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EMBEZZLEMENT-SENTENCE
Idaho woman admits larceny, must repay $1.2M
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — A southern Idaho woman has agreed to repay $1.2 million to her former employer after pleading guilty to felony larceny.
The Idaho State Journal reports Peggy L. Pulley was sentenced to six months in jail and 14 years' probation by 6th District Judge David Nye. Pulley's attorney, Greg May, told the judge Monday that his client had already started repaying her former employer, Acoustic Specialties, under a civil contract reached as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Pulley started working for the Pocatello contractor in the mid-1990s. But she separated from the company early last year after the accounting discrepancies were noticed.
Under the civil contract, Pulley must pay Acoustic Specialties $3,000 a month until the full $1.2 million is reimbursed.
SHERIFF-LAWSUIT
Twin Falls sheriff sued for discrimination
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Two former Twin Falls County sheriff's deputies have filed a lawsuit against the county, contending Sheriff Tom Carter discriminated against them based on their sex.
The Times-News of Twin Falls reported Tuesday the lawsuit was filed March 13 in federal court by Becky White and Susan Stringer.
They contend they were passed over for promotions, given fewer training opportunities than males and held to a higher standard than male deputies.
The lawsuit says both women believe they made considerably less money than male counterparts who had the same amount of experience. It also says the women were denied overtime pay when male employees were not.
The lawsuit says both women regularly had to suffer vulgar, offensive, sexual comments.
FOOD STAMPS
Bill to stagger food stamp payouts passes Senate
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers are hoping a new bill that passed the Senate Tuesday will allow Idaho to stagger when food stamp recipients receive money to buy groceries.
McCammon Republican Sen. Jim Guthrie said spreading out the release of those funds over ten days could help offset "grocery store chaos" on the first of every month.
He said the change could tackle frustration over long lines and give stores time to restock in-demand products.
But implementing a staggered release isn't cheap: Cost estimates range from $290,000 to nearly $700,000.
Huston Republican Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, one of only two senators who opposed the bill, said that money would be better spent teaching Idahoans who receive food assistance how to cook and how to spend money wisely.
The bill now returns to the House.
TAX INCENTIVE AMENDMENTS
Tax bill heads to Senate revote after changes
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Legislators say they'll change a tax bill before trying it again on the Senate floor, after the attorney general's office said it might leave Idaho on constitutionally shaky ground.
The bill, which would give up to 30 percent in tax incentives to job-creating businesses, cleared the Senate 29-6 Monday.
But that was before Deputy Attorney General Chelsea Kidney released an opinion that giving a seven-member board the final word on who gets tax breaks could result in unequal treatment of identical businesses.
Majority Leader Sen. Bart Davis asked his fellow senators to reconsider the bill, effectively undoing Monday's vote.
Its sponsors will amend it before it is debated on the floor again.
If the bill clears the Senate a second time, it goes to the governor's desk for signing.
XGR--EPA-NULLIFICATION
EPA nullification bill fails to advance
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho House has failed to advance a bill that would have declared some restrictions handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency as unconstitutional.
The bill on Tuesday was returned to the Natural Resources and Conservation Committee, likely killing its chances of passage as this session winds to a close.
Rep. Paul Shepherd, a Republican from Riggins, had touted his bill as a way for Idaho to disregard many federal regulations on air and water pollution.
In particular, his bill would help dredge miners in his district whose work was impeded by what they call the EPA's unnecessarily restrictive water pollution rules.
The bill was met with deep skepticism from lawmakers who questioned its legality.
FUGITIVE-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
Former ID man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former Idaho man who was on the run for a decade has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges related to a German exchange student.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says 46-year-old Gerald Lee Farrell pleaded guilty to interstate travel with a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to possession of sexually explicit images of minors.
Court records say Farrell and his wife hosted a 16-year-old German exchange student in August 2003. Prosecutors say Farrell made attempts to see the girl naked and engaged her in sexual conversation.
In December 2003, Farrell took the girl to Nevada. She said one night she woke up with Farrell on top of her trying to remove her underwear.
Farrell and his wife fled to Switzerland in January 2004. He was arrested in Spain last July.
HYDROS-RETURN
Hydro races to return to Coeur d'Alene
COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Hydroplane races will return to Lake Coeur d'Alene this summer.
H1 Unlimited chairman Sam Cole says the organization is delighted to be returning to Coeur d'Alene.
He says the 2013 race was well received by the fans and the community.
The Coeur d'Alene Press reports the races are scheduled for Aug. 29-31, with 30 to 32 race teams expected.
Organizers say some 50,000 people attended last year's races, although only about 15,000 were paying customers. They hope to double the paying customers this time, to avoid the financial difficulties that followed last year's races.
ATTORNEY DROWNS
Coeur d'Alene attorney drowns
BAYVIEW, Idaho (AP) — Officials in northern Idaho say longtime Coeur d'Alene defense attorney Sam Eismann has drowned in Lake Pend Oreille.
Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller says it appears Eismann accidentally fell into the cold lake on Monday, but it was unclear if a medical event caused him to end up in the water.
Eismann, who was 70, owned a float home in Bayview.
Eismann was known for defending former Shoshone County Sheriff Frank Crnkovich against federal racketeering charges that alleged he ignored illegal gambling and prostitution in the county. Crnkovich was acquitted after his second trial in 1993.
Eismann served one term in the Idaho state legislature representing Canyon County and two years as an assistant U.S. attorney before going into private practice as a defense attorney.
UI SUPERCOMPUTER
UI acquires supercomputer
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Researchers at the University of Idaho have a new gadget to work with, a supercomputer.
The supercomputer is only about the size of a microwave, but it has four terabytes of memory and 160 different processors. That's according to Jim Alves-Foss, director of UI's Center for Secure and Dependable Systems.
The Lewiston Tribune reports the supercomputer has 1,000 times more memory than a standard computer, with about eight times as many processors. A typical desktop computer will have about two gigabytes of memory and two or three processors running on it.
Alves-Foss says UI started looking at computers with larger memories when several faculty members mentioned the computers on campus couldn't handle the work they were doing.
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