Easements and you

A property owner recently contacted us because he came home to find trees missing from his property. Further investigation revealed that the trees in question had been removed from an easement that had been granted to an adjoining property. That easement was to provide access to an adjoining parcel and because the trees were an impediment to that access, they were removed.

World/Nation Briefs

The pop that wasn't: Life after Facebook's IPO

How good is your CMA?

With the shortages of inventory reported here week after week, more and more agents are advertising free Comparable Market Analyses in an effort to garner more personal inventory. This marketing strategy has always been used by some. Judging from the emails sent daily within our agent network, it is easy to see the desperation that comes from the lack of available houses currently listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and more agents are resorting to offering this free service.

JACK’S STORY: A tale of dogs and kindness

This is one of those “feel good” stories that seems especially appropriate for the holiday season.

France celebrates Bastille Day

WASHINGTON - Finding the best deal on a flight has become a lot more difficult, thanks to hefty baggage and service fees that consumers often don't know about until they show up at the airline counter, congressional investigators say.

Back to school dental checklist

This morning I woke up with an excited anticipation for my morning run. As I walked outside I was greeted with crisp September morning air and the distinct smell of Autumn. I quickly left the houses behind and found myself running through fields with vivid green and yellow stripes marking harvest time, and the sun began to peak over the hills creating long shadows from the speckling of hay bales. In the distance I could see the yellow leaves splayed over a wooden fence that completed my picture of Fall. I love where we live.

Political fights, the way they once were

Ron Rankin dismissed it as a “sucker punch.”

Netbooks unable to replace your laptop

Ask the Propellerheads

Dear PropellerHeads: I was going to buy a netbook. But my iPhone zealot friends say it is old technology and I should buy an iPad. That true?

Education reform inches closer

Idaho Senate passes Luna plan's third part

BOISE - The Idaho Senate voted 20-15 on Thursday to pass the third piece of a plan to reform Idaho's public schools.

Time is running out

You have read about the changes in the market, with city real estate increasing in price. More than escalating prices, there is another threat to low income buyers and it is getting closer.

Wines of the Year

While we don’t rate wines on a number scale, there are clear winners from the past year based on customer purchases. As I’ve said so many times, big ratings and high praise from me won’t change a wine you don’t like into one you do. While clearly this rating system is unscientific, it is based on a far better indicator — your purchases and repeat purchases, many times by the case. The wines are listed in order of white to red and lighter bodied to fuller.

Hundreds of fentanyl pills, over a pound of meth seized by ISP

Two suspects arrested for drug trafficking

Cpl. Green explains that the duo had made the road trip to Spokane, Wash. from Montana, where they acquired approximately 350 "mexi blue" fentanyl pills and 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine with the intention of reselling the drugs.

Premiums jump 14 percent on Medicare private plans

Follows a 5.2 percent increase the previous year

WASHINGTON - Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing sharp premium increases this year - another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance.

Idaho Board of Education orders schools closed statewide

BOISE — The Idaho State Board of Education has ordered schools statewide to close until at least April 20 in hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Rent, or buy? BUY!

COEUR d'ALENE — A new study ranks Kootenai County third among the state's 44 counties where buying a home is a better financial option than renting.

Body scanner makes fiscal, safety sense

Here’s the good news: Over the past three years, more than 100 cases of prisoners trying to smuggle drugs, weapons or other contraband into the Kootenai County jail have been prosecuted.

Giving you the heads up online

Ask The Propellorheads

Why areas with good jobs have hard-to-afford homes

Dream of home ownership proves frustrating

Boise mayor issues social distancing order to slow virus

BOISE — The mayor of Idaho’s capitol city has enacted a social distancing order, requiring Boise businesses and venues to keep groups of people to fewer than 10 at least 6 feet away from each other and follow stringent cleaning practices.