They've been off the stage for years, but two aging politicians remain the Idaho standard of excellence for Democrats and Republicans running for office this fall. Former governors Cecil Andrus, a 77-year-old Democrat, and Phil Batt, an 81-year-old Republican, are fondly remembered for a brand of no-nonsense, consensus-building leadership that many say is lacking in public life today.

Former Portland Mayor Vera Katz is ready to go back to work. This time, in the private sector. A public relations agency called Gallatin Public Affairs has hired 75-year-old Katz as a media consultant. The agency says she will call upon her decades of public service in Oregon as she advises Gallatin’s clients.

The former three-term Speaker of the Oregon House and 36-year veteran of Oregon politics will advise clients on local, state and federal public policy.

The original Pend Oreille Mine opened in 1950 and closed in 1977 when the Bunker Hill Mining Co. closed its smelter in Kellogg, Idaho. Without a nearby smelter, there was no place to refine the ore from the mine.

For nearly 100 years, Moscow has been home to Idaho’s only law school, but Idaho is changing and growing. Many would-be attorneys say they would rather live, study and intern in Boise. To meet this demand, the University of Idaho, College of Law wants to expand its offerings to Boise.

Most Missoulians know very little - if anything at all - about the county’s proposed Emergency Operation Center, a project that depends on the support of voters on Election Day, less than two months away. In an August telephone survey of 450 likely voters in Missoula County, 54 percent didn’t know anything about the $23 million project.

A $25 million gift from the Miller Foundation could help transform Oregon's view of higher education.

I'm content to leave political analysis of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, recently chosen as Sen. John McCain's running mate, to those who make a living doing such things. I must, however, take a bit of good-natured exception to a reference in Daniel Henninger's "What's So Special About Sarah?" (Wonder Land, Sept. 4), where he says (or implies that someone has said) that Gov. Palin graduated "from a no-name university." That would be, of course, the University of Idaho, where we proudly celebrate a 120-year legacy of leadership for our state and nation.

The Idaho Cobalt Project (ICP) expects to begin construction on its underground cobalt mine in 2009, Cecil Andrus told about 50 people gathered for a Challis Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. While some preliminary work may begin this fall, the big construction year will be 2009, said Andrus. He is a former Idaho Governor and U.S. Interior Secretary and current member of Formation Capital USA's board of directors.

Since Stimson Lumber Company made the difficult decision to close the Bonner mill, one of their key objectives has been to prepare the site for a new industrial owner who will succeed them in bringing good jobs to Missoula County.

Merritt Paulson on Wednesday launched a public campaign to build support for a proposed Major League Soccer franchise in Portland. The pitch includes planned stadium upgrades to PGE Park downtown for the MLS club and a new 8,000-seat stadium in the Lents neighborhood for the Portland Beavers AAA baseball club.

Environmentalists, a former governor and officials from a company planning to mine cobalt from the belly of a central Idaho mountain joined forces Monday to praise a deal they say guarantees long-term protection of the environment.

The Obama ’08 signs end roughly where the orchards begin. Another reinvented Western town gives way to another valley of calloused hands. Telecommuting gives way to irrigation. New gives way to old.

Tens of thousands have given their time this primary season, making phone calls and knocking on doors for their favorite candidate.

Royer leads Seattle office after departure of Gary Smith, teams with Washington native Joe Hardy on Washington State-Washington, D.C. issues.

Starr Corporation is something of an anomaly in a world where less than half of all businesses passed down to a younger generation of family members will actually last more than two years.

The Gallatin Group today announced that Lyn Darrington has been named Partner in the firm’s Boise office, and Sydney Sallabanks has joined the Boise office as a Principal.