Idaho Briefs February 3, 2012
House votes to ban e-cigarette sales to kids
BOISE - Electronic cigarette sales to kids would be banned under a bill that unanimously cleared Idaho's House.
Thursday's 68-0 vote sends the measure to restrict these novelty nicotine delivery devices to the Senate.
E-cigarettes, as they're known, have been around for about a decade, consisting of battery-powered pen-like devices that vaporize what's often a nicotine-laced liquid into a mist for inhalation.
But health officials fear they could tempt more children to become smokers.
Idaho law bans tobacco sales to minors, but these aren't covered.
The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Bob Nonini of Coeur d'Alene, says flavor combinations like root beer make it seem like e-cigarette makers are targeting youth.
GOP Rep. Dick Harwood of St. Maries overcame fears that restricting these devices would create a "nanny state" and supported Nonini's measure.
Sen. Vick: Make it even tougher to raise taxes
BOISE - Conservative lawmakers are pushing a constitutional amendment to require fee or tax hikes passed by the Legislature to garner two-thirds support.
Sen. Steve Vick of Dalton Gardens aims to provide new safeguards against higher taxes and fees.
The Republican wants Idaho to follow some 16 other states that have adopted this supermajority requirement.
The House State Affairs panel on Thursday agreed to consider it.
Idaho's Republican-controlled Legislature usually has opted to cut budgets, rather than hike tax revenue, to avoid deficits.
But in rare instances, lawmakers have narrowly approved tax increases, including in 2003 to shore up public schools.
That year, a temporary 1 percent sales tax hike passed 37-32 in the House and 19-16 in the Senate, meaning it would have failed had Vick's amendment had been in place.
Man charged in mobster theft found dead
MARSING - Authorities say a southwestern Idaho man accused of stealing cash and gold from the home of an alleged mobster appears to have committed suicide.
The Idaho Press-Tribune reports the body of Kelly Verceles was found Wednesday.
Owyhee County authorities say Verceles appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was scheduled to appear in court next Friday on charges of felony burglary, grand theft and conspiracy for allegedly stealing from his former friend, Enrico Ponzo.
Ponzo was arrested by federal agents at his Marsing home last February and then transported to Boston, where he faces multiple charges stemming from his alleged role in a New England crime family. Verceles was accused of using a blowtorch and jackhammer to get to a safe buried under Ponzo's basement floor.
Meridian woman in custody after shooting attempt
KUNA - Ada County officials say a 40-year-old Meridian woman was arrested after someone fired a shot at another woman outside a school district office in Kuna.
Officers say they received a report at 6:25 a.m. Thursday that a woman fired a small caliber handgun at a 39-year-old woman as she got out of her vehicle. Police say the intended victim was not hit.
There was reportedly a physical struggle between the two before a bystander took the gun from the suspect, who then fled in a vehicle.
Kuna police and Ada County sheriff's detectives identified the suspect and officers set up a two-block perimeter around her house in Meridian. Officials say the woman was taken into custody after about an hour of negotiations.
Officials say the two women knew each other.
- Associated Press