne, 40; even Frank Church, 32.
Ward is 40.
We asked Ward, who remains in the Marine Corps Reserve, about his past CIA involvement and this is the best answer we could get: He was a case or operations officer—an agent. He was recruited, there are no job ads for that position. And his job was roughly to "engage known Taliban or al-Qaeda and then to get them to do something for us."
Today, Ward commended Roberts legislative service, dropped Pelosi's name again in close proximity to Minnick's and reiterated his conservative cred.
Roberts campaign manager Kevin McGowan issued a terse announcement of his Oct. 23 resignation just yesterday. Popkey also reports that former U.S. Rep. Bill Sali has neither confirmed nor denied his interest in the race.
election results A City Divided or a City Apathetic
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 12:44 AM
At first glance, the detailed returns from this month’s City Council elections show a city split east from west, generally along Cole Road. But a closer look complicates that stereotyping.
First there is Vern Bisterfeldt, who fended off two opponents, winning every precinct in the city, all 81 of them. Vern transcends Cole Road.
Then there is Maryanne Jordan, who lost only one precinct, 27—in far west Boise south of Eagle and McMillan roads—to Lucas Baumbach, 106 to 92, with David Webb pulling in 41 votes there.
So Jordan also managed to win supposed “conservative” and "liberal" votes on both sides of Cole.
So why does the TJ Thomson-David Litster map below appear so divided? Well Thomson and Litster did the most outreach to voters and got the most press, and we can see roughly where they likely spent most of their time on the map below. But their impressions of city politics probably align with their personal politics to some degree, so the east-west divide represents more than mere electioneering, as we have seen in recent legislative and other contests.
View Larger Map
Precincts that went for Thomson appear in green, Litster precincts are orange. Click through to see vote totals in each precinct. Details on the map are in the more geeky post below.
One other factor complicates the picture: so few of ya’all voted, that it makes it hard to draw too many conclusions.
Monday, November 9, 2009
election results Mapping the City Council Returns
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:55 PM
The map above represents the precinct level returns [.pdf] for the recent Boise City Council, Seat 4 race between TJ Thomson and David Litster. Litster won the precincts in orange and Thomson won the green. If you click anywhere on the map, a box will pop up with the vote count for that precinct, including absentee votes.
Here's how we made the map. I think it's kind of a hack, so if anyone has a better system, please let me know. But we're using all open source software, so don't try to sell us a million dollar solution.
First I got the GIS shapefiles from the city. I used OpenOffice Calc to add the vote data to the .dbf file. Then I loaded it into a GIS program. I've been playing with Qgis and also with udig, but I ended up using Qgis to make the map. There is something I'm missing with udig ...
I used Qgis to color code the precincts by winner, exported the new shapefile and then moved to a PC. I use a program called MapWindow and a plugin called Shape2Earth for this step. It took me many tries and a call to a friend to get the projection right—Boise kept showing up off the coast of Guinea in West Africa when I loaded it into Google Earth.
We're almost done here. Load the .kml file into Google Earth and then save it as a .kmz file, which is a compressed Google Earth map file, I guess. Then I uploaded the kmz to our server, went to Google Maps and pointed the map to my kmz file. It worked!
Now you can zoom in and out, find your house, pan around the city and click away to see what precinct you are in and how the two candidates fared among you neighbors.
I'll save the political stuff and the analysis for another post. But this is the process that I have been trying to nail down for a year now. If only some hack had put it down in ones and zeroes and saved me all this time.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Idaho Read Your Detailed Power Bill, By the Hour
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 3:08 PM
We wrote this week about Idaho Power's digital smart meters, which most of Ada County residents now have outside their homes. The Idaho Business Review also reported on Idaho Power's federal stimulus grant, as well as other stimulus money coming to Idaho utilities.
We did promise ya'll in the article that we'd walk you through the process for analyzing your hourly power consumption, so here ya go, step by step. We'd love to hear from readers how you plan to use this glut of new information.
If you want to read your actual digital meter, the one outside your house, you can follow the detailed instructions in the Idaho Power video on this page.
- Log in to your Idaho Power account, you may need to register, if you have not done that before.
- Then click on the "Energy Usage for ..." drop down menu at the bottom of your billing information.
- Then choose "Detailed Meter Data" and click on the bar representing any month.
- And voila, you can see when your kid gets up in the middle of the night to visit the refrigerator, the extra processor use in the middle of the day when someone is surfing, or, seriously, all the appliances that suck juice just because, even when you are not using them.
