Oscar-winning documentary to debut in Sun Valley
Pakistan and Wyoming celebrated together at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday when "Saving Face" won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The first-ever win for a Pakistani film, the documentary chronicles plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad's crusade to help women from his homeland rebuild their faces and their lives after horrific acid attacks.
"Saving Face" receives its American premiere this Friday at the Family of Woman Film Festival in Sun Valley. Jawad and Wyoming-born co-director Daniel Junge will attend the screening on Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance from Chapter One Bookstore and Iconoclast Books or at the Sun Valley Opera House box office on screening days. For more on the festival, see this week's Arts section.
Fundraising workshop sends students to India
Hailey Yoga Center is hosting a workshop to raise money for the Compassionate Young Leaders Program, which is aiming to send seven local high school juniors to India to learn the benefits of contemplative practices first-hand.
"Be the Change You Want To See in the World" will be held Friday and Saturday, March 2-3. Pre-registration is required. Contact cc@haileyyoga.com or call Cathie Caccia at 788-8773.
The Flourish Foundation has established a partnership with the Blaine County School District to introduce different forms of mindful awareness to students and teachers in a classroom setting.
Idaho Power wants program permanent
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking comments through Thursday, March 1, on an Idaho Power application to make its pilot fixed-cost adjustment program permanent. The program seeks to recoup revenue lost to energy-conservation programs. It has been in place as a pilot program since 2007.
According to a news release from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the fixed cost adjustment, which can be no higher than 3 percent of a customer's bill, is designed to ensure that Idaho Power recovers its "fixed costs" of generating and delivering power regardless of how much energy is used. Often referred to as "decoupling," the fixed-cost adjustment decouples the link between energy efficiency and energy sales.
Submit comments on the commission's homepage at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on "Comments & Questions About a Case." Fill in the case number (IPC-E-11-19) and enter comments. Or, mail comments to Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074 or fax to 208-334-3762.
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BLM seeks bids for pastures
The BLM is seeking bids for new, publicly accessible pasture facilities that can accommodate 400 to 2,000 wild horses.
The facilities are meant for long-term accommodation, and must be able to provide humane care for a one-year period, with a renewal option. The agency may require one or two public tours during the contract.
The BLM manages wild horses and burros as part of its mission, and is dedicated to ensuring that the populations remain in balance with other wildlife. The agency removes thousands of horses from rangeland each year to control herd sizes, and 45,000 wild horses and burros must be cared for in long- or short-term off-range facilities.
For more information, contact Tom Gorey at 202-912-7420 or visit www.fedconnect.net, click on "Search Public Opportunities" and enter reference number L12PS00118.
Wellness Festival speaker to talk about brain marvels
Best-selling author and brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor will deliver the keynote presentation to kick off the 2012 Sun Valley Wellness Festival, to be held over Memorial Day weekend in Sun Valley.
According to a press release from the Sun Valley Wellness Institute, Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain in 1996. On the afternoon of this rare form of stroke, she could not walk, talk, read, write or recall any of her life. It took eight years for Taylor to rebuild her brain, from the inside out.
In response to the swelling and trauma of the stroke, which placed pressure on her dominant left hemisphere, the functions of her right hemisphere blossomed. Taylor is the author of a New York Times bestselling memoir, "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey," about her recovery from her stroke and the insights that she gained into the workings of her brain.
As the result of a TED Talk delivered in Monterrey, Calif., Taylor was chosen as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2008. Her story is being made into a feature film.
Idaho Power seeks rate reduction
Idaho Power made four filings on Feb. 15 with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the net effect of which is a proposed decrease to most customers' rates.
The bill impact for an average Idaho Power residential customer in Idaho using 1,050 kilowatt-hours of energy a month will be a bill decrease of 67 cents beginning June 1, if all proposals are approved by the IPUC as filed.
View copies of the application at the IPUC offices or Idaho Power offices in Boise or online at www.idahopower.com or www.puc.idaho.gov.
View additional, related materials on the filing at www.idahopower.com/rates.
F&G Commission to set seasons
Big-game hunters might want to set aside some time next month when the Idaho Fish and Game Commission will set seasons for this fall's deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, gray wolf and mountain lion hunts.
The commission will meet March 21-22 in the Trophy Room at Fish and Game headquarters, 600 S. Walnut St. in Boise. A public comment session will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21.
In addition to big game seasons, the commission agenda includes a legislative update, and commissioners may consider proposed Chinook salmon fishing seasons in the Clearwater, Snake, Lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.
Doctor to discuss attention deficit
St. Luke's Center for Community Health will present a Brown Bag health lecture called "Attention Deficit and our Children" today, Feb. 29, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in the Carbonate Rooms of the St. Luke's Clinic in Hailey.
Pediatrician Bart Adrian will offer his expertise of ADD and other related conditions in children. Dr. Adrian will discuss the defining symptoms, current diagnostic tools and treatment options. He will also share practical information and coping skills for parents and ways to help a child manage specific challenges.
All Brown Bag talks are free and no pre-registration is required. Call St. Luke's Center for Community Health for information on this or other educational programs: 727-8733.
Snow Box Derby set for Saturday
Cardboard takes to the slopes this Saturday, March 3, for the Snow Box Derby at Rotarun ski area west of Hailey. The event is sponsored by the Hailey Kiwanis Club. Homemade snow boxes will be in competition for medals awarded for fastest, most creative and most inspiring creations. Cameras, dinosaurs, race cars, corn dogs and tanks have been popular in previous years.
Construction requirements limit materials to only cardboard, paint, tape and glue. All snow boxes will be inspected prior to the event. Participants must also demonstrate that they can stop their snow box if needed. The derby is open to anyone 5 years and older.
Registration will be on at Rotarun from 9:30-10:15 a.m. the day of the race. Racing will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Rotarun is three miles west of Hailey via Croy Creek Road, at 25 Rodeo Dr.
For more information, call Eric at 788-1350.
Lecture on government accountability
The College of Southern Idaho will host a public lecture and discussion called "Holding Government Accountable" on Thursday, March 8, at 6 p.m. at the Community Campus in Hailey. Constitution scholar David Gray Adler, professor of political science and director of the James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research at the University of Idaho, will lead a non-partisan discussion that explores the U.S. Constitution, the responsibilities of the media, and the role of the American citizenry. The evening is made possible by the Idaho Humanities Council and the College of Southern Idaho Blaine County Campus. It is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact the CSI Blaine County office at 788-2033.
Bill to restore teacher pay heads to Senate
BOISE (AP)—Idaho would no longer shift money from teacher salaries to help fund new education reforms under a bill headed to the Idaho Senate.
The legislation was advanced Monday by the Senate Education Committee. It doesn't backfill the $14.7 million taken from employee pay and benefits this year to help fund the reforms, but it would stop the shifting from salaries in future years.
Sen. Dean Cameron's plan leaves lawmakers to secure $34.7 million over the next several years to help pay for the education changes.
The shifting from salaries to help fund things like technology and teacher merit pay was among the most debated parts of the reform plan from public schools chief Tom Luna. He's proposed offsetting a $19.4 million reduction to salaries in 2013 with additional revenues
