A federal judge in Seattle has eased the concerns of farms and ranchers around the country by allowing an emergency haying and grazing program to go forward.

The judge in Seattle decided on Thursday that while the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not conduct an appropriate environmental review before opening 24 million acres of private conservation land to haying and grazing, it would be unfair to farmers and ranchers to stop the program.

The emergency program was announced in May to provide farmers relief from rising grain and food prices. Applications have been filled out to use 1.7 million of the 24 million eligible acres. The judge says those applications will be processed and that anyone who has invested $4,500 or more to use the program will also have their applications approved. (AP)

A U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that limits the right of mentally ill defendants to represent themselves in court could affect the case of murderer Joseph Duncan.

Duncan has admitted to killing four members of a North Idaho family and is facing a possible death sentence.

Duncan told U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in April that he wanted to act as his own attorney. Lodge ordered two mental evaluations to confirm that Duncan was competent to waive his constitutional right to a lawyer.

But as Lodge now prepares to rule on the issue, defense attorneys this week filed a motion asking the judge to say what standard he’ll use, in light of the latest Supreme Court decision. Before the high court decision, the judge made it clear that case law dictated that if Duncan’s competent to undergo court proceedings at all, he’s competent to act as his own attorney. But in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, Lodge could now rule that Duncan isn’t competent to represent himself, but remains competent to go through the sentencing proceedings with the help of his attorneys.

Federal prosecutors filed court documents on Wednesday disputing the need for the judge to outline any new competency standard in the Duncan case, saying they believe Lodge will consider the new court decision and other precedents in making the decision. They also contend the only evidence of the defendant’s alleged incompetency is that supplied by defense counsel, and only after the defendant requested to represent himself.

Prosecutors have taken no position on whether Duncan should represent himself or not, saying that’s up to him, and to the court to determine whether he can do so. (Spokesman Review)

Idaho Lt. Governor and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Risch has accepted an invitation to a candidate debate in Lewiston on Oct. 8.

The debate is to be televised live from the Lewiston Community Center before a studio audience. The date for the debate was proposed by Democratic opponent Larry Larocco’s campaign and accepted by Risch.

It’s the second debate confirmed by the Risch campaign, the first being a debate hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa on Oct. 21.

A Clarkston man accused of causing a fatal hit-and-run accident in Lewiston is scheduled to enter a plea in 2nd District Court next week.

It’s expected that James Schuetze will enter into a plea deal in the case in which the 45-year-old faces three felony charges of second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and leaving the scene of an injury collision.

Schuetze was arrested in Clarkston on May 5 after fleeing the scene of the Lewiston accident in which his van collided with a Suburban parked at a Third Avenue apartment building, killing Sydney Byrd, 8, and injuring another man.

Schuetze has already pleaded guilty in Asotin County Superior Court to driving under the influence and was sentenced to six months in jail.

He remains in custody at the Nez Perce County Jail.

A female employee of Lewiston’s Kentucky Fried Chicken was the victim of an armed robbery Wednesday evening.

The victim told police she was leaving the KFC on 21st Street at about 10 p.m. when two men in a pickup drove into the store’s parking lot.  One of the men was armed with a knife, and the victim was ordered to surrender her purse.

The driver of the truck was described as a white male, wearing a dark blue t-shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes - the passenger was also a white male, about 5-foot-6 and heavy set, wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and dark shoes.  Both men were wearing black full-face ski masks.  The truck was described as a late model Dodge diesel four-door extended cab, dark green with a chrome strip along the side.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lewiston Police Department at 746-0171.

In a decision that could affect plans for a Lewiston auditorium district, the state Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling and told an eastern Idaho group that it’s not allowed to use tax money just to advertise local public facilities.

In 2005, AmeriTel Inns Inc. challenged the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District’s advertising local public facilities. The district gets money from the Idaho Tourism Commission and a 2 percent room tax collected on local motels and hotels, including one owned by AmeriTel.

In reversing a 2006 decision by a 6th District judge, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the district must be engaged in construction and operation of public facilities, rather than just advertise them. The district has not constructed any facilities or made plans to do so.

The high court’s decision could mean that a planned petition drive to put the question of a Lewiston auditorium district on the November ballot would have been illegal, as supporters sought to raise the city’s hotel-motel room tax and use the funds to promote Lewiston as a tourist destination, and possibly build an events center.

Although the petition drive failed to gather enough signatures, the ruling could affect any future plans. (AP)

The Idaho Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a former prison guard convicted of shaking and beating a baby to death 12 years ago. Edward Stevens was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1999 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the the death of 11-month old Casey Whiteside, who died from massive head trauma in 1996.
Stevens’ initial trial ended in a hung jury. Stevens appealed his conviction and requested a new trial but the High Court ruled against him this week in a 4-1 decision. Retired Justice Linda Copple Trout, who was filling in for Chief Justice Daniel Eismann, dissented. Eismann recused himself from the case because he was the presiding judge over Stevens’ trials as a district court judge. (Idaho Statesman)

The Sunshine Mine in northern Idaho’s Silver Valley is changing hands, as Canadian mining company Minco Silver Corporation says it will pay $62.3 million to Sterling Mining Company.
Sterling disclosed last month that financial problems had forced it to consider unloading assets or finding a partner. Sterling bought the dormant Sunshine Mine in 2003 and began initial production last December after the construction of a 5,000-foot tunnel that allowed miners a second escape route and to bring in more machinery.
However in June, Sterling said cash flow had been impaired by delays in production due to extreme weather, safety inspections, equipment failures and other problems, forcing it to seek “strategic alliances.”
Sterling CEO Ken Berscht says the package, including a $15 million line of credit from Minco will help keep the Sunshine Mine’s operations afloat. (AP)