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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A new law will give the Idaho attorney general's office additional staff and resources to investigate public corruption and capital crimes cases. The office's special prosecutions unit averaged just 30 cases a year in the past three years, compared to taking 144 cases in 2005. A $617,000 budget increase will allow the unit to hire an additional lawyer and two investigators.
COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Coeur d'Alene officials are employing a new fire-protection strategy — goats. Two hundred hungry goats were released Friday over 22 acres of Tubbs Hill, the popular park that overlooks Lake Coeur d'Alene. They chewed through shrubbery and mowed down other fuels that could help a fire spread. Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Deputy Chief Glenn Lauper says it takes fire officials 20 minutes to reach a fire on Tubbs Hill's south side. If a fire is starved of fuels, it may not spread so quickly.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Public records from Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's office show that an executive order creating a new public records ombudsman had to be scaled back at the last minute over concerns it could step on existing law. Otter issued the executive order late last month, naming Cally Younger the new ombudsman and calling on her to create an annual report detailing public record requests and denials. The move was in response to a request from the Newspaper Association of Idaho, which wanted an option to appeal denied requests without going to court.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Foresters say pests and fungal infections are afflicting the region's ponderosa pines, and while they seldom kill the trees, they do worry landowners. The Spokesman-Review reports that the unsightly appearance of the trees is being caused by fungal infections and tiny insects called pine scale that thrive during cool, moist conditions. Pine scale can look like paint spatters, while fungi are identified by black or brown splotches on the needles.
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