Respected Kootenai County businessman Frank Davis has filed a Petition for Relief Under Idaho Public Records Act in the First District Court of Idaho.
In his petition Davis asks the Court to compel the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office to release certain information Davis believes is being withheld contrary to Idaho law.
The occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center by self-proclaimed supporters of ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond is coming to a close.
Here is a link to the now-unsealed 32-page federal criminal complaint filed in Oregon’s federal district court. (The complaint explains our choice of image to accompany this post.)
Careful readers will note that the allegations are for violations of 18 USC §372: Conspiracy to impede or injure officer. The complaint may be amended to add more charges later, however to better understand why the US Attorney for the District of Oregon may have chosen to file under 18 USC §372, read the Congressional Research Service Report released January 16, 2016, entitled Federal Conspiracy Law: A Brief Overview.
Many pundits allege that President Obama has overstepped his authority by imposing administrative actions without legislative approval. They suggest he has violated the Separation of Powers doctrine in the Constitution. That doctrine was built into the Constitution to keep power from consolidating in any single person or entity.
This CRS report dated January 8, 2016, tries to provide an overview of the Separation of Powers philosophy and doctrine.
On January 4, 2016, the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners heard an after-action report from Sandy von Behren, Director of the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management. As itemized in the meeting agenda, her report discussed several emergencies that affected some or all of Kootenai County during 2015.
OpenCdA urges its readers to take about an hour and listen to the audio recording of her presentation and the responses from the County Commissioners. (After clicking on the hyperlink, click on the caption 01-04-2016 Office of Emergency Management Update – cs, then click the Open O button.) Readers may also want to review some or all of our previous posts on Windstorm 2015.
The Congressional Research Service has published a 23-page report entitled The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Nominating Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions. The report was released December 30, 2015.
CRS reports are intended for members of Congress, not the general public. Shouldn’t elected members of Congress already know this stuff?
Commercial broadcast radio may be old fashioned, but it is still an effective way to communicate timely, accurate information to many people in an emergency.
Widespread power outages lasting from hours to days were a significant challenge resulting from the November 17, 2015, region-wide windstorm. We doubt that Avista Utilities, Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Northern Lights Electric Cooperative, and Inland Power & Light would voice much disagreement. Neither would their customers.
The event, Windstorm 2015, was a civil emergency which required multijurisdictional, interagency response.
At the Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting on December 15, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White clearly identified a critical challenge faced by emergency services: In an emergency, the emergency services need to be able to communicate timely, accurate information to the people affected. Coeur d’Alene Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel’s and Chief White’s comments can be viewed and heard here beginning at time mark 0:12:07. Chief White’s comments about the identified need to communicate information better to the public begins at time mark 0:17:47.
Councilman Dan Gookin asked the two Chiefs if they had considered using local commercial radio broadcasting stations to deliver timely, accurate, and regular information to all of Kootenai County. The Chiefs indicated they had not but they would certainly be willing to explore it.
OpenCdA appreciates both Councilman Gookin’s question and the Chiefs’ response. OpenCdA thinks that to communicate timely, verified information in an emergency affecting many people in a larger geographical area, commercial broadcast radio is more than just viable — it is superior. (more…)
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