The op-ed section often features serious critiques on a variety of pressing issues on the local or national scene. Today, however, I’d like to delve into a topic that may seem trivial—unless you’re an English major or have a penchant for linguistic consistency. Let’s look at “State” versus “States” debate. Those that know me won’t be surprised to read this. Even my daughter marvels at how ‘pressed’ I am about this, but I need to get it out.
As a pediatrician who has been working in this state for over twenty years, I am deeply concerned about the rising threat of measles across the United States and what it could mean for Idaho. Recent outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico serve as a stark reminder that measles, a disease once thought to be eliminated in this country, is making a comeback. Sadly, at the end of February, an unvaccinated child in Texas died – the first U.S. death from measles in a decade. The alarming truth is that nearly all these cases are occurring in individuals who are unvaccinated. While Idaho has yet to experience an outbreak, we can’t afford to be complacent. The best protection for you, your family, and our shared community is ensuring everyone is up to date on their immunizations.
DF Development hosted two open house meetings this week at the McCall Public Library to present plans for their Red Ridge Village proposal. The intention to hold public meetings on the project were announced when the developers pulled the proposal from the December Valley County Planning and Zoning docket following a whopping 114 letters in opposition.
On March 10 Valley County and the City of McCall will hold a joint planning session to discuss the city’s plan for a change to the existing Area of Impact (AOI). Last year legislation updated the state code requirements in Title 67 Chapter 65 that requires a change to the existing AOI. The new law requires that the AOI only encompasses those areas surrounding the city limits where the following criteria apply. These are:
I was born and raised in Grangeville and decided I wanted to be a doctor - specifically a rural family doctor in Idaho - after my brother suffered a traumatic brain injury. I was able to realize that goal because of Idaho’s WWAMI program, a medical education partnership between the University of Washington School of Medicine and the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
On Friday, 34 employees of the Payette National Forest were fired. By Sunday, another eight got the axe. They were among 3,400 Forest Service employees and thousands at other federal agencies nationwide abruptly dismissed last week under a directive from President Trump’s administration—an initiative headed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
In the past week, I and two of my family members have visited St. Luke’s McCall Urgent Care for three separate reasons. Our ailments included a broken foot from a snowmobiling mishap and a wood chip in the eye from some aggressive wood chopping– a typical week for a Valley County resident. None of the situations were critical, warranting a trip to the ER, but all would have been incredibly uncomfortable waiting for a scheduled doctor’s visit. We all visited urgent care and I would characterize our experiences as professional, attentive, and affordable.
In 2018 Idahoans, with bipartisan support from Republicans, Independents, and Democrats, by 61%, passed the Medicaid expansion Initiative that would finally provide healthcare to thousands of Idahoans who had been unable to get any healthcare. In District 8, expansion passed in all five counties.
Your budget reflects your values. It’s that simple. You fix the dishwasher or you cancel your Hulu subscription.