Logan Ramsey
Editor-in-Chief
Local: The Pocatello airport could become a major transportation hub
Companies are researching separate but complementary projects that officials say would make the Pocatello Regional Airport a major transportation hub and improve the state’s ability to export goods overseas. Officials say the intermodal facility would help producers of Idaho goods and commodities overcome a freight disadvantage impeding their ability to access overseas markets, especially in Asia. Perishable goods would be flash-frozen at a planned cold storage warehouse on the airport grounds. Fresh goods from the warehouse could then be loaded into large shipping containers at a proposed intermodal facility, which would also be located within the airport’s business park.
https://bit.ly/2lSgi2C
Regional: A Pocatello City Councilman is proposing to join Pocatello and Chubbuck into the same city
Pocatello City Council President Jim Johnston is proposing to merge Pocatello and Chubbuck together, which he’s convinced would result in big municipal savings, easing a weighty tax burden on many Bannock County residents. Johnston is in the early stages of researching the merits of merging the two cities to avoid duplicating services and to improve efficiency. Johnston plans to request budget documents from both cities to work up precise estimates of potential savings, but he estimates a merger would save at least $12 million per year. Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England has already come out strongly against combining the cities, which he said would be akin to a “hostile takeover.” He hopes to have the issue on next spring’s election ballot.
https://bit.ly/2kOaxmq
Statewide: Idaho obesity rates are lower than the national average
National statistics released late last week indicate obesity rates in Idaho are better than the U.S. average and have even declined over the past year. 28.4 percent of Idahoans are considered obese, which is down slightly from last year’s rate and ranks the Gem State at 39th in the nation. The state of Washington has an obesity rate of 28.7 percent and Oregon at 29.9 percent. The national average for obesity is 32.2 percent. Despite the decline in Idaho, national statistics continue to alarm health officials. Within the last five years, 33 states had statistically significant increases in their rates of adult obesity, including nine that surpassed 35 percent.
https://bit.ly/2meT2vL
National: A letter to FBI flagged information on Kavanaugh’s alleged misconduct before his confirmation
A Democratic senator urged the FBI to reach out to a witness who had key information about Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged misconduct while at Yale, just days before his confirmation, according to a letter obtained by CNN. CNN is not reporting any details of the accusation and has not independently corroborated the account. The New York Times reported that they interviewed more individuals who had corroborated the allegation of Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate who alleged Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a dorm room party. The Times also reported that there was another previously undisclosed allegation raised by Max Stier, a Yale classmate who told the Times that he had witnessed Kavanaugh engage in a similar incident. The Times published an Editor’s Note saying the female victim declined to be interviewed, and her friends told the authors she does not recall the incident.
https://cnn.it/2mlcUxD
International: Oil has jumped nearly 15% in record trading after an attack on Saudi facilities
Oil ended nearly 15% higher on Monday, with Brent logging its biggest jump in over 30 years amid record trading volumes, after an attack on Saudi Arabian crude facilities cut the kingdom’s production in half and fanned fears of retaliation in the Middle East. The attack heightened uncertainty in a market that had become relatively subdued in recent months and now faces the loss of crude from Saudi Arabia. A gauge of oil-market volatility hit its highest level since December of last year, and trading activity showed investors expect higher prices in coming months. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter and, with its comparatively large spare capacity, has been the supplier of last resort for decades.
https://reut.rs/2lQIpzl
