Briefs March 11, 2011

Idaho snowpack level near normal

BOISE - A cold and moist winter has provided Idaho with roughly average mountain snowpack levels across the majority of the state, while experts say snow amounts in southeast Idaho are the highest they've been in years.

Members of the Idaho Water Supply Committee said Thursday the overall snowpack level in Idaho is at more than 110 percent.

Jay Breidenbach, Senior Hydrologist with the NOAA National Weather Service, attributed the normal snow levels to cold and wet winter conditions caused by the tropical Pacific Ocean event La Nina and anticipates snow to continue to accumulate for at least another month.

Campus firearms bill advances

BOISE - Idaho lawmakers are advancing legislation to give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus.

The House State Affairs Committee signed off on a measure Thursday that would direct universities to allow firearms, either carried openly or by people with concealed weapons permits. The bill was approved on an 11-8 vote despite opposition from the state Board of Education and Idaho's public universities. It now goes to the full House.

- The Associated Press

Supporters of the bill argue gun violence on campuses, such as the 2007 mass shootings at Virginia Tech, show the best defense against a gunman is students who can shoot back.

Idaho law now gives university and college presidents authority to prohibit firearms on campus. Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College and several community colleges throughout the state have adopted their own regulations to prohibit guns on campus.