Idaho Press-Tribune

CALDWELL - Attorneys for Jerry Gunstream's former wife and employees argued in court today that their clients had nothing to do with Gunstream's reported embezzlement of tens of thousands of dollars from a company for which he managed property. Gunstream's former wife, Georgia Bowman, and two of his former employees are named as defendants in the civil lawsuit against Gunstream and his now ... Full Story »

FIRST AT IDAHOPRESS.COM CANYON COUNTY — Officials say John Wayne Richmond Jr., the Caldwell man accused of plotting to kill Homedale Police Chief Jeff Eidemiller, was well known to local law enforcement. Full Story »

CANYON COUNTY — A man has been arrested in Canyon County, accused of buying a gun from undercover officers and intending to use the weapon to kill Homedale Police Chief Jeff Eidemiller, authorities said late Wednesday. John Wayne Richmond Jr., 24, of Caldwell was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury on a charge of soliciting to commit murder in the first degree. Full Story »

NAMPA — The Nampa Chamber of Commerce luncheon turned into a frenzy of blanket-tying Wednesday as busy fingers knotted together the loose ends on more than 170 gifts of warmth for local residents in need. Chamber members and visitors cleared their lunch tables and spread out two large sections of fleece with 3-inch-long, inch-wide cuts on their edges. Like North Pole elves, 370 pairs of hands ... Full Story »

NAMPA — Bickering between Republican 1st Congressional District hopeful Rep. Raul Labrador and GOP Sen. Mike Jorgenson continued Wednesday after Jorgenson accused Labrador of using personal attacks to avoid a discussion of the issues. Jorgenson, a Hayden Republican, called for Labrador, of Eagle, to drop out of the race shortly after he launched his campaign. The Associated Press reported the ... Full Story »

BOISE — One lucky Boise State Broncos fan will be traveling in style to this year's 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl as the winner of the Idaho Lottery's Fiesta Bowl Fever II promotion. This limited-time promotion runs through noon Dec. 27. Idaho Lottery players who enter two, non-winning $5 Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets through the Lottery's Web site (idaholottery.com) will be entered for the chance ... Full Story »

BOISE — Boise police detectives are searching for a man who reportedly robbed a credit union near downtown. Police were called about 10:10 a.m. Wednesday with a report of a robbery at the credit union in the 100 block of West State Street near Fort Street. The suspect was last seen leaving the credit union on foot. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook is changing its privacy settings to give users more control over who sees the information they post on their personal pages. Beginning Wednesday, the networking Web site is taking the rare step of requiring its more than 350 million users to review and update their privacy settings. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AP) — IPhone users who jam the airwaves by watching video on their devices will be put on tighter leashes, an AT&T Inc. executive said Wednesday. The Dallas-based carrier has had trouble keeping up with wireless data usage, leading to dropped connections and long waits for users trying to run programs on their devices. AT&T is upgrading its network to cope, but its head of consumer ... Full Story »

If ever there has been a year to give a homemade holiday gift, this is it. The economy's in the dumps and budgets are tight. Gift-givers have to be more creative than ever if they want to delight their friends and family with something unusual. Meanwhile, business is booming in the world of homemade crafts. Not only has scrapbooking launched an industry of its own, but the notion of do-it ... Full Story »

County Commission Canyon County commissioners will meet today at the courthouse, 1115 Albany St., Caldwell. Agenda items include: Full Story »

NAMPA — Joyful voices will fill the air in Swayne Auditorium Saturday when The Treasure Valley Children's Chorus, Treasure Valley Young Artists and Idaho's premier women's chorus Una Voce present their 21st annual Christmas concert, "Sing Noel." Combined, the two children's choirs boast 150-plus voices, ranging in age from 6 to 18. The children will sing traditional, fun songs of the season ... Full Story »

CANYON COUNTY - A man has been arrested in Canyon County, accused of buying a gun from undercover officers and intending to use the weapon to kill Homedale Police Chief Jeff Eidemiller, authorities said late Wednesday. Jeff Wayne Richmond Jr., 24, of Caldwell was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury on a charge of soliciting to commit murder in the first degree. Full Story »

BOISE — One lucky Boise State Broncos fan will be traveling in style to this year's 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl as the winner of the Idaho Lottery's Fiesta Bowl Fever II promotion. This limited-time promotion runs from today at noon through noon on Dec. 27. Idaho Lottery players who enter two, non-winning $5 Idaho Lottery Scratch tickets through the Lottery's Web site (idaholottery.com) will be ... Full Story »

BOISE — Boise police detectives are on scene and searching for a man who reportedly robbed a credit union near downtown. Police were called at 10:11 a.m. today with a report of a robbery at the credit union in the 100 block of West State Street near Fort Street. Witnesses said the man walked in, approached a teller and demanded cash. The man did not show a weapon, but witnesses tell officers he ... Full Story »

CANYON COUNTY - Three separate power outages during a sub-freezing morning caused 1,486 customers to be without electricity this morning in Caldwell and Nampa. The first power outage occurred in Nampa at 5:51 a.m. because of a bad transformer and a downed wire. That outage impacted 634 customers in the areas between 16th through 22nd avenues south and 1st through 21st streets south, according to ... Full Story »

CALDWELL — Caldwell School District officials decided to close Van Buren Elementary School for the day due to a power outage. District spokeswoman Jennifer Swindell said the decision was made at 7 a.m. when officials discovered the power was out and there was no way to properly heat the school by the time students arrived. Full Story »

NAMPA — About 350 Nampa School District middle and high school students were late or not picked up this morning because the frigid temperatures prevented about 21 of the district's 100 buses from starting. The district worked with its bus contractor, Brown Bus, to pick up the middle and high school students on elementary student routes later in the morning. Many parents were able to bring their ... Full Story »

NAMPA — With below-zero temperatures in the forecast for many parts of the Treasure Valley, the frigid weather is affecting people, pets and pipes. The number of homeless who have sought shelter has ticked up this month at the Lighthouse Rescue Mission in Nampa. Full Story »

NAMPA — Less than a year ago College of Western Idaho officials expected about 1,700 students for the Nampa-based community college's opening semester in January. They got only 1,200, but assured the public that those figures would grow. Now enrollment at the college has exploded, passing the expectations of CWI leaders and prompting the college to hire almost 100 new faculty members for the ... Full Story »

NAMPA — Internet users in downtown Nampa can now log on to free WiFi. The city officially welcomes free WiFi in the downtown core today with a 9:30 a.m. ceremony at Le Baron's Honker Cafe at 1210 2nd St. S. Le Baron's customers have already requested wireless Internet connections in his restaurant, manager Ryan Le Baron said. Full Story »

Nampa police officer Deran Watt helps Ronald Reagan Elementary School fourth-graders Amoro Lado, left, and Samaje Woodall, right, try on coats Tuesday morning at the Burlington Coat Factory in Karcher Mall. About 20 Nampa police officers helped 30 elementary students from the Nampa School District pick out coats at Burlington Coat Factory. Full Story »

BOISE — It's become an annual winter tale: A young boy gets his tongue stuck to a metal pole, perhaps as the result of a dare. This year, the scene straight out of the movie "A Christmas Story" unfolded Tuesday morning in Boise with a boy of about 10. Full Story »

This holiday season, many agencies, businesses and people have taken it upon themselves to help feed the hungry, give warm clothes to the needy and provide Christmas presents for children. Here is a list of opportunities to give this Christmas season. - If you have a food, clothing or toy drive you'd like to add to this list, e-mail community@idahopress.com. Full Story »

TACOMA, Washington (AP) — About 20,000 mourners, mostly members of law enforcement from Washington state and across the U.S., honored four slain officers who were remembered Tuesday as heroes and loving family members. A procession of 2,000 cars followed the flag-draped caskets of Sgt. Mark Renninger and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards to the Tacoma Dome, where the ... Full Story »