Federal investigators say a former tenant of a Boise apartment complex may be the source for the mercury that prompted a full-scale cleanup now in its seventh day.

Environmental Protection Agency crews began removing the hazardous metal last week after children were found playing with it outside the complex. Officials estimate they have recovered between 12 and 14 ounces of mercury, and on Tuesday began ripping up a concrete driveway and sidewalk to lower mercury levels.

EPA officials say the search continues for the former tenant neighbors contend had mercury, a poison especially harmful to children.

The cleanup could cost between $100,000 and $200,000. (AP)

Executives with Supervalu say they intend to cut about 80 jobs in its Boise offices as the grocer moves to outsource some of its finance services.

Officials say the cuts are designed to make the national grocery chain more efficient, help reduce costs and become competitive. The company also announced the loss of about 40 positions from its headquarters in Minnesota.

Supervalu chains include Cub Foods, Save-A-Lot, Jewel-Osco, and Shop ‘n Save. The company also bought most of the Albertsons stores in 2006.

The transition is expected to take about 12 to 18 months.

(AP)

A spokesman for the Mexican Embassy says plans to open a consulate in Boise are scheduled to unfold during the next six months.

The U.S. State Department approved the consulate in Idaho earlier this year, giving the nod to plans for a Mexican consulate in Alaska at the same time. The Idaho office will either be the nation’s 49th or 50th Mexican consulate, depending on which plan proceeds faster.

The Mexican Embassy says the consulate in Boise is scheduled to open by the end of 2008. A spokesman for the embassy says the consulate will likely operate from an existing building in Boise and will be relatively small when compared to the size of Mexican consulates in New York and Los Angeles.

(AP)

Boise officials are considering ways to implement a downtown streetcar system.

Within the next four years, Mayor Dave Bieter and other Boise city leaders want trolley cars rolling downtown, almost eight decades since Boise’s streetcar era ended. In coming months, city officials will convene a streetcar task force to develop a plan where to put the streetcar and how to pay for it.

Officials want to embed steel rails in existing traffic lanes along an unidentified route from downtown stretching west to an area the city has targeted for a major revitalization project. But first, the city must get approval from Ada County Highway District, which owns and maintains all public roads in the county except for state highways and the interstate.

A long-range downtown mobility study, done in 2005 at a cost of $637,000, recommends a circular shuttle bus that can be replaced, if public demand warrants, with streetcars.

There are also questions about financing, as Idaho cities and counties have no way to pass local sales taxes for transportation projects. Earlier this year, the Legislature again shot down a plan to give counties and cities that authority. However, Bieter says as much as 50 percent of the estimated $40 million to $50 million price tag could come from a local improvement taxing district.

(AP)