The Florida Marlins bolstered their bullpen Thursday by acquiring left-hander Arthur Rhodes from the Seattle Mariners for minor league right-hander Gaby Hernandez.
Rhodes, 38, is 2-1 this year with an ERA of 2.86 and 26 strikeouts in 22 innings. He has a lifetime record of 77-61 with an ERA of 4.28 in 689 games.
Hernandez, 21, went a combined 5-8 this season with a 6.47 ERA in 17 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque and Double-A Carolina. (AP)
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee who helped craft the 2008 Farm Bill, will host a townhall-style meeting via telephone on Wednesday, Aug. 6, to discuss the new Farm Bill.
Crapo will utilize a telephone and Internet program known as the iTownhall to lead the discussion with up to several thousand Idahoans simultaneously.
US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments
The iTownhall meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and run for about 90 minutes. Calls are placed to participants starting about 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of the meeting. To sign up or for more information, visit crapo.senate.gov.
Some follow-up meetings are planned around Idaho with members of Crapo’s staff for further discussions about Farm Bill programs. The meetings are planned for September 17th through the 24th, and details will be available at Crapo’s website.
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson is a cosponsor of legislation aimed at improving access to medical care for rural veterans. House Resolution 1527, The Rural Veterans Access to Care Act, authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow veterans living in highly rural areas to receive covered services through non-VA providers.
The bill defines a highly rural veteran as one who lives 60 miles from VA primary care services, 120 miles from the nearest VA facility providing acute hospital care, or more than 240 miles from the nearest VA facility providing tertiary care. The measure would prevent rural veterans from having to travel great distances to visit the VA center and allow them instead to be able to receive primary health care in their own community.
The legislation has been approved by the House Veterans Affairs Committee and is currently awaiting consideration on the House floor.
New statistics show that Idaho had the largest total percentage of lost jobs in the nation since 2001 at 2.6 percent.
According to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute, the massive U.S. trade deficit with China has hit the Gem State, which lost 14,700 jobs between 2001 and 2007, including 2,500 last year alone. Job losses in Idaho came from many sectors, including the computer and electronic products manufacturing industry, where nearly 9,000 workers were displaced.
Nationally, 2.3 million U.S. jobs were lost due to the China trade gap since Beijing’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization, including 366,000 jobs in 2007. The trade imbalance also pushed down U.S. workers’ wages, as workers lost an average of more than $8,000s in wages last year as they took lower-paying jobs. (Idaho Statesman)
Citizen soldiers from around Idaho will be in Lewiston this weekend to take part in the 2008 Idaho Army National Guard Warrior Olympics at and around Kiwanis Park. U.S. Army Captain David Darney says soldiers will be put to the test to determine the best of the best in several different categories.
US Army Captain David Darney comments
Additionally, the public is invited to join some Lewiston-based members of the 145th Brigade Support Battilion at the park for a first-hand look at some of the equipment utilized by today’s guard units.
Darney continues
Opening ceremonies kick off the competition at 9 am Saturday at Kiwanis Park located along Snake River Avenue.
U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, have introduced legislation to change the way federal excise taxes on firearms and ammunition are collected from businesses, including ATK.
Supporters of the legislation, including national sporting and firearms advocacy groups, say the legislation could provide more money for state wildlife preservation programs by easing restrictions surrounding the collection of the excise taxes.Crapo says federal law requires manufacturers of sporting arms and ammunition to pay excise taxes into the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Fund.
US Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) comments
The Crapo-Baucus legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require quarterly, not bi-weekly, tax payments.
Crapo continues
Supporters of the legislation include Ducks Unlimited, the National Rifle Association, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. Similar legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Despite slumping gasoline prices nationwide, Idaho motorists are still paying more than $4 per gallon to fill up their tanks.
The most recent AAA Idaho report sets the average price per gallon in Idaho at $4.15, up six cents in the last month, while the national average is $3.96.
Washington gas prices have fallen 12 cents a gallon in the past two weeks to $4.23 – still 27 cents more than the national average.
Other western states are also above the $4 mark, including Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. (AP)
Idaho Republican U.S. Representative Bill Sali (pictured left) is still encountering problems filing his latest campaign report nearly two weeks after the deadline.
In a report filed Monday, the Republican’s campaign debt appeared to stand at $135,673 on June 30, the same as previously disclosed. But Sali spokesman Wayne Hoffman says the congressman actually retired $9,000 in May and June, adding that struggles with the Federal Election Commission’s software are still impeding a correct filing..
Walt Minnick, Sali’s Democratic rival in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District race, criticized Sali, saying “the unprecedented nature of the report raises troubling questions about Sali’s ability to be straight with the people of Idaho.”
Minnick’s campaign has $444,000 in cash, nearly $200,000 more than Sali has socked away for the November general election. (AP)
