Politics/Policy

Congress held another hearing today on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) scandal.  The IRS has revealed it subjected Tea Party and other conservative groups seeking non-profit status to extra scrutiny from 2010 to 2012.

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo sat in on two hearings yesterday where the matter was discussed.  He says in 2010 the IRS had created a BOLO or 'Be On the Lookout' list, instructing Internal Revenue agents to identify Tea Party case files. 

He says the abuse by the IRS is very serious.

City officials in Boise are considering tougher ordinances on panhandling following complaints.

The Boise City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to review three ordinances.

One ordinance would outlaw aggressive panhandling.

Panhandling where solicitation can't be avoided would also be banned. That includes asking for money from drivers on roadways, people in line, or people dining at a sidewalk cafe.

Another ordinance would require panhandlers to have permits to put up tents, chairs or tables on public property.

A Boise man appears in federal court at 8:30 Friday morning on terrorism charges.  He was arrested Thursday in Boise at an apartment complex near Borah High School.

Wendy Olson is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. She says the suspect is a national of the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan and legally in the U. S.

Idaho will resume paying a $4,500 monthly governor's housing stipend to C.L. "Butch" Otter in June as it clears furniture from the governor's mansion in Boise in preparation for returning the home to the Simplot family.

The state decided this year to give back the hilltop mansion.

That's after Otter declined to live in it and $180,000 annual charges for watering the lawn and maintaining the home threatened to drain a $1.5 million fund to cover housing expenses for the state's chief executive.

That's been cut in half.

Democratic and Republican senators have filed hundreds of amendments to an immigration bill in the U.S. Senate.  Many amendments filed by Republicans aim to boost border security and add employment enforcement provisions. Supporters say in some cases the real intent is to kill the legislation.

Boise dog owners will have the chance to talk with city representatives beginning today at Morris Hill Park. Boise Parks and Recreation – along with the Boise Police Department and Animal Control – will be visiting 10 off-leash areas for dogs. In the past, unleashed dogs have been a contentious issue in the city.

May Day began peacefully in Seattle with a march for immigration reform. But in the evening, hundreds of protesters clashed with police.

Police used what they call “blast balls.” That’s a kind of explosive that also contains pepper spray.

An advocate for medical marijuana in Idaho is fighting to have her three children returned to her, after they were taken when marijuana was found in her home.

Lindsey Rinehart of Boise is the campaign manager with Compassionate Idaho, a group organizing a signature gathering campaign to put medical marijuana on the Idaho ballot.

Last week, Boise police went to her home after an 11-year-old child at a Boise school became ill after eating what police believe was marijuana.