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POLICE CHASE-SHOOTING
Idaho police identify man killed in police chase, shooting
WENDELL, Idaho (AP) — Idaho authorities have identified a man fatally shot by police after a high-speed chase.
Police identified the suspect Thursday as 28-year-old David Bamber Jr. of Pleasanton, Calif.
The Twin Falls Police Department says Bamber was wanted for burglary and firearm possession charges by California authorities and was a suspect in two kidnappings in Nevada.
Authorities say the chase began Tuesday when an Ada County deputy attempted a traffic stop on Interstate 84 before officers from multiple county and state agencies found and pursued the vehicle 30 minutes later.
Authorities say during the pursuit Bamber stole a pickup truck at gunpoint and continued to evade law enforcement traveling south from Bliss.
Authorities say pursuing officers open fired ending the chase at a dairy near Wendell.
An investigation is underway.
SMALLER SCHOOLS-TEACHER PAY
Pay disparity hampers teacher retention in small districts
(Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com)
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Some smaller Idaho school districts are struggling to retain teachers who are tempted by the bigger paychecks and increased resources offered by larger districts.
The Post Register reports records from the State Department of Education shows that 184 teachers have changed school districts in Idaho since the 2014 school year. Many, like teacher Gregory Egan, switched from a smaller district to a larger one.
Egan left the Clark County Junior/Senior High school in Dubois to join the Bonneville Joint School District in Idaho Falls. He says he was drawn by better pay, improved housing options and the opportunity for more school resources and activities.
Last year, the average base salary for a teacher in Idaho Falls was roughly $46,700. Base salary averages in the Clark County, Madison, Ririe, Sugar-Salem and West Jefferson school districts were all at least $4,000 lower.
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PARK HOMICIDE
Man charged with murder after body found in park
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A 27-year-old Boise man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a man whose body was found in a popular Boise park.
The Boise Police Department says Andrew Ray Garcia of Boise was arrested early Friday morning in connection with the death of 43-year-old Roque Leon Arellano, whose body was found Thursday morning. The Ada County Coroner's office was still working to determine Arellano's cause of death on Friday.
Garcia was charged with second-degree murder, grand theft and destruction or alteration of evidence on Friday, but he has not yet had a chance to enter a plea and court records do not show if he has obtained an attorney.
Police have released few details about the case.
TEEN HIT-DRIVER CHARGED
Driver charged with drunken driving after pedestrian hit
KUNA, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a man with felony drunken driving in connection with a September collision that left a teenage pedestrian with a broken neck.
Joseph Jefferies, 70, was arrested Wednesday. Police believe Jefferies was driving a vehicle that collided with 16-year-old Sunshine Bryden and her dog as they crossed a Kuna street on Sept. 2.
He has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea; court records do not show if he has obtained an attorney.
Bryden sustained a broken neck and broken leg in the collision, and her dog, Harley, sustained internal injuries. The teen's mother, Carolyn Bryden, says Sunshine had surgery to put a titanium rod in her leg and is doing well more than a month after the crash. She said the dog has recovered from its injuries.
Ada County Sheriff's Spokesman Patrick Orr said Sunshine Bryden traveled 72 feet after impact.
IDAHO-SCHOOLS BUDGET
Idaho Schools Superintendent seeks school budget boost
(Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com)
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra says she'll ask the Legislature for a $101 million increase to the public schools budget next year.
The Lewiston Tribune reports Ybarra made the announcement during a presentation at the Idaho State Board of Education meeting at Lewis-Clark State College on Wednesday.
If approved, the request would account for a 5.3% increase over the current year's appropriations, bringing the general education budget for K-12 to just under $2 billion.
Ybarra said three priorities include boosting teacher's salaries, funding early literacy efforts and college and career advising.
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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REFERENDUM
Washington state to vote on affirmative action referendum
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — More than two decades after Washington voters banned affirmative action, the question of whether one's minority status should be considered as a contributing factor in state employment, contracting and admission to public colleges and universities is back on the ballot.
The Nov. 5 vote comes after the Legislature raced to approve Initiative 1000 on the final day of this year's legislative session last April. Opponents of the measure collected enough signatures to force a referendum.
Referendum 88 asks voters to either approve or reject the attempt to amend Initiative 200, which passed in 1998. Under current law, state government is prohibited from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to individuals or groups based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, or public contracting.
The new initiative would allow the consideration of being part of a minority group to be a contributing factor for a qualified applicant.
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