Eideard

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Yet the company’s report concluded that it would be safe to allow selenium — a metal byproduct of mining that is toxic to fish and birds — to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines. The company is seeking a judgment to that effect from the Environmental Protection Agency. After receiving a draft report that ran hundreds of pages, an E.P.A. review described the research as “comprehensive” and seemed open to its findings, which supported the selenium variance for Simplot’s Smoky Canyon mine.

But when other federal scientists and some environmentalists learned of the two-headed brown trout, they raised a ruckus, which resulted in further scientific review that found the company’s research wanting.

Now, several federal agencies, an array of environmental groups and one of the nation’s largest private companies are at odds over selenium contamination from the Idaho phosphate mine, the integrity of the company’s research, and what its effect will be on future regulatory policy.

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Think the coppers have a problem with bunnies looking like this?

Police in Idaho Falls have told a man to stop wearing a bunny suit in public after people complained he has been frightening children.

Residents in the northwestern city of 54,000 people also reported William Falkingham, 34, occasionally wears a tutu with the bunny suit…

Police warned Falkingham after a woman said she saw him dressed in the costume, peeking at her young son from behind a tree and pointing his finger like a gun.

While a police report said other residents were “greatly disturbed” by his activities, one neighbor defended Falkingham as eccentric but otherwise harmless.

“He’s got the bunny outfit, a cowboy suit and a ballerina dress but you don’t see him except where he’s tripping through his backyard,” Deborah Colson told Reuters. “He’s got a strange lifestyle at home but we all do weird things at home.”

I never would have considered Idaho Falls a world center of free-spirited behavior. Keep on rocking in the Free World.

And there’s now a facebook site – Let William Falkingham Wear His Bunny Suit!

Cripes! The headline is just about everything you need to know, right?

An Idaho judge on Wednesday set bond at $100,000 for a Boise woman police say posed as a physician and duped at least two other women into having their breasts examined by her at Boise-area nightclubs.

Kristina Ross, 37, remains in Ada County Jail in Boise on two felony counts of practicing medicine without a license…

As part of her ruse, Ross gave the women the telephone number of a real licensed plastic surgeon in Boise, the state capital, authorities said.

Staff at that medical office became alarmed at the number of calls they received from women in recent weeks attempting to confirm appointments or surgeries with a Berlyn Aussieahshowna, according to charging documents.

And, then, there’s this twist to the plot:

The suspect’s gender is unclear. Idaho court records show that Ross was arrested for petty theft in the spring and that the arrest warrant was issued to a Kristoffer Jon Ross.

The Idaho Statesman website reported that Ross has a previous criminal record as a man but identifies herself as a woman and was booked into Ada County Jail as a female…

Court appearance is set for December 1st and I can hardly wait.

A man in northern Idaho says he has seen a massive hand of God in his life, and he is willing to share it with the highest bidder.

Paul Grayhek, 52, listed the rock formation he dubbed the “Hand of God Rock Wall” on the online auction Web site eBay. The highest bid was $250 early Sunday, with three days left to go in the auction…

However, the winning bidder on eBay should not start clearing out his backyard. Grayhek is not planning to part with the formation.

The buyer will “basically be buying the rights, complete and exclusive rights” to the rock, including literary and movie rights, according to Grayhek…

“People think I’m some holier-than-thou person trying to get rich. I’m not,” Grayhek said. “The purpose is to spread the story of God and eBay is just a vehicle.”

I’ve seen “vehicles” like this my whole life. The Pope rides in one. So, does Al Sharpton.

A man flying across Oregon in a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons has reached his destination in Idaho…

A reporter tracking Kent Couch for the Oregonian newspaper says he landed safely near Cambridge, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon.

It was Couch’s third try at the journey.

Couch took off Saturday morning, riding a green lawn chair supported by a rainbow array of more than 150 helium-filled party balloons…

“If I had the time and money and people, I’d do this every weekend,” Couch said before getting into the chair. “Things just look different from up there. You’re moving so slowly. The best thing is the peace, the serenity.

“He’s crazy,” said his wife, Susan. “It’s never been a dull moment since I married him.”

I like the fact that he used Kool-Aid as ballast and a Red Ryder BB Gun to shoot out balloons to balance out lift. Good choices.