September 30, The Idaho Wheat Association announced a U.S.$484 million deal with Taiwan Flour Mills Association.
The deal will involve Idaho exporting about 62.5 million bushels of Idaho wheat to Taiwan, through 2013.
Category Archives: Idaho
What Economic Recovery? Down economy equals increased domestice violence, Death rates up in Idaho
A new study by the Journal of Pediatrics says there is a direct correlation between the recession and an increase in child abuse cases. The study was done in four states.
Not only that, but courts are reporting an increase in domestic violence: “Our court advocacy roles are up 40% from this time last year.”-Diane Zanetti, Executive Director of Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
In Idaho, deaths connected to domestic violence are up. So far this year 18 people have died from domestic violence, compared to 13 for the entire year of 2010.
What Economic Recovery? Home Federal Bank lay offs hit Idaho & Oregon
“We continue to see high unemployment nationally and in our local markets. And the outlook for improvement in economic growth, which we believe is necessary to drive loan demand, remains questionable.”-Len Williams, Home Federal Bancorp
Home Federal Bank will close six branches in Idaho and Oregon. Officials hope it will save the bank U.S.$1 million in the next year.
A total of 35 people will lose their jobs. 20 in Idaho and 15 in Oregon. 10 of the Idaho lay offs will come from changes to Home Federal’s mortgage operations.
Home Federal Bank reported a $4.1 million loss in 2010, and so far this year has lost $2.6 million!
What Economic Recovery? Idaho chip maker, Micron, in trouble
September 29, Boise based Micron reports losing money for the first time since 2009. For the quarter ending September 1, Micron lost U.S.$135 million.
That’s a big drop compared to the previous quarter when the Idaho memory chip maker (they also make computers) reported a $75 million profit!
The loss is being blamed on a drop in chip prices, and a drop in sales.
Things got so bad in 2009, that Micron laid off more than half it’s Idaho work force! It has not recovered.
To make matters worse, Micron is facing a court case in which a California competitor claims Micron colluded with a South Korean company to price fix certain types of memory chips. If they lose the case Micron could be hit with a $11.9 billion fine!
Global Food Crisis: Killer Cantaloupe, given away in Idaho
The number of people sick and dying from cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria could hit record levels in the United States. In Idaho they were given away to the public after a grocery distributor decided they were not ripe enough to sell.
So far 16 people have died, and 56 people are sick across the country. The cantaloupe are from Colorado, but not all are labeled, so the CDC says if you’re not sure where it came from don’t eat it.
At the end of August 43,000 pounds of the cantaloupe were shipped to southeast Idaho. They were considered too ripe to sell and were donated to the public between August 28 and September 2.
Jensen Farms in Colorado says it shipped cantaloupes to 25 states. But, the FDA says illnesses have been discovered in several states that are not on the shipping list. The FDA has reversed an earlier statement about the fruit being shipped to Europe. They now say none of the cantaloupe left the U.S.
Listeria is more deadly than salmonella and E. coli. The bacteria can grow at room temperatures and even in your refrigerator. It can linger long after the source of the contamination is gone, people should clean and sanitize any surfaces the killer cantaloupe might have touched.
Symptoms of Listeria can show up as soon as three days after eating the contaminated fruit, or as long as 70 days later. Symptoms could include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
U.S. soldier, from Idaho, confesses to killing 15 year old Afghan for the hell of it
“I could see his hands were empty, I could see he didn’t have a weapon.”-PFC Andrew Holmes, U.S. Army
September 22, Private First Class Andrew Holmes, from Boise, Idaho, pled guilty to killing an unarmed teenager in Afghanistan.
“I knew I should have taken cover, but instead I pulled the trigger.”-Andrew Holmes
When Holmes says he “should have taken cover” it’s because a fellow soldier just threw a grenade at the unarmed boy, who was working in a farm field. Holmes shot the boy with “six to eight rounds” from his machine gun.
Pictures of Holmes with his ‘trophy kill’ were published in Der Spiegel and Rolling Stone magazines.
Two other U.S. Army soldiers have already pled guilty, two more are waiting for their day in military court.
Occupy America Corporate Rip Off: Gas prices in Idaho go up despite most of the U.S. seeing prices go down, blame decreased production
September 19, gas prices in Idaho are about 70 cents above the national average. One local TV station tried to give the usual explanation by saying it’s a mix of regional demand and state taxes. FAIL!
I just checked on demand, and according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, demand for gasoline across the country is still below last year’s numbers. On August 26, 2011, the four week average demand for gasoline was at 9.169 million barrels per day. Compare that to the four week average of a year ago at 9.261 million barrels. So there is a slight decrease in demand.
Regarding fuel taxes; there has been no increase in Idaho fuel taxes since 1996!
What is happening is that production of fuels has been dropping. In other words, production is falling faster than demand, and that has the same effect as demand going up; prices go up (when there is less of something, in relation to demand, it becomes more valuable).
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, PADD 4 gasoline production is down from last year. PADD 4 includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. The four week average for “finished gas” production, for August 2011 was 0.273 million barrels per day. Compared to last year’s production of 0.296.
In other words, fuel producers are deliberately keeping production just under ‘demand’ in order to keep prices high.
What Economic Recovery? Major East Idaho Employer makes surprise layoff announcement
September 19, a change of contractors with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) resulted in a surprise announcement; 204 employees will be let go at the end of the month.
On September 30, the existing contract with AMWTP (Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project) ends. A new contract with Idaho Treatment Group begins on October 1. The new contractor says they can do the same job with 204 less employees.
The contract involves preparing transuranic nuclear weapons waste stored at the INL, for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
United Police States of Corporate America: Largest corporate prison operator in the pockets of Idaho Republicans
CCA, Corrections Corporation of America, is the largest corporate prison operator in the United States. CCA is also in the pockets of Idaho Republicans, and a few Idaho Democrats, as shown by 2006 and 2008 election campaign donations (known as the “Sunshine Summary” or “Sunshine Law”).
Recently CCA announced they were settling dozens of lawsuits claiming prison violence, and lack of medical care for prisoners. One of those prisons is south of Boise, Idaho. It’s known as “Gladiator School” because of the level of violence, and the fact that prison guards were caught on security cameras just standing around watching as prisoners were beaten for hours.
Is your favorite Idaho Republican/Democrat on the list of CCA donations?
Eric Anderson (R): $250.00 in 2008
Steven R. Bair (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Clifford R. “Cliff” Bayer (R): $1,550 combined 2006 & 2008
Scott Bedke (R): $500.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Maxine T. Bell (R): $1,050 combined 2006 & 2008
Carlos Bilbao (R): $250.00 in 2008
Dianne Bilyeu (D): $250.00 in 2008
Max C. Black (R): $250.00 in 2008
Darrel Bolz (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008
Bert Brackett (R): $250.00 in 2008
Joyce M. Broadsword (R): $1,050 in 2008
Mike Burkett (D): $500.00 in 2006
Dean L. Cameron (R): $750.00 in 2008
Marge Chadderdon (R): $250.00 in 2008
James W. Clark (R): $500.00 in 2008
Denton Darrington (R): $800.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Bart M. Davis (R): $550.00 in 2006
W.W. “Bill” Deal (R): $750.00 in 2006
Lawerence E. Denney (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Julie Ellsworth (R): $250.00 in 2008
George E. Eskridge (R): $500.00 in 2008
Debbie Field (R): $250.00 in 2006
Russell M. Fulcher (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008
Robert L. Geddes (R): $250.00 in 2006
John W. Goedde (R): $500.00 in 2008
Jim Guthrie (R): $500.00 in 2006
Jim Hammond (R): $500.00 in 2008
Phil Hart (R): $250.00 in 2008
R.J. “Dick” Harwood (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008
Margaret Henbest (D): $300.00 in 2006
Frank N. Henderson (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Brent Hill (R): $300.00 in 2006
Mike Jorenson (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Kate Kelly (D): $250.00 in 2008
Dirk Kempthorne (R): $2,500 in 2006
Shawn A. Keough (R): $1,500 combined 2006 & 2008
Richard D. Kirkham (R): $500.00 in 2006
Steven A. Kren (R): $500.00 in 2008
Raul R. Labrador (R): $250.00 in 2006
Dennis M. Lake (R): $250.00 in 2008
Brad Little (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Patti Anne Lodge (R): $1,500 combined 2006 & 2008
Janice McGeachin (R): $500.00 in 2008
John McGee (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008
Shirley McKague (R): $250.00 in 2008
Mike Moyle (R): $1,000 combined 2006 & 2008
Pete Nielsen (R): $300.00 in 2006
C.L. “Butch” Otter (R): $10,000 in 2006
Monty J. Pearce (R): $550.00 in 2006
Ken A. Roberts (R): $250.00 in 2008
John Rusche (R): $250.00 in 2008
Mack G. Shirley (R): $250.00 in 2008
Kathy Skippen (R): $800.00 in 2006
Elaine Smith (D): $250.00 in 2008
Dean E. Sorensen (R): $250.00 in 2008
Joe Stegner (R): $500.00 combined 2006 & 2008
Gerry Sweet (R): $1,000 in 2006
Richard Wills (R): $250.00 in 2008
Chuck Winder (R): $250.00 in 2008
Fred Wood (R): $500.00 in 2008
Joan E. Wood (R): $250.00 in 2008
Becky Young (R): $250.00 in 2008
Not one Idaho third party candidate took money from CCA!
What Economic Recovery? Idaho makes top ten foreclosure list, Bonneville County leads Eastern Idaho in foreclosures
“The big increase in new foreclosure actions may be a signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo signing and other documentation problems. It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process.”-James Saccacio, CEO RealtyTrac
The latest RealtyTrac survey put Idaho in the top ten for foreclosures. One in every 348 Idaho homes were in foreclosure in August 2011. The report also says one in every 570 homes in the United States was facing foreclosure in August 2011.
The three most populous counties in eastern Idaho broke down like this; Bannock: 238 foreclosures. Bingham: 132 foreclosures. Bonneville: 320 foreclosures.
Nevada still holds onto the number one position for home foreclosures, for the 56th straight month!
California is number two with a 55% default rate, and one out of every 226 homes being foreclosed in August!
Arizona was number three for the second month in a row.
The rest of the top ten list is made up of Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Utah.