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CHICKEN DINNER ROAD
Don't rename 'Chicken Dinner Road' Idaho lawmaker says
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A lawmaker says Chicken Dinner Road in southwestern Idaho is a historic name and is opposed to an animal protection group's request to rename it. Republican Rep. Scott Syme on Monday introduced a concurrent resolution urging fellow lawmakers to support the existing name. Concurrent resolutions do not need the signature of the governor and don't have the force of law. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in July asked Caldwell officials to change the name to Chicken Road. Syme says the original name stems from a 1930s resident famous for her chicken dinners who helped persuade then-Democratic Gov. C. Ben Ross to improve the road.
WATER RIGHTS-EMERGENCY
Idaho Senate OKs emergency water rights to clean up spills
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Legislation granting an emergency water right when crews are trying to clean up spills in Idaho waterways is heading to the House. The Senate voted 35-0 on Monday to approve the legislation that the state Department of Environmental Quality says is needed to prevent someone from contending their water right is being violated due to an emergency cleanup. Emergency crews pulling contaminated water from rivers after such things as tanker trunk crashes is standard cleanup practice. But removing that water could be violating the state's strict water-rights laws where water distribution is closely monitored.
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY-IDAHO
Idaho lawmakers consider changes in primary voting rules
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho voters have about two weeks to choose a political party if they want to vote in the Democratic and Republican residential primaries in March. A legislative committee on Monday sent to the full House legislation that will take effect immediately should it pass and be signed into law by Republican Gov. Brad Little. The legislation will change state law to require a voter affiliate with a particular party about 90 days before the presidential primary. Democrats allow unaffiliated voters to participate in their presidential primary but Republicans do not.
FATAL SNOWMOBILING ACCIDENT
Man dies in snowmobiling accident in southwest Montana
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who was killed in a snowmobiling accident in southwest Montana. The Montana Standard reports 39-year-old Douglas Baker, of Butte, went missing while snowmobiling with a group of friends near Jackson on Jan. 12. Beaverhead County's coroner says Baker's friends started looking for him and found his body in an area she described as “off the beaten path." Baker was traveling up a snow-packed incline when his snowmobile rolled and trapped him underneath. He died of asphyxiation.
POT SALES 420 PERCENT STRONGER
Report: Oregon marijuana sales 420% stronger near Idaho
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A report has found marijuana sales in Oregon along the Idaho state line are 420% the statewide average. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis released the report Friday saying Idaho residents are purchasing cannabis in Oregon because recreational marijuana is illegal in Idaho. Idaho borders three states that have legalized recreational marijuana sales: Oregon, Washington and Nevada. Advocates for legalizing medical marijuana in Idaho have started collecting signatures to get an initiative on the general election ballot. The number 420 is a colloquial term referencing marijuana or cannabis consumption.
AP-SCI-AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES-BURNED-FOREVER
Fires set stage for irreversible forest losses in Australia
Australia’s forests are burning at a rate unmatched in modern times and causing ecological changes that scientists say are likely irreversible. Amid heat waves and drought linked to climate change, some 40,000 square miles of the island continent has been charred this fire season. The blazes reached into jungles that don't normally burn and forested areas that already had burned at least once in recent years. Government officials plan a major reseeding effort. But scientists say the combination of high temperatures, drought and more frequent wildfires means even fire-adapted forests may not fully recover. New ecosystems would take their place.
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