On Wednesday, the Idaho Land Board will address a very important question: Should an additional $52 million

be taken from the endowment reserves generated by state-owned lands and investments to offset a huge budget cut planned for education?

The Idaho Press-Tribune's editorial board met with Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna a week ago and listened to his funding proposal...read more

Popular blogger and Nampan Chris Oates has joined forces with the folks at Behind the Menu to broaden the information about local eat and drink spots in the Treasure Valley. I first met Chris when he blogged at unequivocalnotion.com. Last year, he revamped his approach and launched a new blog at treasuredvalley.com, mixing his favorite newsy and foodie links.

Oates, who was named by readers of...read more

Will you share your family histories?

Each year, the Idaho Press-Tribune publishes a special magazine rich with stories about people. We call it Cavalcade. This year, we are going to focus on some of the families who shaped communities in the Treasure Valley.

Are you a descendant of one of those families? Were your great-grandparents or grandparents some of the early-day pioneers? Are you still...read more

I personally know the relatives of people who have been killed by drunks who have been caught and convicted of DUI more than once. I also knew my neighbor, a teacher and mother, who was killed by an intoxicated driver who already had at least one DUI.

And now we know of a teacher who has racked up three DUIs in three years. At least two of the three times that he was arrested, his BAC was double...read more

Updated to reflect Friday's announcement concerning the Idaho Human Rights Commission.

Pressed by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's plan to cut state funding over four years, the Idaho Human Rights Commission is in discussions with the Department of Labor to join forces. Pamela Parks, director of the 40-year-old commission, said other states including Texas and New Mexico have similar arrangements...read more

Gov. Butch Otter has proposed a four-year phase out of state general fund support for the Idaho Human Rights Commission. There is quite a rally to save the commission. Idaho would join three other states that don't have a human rights commission: Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.

The Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is scheduled to review the Human Rights Commission...read more

I think I finally know and understand football. There's a whole lot more to the game then just the 11 minutes of action.

At first, I was just surrounded by people who loved the pigskin game. My dad was a standout football player in high school and signed on with Oregon State to play. But after a year, the farm life called him back to Eastern Oregon.

Hall of Famer Dave Wilcox (from Willowcreek...read more

When you talk about someone who has plenty of real-world life experiences, Joyce Page should be at the top of your list. And she's sharing her lessons learned on job in this new blog: The Next Page: Learning to live each new chapter.

We are excited to welcome Joyce into our family of community bloggers. Just as a reminder, the Idaho Press-Tribune is not responsible for the content that our...read more

Three years ago when BSU played in the Fiesta Bowl I didn't Twitter or use Facebook. It certainly changed the way we get the news out. But it's given us a great way to interact with readers.

But some things never change. Three years ago we fielded some reader complaints because we gave the Broncos too much coverage. And it's happened again. What do you think? Have we gone overboard?

I...read more

What a game! The Broncos really stepped up and showed the nation what Boise State fans already knew. With the University of Idaho win the Humanitarian Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl win, the Gem State proved Idaho is a football heavywight. How many other states can boast two bowl wins in less than a week?

I imagine the celebrations will go on for quite a while. If you're at a party or there for the...read more

We're putting out an call for community editorial board applicants for 2010. We routinely choose four to five new readers to join our board. We've brought on community members for the past 17 years

Dec. 17 is the deadline for submitting your application. We're looking for men and women who can round out our core board from the Idaho Press-Tribune. We appreciate the many volunteers...read more

I thought things would settle down a bit after last week's Idaho Public Charter Schools Commission meeting, especially after reporter Mike Butts and I sat down for an hour Wednesday, Nov. 11, with Erik Makrush, new Nampa Classical Academy board member and public relations chairman. Makrush answered several questions and assured us that the board was making necessary changes to smooth the rough...read more

Several parents have written support letters for Nampa Classical Academy. A few parents have expressed concerns. You can read them here.

The acting chairman for the charter board of directors refuses to provide information concerning a class where a religious document may have been used. Here's the story.

The Idaho Press-Tribune has obtained documentation that the Idaho Public...read more

Usually after an election, the only activity we see is campaign sign removal and a few "thank you" for "electing me" letters.

But it's as if the election isn't over. Wednesday morning, the county commissioners started talking about the next jail bond election in May. And the opponents are already asking "Are you kidding me?" questions.

Christy Perry, small business...read more

You probably don't have time to read all the comments we get on the different stories we publish. But I just wanted to share a couple of clever ones — the kind that make you LOL (laugh out loud) no matter what your own personal point of view is.

Here's what one person said today after we posted a story that says Canyon County Commissioners ponder another jail bond in the spring....read more