The Lewis-Clark State baseball team rallied to beat Azusa Pacific Wednesday night at Harris Field to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three NAIA West Coast Super Regional series. Junior left-hander Michael Guerrero pitched seven strong innings allowing 3 runs on seven hits with 6 strikeouts as the Warriors claimed a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. Guerrero’s 115 pitch effort upped his record to 8-1 on the season and junior left-hander Blaine Hardy provided two innings of no-hit relief to claim his 4th save of the year. Offensively, LC junior designated hitter Sean Halton had four hits, including his fourth home run of the year, and drove in two runs while scoring twice in leading a relatively quiet 10 hit attack. What the Warriors lacked in runs they made up for in efficiency as LC tied a season-low of leaving just four runners on base. With the win LC improved to 52-5 on the year and leaves them one win shy of claiming the Super Regional title. Game two is set for Thursday at 6pm PDT at Harris Field with live coverage on Talk Radio 950 KOZE-AM and on-line at koze-sports.com.

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Agriculture and Finance Committees, is encouraged that Farm Bill negotiators have presented a Farm Bill conference agreement that includes a permanent tax deduction for Endangered Species Act expenditures.

Crapo has introduced legislation seeking tax credits for landowners who volunteer to protect endangered species on their private property and said he will continue to seek credits for participation in ESA programs.

US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments

Initial reports on provisions in the agreement include an increase of more than $4 billion for Farm Bill conservation programs; continued support for farm families and more than $1 billion through a new Specialty Crops Title for programs important to specialty crop producers; a more than $10 billion increase in funding for nutrition programs, including a broad expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program that Crapo worked to extend to Idaho students; and the establishment of a cellulosic biofuels credit, and other programs to increase biofuels production.

More than 300 potential jurors in the federal sentencing hearing of convicted murderer and kidnapper Joseph Duncan have been told that the proceedings will not resume until late June.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge on Tuesday ordered a second mental evaluation of Duncan as part of the court’s determination of whether he should be allowed to act as his own attorney. The extended delay means that jurors originally expected to serve from April to May will be allowed to go about their business or vacations before they call in for instructions June 23. Lodge could send Duncan to the federal Bureau of Prisons in Seattle, which does intensive mental evaluations that include a 30- to 45-day monitoring period.

Duncan faces a possible death penalty for the 2005 kidnapping and molestation of Dylan Groene, 9, and his then-8-year-old sister Shasta, and killing Dylan. Shasta was rescued from Duncan seven weeks after Duncan murdered the children’s mother, mother’s fiancé and teenage brother in order to kidnap the children from the family’s Coeur d’Alene-area home.

Duncan faces the death penalty in three of the ten charges he pleaded guilty to in December in the federal indictment regarding the crimes against the two children.

University of Idaho President Tim White may be headed to a new position in California.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that the University of California regents are expected to announce the name of UC-Riverside’s new chancellor Thursday morning, and government sources said the new chancellor could come from Idaho.

White had informed the Idaho Board of Regents and senior university leadership that he had been approached by another institution, but has not disclosed that institution’s name. White has been president of the Moscow school since August 2004 after previously serving in several leadership positions at Oregon State University.

UCR’s previous chancellor left in June to become president of Purdue University.

A new report from Washington State University shows that home sales are continuing to slide in Washington, and while home prices go down, housing affordability is improving.

During the first quarter of 2008, homes sold at a level 3.4 percent lower than the previous quarter, and nearly 30 percent below a year ago. Washington’s annual sales decline is slightly greater than the national rate, but markets in the state remained more robust than in many areas of the Western U. S.

While home sales compared to last year declined in 36 of the state’s 39 counties, three counties showed significant increases, and 12 counties posted increases from the first quarter of this year compared to the previous three months.

The statewide median price of a home sold during the first quarter was nearly $294,000, a 2.4 percent decline from the same period a year ago. However, a total of 20 counties reported higher median prices than in 2007, and nine of those had increases in excess of 10 percent.

Median prices in urban markets ranged from $435,000 in King County to $150,000 in Asotin County.

Home foreclosures were on the rise again last month in Idaho.

Idaho’s April foreclosure rate jumped 15 percent from the previous month and was 79 percent ahead of a year ago.

A California company that tracks foreclosures nationwide said there were 396 initial notices of default issued last month, 319 notices of trustee sales and 44 lender repossessions. The total of 759 properties represented one in every 811 Idaho homes, ranking Idaho 18th in the nation in the percentage of homes in foreclosure - Idaho ranked 21st in March.

Nationally, 243,353 properties were in foreclosure in April, a 4 percent increase over the previous month.

The report comes two days after an Idaho report showing 1,498 new notices of default - the first step in the foreclosure process - in the Treasure Valley during the first quarter of 2008.

The 2008 Avista NAIA World Series begins next Friday May 23rd in Lewiston, Idaho and officials are seeking individuals and groups to serve as volunteers for this year’s national tournament. Tournament Director Gary Picone says many shifts have been filled, but there are still some duties and jobs available to those who want to take part.

Gary Picone, LCSC AD & NAIA World Series Tournament Director, comments

Volunteers work in virtually every capacity from taking tickets, ushering, working concessions and selling souvenirs among other things. There are also added benefits to volunteering.

Picone continues

For more information on volunteering for this year’s NAIA World Series call (208) 792-2729.

A busy schedule will keep U.S. Rep. Bill Sali from participating in an Idaho Public Television debate that would have pitted him against his GOP primary opponent.

Sali was elected to represent Idaho’s 1st Congressional District in 2006 and faces a primary challenge from Iraq veteran Matt Salisbury. A Sali spokesman says the congressman doesn’t have time in his schedule for the debate, which was scheduled to be taped Sunday.

Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, who is vying for the Republican Senate nomination, has also declined to participate in the IPTV live debate.