Boise Weekly Vol. 21 Issue 08

ARTS 32

HIGH HORSEPot-smoking atheist Bill Maher trots into town

FEATURE 15

DANGER AROUND USEveryday products may be major health risks

NOISE 28

LICENSE TO HILLFreeloaders pack Foothills for Outlaw Concert Series

FOOD 38

BEACH HUTHow does the Sandbar stack up?

Its not as if were taking away Santa. NEWS 12

LOCAL, INDEPENDENT NEWS, OPINION, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WWW.BOISEWEEKLY.COMVOLUME 21, ISSUE 08AUGUST 1521, 2012

FREETAKE ONE!

2 | AUGUST 1521, 2012 | BOISEweekly WWW.BOISEWEEKLY.COM

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Publisher: Sally [email protected]

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EditorialEditor: Rachael Daigle

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[email protected]: Andrew Crisp

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Copy Editor: Jay VailContributing Writers:

Harrison Berry, Bill Cope, Michael Lafferty, Ted Rall, Trevor Villagrana, Catie Young

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COVER ARTIST

SUBMIT Boise Weekly pays $150 for published covers. One stipula-tion of publication is that the piece must be donated to BWs annual charity art auction in November. Proceeds from the auction are reinvested in the local arts community through a series of private grants for which all artists are eligible to apply. To submit your artwork for BWs cover, bring it to BWHQ at 523 Broad St. All mediums are accepted. Thirty days from your submission date, your work will be ready for pick up if its not chosen to be featured on the cover. Work not picked up within six weeks of sub-mission will be discarded.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUENews broke last week that Fareed Zakaria, multimedia col-

umnist for CNN, The Washington Post and Time magazine, plagiarized the work of New Yorker writer Jill Lepore in a recent Time column on gun control.

Even if youre not familiar with this name, chances are you know Zakarias work if you follow politics in national media at all. Hes one of those media superstars who seemingly churns out gobs of smart, intellectual copy in every medium weekly, prodding even those who dont drink the same flavor of Kool-Aid to mull over his arguments.

As of press time, Zakaria had been suspended from all of his regular gigs, pending reviews of his work, and hes offered a brief apology accepting the blame entirely. However, new questions have also been raised, including a charge that Za-karia lifted a quote that appears in his book The Post-Amer-ican World. In an interview with the Post earlier this week, Zakaria defended himself, saying that particular practice is quite common.

But does that make it OK? Regular Citydesk readers will notice that we often publish posts with headlines that begin Press-Tribune Report or Report from Times-News. Well publish a few sentences that sum up another outlets story, attribute the reporting to them and kick in some link love to drive readers to the original report. Its good for the original reporting outlets traffic, and its good for our readers. Several local blogs take this approach, sometimes linking back to Boise Weekly stories.

What Ive been noticing lately, however, is what I refer to as subtle content theft. For example, Ive written more than one email to reporters at a local television station after it has hopped on a Boise Weekly storythe kind that originated from good, old-fashioned, source-working reportingand broken it as its own without any attribution to our story.

And then theres the online theft. Weve threatened legal action against one magazine, which ironically likes to sell itself as the newer, better version of us, for posting the work of our writers as though it were its own, a violation of not only journalistic ethics but also copyright infringement.

On the other hand, Ive personally thanked Boise State Public Radio News Director Sadie Babits for attributing sto-ries to us that show up on air.

Zakarias plagiarism cannot be tolerated, but is his lack of attribution a gray area? Guess that depends on who you ask.

Rachael Daigle

NOTE

ARTIST: Laurie Blakeslee

TITLE: When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Snowbird

MEDIUM: Found photographic fabric, thread, vin-tage postcard and some sparkle on wood panel.

ARTIST STATEMENT: I have lived in the desert of Southwest Idaho for most of my life. I went to graduate school in Tucson, Ariz., where I fell in love with the cactus-filled landscape. When I returned, I realized that the City of Trees with the Boise River and green lawns was also a desert. Tucson taught me to appreciate what is here.


INSIDEEDITORS NOTE 3

MAIL 6

BILL COPE 8

TED RALL 9

NEWS Meet the company behind some of Boises biggest building projects 10

CITIZEN 13

FEATURE The Poison Among Us 15

BW PICKS 20

FIND 21

8 DAYS OUT 22

SUDOKU 24

NOISEThe secret world of the hill people 28

MUSIC GUIDE 30

ARTS Bill Maher, the man behind the image 32

SCREEN Ruby Sparks 34

RECVideo game companies ready their end-of-year releases 36

FOOD REVIEWThe Sandbar 38

WINE SIPPER 38

CLASSIFIEDS 41

NYT CROSSWORD 43

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 46

WWW.BOISEWEEKLY.COM

ARMED AND READYOne national champion about take

on the world, a former world champ and his sonanother former national champ. A welcome home gathering for Olympians? Nope, just a quiet night in Emmett as a couple of dudes arm wrestle. That story at Cobweb.

HANDS OFF OUR PILLSA group of mostly womenwhich

included a pack of walking birth control pillsflash mobbed Grove Plaza during the thick of Saturdays market to say theyre not going to take it anymore. Watch the video on Citydesk or scan the QR code to the right with your mobile device.

LEGAL BILL GOES NUCLEARAlternate Energy Holdings, the company thats been

trying to build a nuclear power facility in Payette County, allegedly owes $700,000 in legal bills to the firm thats been representing it against charges brought by the SEC.

ART ON THE WALLMore than 100 artists spent a few nights painting in

the dark last week, putting 76 new murals in Freak Alley and the adjacent parking lot. The gallery opened Aug. 11 and now, in addition to Margaret Lawrence, Coach Pete smiles from the side of a brick building.

What you missed this week in the digital world.

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LOVE ANNUAL MANUALWe recently moved in

to Boise from way out in Canyon County. Weve just had a ball trying out the great restaurants and events that are always ready for us. One night, we had the pleasure of eating at Mazzah (yum!) and found your wonderful guide to everything: Annual Manual.

Now, my question: When can we expect another edition? What a wonderful way to get to know our diverse area.

Thanks so much for the massive effort it must take to put out such a quality publication.

P.S. We went page by page through Annual Manual, and we found Pizzalchick among your selections on State Street, and since it was close to home, we gave it a try. Oh my wonderful. If we miss a week, we feel deprived.

Thanks again!Ann Beebe,

Boise

*Editors Note: Thanks, Ann. Annual Manual is an an-nual publication so youll see the next installment on stands in summer 2013.

KEEP FUNDING NIH

As Congress works on the Fiscal Year 2013 budget and the threat of sequestra-tion looms, I urge Reps. Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson and Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo to support not cutting biomedical research at the Na-tional Institutes of Health.

Sequestration could result in an 8 percent cut to the NIH budget, which means 25 per-cent of the NIH 2013 research grants will lose funding. As one of the 500,000 to 1.5 million Americans living with Parkinsons disease, these cuts would be devastating to me.

NIH needs $32 billion in FY 2013 to continue research toward much needed treat-ments for people like my dad and those with other chronic diseases. NIH research fund-ing is an investment in our

countrys future, and I will be watching for our congressional delegations leadership on this issue.

Lisa Bain, Idaho state director,

Parkinsons Action Network, Meridian

PILL POPPINGThe following comments

were posted at boiseweekly.com regarding the story Vid-eo: Planned Parenthood Flash Mob, Pillamina, Not Going to Take It Anymore (Citydesk, Aug. 11, 2012):

And luckily we were able to kill House Bill 530, which would have allowed employ-ers to choose whether or not to include birth control in employee insurance plans.

Abortion is included in the birth control for employers. Employers dont mind paying for birth control, just dont want to pay for their abor-tions. They dont mind pre-venting pregnancy, just dont want to pay to kill babies

A real woman

Im afraid A real woman has been fed some bad in-formation. Birth control has nothing to do with abortion. Birth control prevents preg-nancy; abortion ends pregnan-cy. By including contraceptives in insurance plans, we are de-creasing the need for abortion by preventing an unintended pregnancy from occurring. At no time has an effort been made at the state or federal level to mandate abortion care in employee insurance plans. The only time the two

are co-mingled is when one follows the religious definition of life rather than the scientific one. If you leave religion out of public policy, there is no confusion whatsoever.

politigal

It was great to see the outpouring of support for women at the flash mob! We are standing up for our right to make our own decisions about our own bodies and we will not let anyone take away our rights!

cindygross

SHARES IN THIS COMPANY ARE WORTH LESS THAN A LAYS POTATO CHIP, A KLEENEX OR A TUMS TABLET. HisDudeness

(boiseweekly.com, Citydesk, Alternate Energy Holdings Alleged to Owe $700,000 in Legal Bills, Aug. 11, 2012)

MAIL

S U B M I T Letters must include writers full name, city of residence and contact information and must be 300 or fewer words. OPINION: Lengthier, in-depth opinions on local, national and international topics. E-mail [email protected] for guidelines. Submit letters to the editor via mail (523 Broad St., Boise, Idaho 83702) or e-mail ([email protected]). Letters and opinions may be edited for length or clar-ity. NOTICE: Every item of correspondence, whether mailed, e-mailed, commented on our Web site or Facebook page or left on our phone systems voice-mail is fair game for MAIL unless specifically noted in the message.


One of the deepest frustrations I have with my side of the modern political teeter-totter is that there remain scads of progressives who continue to believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that conservative leaders might still be persuaded to behave like civilized human beings.

Our president is one of the worst offend-ers in this hopeless snipe hunt for Republican graciousness. Even now, after almost four years of the slathered right swatting away his every extended hand, spitting on his visage and vision, wishing him failure at every junc-ture of his administration, regarding not only him but his family as squatters in a house that should have never been theirs, Barack Obama continues to voice the possibility that, for the sake of something dear to all of us (our children? our country? our Earth? our future?), some of the more rational Re-publicans might swab the spittle from their lips and work with him.

It amazes me that as far back as his first year in office, Obama, as smart as he is, didnt realize there would be no accommo-dation from this senseless mob the moment they hooted like howler monkeys over Michelles failure to convince the Olympic Committee to let Chicago host the 2016 Games. Remember that? It was the day I understood the true depth and toxicity of the rights dementia.

Lately, weve seen a more local example of this misbegotten impulse to stroke the rabid animals belly. I speak of the Idaho Education Associations absurd decision to endorse Rep. Mike Simpson at the expense of his challenger, Nicole LeFavour.

Before we go any further, in the interest of full disclosure, I must remind you that LeFa-vour was once my boss. The most avid LeFa-vour fans will know this, but long before she was a legislator or candidate for Congress, she was first a reporter, then an editor in the lofty halls of Boise Weekly. In matters political and social, I came to consider her an ally. And, for about 15 years, shes been a friend. I know her as a remarkably intelli-gent, passionate and committed person with an unlimited reservoir of patience, without which she could not have tolerated work-ing for long either with me or that clutch of legislative hayseeds who rule over our state. Right here and right now, I announce that I endorse her without reservation. As a member of Congress, she would make smart Idahoans once again proud to be Idahoans.

But thats not why Im writing this particu-lar column. A month ago, the IEA announced it was not endorsing LeFavour, but instead was endorsing Simpson.

The politically minded understand why the IEA would strike such a pose as pretending it would rather have an off-the-rack Republican representing Idaho than a person who has repeatedly demonstrated her dedication to

public education. It wants to appear not overly partial or beholding to one political party over the other. And to do so, every election season, it goes fishing through the candidate pool, looking for the least offensive Republicans to endorse. I imagine it also hopes the endorsee might one day return the favor and support it on some issue or the other.

Of course, the joke is anymore, the IEA is the only one playing at this masquerade, for there is no longer any hope whatsoever that any of its GOP endorsees will support it on anything. There are no least offensive Repub-licans left.

Take Simpson. There was a time before the entire GOP was commandeered by shuffling zombie cannibals whose only function in the universe is to destroy all good things when Simpson might have been considered a reason-able man. No longer.

There is no place in todays GOP for rea-sonable men. And for those who abhor the thought of returning to their pre-Congressio-nal livesforever gone from the cold glow of Washington, D.C., prestige, once more pursuing their puny early careers as pig farm-ers, bug exterminators or dentiststhey will suppress any hint of reasonableness, or its back to Blackfoot. Simpson has already had a challenge from the right, and in Republican primaries, the only way to survive the threat of being replaced by a stupid gob of tea bag effluvium is to get even stupider than the gob. The old Simpson is gone and will never again dare let his reasonable side out into the fresh air where a comrade might see it.

Yet this is the man the IEA chose as a more suitable advocate for public education.

When BW first reported this unnatural and entirely one-sided alliance, a representative of the IEA questioned how this paper could be so shocked at the endorsement.

I thought you were our ally, she com-plained to the reporter.

She was partially right. BW reporters stay purposely unallied, but as the longest running opinion columnist, I have steadily promoted and defended whatever progressive spirit rises in the otherwise stony desert of Idaho conser-vatism. That makes me a natural ally of both the IEA and public education in general. But it also means Im an ally of those politicians who support the same institutions as I do. When one ally is dumped in the pursuit of political expediency, is it any wonder that their other allies are offended?

And come November, when the biggest threat to both Idaho educators and Idaho education to ever come crawling out of the corporate Republican collectivethose Tom Luna reformsare at last before the people for a final decision, can there be any ques-tion who will stand with the IEA in spite of its betrayal, and who will be snickering along with his allies that the IEA was naive enough to have endorsed him?

TSK-TSK, IEAWith friends like these

OPINION/BILL COPE


You know the ritual: gunman goes berserk, liberals call for gun control, regulation eventu-ally ensues.

The modern gun-control movement began in 1981 after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. Press Secretary James Brady, shot and paralyzed in the same incident, successfully lobbied for the passage of the Brady Law, which imposed a back-ground check and waiting period of up to three days for gun buyers. The 1999 shoot-ing spree at Columbine High School resulted in new laws making it illegal to buy a gun on behalf of a criminal or a child seeking to evade the Brady Law requirements. Congress funded state-run databases of the mentally ill, also prohibited under Brady, after the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech.

On July 20, a man used multiple weap-onsincluding a semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round magazineto murder 12 filmgoers in Aurora, Colo. (The clip jammed after he fired 30 rounds.) Last week, a white suprema-cist and washed-up U.S. soldier mowed down six people attending services at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. Every day, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg reminded us, 34 Ameri-cans are shot to death.

So what new gun-control laws can we expect? None.

Neither the White House nor Congres-sional Democrats have any appetite for taking on the powerful NRA during a close election year. Polls show the public sharply split on the issue. After the shooting at the Sikh temple President Barack Obama offered nothing more than pabulum: Terrible, tragic events are hap-pening with too much regularity for us not to

do some soul-searching to examine additional ways that we can reduce violence.

Either youre serious about eliminating gun violence, or youre not. Soul-searching isnt going to block the next bullet fired by a madmanbut the law, coupled with rigorous enforcement, can.

I am a pro-gun leftie. Heres why: 60 mil-lion Americans own 200 million firearms.

Who are they? Right-wingers, mostly. There are about 25 percent more gun-owning Republicans than gun-owning Democrats. Some of these conservatives send me death threats. As long as they are allowed to buy and possess guns, Ill be damned if I let the govern-ment pass a law that stops me from defending myself if one of them comes after me.

This is an arms race. The only way Ill turn against the Second Amendment is if the cops go door-to-door, confiscate and destroy everybodys guns. All of them. Even the tiny little lady pistols.

Even then, Id still be nervous. Because state security apparatus would then have a monopoly on firepower. Were not there yet, but given the relentless rightward drift of our politics from democracy into police state au-thoritarianism toward neofascism, and given what were already seeinglegalized torture, concentration camps, police department drone planes, a president who says he has the right to assassinate U.S. citizens without trialone can easily foresee the day when we might be forced to fend off the jack-booted thugs of a future rogue American state.

But thats my personal, possibly paranoid, take about a possible dys-topian future. As a nation, here and

A PEN AT A GUNFIGHTGun-control advocates look foolish, weak

TED RALL/OPINION

14


BUILDING BLOCKS

ESIs man with a plan to build new Boise

landmarksANDREW CRISP

The patio of Gene Hutchisons restaurant and bar on Eighth Street overlooks a Boise eyesore. But now The Piper Pub and Grill owner has what he calls a front row seat to the evolution of what will become Idahos tallest building.

Weve been dealing with the hole for so many years, said Hutchison. A lot of people say Oh, theyre actually working on it? or Theyre really going to do it this time?

Thats why Hutchison launched a daily Fill the Hole lunch special, advertised by a sign hanging above Eighth Street. The menu rotates daily: a fried ham and cheese sandwich one day, philly cheesesteak the next. He also offers a contractor special on Mondays in an effort to lure the scores of construction workers building up their ap-petites as they build a new landmark.

David Bowar, the project manager for Boise-based Engineered Structures Inc., said the two biggest items on his plate, figura-tively, were a pair of high-profile construc-tion jobs: one at Eighth and Main streets, another less than one-tenth of a mile away, at Broadway Avenue and Front Street, home of the soon-to-open Whole Foods Market and Walgreens Pharmacy.

Whole Foods will employ about 150 people over the course of the project, Bowar told Boise Weekly. And the Tower will bring between 300 and 400 more jobs, total.

Wearing his trademark brown ESI hardhat, Bowar beamed like a proud parent-to-be as public and private officials crawled down a flight of makeshift metal stairs into the Boise Hole on July 12. They broke ground for what will be an 18-story structure, to serve as Zions Banks new Idaho headquarters. The day after the groundbreaking, scaffolding and stage had been replaced by CAT backhoe loaders. By August, workers had already begun laying rebar and pouring concrete for the buildings foundation.

ESI could finish a floor per week, guessed President and CEO Neil Nelson, with a tar-geted ribbon cutting of January 2014.

Bowar said his plans include a lot more time in the hole.

This project will be 80 percent of my

time for the next three years, Bowar said. Youll see a structural steel skeleton coming out of the ground this fall, eventually going up about 280 feet by January or February of next year. Next, the skin will move up the building, and that will start this year as well. Once the skin is on the building, then the inside work can begin.

After sitting empty in Boises downtown for 25 years, filling the hole is an emotional project for ESI, Bowar said.

Thats a lot of blood and sweat down there, he said, pointing to the now infamous hole.

It hits close to home for Bowar, as well. For more than a decade, he worked with Mortenson Construction, the company contracted by Rick Petersons Boise Tower Associ-ates to build the once-promised but ill-fated 25-story Boise Tower at that location.

For more than a decade, Boiseans were promised a tow-er that never was, tangled in legal and financial skirmishes, bankruptcies and an unfinished hole of rebar.

Its really kind of ironic and poetic to be working on this project after working with Mortenson on the Boise Tower, said Bowar.

Ultimately, Mortensons project fizzled, leaving a prominent, historic parcel of down-town Boise empty for years.

But the hole isnt Bowers only major project. In fact, he doesnt have to shuttle too far between his two biggest projects.

The Whole Foods store will be a first for

Idaho but its Bowars third construction project for the Whole Foods corporation. Bowar said the Boise location is on target. In fact, its a bit ahead of schedule. Originally slated for a spring 2013 opening, the store is expected to swing open its doors in time for Thanksgiving.

We plan to deliver that, he said. We havent failed them yet.

Bowar suggested that ESIs track record in building other Whole Foods locations helped secure the companys expansion into Boise.

We were always with Whole Foods along the way to get them in town, he said.

Concrete was already drying under triple-digit temperatures at Broadway Avenue and Front Street during the first week of August as Bowars crews began preparing the ground for new sod, to be rolled out in the coming weeks. Both Whole Foods and the adjacent Walgreens lifted new signage into place to trumpet their arrival to the thousands of vehicles that pass by on any given weekday.

ESI has a sign or two of its own at the site, not simply to say it was on the job but more importantly to advertise what Bowar said was ESIs commitment to the local com-munity after pouring so much of its recent efforts into projects outside of the area. ESI maintains offices in Arizona and Missouri and has worked on Home Depot, Kohls and Walmart retail projects nationwide.

But the company is particularly excited about its Treasure Valley projects, including a new 47-acre campus off of Eagle Road, which will house the headquarters, manufacturing and distribution operations for Scentsy, maker of wickless candles heated in candle warmers. Scentsy even required ESI to design and construct its own rail spur so that railroad tracks would lead right up

NEWS

CITYDESK/NEWS

DIRTYING IDAHO AIR, WATER: EPA FINES NINE GEM STATE CITIES, BUSINESSES

Attention, Caldwell residents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has its eye on you. In particular, its worried about your water. In December 2011, the City of Caldwell was placed on the EPAs watch list for unacceptably high levels of nitrogen and ammonia registered in the citys water.

I have no idea what youre talking about, Gary Shoemaker, Caldwells Water Depart-ment director told Citydesk at the time. Im not sure why we would be on that list.

But Shoemakers department received a fine June 11 for what the EPA said were even more problems at the Canyon County waste-water treatment plant. Caldwell was fined $11,000 for violations of the Clean Water Act for discharge of solids and ammonia.

In fact, another Caldwell business, Rhodes Internationalmaker of frozen cin-namon rollshad an ammonia problem of its own earlier this year. Rhodes was slapped with an $84,484 fine for failure to properly report the storage of ammonia at its Canyon County facility. Agency officials said Rhodes failed to notify local, state or federal officials that it was storing anhydrous ammonia at its facility, a chemical that attacks the skin, eyes, throat and lungs, according to the EPA.

The City of Wilders wastewater treatment facility was also recently cited by the EPA and fined $3,100 for its own violations of the Clean Water Act, for what feds said were improper discharges of E.coli and chlorine.

The EPA fined six other Idaho locations in its second quarter of 2012, including:

$51,000 fine against the Idaho Department of Correction for violat-ing the Clean Water Act at its North Idaho Correctional Institution in Cottonwood;$15,000 fine against Fish Breeders of Idahos catfish aquaculture facility in Buhl for exceeding its phospho-rous discharge limits;$4,260 fine against Brewster West, a cheese processing facility in Ru-pert, for violating the Clean Air Act;$3,000 fine against City Service Valcon for spilling 950 gallons of fuel in Idaho County in April;$1,000 fine against the City of Cul-desac for violating the Clean Water Act; and$694 fine against the tiny Clearwater County town of Ahsahka for violating the Clean Water Act.

The EPA notes when laws are broken, it puts peoples health at risk. Those who dont comply with the laws also gain an unfair business advantage over those who have invested in pollution controls.

George Prentice

ESI project manager David Bowar said the Eighth and Main streets project, better known as the Boise Hole, should take 80 percent of his time for the next three years.

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In addition to its projects constructing a new tower at Eighth and Main streets, Whole Foods Markets at Broadway Avenue and Front Street and Scentsys new headquarters off of Eagle Road in Meridian, ESI con-structed:

and Economics and Environmental Research buildings

in Caldwell

-quarters in Meridian

Nampa

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The view of downtown and the Foothills from the Boise Depot is obscured by poor air quality.

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to the manufacturing operation where massive storage tanks will accommo-date up to 1 million pounds of wax.

We have team meet-

ings where our team is just so emotional and so driven, said Bowar. Theres a high level of emotion and pride for us in all of our projects.

The Eighth and Main tower, Whole Foods, Scentsy headquarters and other local projects such as the just-com-

pleted Micron Business and Economic and Environmental Research buildingsboth at Boise Stateshould dramatically increase

ESIs construction footprint on the region. But for now, Bowar gets excited about the little things, too.

Well have a crane up there with an ESI logo, Bowar said point-ing to the empty space at Eighth and Main streets. That will be pretty un-forgettable.

After examining immigration and capital punishment earlier this summer, the ACLU of Idaho slid the topic of womens reproductive rights into the spotlight Aug. 9 to wrap up its first-ever Law and Liberty Lecture Series, a trio of noontime panel discussions held at the Idaho State Bars Boise headquarters.

Although Senate Bill 1387, mandating an ultrasound procedure for any Idaho woman seeking an abortion, erupted into a Statehouse showdown (and its ultimate withdrawal of the measure) in May, the controversial legislation was Exhibit A as panelists considered current reproductive laws in Idaho and the possibility of future restrictions.

I dont think weve ever had a single year in the past 10 or 15 years that we havent seen attacks on reproductive rights, said Hannah Brass, legislative director of Planned Parenthood Northwest. We expect to see something, or something like this [in the near future]. But Im sure [legislators] are having conversations about bringing it back.

Brass joined Dr. Darin Weyhrich, a Boise OBGYN, and attorney Alan Herzfeld of the Boise-based Herzfeld and Piotrowski law firm on the panel for the event, dubbed Womens Equality and Reproductive Rights.

What was wrong with this bill? Brass asked about SB 1387. Everything. At a broad level, it was demeaning and shamed women seeking legal and safe reproductive health care.

Additionally, according to Brass, the measure included no exceptions for instances of rape, incest or fetal anomalies.

If you need to terminate because it is not a viable pregnancy, when you go in for the abortion, you would have had to undergo another ultrasound that you would pay

for again before the abortion, said Brass. There was no exception.

The Idaho Senate passed the controver-sial measure 23-12, though five Republican members joined all seven Democrats in opposition. Two days later, the bill was abruptly pulled from a scheduled hearing before a House committee.

Though the measure died before reaching a final vote in the House, abortion excep-tion issues already exist within Idaho law. According to Weyhrich, under the jurisdic-tion of the so-called fetal pain bill, abortions cannot be administered in the state after 20 gestational weeks.

Because there is what I would refer to as some relatively fringe science that a fetus can perceive pain beginning at 20 weeks, that restrains the right of a woman to be able to terminate her pregnancy, he said.

Weyhrich also pointed to what he called a very large gaping exception of fetuses with medical anomalies that deem them incompat-ible with life, something he said occurs four to six times a year in Idaho.

The current law will not consider the exception, he said. In every single one of those cases, if you wanted to end the preg-nancy early, you would have to leave this state. I find that deeply disturbing.

Panelists pointed to other Idaho reproduc-tive laws, which they said limited womens access to reproductive health care.

Whether or not the legislature and spe-cifically these specific legislators are coura-geous enough to bring back [the ultrasound measure], I dont know, said Brass. It would have to look different. Really, the only way they could water it down would be not to mandate an ultrasound. But then they wouldnt have a bill.

NEWS

STILL FRUSTRATEDFive months after ultrasound bill, ACLU Idaho

keeps focus on reproductive rightsTABITHA BOWER

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ESI has crafted its own street sign at Eighth and Main streets.


The Capital City Development Corpora-tions proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2013 ($23.4 million) pales in comparison to the City of Boises proposed spending plan ($350 million) or the budget for the Ada County Highway District ($89 million), but CCDCs fiscal wish list reveals big plans for Boises urban core and is telling in what it includes and whats left out. In fact, 56 percent of the agencys variable budget is set aside for fund-ing neighborhood projects.

This is one of the quickest evolutions Ive ever been a part of, said Lauren McLean, Boise City Council member and CCDC commissioner, at the agencys Aug. 13 board meeting.

In May, CCDC commissioners chose to steer Boises urban renewal agency onto a new path by pulling back from those activities best served by others in order to focus on more development and less corporation.

As a result, its proposed 2013 budget includes a 57 percent cut in consultant costs, a 15 percent drop in staffing expense, and a whopping 72 percent cut in support for other organizations.

Among the cuts is $5,000 for the Bronco shuttle, which transports Boise State football fans from downtown to Bronco Stadium on game days, and $20,000 for holiday decorations.

These are high-profile items, said David Eberle, Boise City Council member and CCDC commissioner. Before our support goes away, I want to make sure were talking with the Downtown Boise Association to ex-plore sponsorship opportunities from others. Its not as if were taking away Santa.

CCDC Vice Chair Phil Reberger said the cuts were appropriate, part of what he called right-sizing for CCDC.

Im glad were going in this direction, he said.

CCDC Chair John May said a number of groups and businesses got very comfort-able over the years with CCDC subsidizing decorations and courtesy shuttles.

Eberle said he agreed, but added, I just dont know who else is going to get it done.

Meanwhile, the urban renewal agency is wrapping up FY 2012 with its most aggres-sive schedule to-date of streetscaping, giving facelifts to five areas of the downtown core over the next three months.

All of these projects should be wrapped up by late November, said Katina Dutton, CCDC development manager.

She pointed to south Ninth Street, where a broken irrigation system and existing trees are being ripped out in favor of a more-porous surface and low-water plants to reduce storm water runoff. The pilot project is designed to test a more drought-tolerant streetscape. More importantly, its expected to improve the connection to Ninth Street to Boise State.

Instead of being destroyed, some existing trees may be evaluated for potential reloca-tion to a park in order to make way for newer appropriate trees, which would thrive better within a modernized urban setting.

CCDC is also set to install new sidewalks, trees, benches, bike racks and historic street-lights at several other locations, including Idaho Street between 14th and 15th streets and north Main, Bannock and 10th streets, all before Thanksgiving.

NEWS

WINNERS AND LOSERSCCDC earmarks more money for neighborhoods,

less for Christmas lights, Bronco shuttleGEORGE PRENTICE

Orange marks the spot: CCDC has begun cutting down existing trees along south Ninth Street in favor of a more porous service and low-water plants to reduce storm water runoff.

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GARY JOHNSONFixing faucets, climbing mountains and

running for presidentGEORGE PRENTICE

What were your dreams as a young man?I went to the University of New Mexico in

Albuquerque and studied political science and English. I thought I would run for political office at some point in my life.

Where did that come from?I remember when I was a young boy, my

fourth-grade teacher held a class election to decide who would become United States presi-dent someday. Out of the blue, I won.

Were there political leaders that you considered ideals?

Not really. They all seemed impressive at first, but nobody is what they appear to be. There is no Santa Claus.

But you didnt start out as a professional politician.

By the time I was 21, I started a one-man handyman business in Albuquerque. I grew that business to employ over 1,000 people.

Did you hold all of the skill sets it took to be a plumber, mechanic or electrician?

Im the handiest guy that youve ever met.

So is that how voters first got to know you when you first ran for governor in 1993?

Actually, no. The first headlines said, Tri-athlete Gary Johnson Running for Governor. I thought that was pretty cool.

How accomplished an athlete are you?Ive been the overall winner in several

triathlon events. I competed in the Iron Man championship in Hawaii four times, and Ive won something called the Ridge-A-Thon in Taos, N.M., where you have to hike and ski as many runs as possible in two days.

You also climb mountains.I summited Mt. Everest in 2003. I want to

climb the highest mountain of each continent.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in New Mexico two-to-one. Why did you run for New Mexicos governor on the GOP ticket?

Ive always been in synch with what Repub-licans say theyre about: dollars and sense. But Im not a social conservative, never have been. I think the majority of Americans are fiscally responsible and socially accepting. I dont even like to use the world tolerant. I was the most outspoken governor in the country on issues like school choice and the war on drugs.

Its my understanding that you think the war on drugs is a farce.

Absolutely. A total failure. Marijuana should be legalized and we should adopt a rational drug policy. Fifty percent of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, and that number is going up, not down. People are talking about it like never before, and I like to think that I have contributed to that.

Lets talk about the nations economy. Both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney say that we need to cut taxes to create jobs. But its your desire to gut the tax code entirely.

The system is rife with cronyism; both po-litical parties are selling tax loopholes. Im em-bracing the fair tax. I support a consumption tax in lieu of federal income tax and corporate tax, and yes, that means abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.

Would that mean an end to payroll deductions?

Absolutely. No more federal withholdings: no Social Security, Medicare or even unem-ployment. All of that would come out of the proceeds from the consumption tax.

Help me reconcile that. Lets say you paid $1 for your cup of coffee.

Embedded in that $1 is 23 cents of non-trans-parent taxes on the ingredients and services that made up that cup of coffee. Im saying do away with those taxes and then implement a 23 percent consumption tax.

Why is it 23 percent?Its a proposal.

But it must have penciled out somewhere.

Somewhere, I dont know where. But were talking about a zero corporate

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Gary Johnson is not a typical candidate for president of the United States. Walking into a BODO coffeeshop for a conversation with Boise Weekly, the 59-year-old Libertarian Party standardbearer was traveling solo, sans entourage.

Ask me anything you want, said the two-term New Mexico governor, beginning a free-wheeling dialogue that included economics, the war on drugs, televised debates and the highs and lows of his personal life.


CITIZEN

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tax rate, and if the private sector cant create tens of millions of jobs, I dont know what else it would take.

But thats the private sector. Mean-while, youll have to make wholesale

cuts to hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs.

Im promising to submit a balanced budget in 2013, which would see a 43 percent reduc-tion in federal spending.

So lets start at the top, including the Pen-tagon budget.

Absolutely, a 43 percent cut in military spending. We can provide a strong national defense but we have to end nation building.

But wouldnt that 43 percent cut include significant cuts to veterans benefits?

No, weve made those commitments and should honor them. Im talking about reduc-ing our nuclear warheads from 2,300 to 500 and extricating ourselves from all military interventions.

Do you know for a fact that youll be on the ballot in all 50 states or is that your hope?

Thats the plan. We have a couple of states with issues, but Idaho is not a problem.

What do you know about Idaho?I lived two winters up in Northern Idaho

skiing Schweitzer Mountainwhen I was in college. Ive been to Idaho many, many times.

A fair number of Idaho politicians say they lean toward Libertarianism.

A lot more people describe themselves as Libertarian than vote that way.

How will you get on the stage to par-ticipate in the televised presidential debates

alongside Obama and Romney?I have to be in the polls that determine

who gets to participate. Of the 18 national polling organizations, Im only included in three of them.

Are you saying theres an active collusion among mainstream media to keep you out of the polls and out of this campaign?

Absolutely. Its a gamed system. Were asking all of my supporters to call the polling organizations to include my name. We get into the polls and then we get into the debates.

How vibrant is your campaign?You need two things, otherwise youre

dead in the water. No. 1: You have to exceed expectations. Well, my expectations were zero. I got it covered. No. 2: You have to have momentum, which Ive had since day one.

But in order to have any showing what-soever, you have to be on the stage for the debates.

Youre right. Its the only way I can win.

I know you have two grown children. Are you married?

One of the casualties of my being governor was a divorce after almost 30 years of mar-riage. She died of heart failure after I left office. It was the worst thing in my life.

And today?Im engaged to a lovely woman named

Kate.

How did you meet?Cycling. Were been together for four

years.

Do you have a wedding date?Well have a White House wedding.

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Sun Valley On Ice runs Saturday nights through September 1 promising a dazzling new spin on our traditional outdoor ice show under the stars.

For show tickets or buffet and show tickets go to seats.sunvalley.com or call 208.622.2135.

August 18Evan Lysacek

2010 Olympic Gold MedalistWorld Champion2X US Gold Medalist

Nathan Chen2012 US Junior Mens Gold Medalist

August 25Brian Boitano

Olympic Gold Medalist2X World Champion4X US Champion

September 1Meryl Davis & Charlie White

2012 World Silver Medalists2011 World Champions2010 Olympic Silver Medalists4X US Gold Medalists

(20092012)

now, theres a valid argument to be made that weve outgrown the right to bear arms. Were no longer a frontier society. Were urban and suburban, not rural; less than 2 percent of Americans

still live on farms; 95 percent of us dont hunt; those who still hunt do it for fun not food. We havent had to repel a land invasion by foreign troops since 1812. Why do we need guns?

The NRA may sound hystericalits certainly opportunistic, having called for do-nations three days after Aurorabut its right about gun-control advocates. Anti-gun liberals say they favor common-sense measures that protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens but make it harder and harder for those who should not have weapons under existing law to obtain them, as White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says Obama wants.

Proposals to tighten controls on automatic assault rifles and reduce the number of bullets

per clip merely nibble around the edges of a serious issue.

There are too many guns already out there, too many legally purchased weapons that can be sold privately without being subjected to the Brady Law, for such half-measures to have any effect beyond possibly reducing the body count of the next group killing.

If youre serious about putting an end to Americas bloody love affair with guns, youre going to have to repeal the Second Amend-ment. Everyone, including Democrats, knows that. But its hard to get behind a gun ban thats only supported by 26 percent of the public (a record low, down from 60 percent in 1959). Liberal gun opponents must either embrace a radical and unpopular measurethe only one that might stand a chance of having the desired effector keep proposing wimpy changes that make them look foolish half-assed and intellectually dishonest.

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THE POISON AMONG USH O R M O N E - D I S R U PT I N G C H E M I C A LS P O S E P O S S I B L E R I S K TO W O M E N

L I N D S E Y K O N K E L , E N V I R O N M E NT A L H E A LT H N E W S | I L LU ST R AT I O N S B Y J E N G R A B L E

WARNING:HIDDEN DANGERS IN EVERYDAY LIFE MAY BE AFFECTING YOUR HEALTH

S hortly after moving to Canadas Okanagan Valley, Patricia Lee started experiencing severe irregularities in her menstrual cycle. She had one period that lasted two and a half months. The bleeding was so intense that at one point, doctors recommended a blood transfusion.

I couldnt sleepit was excruciatingly painful and I grew quite weak, said Lee, now 47. Her diagnosis: a fibroid, or benign tumor, the size of a ping-pong ball in her uterus, and two cysts in her ovaries.

At the time, Lee lived in a long, slender valley through the center of British Columbia that produces nearly all of the provinces tree fruits and grapes. Agriculture is intensive there, as is pesticide use.

Lee will never know what role, if any, her environment played in causing her uterine fibroids. But scientists have long suspected a link between hormone-disrupting chemicals in


the environment and gynecological diseases.Research investigating these links has had

mixed results. Now several new studies are adding to the evidence that some estrogen-mimicking pesticides and industrial chemi-cals may increase womens risk of uterine and ovarian diseases helping to solidify a theory that emerged two decades ago.

Our studies are beginning to corrobo-rate the idea that environmental estrogen may be associated with endometriosis, said Germaine Buck-Louis, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Developments epidemi-ology division in Maryland.

Back in 1993, a connection between endo-metriosis and environmental chemicals was discovered. Rhesus monkeys fed food con-taminated with dioxinshormone-disrupting pollutants created by waste incinerators and other industriesdeveloped endometriosis 10 years later.

Endometriosis, when uterine tissue grows in the ovaries or other parts of the body, often causes pelvic pain and infertility. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of reproductive-age women in the United States suffer from it, according to the Endometriosis Founda-tion of America.

In a major new study, two groups of women in the Salt Lake City and San Fran-cisco areasone group with pelvic pain and the other with no symptomswere more likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis if they had high blood levels of the estrogen-like pesticide hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) than women with low levels. HCH has been banned as a crop pesticide in the United States but it builds up and persists in the environment, so it remains in some food supplies.

Calling the research revolutionary, Buck-Louis said that finding the link in both groups of women is a pretty strong signal that the connection between endometriosis and the pesticide is real.

Also, women in the same group with the highest level of a sun-screen chemical, benzophenone, in their urine had a 19 percent higher risk of endometriosis than women with the lowest levels, according to research pub-lished in Environ-mental Science and Technology.

And in Italy, women had endometrio-sis more often if they had higher levels of two banned chlorinated chemicals that can disrupt hormonespolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or residue of the insecti-cide DDT, according to a 2009 study of 158 women.

Recent research has uncovered links to other gynecological problems, too. Women in Greece diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)which causes irregular menstrual periods, infertility, weight gain and excessive hair growthwere more likely

to have higher blood levels of the estrogen-mimicking chemical bisphenol A than women without the disease, according to a study published last year.

Its certainly plausible that any out-side source that alters estrogen levels, even slightly, could contribute to gynecological diseases, said Dr. Megan Schwarzman, a family physician at San Francisco General Hospital and an environmental health scien-tist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Exposure to many hormone-disrupting chemicals starts in the womb, and some scientists suspect the timing may be impor-tant in determining reproductive disease risk later in life.

We know from animal models that there are critical periods during early development when cells are rapidly dividing and forming the circuitry through which cells will com-municate with each other to form various tissues of the body, said Retha Newbold, a reproductive biologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina. When chemicals alter this set-up, the changes may not be reversible.

Future generations of females may be at risk, too, according to new animal research by Washington State University scientists.

Female rats exposed in the womb to high doses of several chemicalsincluding pesticides and plasticizersdeveloped cysts resembling human polycystic ovarian syn-drome and premature menopause, according to the study published in PLoS One in July. Those changes were passed down through three generationsgreat-granddaughters of the exposed rats also developed cysts and other ovarian problems, even though they were not directly exposed.

Seeking to learn how the chemicals were able to harm future generations, the Wash-ington State researchers examined the DNA of the ones whose mothers were exposed to vinclozolin, an estrogenic fungicide commonly used in the wine industry. They found that the chemical had repro-

grammed genes as the rat fetuses developed.

Other chemicals in the study that had the multi-generational effects were dioxins, a pesticide mix-ture including permethrin and DEET and a

plastic mixture including BPA

and two widely used phthalates.

What we are see-ing in animal models

is sobering, said John McLachlan, a biomedical

scientist at Tulane University in New Orleans. The gene mecha-

nisms responsible for transmitting such harmful effects across generations are essen-tially the same in humans, he said.

In the case of uterine fibroids, the bodys natural estrogens turn genes on and off in the smooth muscle of the uterus that allow the tumors to grow, according to research by McLachlan and col-leagues. They are now investigating

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Our studies are beginning to corroborate the idea

that environmental estrogen may be associated

with endometriosis-Germaine Buck-Louis


A group of chemicals found in household plastics and medical supplies is linked to higher rates of diabetes in womenup to double the rate for women with the high-est levels, according to new research led by Harvard scientists.

Blacks and Mexican Americans and women living in poverty are exposed to the highest levels of some of these compounds, called phthalates, the scientists reported.

Whether these chemicals actually cause diabetes in women, however, remains unclear.

These findings are important clues, but its only a first step, said Richard Stahlhut, an environmental health researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center who co-authored the study. Its extremely likely that phthalates and other chemical contaminants will turn out to be a big part of the obesity and diabetes epidemic, but at this point we really dont know how these chemicals are interacting with each other, or

with the human body.Phthalates make plastics such as polyvi-

nyl chloride (PVC) more flexible, and they are added to some cosmetics, perfumes and other personal care products to stabilize colors and fragrances. A wide variety of household goods rely on phthalates, includ-ing vinyl flooring, adhesives and shower curtains. More than 75 percent of Ameri-cans have phthalates in their urine.

Until now, most phthalate research has focused on reproductive consequences because these compounds seem to disrupt male hormones. Boys exposed to phthalates in the womb had signs of feminized geni-talia, which may lead to fertility problems. Researchers also have found neurological effects, including reduced IQs and attention problems in boys.

The new study examined diabe-tes and phthalate concentrations in 2,350 women who participated in a national survey by the Centers for

9:30AM - 1:30PM 8th Street from Bannock to Main Street & on the Grove Plaza

Chef Abbigail Carlson - Cooking with fresh, seasonal produce from the Market - Saturdays 10am to Noon

This Week at the Market -

Fresh Roasted Peppers Local Bi-Color Sweet Corn Idaho Grown Strawberries,

Blueberries & Raspberries Organic Gourmet Melons Locally

Grown Peaches, Plums & Nectarines

* Fresh locally grown produce, herbs,

& flowers

* Idaho Specialty Foods & Wines

* Great Selection of Local Artwork

THIS SATURDAY - VEGGIE DERBY

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BITTER TASTED O CTO R S LO O K AT C H E M I C A L L I N K TO D I A B E T ES

C R Y ST A L G A M M O N , E N V I R O N M E NT A L H E A LT H N E W S


Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 through 2008.

Diabetes, an endocrine disease marked by problems with insulin production or insulin resistance,

affects nearly 26 million Americans, or 11 percent of the population older than 20, according to CDC data. Blacks have a 19 percent chance of developing diabetesa rate 77 percent higher than that of whitesand Hispanics have a 66 percent higher rate than whites.

Although obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, nearly a quarter of nor-mal-weight adults have diabetes or other metabolic disorders. Experts say chemical contaminants such as phthalates could play an important role in this disconnect between obesity and type 2 diabetes rates.

In the new research, certain phthal-atesdibutyl phthalates (DBP), which are primarily used in adhesives and lacquer finishes, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a component of vinyl flooring, caulks and sealantswere linked to double the rate of diabetes in women with the highest levels of phthalate markers in their urine, accord-

ing to the report published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives.

DBP and Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a plasticizer found in vinyl prod-ucts including IV bags and tubing, were also linked to higher blood glucose levels and insulin resistance, two common precursors of type 2 diabetes, according to the study.

No relationship was found between dia-betes and diethyl phthalate (DEP), accord-ing to the study, which was led by Tam-arra James-Todd of Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School. That phthalate is found in high concentrations throughout the U.S. population and it is the phthalate most commonly associated with personal care products.

Other recent studies also have found similar links between phthalates and meta-bolic disorders.

Certain phthalates doubled the risk of diabetes in older Swedish adults, according to research published in April. And DEHP, the phthalate in flexible vinyl and medical supplies, was linked to higher rates of diabetes in a 2011 study of Mexican women. Higher levels of

whether estrogen-mimicking chemi-cals in the environment affect these same genes.

The danger of estrogen-like chemicals already has been well-

documented with DES, or diethylstilbestrol, a drug that was prescribed to millions of women at risk of miscarriages from 1940 through 1971. Daughters and granddaugh-ters of the pregnant women who took the potent estrogenic drug had an increased risk of endometriosis, uterine fibroids and rare reproductive cancers.

But pesticides, sunscreen ingredients and PCBs are less potent hormone mimics than DES. The effects on womens health are not as clear.

Some studies have found no connection between womens exposure to environmental chemicals and gynecological diseases. For instance, among several hundred women in Italy highly exposed to dioxins from a 1976 factory explosion, UC Berkeley scientists found no significant increase in endometrio-sis linked to their contaminant levels. And in Japan, there was no increased rate of the disease among 139 infertile women with higher exposures to hormone-disrupting compounds including PCBs and dioxins, ac-cording to a 2005 study.

Newbold said because decades can pass between exposure during fetal development or early childhood and the manifestation of the disease in adult life, it can be difficult to nail down a link.

Only recently are studies starting to fo-cus on developmental risk factors in relation to adult disease, she said.

Endometriosis and fibroids are referred to as benign uterine diseases, character-ized mostly by painful periods, according to McLachlan. Because these growths are not life-threatening or malignant, traditionally, these diseases havent garnered the attention they should, he said.

But the disorders sometimes are linked to fertility problems, and researchers also are beginning to realize that such symptoms can

be a sign of serious diseases to come.Gynecological problems during the

reproductive years may be a predictor of diseases, such as cancer, later in life, said Barbara Cohn, a reproductive health scientist and director of Child Health and Development Studies at the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, Calif.

Endometriosis has been associated with an increased risk of some ovarian cancers. However, the risk remains small, according to a study published in Lancet Oncology in May. Women with endometriosis have a 1.5 percent lifetime chance of developing ovar-ian cancer compared with 1 percent in the general female population.

The research is less clear on a link between cancer and other gynecological diseases, such as uterine fibroids.

Lee was terrified that her fibroids and extreme menstrual periods were signs of cervical or ovarian cancer. Several doc-tors recommended that she have her uterus removedstandard treatment for severe fibroids. But she refused.

You wouldnt cut your nose off because you got frequent nose bleeds, said Lee. No one seemed concerned with trying to figure out why I was having such heavy periods.

Pesticides and other environmental chemicals may not have contributed to Lees gynecological problems, since other factors, such as age and genetic predisposition, also increase a womans risk.

Nevertheless, since leaving the Okanagan in 2010 and moving to Nova Scotia, Lee has seen a marked decrease in her symptoms. She now avoids processed foods and buys only organic produce. The fibroid is no longer growing. In fact, according to Lee, it has shrunk in size.

I can no longer feel it, but I know it is still there, she said. I worry constantly what the health effects will be down the road.

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phthalates were also associated with greater waist circumference and insu-lin resistance, two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, in a 2007 study of U.S. men.

Industry groups are skeptical of the sig-nificance of the new findings.

The phthalate data are derived from a single (spot) sample. For substances like phthalates that are rapidly broken down and eliminated from the body, depending on a spot urine sample is a significant design flaw, said Steve Risotto, senior director of the American Chemistry Council, a trade association for chemical manufacturers.

A group representing cosmetics and fra-grance manufacturers doubts personal care products have a role in diabetes.

Diethyl phthalate, also known as DEP, is the only phthalate with significant use in cosmetics. The study found no association between DEP and diabetes, noted Linda Loretz, a director of the Personal Care Prod-uct Council.

Nail polish used to contain high levels, but most manufacturers voluntarily eliminat-ed phthalates in recent years. The chemicals also have been banned in childrens toys.

Black women in the study had more than double the concentrations of DEP, the phthalate in cosmetics, and DBP, the phthal-ate in adhesives and lacquers that was linked to a double rate of diabetes, when compared with white women. Mexican-American women had 75 percent higher concentra-tions of DEP. Poor women had up to 78 percent higher levels of BBPthe phthalate in vinyl flooring that was associated with a double rate of diabetesthan women living above poverty level.

The racial and economic trends were in line with another recent study. Published in April, it found that women ranking lowest in socioeconomic status (based on race, education, income and food security mea-surements) had up to 83 percent more BBP than women with the highest socioeconomic status.

Non-white women had significantly more DBP, the phthalate in adhesives and lacquers that was linked to diabetes in the new research, and DEP, the primary phthalate associated with cosmetics, than their white counterparts. Women with lower levels of education and income had more BBP, the

vinyl flooring phthalate linked to diabetes in the study.

Consumer behavior patterns might explain these disparities, Stahlhut said. For example, if black women use more hair care products or cosmetics, they would likely have higher levels of DEP in their bodies. But its impossible to distill trends like these from the current data, Stahlhut said.

Its difficult to interpret these patterns, said Roni Kobrosly, an epidemiology re-searcher at the University of Rochester who led the socioeconomic study published in the journal Environmental Research. They suggest that, on a large public health level, patterns of phthalate exposure vary with socioeconomic factors. But its premature to talk about the implications on an individual or cultural level.

Because neither study included long-term follow-up with the women, the researchers cannot determine whether high phthalate concentrations actually led the women to develop diabetes or other diseases. Still, the findings are an important first step in sorting out the relationships between these chemi-cals and chronic diseases such as diabetes, experts say.

Several other pollutants have been linked to type 2 diabetes risks. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and bisphenol A (BPA) are thought to disrupt the endocrine system by interfering with hormone signals. Studies suggest that phthalates may hinder glucose metabolism and stimulate fat cell produc-tion.

With phthalates, the story is really still emerging, said Kristina Thayer, a researcher with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program. Studies like these are considered exploratory, but they seem to be consistent.

More needs to be done to really fill in this question of potential causality, and the roles that specific phthalates may play, she added.

Stahlhut noted that product formulations are often trade secrets, making it difficult for scientists and consumers to know which phthalates are in specific products.

Figuring this out for sure either way will take a long time, unfortunately, he said. So whats our best strategy in the mean-time?

P h t h a l at es m a k e p l a st i c s s u c h a s p o ly v i n y l c h lo r i d e ( P V C ) m o r e f l e x i b l e , a n d t h e y a r e a d d e d to s o m e c o s m e t i c s , p e r f u m es a n d ot h e r

p e r s o n a l c a r e p r o d u cts to sta b i l i z e c o lo r s a n d f r a g r a n c es .


FRIDAYAUG. 17vino

BASQUE MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTERS WINEFEST

Dealing with constant complaints from a spouse, cries of were bored from out-of-school-for-the-summer children and stories of mis-erable dates from friends? Blow off some steam and trade the everyday whine-

fest for a winefest that only happens once a yearand is a lot more fun.

The Basque Museum and Cultural Center will host the 15th installment of its annual Winefest fund-raising event Friday, Aug. 17, on the Basque Block.

A slew of local wineries and distributors will pour tasters of domestic and imported varieties of adult grape drinks, and if you like what you tasteor have a few too many tasters and get the buzzed-buying itchbottles and cases will be

available for purchase. Soak up the booze slosh-

ing around in your gut with tapas from Basque Block restaurants, and then take part in the thrilling action of a live auction. Or, if com-petitive paddle raising isnt your bag, cruise by and bid on goodies during the silent auction.

Entertainment will be provided by Basque event staples the Oinkari Basque Dancers.

Proceeds from the event support the Basque Mu-seum and Cultural Centers

education and cultural programs.

Tickets are available in advance (and at a discount) by calling the Basque Museum.

5:30-9:30 p.m., $27 adv., $30 day-of. Basque Block, 601 Grove St., 208-343-2671, basquemuseum.com.

SATURDAYAUG. 18music

PICNIC AT THE POPSFeel like soaking in some

stellar philharmonic music but unhappy with the idea of spending a few hours in

a dark theater when the sun is shining and a summer breeze is blowing? Well, that conundrum is solved, thanks to Boise Philharmonics brand-spanking new Picnic at the Pops series, which will kick off Saturday, Aug. 18, at Eagle River Pavilion.

The Picnic at the Pops series invites attendees to a more relaxed philharmonic

BOISE WEEKLY PICKSvisit boiseweekly.com for more events

Whats better than beer and bikes? Maybe beer, bikes, live music and costumes?

THURSDAYAUG. 16art

RAW ARTISTS: RADIATEBoise artists will get RAW once again Thursday, Aug. 16, with Radiate, the next iteration

of the RAW Artists visual arts series at the Powerhouse Event Center. RAW showcases local talent in a variety of media, including film, fashion, music, and visual and performance arts. Events occur monthly and feature different up-and-coming artists.

Host Dylan Haas will present the evenings combination of music, dance and entertain-ment, including the short film Crawlspace by All Fools Productions.

The inaugural RAW showcase in Boise took place May 17 and featured a catwalk for models to strut, Red Light burlesque, comedians and a host of attendees dressed to the nynes.

This months installment will feature the astounding acrobatic abilities of Ophidia Studios pole artists, Native fashion design, hair styling by Lunatic Fringe Salon, visual art by Alexandria Claar, photography by Sour Bamboo Pictures and a whole bunch of other neat-o artists.

Music by SXSW music fest veteran Muffalo, singer and guitarist Cassie Lewis and elec-tronica beatmaker Mike DJ Myko Olivieri will round out the evening.

Cocktail attire is requested and the event is for ages 18 and older. Alcohol will be available with ID.

8 p.m.-2 a.m., $10 adv., $15 door. Powerhouse Event Center, 621 S. 17th St., rawartists.org.

Boiseans will be able to get RAW with live music, pole dancing, fashion and assorted visual art at Radiate.FRIDAY-SATURDAYAUG. 17-18bikes

TOUR PRE/DE FATFort Collins, Colo., brewers New Belgium Brewing Company will bring the all-out, costume-

bike-beer party Tour de Fat to Boise Saturday, Aug. 18, for a daylong celebration in Ann Mor-rison Park. Festivities include live music, a parade and a two-wheeled group ride. Side effects may include a newfound love of bicycles, pictures in a ridiculous costume and a hangover.

Attendees are encouraged to dress upand they tend to take it very seriously. This years theme calls for wild animal duds.

Integral to the days events is the car sacrifice, in which one willing participant gives up his or her car for charity. The car trader is rewarded with a tricked-out bicycle, which must be used to commute for one year. Proceeds from the event benefit the Southwest Idaho Mountain Bik-ing Association, the Treasure Valley Cycling Association and the Boise Bicycle Project.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the parade beginning promptly at 10 a.m. The party begins when the parade arrives at the Tour de Fat stage, with live music by Sierra Leones Refugee All Stars, Sean Hayes, Yo-Yo People and Sssnakenstein.

Cant wait for Saturday? Youre not alone. A warm-up party, called Tour PRE-Fat, begins at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, and will take over

Eighth Street between Idaho and Bannock streets for a block party with Crooked Fence and New Belgium beer sales benefiting Radio Boise. Finn Riggins, Brainstorm, Buster Blue and Ssssnake will play live music, with Radio Boise DJs spinning between sets.

Local bike shops will be on hand to help attendees make pre-parade adjustments. Buy a raffle ticket and you could score a Trek Cocoa bicycle or limited-edition New Belgium 2012 Anniversary bike.

Tour PRE-Fat: Friday, Aug. 17, 3-10 p.m., FREE. Eighth Street between Idaho and Bannock streets. Tour de Fat: Saturday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., FREE admission, $5 suggested dona-tion for parade participation. Ann Morrison Park, 1000 Americana Blvd., newbelgium.com.

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GOT FIXED? MOBILE BIKE REPAIRAfter leaving his post as lead mechanic at Boise Bicycle

Project, Andrew Little launched Got Fixed?, a new mobile bike repair service. But while we-come-to-you bike repair isnt new in the Treasure Valley, Little practices what he

preacheshe trucks his tools around on two wheels.

I havent owned a car in five years, he said.

Little has tricked out his personal steed with a trailer full

of tools and painting supplies, even a special rig that allows him to pull up to three bikes behind his own.

If Im carrying a full set of tools on my bike, it will weigh 80 pounds, Little said. Ive carried up to almost 200 pounds at one time. Its difficult to walk, but once you get up on the bike, its easier to ride.

Little offers bike painting, including pinstriping, alongside full-service bike repair and the occasional run to pick up a bike a tipsy customer left at a downtown venue. He said its not uncommon for a group to call him to work on all of its bikes at once.

In addition to affording him the opportunity to do what he loves, Little said his method is also practical.

It gives you advantages. Say somebody broke down on a trail up in the Foothills, you could go fix a bike up there. Your response time is generally faster than other people who are mobile, Little said.

Andrew Crisp

For more info on Got Fixed?, call 208-319-4708

performance, where requi-site Boise summer uniforms of flip flops and shorts are encouraged.

The first installment of the series will feature the music of George Gershwin, including the American com-posers popular works from Girl Crazy, Porgy and Bess and An American in Paris. The evening will feature guest artists and signers Michele and Jason Detwiler.

The series is intended to be family friendly, so dont worry about finding a babysitter.

We decided to put to-gether music that really was meant for lots of generations to enjoy together, Boise

Philharmonic Conductor Robert Franz said in an April interview with Boise Weekly.

Things to think about bringing: a picnic, sealed nonalcoholic beverages, a jacket for when the sun goes down and bug spray. Things to leave at home: umbrellas, beach toys like Frisbees and beach balls and booze.

Reserved chair seating is available, as well as VIP tents, which come with two bottles of wine and snacks. Tents must be reserved by calling the philharmonic at 208-344-7849. Lawn seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so grab a blanket or low-backed chair and show up early to claim a

prime spot. While picnics are allowed,

food vendors will be on-site as well. Restaurant partner Bella Aquila will offer a 10-percent discount on take-out food orders with proof of Picnic at the Pops tickets, and Porterhouse Market of-fers an array of to-go choices for attendees. Pre-ordering is encouraged.

Grown-up beverages will be available at the venue with ID and doors open at 6 p.m.

7:30 p.m., $22-$402, FREE lawn seating for chil-dren. Eagle River Pavilion, 827 E. Riverside Drive, Eagle, 208-938-2933, boi-sephilharmonic.org.

Kyle Kinane offers a little of the brighter side of the dark side.

S U B M I T an event by e-mail to [email protected]. Listings are due by noon the Thursday before publication.

SUNDAYAUG. 19funny

KYLE KINANES KEEP MISTAKIN TOUR

Comedian Kyle Kinane is a little dark. For start-ers, hes sure his alarm clock is heckling him.

When it flashes 8 a.m., its like its saying, boo, boo, boo, he says.

Then there was his job selling cake decorations, which left him with the impression that if he were hit by a bus and killed on his way home, the world might be a better place.

Even his onstage gait is more like that classic street dance, the drunken hobo shuffle. Were he to ask you for change through the mic, you might offer it up. Why? Sure, he looks downtrodden and in needlike a serial killer on the Appalachian trail, as he puts itbut mostly because its hysterical.

Kinane has done appearances on Comedy Central Presents, The Very Funny Show and Last Call with Carson Daly, and is currently gigging everywhere from the West Coast to Ireland as part of his Keep Mistakin Tour.

Hell be in Boise for one night only with openers Ian Karmel from Portland, Ore., and Seattle comic Bryan Cook. Boises own Olek Szewc-zyk will host. Kinane will headline, because as he puts it: Every train wreck needs a caboose.

Tickets can be pur-chased by telephone, or at Liquid or Solid.

8 p.m., $10. Liquid, 405 S. Eighth St., Ste. 110, 208-941-2459, liquidboise.com.

Feel the urge to eat a corndog and then get on a spinning ride? Youre in luck, the Western Idaho Fair is here.

FRIDAY AUG. 17corndogs

WESTERN IDAHO FAIRCertain things are required in order to enjoy a complete Treasure Valley summer: One must

float the Boise River, attend some sort of outdoor musical performance, have a drink on a patio, and journey to Expo Idaho to witness the craziness that is the annual Western Idaho Fair.

The event that brings about corn dogs, funnel cakes and the choicest people watching in the valley kicks off Friday, Aug. 17, and continues through Sunday, Aug. 26. Idahoans can flock to Garden City beginning at noon every day in search of tasty gut-bombs and carnival rides.

The event will feature the 4-H and Future Farmers of America exhibitors who have become fair staples. Peruse the selection of raised-with-care livestock and blue-ribbon-winning produce, and then catch one of the unique competitions, such as the Iron Flower Arranger Design Competition, Kids Pedal Tractor Pull, Lego Sumo Bot Challenger or Womens Skillet Toss.

Performances will include a battle of the bands, comedian/juggler Steve Russell, Knights of the Realm theatrical jousting show and canines catching Frisbees, in addition to myriad other acts.

And of course, what would the fair be without an odd mash-up of headlining musicians? This year features Weird Al Yankovic, Chris Young, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, STYX and X-Factor finalist Chris Rene.

Special deals can be found on different days, such as adult discount admission on opening day. A fair coupon book can be purchased for $5 on-site or $3 in advance, and various prizes and discounts will be given out through the fairs Facebook page.

Noon-11 p.m., $5 adults, $2 ages 6-11, $3 ages 62 and older in advance; $7 adults, $4 ages 6-11, $5 ages 62 and older beginning Friday, Aug. 17, through Sunday, Aug. 26. Expo Idaho, 5610 Glenwood St., 208-287-5650, idahofair.com.

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WEDNESDAY AUG. 15Festivals & Events

SPLASH BASHEat, drink, cool off and relax at the weekly pool party. Featuring a poolside bar, special appetizers and live music by Dan Costello and the Truck Stop Trio. All ages welcome. 5-10 p.m. FREE. Owyhee Plaza Hotel, 1109 Main St., Boise, 208-343-4611, owyheeplaza.com.

On Stage

THE BIBLE: THE COMPLETE WORD OF GOD (ABRIDGED)The Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival presents this affection-ate, irreverent roller coaster ride of sex, violence, murder and miracles from Genesis to The Book of Revelation. Tickets are available by calling 208-726-4TKS or at the NexStage box office. See Arts News, Page 32. 9:30 p.m. $15, FREE for children younger than 12. NexStage The-atre, 120 S. Main St., Ketchum, 208-726-2985, nexstagetheater.org.

CINDERELLABroadways magical musical comedy about a working girl who cant catch a break comes to life in this enchanting version of one of the most-beloved fairy tales of all time. 8 p.m. $10-$18. Starlight Mountain Theatre, 850 S. Middlefork Road, Crouch, 208-462-5523, starlightmountainthe-atre.com.

THE IMAGINARY INVALIDLive music and 1960s French pop culture abound in this Moliere tale about a wealthy hypochon-driac. Originally produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 8 p.m. $12-$40. Idaho Shake-speare Festival, 5657 Warm Springs Ave., Boise, 208-336-9221, idahoshakespeare.org.

THERES CHINESE TUNNELS UNDER BOISE!Two 20-year-old metal-heads are cooped up in a late-80s basement and embark on a journey not unlike the Zelda video game. Neurolux will offer a full bar at the venue during intermission and the hour prior to show time. Tickets are available in advance at emptyboattheatrecompany.org. 8 p.m. $15 adv., $18 door. Boise WaterCooler, 1401 W. Idaho St., Boise.

Food & Drink

BARBECUE AND BORDEAUX BRONSON BROWN BENEFITThis event is a fundraiser to help Bronson Brown and his family defray the cost of his treatment of aplastic anemia, a serious blood disorder that often re-quires a bone marrow transplant. There will be live and silent auctions, live music, food/wine and more. Seating is limited. For reservations, call the winery or email [email protected]. 5:30 p.m. $50. Woodriver Cellars, 3705 N. Hwy. 16, Eagle, 208-286-9463, woodrivercellars.com.

8 DAYS OUT

WEEK IN REVIEW

ATHLETIC AND ARTISTIC FREAKS After a marathon week watching high-dive splashes and bal-

ance beam routines on TV, Boise got a live taste of Olympic glory when the city held a birthday celebration for homegrown two-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong Aug. 11. Festivities kicked off at the Boise Depot, where hundreds of cyclists joined Armstrong in a ride down Capitol Boulevard.

Armstrong showed up in her red, white and blue Team USA racing jersey and shorts, missing only the aerodynamic helmet and expensive bike, observed Boise Weeklys Andrew Crisp. Instead, she towed her son behind her from the depot to the Capitol in an attached bike trailer, her husband trailing not far behind.

Throngs gathered at Capitol Park for a presentation with Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, Gov. C.L. Butch Otter and first lady Lori Ot-ter, which was followed by birthday cake and chocolate milk.

Another group of world champion athletes convened Aug. 11 in Emmett, but they had nothing to do with the Olympics. The Toadstool Billiard Cafe hosted the Beat the Champ arm-wrestling challenge, where U.S. National Champion John LaVergne dem-onstrated his steely grip to raise funds for the upcoming world championships in Brazil.

LaVergne has a very disarming personality, especially for an arm-wrestler. He welcomed opponents at his fundraiser, shook hands with all of them and spent time teaching the finer points of the sport he adores, noted BWs Sheree Whiteley.

Moving from freakishly strong to freakishly talented, last week, more than 100 artists contributed 76 new murals to Freak Alley Gallery on Eighth to Ninth streets in between Idaho and Bannock streets downtown.

Many of this years murals were painted over existing murals from last years project, and others have incorporated the existing murals beneath into the new ones layered on top, such as a new painting of Boise States Coach Chris Petersen bursting through the existing mural of reggae legend Bob Marley, explained BWs Josh Gross.

Colby Akers, who curates the space, said he eventually hopes to maintain the murals for two-year stretches and expand the gal-lery to neighboring walls, as the building owners will allow.

Another group of artistic freaks were on display Aug. 10 at The Shredder. About 100 people crowded into the nondescript 10th Street warehouse to check out Super Happy Funtime Bur-lesque, a live-music, satirical performance troupe.

The Poorly Timed X-mas Special follows Joe the Cabdriver af-ter he kills Santa in a drug-induced sex rage. Joe then takes over Santas gig and travels around the world encountering all sorts of mischief and mayhem. Oh, and a lot of skin, starting with a bikini-clad Rudolph who must be broken into submission before she will fulfill her duties, explained BW freelancer Mika Belle.

At the show, local burlesque performer Lady Bomb DeLuxe said: I try to always support this artform, and I think Boise should be more supportive of nontraditional art.

Tara Morgan

Throngs gathered to celebrate Kristin Armstrongs Olympic achievement.

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SIGUR ROS, VALTARIMost anything Sigur Ros touches turns to gold. And like its

other albums, Valtari is sweet and pretty and draws forth emo-tions even though its impossible to understand a stitch of the bands made-up Hopelandic language.

However, after a long wait and the high expecta-tions imposed by the magic of the bands last studio album, 2008s Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spi-lum Endalaust, I was hoping for more. More new sounds, more evolution, just more.

The record isnt bad; its just tame, inward-facing and, at first, boring.

Valtari is without a doubt the quietest record released by these ethereal Icelandic geniuses, and it feels a bit like listening to a chorus of wind chimes floating in a summer breeze.

Over the years, Sigur Ros has honed the ability to force catharsis from song structure without leaning on lyrical content. Its a rare talent that doesnt come along often in 21st century music. And Valtari is most certainly a Sigur Ros record. But after monumental tracks like Gobbledigook and Festival, its hard not to expect these guys to keep pushing it, to break their drums and their voices as they test the edges of their artform.

But maybe thats just what theyre doingtesting an edge. How gentle can they be and still sneak an unexpected feeling? How long can they whisper something in your ear without you realizing, only to find yourself later repeating it?

In a musical universe that is ever cranked up to capacity, leave it to Sigur Ros to bring us to our knees with subtlety.

Catie Young

On Stage

COMEDY AT THE VARSITY: RICK PULIDOCatch the come-dic stylings of this funny man, followed by a dueling piano show and DJ Mighty Delta One. 7 p.m. $8. Varsity Pub, 1441 N. Eagle Road, Meridian, 208-906-0658, varsitypubmeridian.com.

JOHN AND JEN, THE MUSI-CALThe show centers on the relationship between a brother and sister and a mother and son. The performances will be a fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain High School drama department. 7 p.m. $10 general adm

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Boise Weekly Vol. 21 Issue 08