Logan Ramsey
Editor-in-Chief
Local: The city council has approved the new location for the Aid for Friends shelter
The Pocatello City Council approved the motion that Aid for Friends homeless shelter move to the old City Council building in Old Town. The motion was opposed by local business owners, led by Matt Spencer, an area businessman. Spencer is concerned about the impact having a homeless shelter next to businesses could bring to the area. However, he still has options to mount a further challenge against the motion. Spencer said he hasn’t talked to his lawyers yet, so his next action is to be decided.
Regional: The Bingham County Chronicle to be introduced on March 5
Adams Publishing Company is introducing a Bingham County local newspaper publication called the Bingham County Chronicle. Adams said it will service Aberdeen, Shelley, Firth, Fort Hall, Blackfoot and other towns and will be able to focus on “hyper-local” news, said Travis Quast, Adams Publishing Group Regional President. Its print schedule will be Tuesday- Friday and Sunday. The publication will be $10 a month and will bundle with a choice between the Idaho State Journal or the Post Register.
Statewide: Idaho got an ‘F’ in the American Lung Association’s Tobacco report.
Idaho received an overall grade of ‘F’ in a new tobacco control report from the American Lung Association. The 2019 “State of Tobacco Control” said Idaho can improve by increasing funding for tobacco prevention and control work, raising the legal age for the sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 and passing comprehensive smoke-free air laws at the local and state levels. Many other states have also received low grades. 43 other U.S. states have gotten an ‘F’ in the tobacco prevention and cessation funding category.
National: Border security talks stalled, possibly signaling another government shutdown
The recently started border security talks have stalled, and if an agreement isn’t reached by Friday at midnight, the government will shut down yet again just after the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The Democrats have come around to approving $1.3 billion to $2 billion for physical barriers, but they’ve demanded a limit on ICE beds for detained migrants as a way to force the agency to focus on arresting migrants with criminal records. The top Republican in charge of the bipartisan group negotiating said he would put the chances of a deal at 50-50. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said he “absolutely cannot” rule out the possibility of another government shutdown, although a deal is likely.
International: Kurdish Forces have launched a ‘final push’ against ISIS
The U.S. backed Kurdish fighting forces are locked in a fierce final battle to take the final territory controlled by ISIS in eastern Syria, Deir el-Zour. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been fighting ISIS since 2014, and they’ve successfully overtaken them. The fighting began on Saturday after 20,000 people were evacuated from the area, but reportedly there’s still hundreds stuck inside. The president will move 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria despite the advice of U.S military and security experts who say a withdrawal could allow militants in Iraq and Syria to prepare an insurgency if U.S. forces leave.
