Playing Catch-Up

Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, stands to debate Senate Bill 1254 -
the highly-controversial bill allowing concealed weapons on campus
Tuesday, Feb. 18 on the Senate Floor. The bill passed 25-10.

What a whirlwind week! Even if a lowly reporter like me is down with a bad cold, the legislature must go on.

This week we've seen the S.E.C.U.R.E Idaho Campuses Act -- Senate Bill 1254 -- pass through the full Senate by a 25-10 vote, as well as the pulling of Rep. Lynn Luker's highly controversial religious freedoms bills from the House reading calendar. I suspect they're both pulled for the remainder of the session, but we'll see.

Here's a quick update on stories from Boise in The Argonaut:

Breaking barriers to post secondary education, right here.

Campus carry continues, the bill passed through the Senate Floor. Read that here.

Finding fiscal balance, right here.

Read today's edition of The Argonaut right here.

Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

Breakfast with the Governor

Chapter President Clark Corbin is moderating
the "on-the-record" meeting today.

Nearly every reporter in the area is gathered at Beside Bardenay, a downtown Boise eatery, for the annual "Breakfast with the Governor" put on by the Idaho Press Club. Here, we get Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter for nearly an hour and all information is on the record and up for grabs.

Here's an update on work in The Argonaut:

Religious protections bill up for hearing, receives negative response

Combining technology, education: Technology to bolster SBOE efforts

Students say no to concealed carry: UI, ISU, BSU student body representatives vote against concealed campus carry





Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

Update from The Argonaut

UI Interim President Don Burnett sits
next to other state college and
university presidents at the SBOE meeting
Monday, Feb. 3.

Here's a link to an interactive and readable PDF copy of today's Argonaut.

Happy Friday!



















Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

Luker's Bill Receives a Hearing

"Add the Words" organizer Mistie Tolman speaks at the Add the Words
rally Jan. 11 at the Capitol. Tolman testified against HB427 today in front
of the House State Affairs Committee.

Rep. Lynn Luker's religious freedom bill is currently in a public hearing in the House Affairs Committee room at the Capitol here. The crowd was, correctly, expected to be large and organizers set up an overflow room.

There are currently 21 individuals listed to testify, and the group is roughly one-half of the way through the list.

So far, only two individuals have testified in support of the bill. Julie Lynde and a member of the board of directors of Cornerstone Family Council said the bill is a necessary technical update to Idaho's current laws.

You can listen to the rest of the hearing live right here.

Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

What I'm Reading - Aside from Boise Work

February's Cover Girl: Mallory Faye.
http://haveheartmagazine.com

First off, loving Februrary's edition of HaveHeart Magazine. It's a great online publication that just launched on New Year's Eve, created by Moscow, Idaho native Heather Evans. I'm a freelancer for this mag and I absolutely love it! We have the option to write about so many fun topics, all with a great overarching theme: real women, real beauty, real stories. And we have a strict anti-PhotoShop policy to back that up.

Here's my recipe for an incredible Spinach-Walnut Pizza.

A review on the best E.L.F crayon-style lipsticks to travel with.

Find more about HaveHeart:
@HaveHeartMag on Twitter

instagram.com/haveheartmagazine

https://www.facebook.com/HaveHeartMagazine

http://www.pinterest.com/HaveHeartMag/

Adventurous Kate, working from home.

I'm also loving the travel blog, Adventurous Kate. She's a twenty-something who lives in Boston working as a freelance writer when she's not chipping away at her goal to travel the globe. I love the fact that she's just plain practical and, well, adventurous. 

For (brutally honest, applicable and useful) advice on saving money for traveling, look no farther than her blog.

She also writes about balancing work and travel, packing tips and her own international recommendations. What can I say? I think I've got the travel bug.

Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

In the Argonaut

A photo taken yesterday, another group of
silent protesters stand at the top of the stairs,
blocking entrance to the second floor of the Capitol.

Here are quick links to my stories in the Argonaut.

Right of way for rights bill, on the upcoming service-denial bill - found here.

SBOE votes no concealed carry, on the State Board of Education's decision to reject SB-1254 on allowing firearms on campus -- link found here.
















Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut

Arrests at the Capitol, "Add the Words" activists create human blockade

A photo taken today by Melissa Davlin from Idaho Reports. Police
reports said  all 43 were arrested as they barred access to the
Senate Chambers. 

It's been an eventful day here at the Capitol. We started off with a special meeting of the State Board of Education in which the unanimously voted to reject Senate bill 1254 - a bill allowing firearms on college and university campuses with few restrictions.

But in the midst of the SBOE meeting, my Twitter began blowing up with reports of protesters being arrested in groups. 43 "Add the Words" activists silently lined up, hands over their mouths, in front of the access to the Senate Chambers.

Judge J. Clifford Wallace addressed the crowd at the Denton Darrington
Annual Lecture on Law and Government today at 4 p.m. in the Capitol's
Lincoln Auditorium.

Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, asked them to step aside and they refused. Within minutes, officers were on the scene and arresting protesters in groups of five and escorting them to a conference room on the fourth floor of the Capitol. They were issued misdemeanor trespassing citations and then escorted out of the building. The protesters were told they were allowed to return as long as they don't disturb further proceedings.

The day was concluded with the first edition of the Denton Darrington Annual Lecture on Law and Government, featuring Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit as appointed by Nixon.

Whew. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Twitter: @crchloerambo | Instagram: @crchloerambo | The Argonaut