States push harder for online sales tax collection

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Tax-free shopping is under threat for many online shoppers as states facing widening budget gaps increasingly pressure Amazon.com Inc. and other Internet retailers to start collecting sales taxes from their residents.

Summer … at last!

Finally, after the long wet winter and long wet spring, the first day of summer arrived. About time, huh?

State 1A boys basketball: After moving up a division, Lakeside still has eyes on another state title

"We're not going to beat everybody by 20, but if they buy in, we can grind out some wins," said James Twoteeth, in his fourth season as Lakeside coach. "I think we can hold our own."

Idaho Master Gardener plant sale next week

Mark your calendars, the Idaho Master Gardeners are holding their annual Sodbuster Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 13 at the University of Idaho Research Park, 958 S. Lochsa St., Post Falls.

Focusing on giving of myself

Food for Thought

Tonight the sun lowers over the Western prairie and I am mezmerized. Indigo, pink, purple, umber, crimson and baby blue clouds pass through the retina of my eyes filling the cones in my visual photoreceptor with amazing light. I first examine the mechanical process allowing my brain to understand the vivid colors entering my vision then become emotional understanding the beauty I'm realizing - my psychology overwhelms my physiology.

The shine comes off the gold market

Another one bites the dust

Friday we received a call from an old friend who works in the title insurance business. It seemed as though she had dropped off the face of the Earth about a year ago when she left that business to pursue other endeavors. The other endeavors turned out to be a career as a real estate agent. She should be well suited to this career she thought since she had worked on hundreds of transactions and with dozens of Realtors over the course of her employment at a local title company.

Assisted living facility loses license

Tenants moving out; bank forecloses on two Hayden facilities

The operator of the two Autumn Haven assisted living facilities in Hayden has been notified by the state of Idaho that its operating license has been revoked.

Fannie Mae reports $8.69 billion loss

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mortgage buyer Fannie Mae reported a loss of $8.7 billion for the January-March quarter, and asked for an additional $8.5 billion in federal aid.

Cd'A council to address budget

City seeking 1.5 percent property tax increase, cost of living pay bump

COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene's $77 million 2011 budget will go before the City Council tonight.

The Front Row with Tim Dahlberg April 26, 2011

Tressel's lies embarrass Ohio State

The sweater vest was gone, replaced by military-style camouflage as Jim Tressel prowled the sideline Saturday in Ohio State's annual spring game.

Don't dash to buy RFID-blocking gear

Radio-frequency identification is a nifty technology that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags store data electronically that special readers can pick up. These systems are used in tons of industries; you’re probably most familiar with toll tags for your car and implanted “chips” that can identify a pet. Both employ this useful idea, which goes by the shorthand RFID.

Keeping the peace

Rathdrum ranked in Top 10 safest Idaho cities

Rathdrum ranked in Top 10 safest Idaho cities

The Front Row with Jim Litke March 28, 2011

Justice denied, or just delayed?

Bruce Pearl is hardly the first coach to cheat and-or lie to NCAA investigators, just one of the very few whose transgressions already cost him a job and could wind up costing him a career.

100 days later, 100 pounds lighter

Amazing how much things can change in 100 days. Things continue to go great since my laparoscopic "sleeve" procedure from May.

Goal is $185,000 - and 0 tears

Just one week.

Smile! That teeth-whitening offer might be a scam

An employee of a local grocery store called me with a story I found hard to believe. It seems that a woman wearing scrubs, the clothing that staffs of doctors and dentists sometimes wear, was wandering around the food store, selling teeth whitening services. The reported offer was to sell an individual a coupon for $60 that would entitle the buyer to a discount of hundreds of dollars on their teeth whitening. The person peddling these coupons, by wearing medical attire, was clearly attempting to give the impression that they themselves were employed in the medical arts. I don’t know that they weren’t, but I have my doubts.

McDonald's eyes extending breakfast hours

A guide to bathing pets after natural disasters

Natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, and tornadoes are occurring more often. In these situations, substances from our daily lives — including household cleaners, pesticides, oil, and debris — can contaminate nearby surroundings, remain in standing water, or spread through smoke and floodwaters, leaving both humans and their pets vulnerable to an increased risk of exposure.

A Christmas story for our readers