Endorsing in city races is a great way to get a pulse of a municipality.

Including an idiosyncratic city such as Kuna.

What an odd state of affairs is unfolding in the tropical climes of Ada County. A full slate of 10 candidates (the top two vote-getters win). Some odd — and truly unfocused — complaints of conflict of interest. And who says small-town politics is boring?

While writing our Eagle City Council endorsements (which will appear in Wednesday's paper), I couldn't help but notice a typo on the cover page of the city's 2009-10 budget report.

According to the report, the council approved the report on Sept. 8, 2098.

Now that's working ahead.

I am struck by the juxtaposition of two good editorials in Idaho newspapers Sunday.

The Lewiston Tribune offered a damning critique on the health of Idaho universities — which are struggling with budget cuts because, in the apt words of opinion editor Marty Trillhaase, "Higher education remains the Idaho Legislature’s target of least resistance."

If you read enough left-wing blogs or watch enough Comedy Central, you might conclude that Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch condone rape.

The accusation is out of line. The so-called "Franken amendment" is far more complex than the critics would have you think. In our information age, innuendo and invective move at warp speed; nuance travels more slowly.

TJ Thomson has the backing of some big-name Boiseans, including Mayor Dave Bieter and four sitting City Council members.

That's one of Thomson's selling points — and to Thomson's critics, that is also one of his biggest flaws. Critics suggest that Thomson would fall in line with Bieter and a left-leaning City Council.

It is odd that two Boise City Council incumbents would have to run on their voting record on health care reform.

But that's the situation facing Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan, thanks (using the word advisedly) to a non-binding health care reform resolution passed Sept. 15.

Media outlets across America are wrestling with social media: how to establish a presence, and how much should reporters say on social media sites.

The Statesman has trusted individual reporters to use their own best judgment — and choose to participate, or not participate, as they see fit.

It is disappointing — and comical — to listen to Canyon County commissioners balk and squawk and try to wangle their way out of setting up vehicle emissions testing.

And every bit as refreshing to hear a number of Nampa city candidates take a level-headed and solutions-based approach to the same issue.

Our editorial board has met with all eight candidates for Nampa mayor and City Council. The answers on emissions testing have jumped out as a pleasant surprise:

... And yes, that is becoming a recurring headline.

Today, the State Board of Education will consider a plan that would take a little promise out of Idaho's Promise Scholarship program.

Faced with declining state funding, the board could cut the scholarships to $400 a year for eligible first- and second-year Idaho students, down from $500 a year. (More here from Betsy Russell at the Spokane Spokesman-Review.)

Local governments and public transit advocates have had enough trouble trying to convince lawmakers to give them local-option taxing authority.

I can't imagine that the brouhaha over the Boise Downtown streetcar will make things any better. More likely, it could make matters even worse.

The streetcar campaign personifies the boogieman the local-option critics like to invoke. Skeptical legislators suggest that if local governments get the chance to pursue voter-approved sales taxes, they will exert this authority by trying to jam through costly and unpopular transportation projects.