UPDATE: 12:40 p.m. — Meant to mention this earlier, but ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd called for Boise State coach Chris Petersen to be a serious candidate for the presumed soon-to-be-vacant Notre Dame job at the end of the year.

Cowherd said the Irish should offer the job to Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald first and then come after Petersen if they decided to part ways with Charlie Weis.

National Park Service director Jon Jarvis didn’t wait long to reach into his Idaho roots.

Jarvis, who served as superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument, picked the University of Idaho’s Gary Machlis to serve as the first National Park Service science advisor. Machlis, a professor of conservation at the university has a distinguished career of research and teaching that has already had a major influence on conservation nationwide.

National Park Service director Jon Jarvis didn’t wait long to reach into his Idaho roots.

Jarvis, who served as superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument, picked the University of Idaho’s Gary Machlis to serve as the first National Park Service science advisor. Machlis, a professor of conservation at the university has a distinguished career of research and teaching that has already had a major influence on conservation nationwide.

Boise-based internet beer retailer Brewforia is opening a temporary store this week — in the real world. As in 435 Milwaukee St.

This means you will be able to just go the Brewforia store (next to the Moxie Java in that strip mall on the west side of the street) and buy many of those bottles of beer you can’t find anywhere else in Boise — instead of waiting for a delivery.

Brewforia owner Rick Boyd hopes to have the store open by Friday, but is still trying to find enough coolers to stock as many as 150 different varieties of craft beer he hopes to have for sale to you, the thirsty and discerning beer customer.

The wild Teton River canyon is a hidden whitewater and cutthroat-fishing treasure in eastern Idaho, but it also is threatened by a proposal to rebuild the Teton Dam.

Can you believe someone wants to rebuild the Teton Dam? It's inconceivable. The dam collapsed on June 5, 1976 killing 11 people and 13,000 head of cattle. It caused more than $1 billion in damage.

If you're bored with the usual Hollywood films, there are two cool outdoor flicks coming to Boise and you can see them on the big screen.

By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

Boise State football coach Chris Petersen’s salary ranks at about the midpoint of Football Bowl Subdivision coaches, according to a database compiled by USA Today.

Petersen’s base salary for 2009 (actually Feb. 1, 2009-Jan. 31, 2010) is $1,112,650. USA Today uses a slightly different number, including items such as expense accounts and outside income.

Let me qualify that: Probably. The Western Idaho Fair is working on booking classic rockers .38 Special. No contract has been signed, despite Pollstar listing the show for Aug. 28, 2010. The Fair always gets an early start on hiring the following year’s free grandstand entertainment. And in case you're wondering, .38 Special still features founding members Donnie Van Zant and Don Barnes, although top-notch guitarist Jeff Carlisi is sadly absent.

What other acts should the Fair consider booking aside from the expected country singers?

Would funky stuff like the Commodores or Earth, Wind & Fire go over well? Should they go old-school pop-rock like the Doobie Brothers?

Here's what .38 Special sounds like these days:

Updated 11/12/09: Oops, no it's not.

Updated 11/11/09: Ridiculous drama is over. Tyler is back in the saddle again.

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Look, I'd argue that when your lead singer starts falling off the stage because he's so old, it may be time to hang up the towel. However, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry says the band isn't breaking up. However, he's claiming that the band needs a new singer.

Apparently, Steven Tyler has quit to focus on a solo career. However, Perry told the Las Vegas Sun he's having trouble confirming this because he doesn’t return phone calls. “He’s notorious for that,” Perry said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned to live with. I try to overlook it.”

Ugh. This sounds a whole lot like Axl Rose's relationship with Slash before that band imploded.

As for Aerosmith replacing Tyler? Um, no. If Tyler isn't in Aerosmith, Aerosmith ceases to exist. The best Perry can hope for is some sort of side project — sort of like Velvet Revolver was with Slash and Duff from G 'n' R.

What singer would sound most like Tyler, anyway? The guy from Buckcherry?

I sat through Idaho Power’s Integrated Resource Planning meeting last week. That is where the utility lays out its future plans to a group of customers, environmental advocates and Idaho Public Utility Commission staff for their comments. The idea is the company gets feedback for its plans to build or buy power generation for the next 20 years.