Sen. Mike Crapo said Tuesday that his bipartisan bill will level the playing field between domestic and foreign imports of composite wood products.

A similar measure is pending in the House.

Crapo's news release follows, in full:

CRAPO, KLOBUCHAR LEGISLATION TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM FORMALDEHYDE PASSES SENATE

Bill creates national standards to level the playing field between domestic products and foreign imports

The first pitch at the Boise Hawks July 2 game will be tossed by a fan buying tickets from Tea Party Boise.

Tickets are available from
Tea Party Boise's web store for
for $15. They include a hot dog, soda and a seat in the shade. A drawing will determine who throws the first pitch.

The 7:15 p.m. game against the Yakima Bears also features a giveaway of Hawks playing cards, fireworks and a $5 post-game party in the Hawks Nest.

Tea Party Boise is the most active of the Idaho tea party groups.

Another look at Idaho's 1st Congressional District race comes today from veteran Washington, D.C. political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg, who thinks Democrat Walt Minnick has a good chance of surviving Republican Raul Labrador's challenge. Rothenberg says Labrador's "weak fundraising numbers raise questions about the quality of his candidacy." Read the post here.

On Ridenbaugh Press, longtime Northwest political blogger Randy Stapilus analyzes the status — and uncertainties — of the race between first-term Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick and Eagle Republican legislator Raul Labrador for control of Idaho's 1st Congressional District. Stapilus writes: "The overriding truth seems to be that this is not a locked contest and it genuinely could go either way.

David Peckham of Boise showed up for a rally against BP in Downtown Boise on Thursday to find he was the only protester.

He thought about leaving, but decided to stick it out.

"The only reason I'm doing it is I really love my sign," he said. "I really think I'm on to something."

He wasn't totally alone: Representatives from three television stations and two newspapers (including the Idaho Statesman) were there to cover the one-man rally.

"If we make government too small, who's going to take on the corporations?" Peckham asked.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson's nomination to become next U.S. attorney for the District of Idaho. Read the AP's story.

Eagle Republican pollster Greg Smith released a poll Wednesday that shows Republican candidate Raul Labrador leading incumbent Democrat Walt Minnick in the campaign for Idaho’s 1st Congressional District.

Labrador is backed by 36 percent of likely voters in the November election, while Minnick is backed by 24 percent, Smith said Wednesday. Thirty percent were undecided. An additional 4 percent were undecided but leaning toward Labrador, 5 percent were undecided but leaning toward Minnick, and 1.5 percent favored someone else.

Mainstream Republicans retained control of central committees in Ada and Canyon counties, despite an organized effort by Ron Paul Republicans to purge the party of “Republicans in Name Only,” or RINOs.

The upstarts held "Operation: RINO Hunter" meetings in an attempt win the balance of power by electing the precinct committeemen and women who make up county central committees in the May 25 primary.

A leader of the effort, Ron Paul Republican Ryan Davidson, was defeated by Ty Palmer as state Youth Committeeperson, 59-42. Palmer is the son of state Rep. Joe Palmer of Meridian.

First District Republican congressional nominee Raul Labrador says incumbent Democrat Walt Minnick's modified line-item veto bill is a PR ploy and replacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Republican is the most important step to end deficit spending.

In a news release Thursday night, Labrador said,

The White House and the chairman of the House Budget Committee have embraced a budget-cutting mechanism proposed in March by Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick.

Minnick’s H.R. 4921 is the basis of a new measure, H.R. 5454, authored by Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C. Spratt’s bill, with Minnick among 20 Democratic co-sponsors, was introduced Friday.