The Idaho Fish and Game recently received a $50,000 grant for weed control from the Idaho Department of Agriculture’s Noxious Weed Cost Share Program. Mike Demick with the IDFG Clearwater Office in Lewiston, Idaho says the funds will be used in conjunction with other rehabilitation activities being conducted on the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Mike Demick, Idaho Fish & Game, comments

Noxious weeds have become a nuisance in virtually every part of the state, creating several problems for wildlife while hurting Idaho taxpayers’ wallets.

Demick continues

For more information contact the IDFG Clearwater Office at (208) 799-5010.

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), a co-sponsor of the Healthy Americans Act, received news that the bipartisan legislation has received a favorable cost review from the Congressional Budget Office.

The report, released Thursday concludes the proposal would be budget neutral in just a few years after enactment and would actually generate savings in the long term. Crapo says the legislation, with fourteen Senate sponsors, is the first bipartisan health reform bill to cover all Americans not already eligible for Medicare or military coverage.

US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments

Supporters say the Healthy Americans Act provides for affordable, private health insurance and offers participants choices how they receive health care. It also allows for health care plans to transfer with employment changes, promotes proactive wellness plans and reforms the insurance market so that insurers are forced to compete on price, benefits and quality. In addition, all taxpayers would receive a standard tax deduction for health care costs.

In an effort to reduce United States dependence on foreign oil, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) has introduced legislation that would open the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to offshore oil drilling.

The Domestic Offshore Energy Security Act reintroduces last year’s bill that opens the gulf for production in federal water from 125 miles off shore to 45 miles, the same distance Cuba is currently leasing for production to countries other than the U.S.

Craig spoke on the Senate floor Thursday about the estimated 100 billion barrels of oil available for drilling.

US Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) comments

The measure also directs the Department of Interior to work with the Department of Energy to conduct an inventory of federal resources that could be made available as a strategic alternative to filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with oil that increases consumption of foreign resources.

Senator Craig continues

Craig’s bill allows U.S. companies to compete in Cuban waters while providing stricter environmental protections than are required by Cuba. Some $10 million would be earmarked to conduct an inventory of the gulf this year.

Moscow Police Officer Lee Newbill (pictured at left) is among the 358 names of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty that will be formally dedicated May 13 on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Newbill, 48, was killed after being shot in Moscow on May 19, 2007 by gunman Jason Hamilton, who killed four people, including himself, and inured two others.

Memorial spokesman Kevin Morison says the dedication comes after Officer Newbill’s name was carved into the national memorial on May 1.

Kevin Morison, memorial spokesman, comments

Newbill was the only Idaho law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty last year. The U.S. Attorney General will deliver the keynote address and lead the lighting of candles and reading of the names of the fallen officers. Since its dedication in 1991, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial has commemorated the service and sacrifice of America’s law enforcement officers.

Morison continues

Including this year’s officers, there are now 18,274 names engraved on the Memorial, representing officers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US territories, and federal law enforcement and military police agencies.

More information on the memorial and the list of those names being added this year are available at www.nationalpolicememorial.com.

As energy prices rise to record levels and demand continues to climb, the nation’s Attorneys General will gather in North Idaho May 5-7 week to undertake a comprehensive discussion of their legal roles and responsibilities in the development of this country’s energy sources.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, who also serves as the President of the National Association of Attorneys General, hosts the energy issues conference Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden comments

The meeting will address the complex mix of competing values that dominate every part of the energy field: reliability, resource use, emissions, sustainability and long-term environmental impact. Wasden says that every Attorney General’s office fields complaints about gas prices, but the issue is far larger than simply the price of gasoline.

Wasden continues

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The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has scheduled two open house meetings in the Clearwater region to gather comment on proposed 2008 wolf hunting season guidelines. Fish and Game’s Mike Demick says meetings are scheduled for Lewiston, Idaho on Monday May 12th at the Clearwater Fish and Game Office, and Tuesday May 13th in Grangeville, Idaho at the Senior Center.

Idaho Fish & Game’s Mike Demick comments

The proposed seasons and rules are available at all Fish and Game offices and on the IDFG Web site. Comments may also be submitted on-line at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/public/. The deadline for submitting comments is 5pm PDT, May 16, 2008.

The Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball program will hold its second annual free Pig Roast Sunday afternoon on the Activity Center patio adjacent to Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho. Warrior men’s basketball coach Tim Walker says the barbecue-style event serves as a nice way to recognize the team and the fans for their support throughout the year.

LC Coach Tim Walker comments

The pig roast is open to all basketball fans and will feature barbecued pork, beans, coleslaw, chips, cookies, soda and water. For more information, contact the LCSC Athletic Department at (208) 792-2275.

Interior Secretary and former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has proposed new regulations that would allow people to carry a concealed weapon in some national parks and wildlife refuges.

The new rules would allow someone to carry a loaded weapon in those areas only if the person has a permit for a concealed weapon and the state where the park or refuge is located allows guns in parks. The proposal would overturn a 25-year-old regulation that requires that guns be unloaded and placed somewhere that is not easily accessible, such as in a car trunk.

The proposed rule change would incorporate current state laws authorizing the possession of concealed firearms.

Kempthorne’s announcement follows letters complaining about the gun restrictions from half the Senate – 41 Republicans and nine Democrats. The lawmakers, including Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, called the existing guidelines confusing, burdensome and unnecessary.

US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments

The public has 60 days to comment on the new proposal, which was published this week in the Federal Register.