U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar to speak in Boise, Moscow
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, a Boise native, will speak twice in Idaho during a pair of public appearances in connection with an upcoming University of Idaho lecture series.
First, at 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Sept. 6, Prelogar will present at JUMP Boise’s Pioneer Room, 1000 W. Myrtle St., in her hometown of Boise. Then, at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Sept. 7, Prelogar will deliver her lecture, “When Justice is Done: Representing the United States in the Supreme Court,” at the University of Idaho’s Bruce M. Pitman Center, 709 Deakin Ave., in Moscow.
Prelogar’s presentation in part of the 2022 Sherman J. Bellwood Memorial Lecture. The UI College of Law, the Idaho Supreme Court and Idaho State Bar Association are sponsoring her visit.
Both events are free and open to the public. Prelogar’s Moscow lecture will be streamed at www.uidaho.edu/live.
Prelogar is the 48th U.S. solicitor general, which is the fourth-highest position in the Department of Justice. In her position, Prelogar supervises all of the federal government’s litigation in the Supreme Court.
Prelogar previously served as an assistant to the solicitor general and as an assistant special counsel to former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s investigation into interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Woman who protested Idaho health official’s home sentenced to jail
A Caldwell woman who took part in a protest outside the home of an Ada County commissioner and Central District Health board member in December 2020 has been sentenced for disturbing the peace.
An Ada County Magistrate Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Susan Lang, 52, to seven days in jail, with credit for two days already served. A jury found Lang guilty of disturbing the peace in a trial that ended July 27.
Lang was part of a group of people protesting on Dec. 9, 2020, outside the home of Diana Lachiondo, who was then an Ada County commissioner and a member of the Central District Board of Health. Other protesters had gone to the homes of other board members. A larger group had also protested outside the CDHD building earlier that evening as the board met to discuss a response to COVID-19.
When police responded to Lachiondo’s home, the protesters had already left, but officers found evidence that included chalk on the sidewalk and videos posted online. Neighbors also signed a complaint allowing police to seek warrants for disturbing the peace. Lang was later arrested, then booked into the Ada County Jail and released.
Following Wednesday’s sentencing, Lang began serving the remaining five days of her seven-day sentence at the Ada County Jail.
Lang has a trial scheduled for Sept. 14 on another misdemeanor charge, resisting or obstructing arrest. Online court records show it’s related to something that happened Dec. 4, 2020.
State resources dispatched to fight wildfire in eastern Washington
EWAN, Wash. — State fire resources have been sent to help fight a fire burning east of Ritzville, near the unincorporated town of Ewan.
The Wagner Road Fire started around 2 p.m. Thursday and by Thursday evening had burned about 1.25 square miles in crops and rangeland, according to a written statement from Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste. He said mandatory evacuations were in effect and that the blaze threatened structures, utilities and farmland. Air resources were also called to help douse the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
GOP lawmaker arrested, accused of disorderly conduct at fair
CANBY, Ore. — A state lawmaker was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer at the Clackamas County Fair in Canby, Oregon.
Republican Rep. James Hieb, of Canby, was arrested Wednesday night and told The Oregonian/OregonLive the incident happened after the rodeo when he had four beers and then lit a cigarette. A woman asked him to put it out.
“I was kind of caught off guard,” he said.
Hieb said the woman called officers. He didn’t say how he responded to her request.
Hieb said he told law enforcement he was carrying a permitted concealed weapon. Officers, he said, put him in handcuffs and disarmed him. Hieb, who was wearing a campaign shirt with his name on it, was then arrested and issued an exclusion from the fair, he said.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said Hieb was arrested and released.
Hieb was appointed to represent Oregon House District 39 by Clackamas and Marion County commissioners — replacing House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, who stepped down to run for governor.
He said he’s not sure whether he can continue to campaign for House District 51.
House Republican leaders on Thursday issued a statement: “Leadership team is disappointed by the events that led to his arrest and do not condone them. Leadership encourages him to focus on his family and to get the assistance he needs.”
