Byron Yankey's blog

A cheer for Kustra!!!

I heard and incredible thing tonight on my way home.  Listening to NPR I heard the confident, strong voice of BSU President Bob Kustra commenting on what could have remained a silent issue. Part time employees at BSU are paying for a 47% increase in their health insurance. Commenting on this he said,

...the same people who are cutting state worker health benefits, dress in blue and orange, attend seven Bronco games a year and slap him on the back asking if we are going to beat Oregon.

“I wish just once somebody would say, 'How’s the lab technician going to handle the 40 percent increase? How’s the custodian going to handle the 40 percent increase? Will he drop his coverage, will he simply fail to pay?" Kustra said. "Believe me, those are the important questions we ought to be asking around this place, not how the football team’s going to be doing. I don’t know how else to put it.”

At the risk of identifying myself as a disinterested Bronco fan, I would like to ask, "How can you disagree with Kustra's comments?"

Does Transparency Work Both Ways?

I am a public employee. I have been for a long time.  My salary has always been available if someone wanted to know. The website created by the Idaho Freedom Foundation definitely makes it easier for people to access information about salaries and purchases. This is reportedly intended to promote "transparency". Transparency is a fine idea.

IFF executive Director Wayne Hoffman says, “Transparency is a non-partisan issue - it’s not Republican, it’s not Democrat..."

I know I am not the first person or the only person wondering if transparency works both ways. It would be great if the IFF would list the salary of its employees on their website. Plus maybe a searchable database of its revenue sources and expenditures.

Constant Campaigning

All Congressmen elected to the House of Representatives are constantly campaigning. Their campaign realistically begins the day after their election.  The Founding Fathers, in their wisdom, gave Congressmen only two years to prove themselves as truly representatives of the voters.  As the cost of elections continue to skyrocket to levels that seem to require personal wealth to be a viable candidate, what other choice to congressmen have?  Along with campaigning, constant fund raising becomes essential. 

Many of my generation count only on television sound bites and print media to inform political perspectives.  I urge those people to branch out and read widely in the blogosphere. Whether you agree or not with this post from The MountainGoat Report about Congressman Minnick, this is one of many great examples of well researched, well reasoned political perspectives that no one should miss.

Vote by mail

A group of citizens sincerely interested in increasing voter participate is seeking to secure 51,000 signatures to allow Idaho citizens to vote by mail .

Our neighboring state of Oregon has long allowed its citizen to vote is this manner. I believe we need to support this effort.  I think it could change the numbers of voters and help promote accountability of our elected officials.

State Travel Expenses

For a lot of reasons, I usually quickly skim any posts from the Idaho Freedom Foundation. After reading this regarding the $19 millions dollars spent on travel, I will no skim future articles more slowly.  I really like the closing remarks made be a freshman legislator from Midvale.

Rep. Judy Boyle, a freshman representative from Midvale, says she knows where some of that fruit may be hanging.
 
"The governor's office has invited me, of all people, to places like Rigby, Dover and places along I-84 for ceremonies celebrating transportation projects - whether it's stimulus funding, or GARVEE projects," Boyle said. "I didn't vote for any of these projects and they wanted me there. At these places, they seem to have gold shovels and refreshments.
 
"Do we have to make a ceremony out of every single project? I appreciated being invited to things with the governor, but I question whether that's wise use of government spending," Boyle said.

I wonder if her invitations will keep on coming.

Blueberry Pound Cake

 

I made this cake with fresh blueberries.  It could be done with frozen berry.  It is a little tricky to make but the time and attention to details really pays off.  This is an amazing pound cake. It is dense and moist with flavors that really enhance the blueberry flavors.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  I made this in a tube pan.(angel food cake pan)  This first trick works for a cake with a very dense batter. Spray the pan with a non-stick spray.  Take about 1/4 cup of white sugar and coat the inside of the pan. You would think this would cause the cake to stick to the pan, but it does not.  I makes a light crust on the outside of the cake.

In a bowl mix 2 3/4 cups flour,1 teaspoon baking powder,1/2 teaspoon salt and the zest of one lemon. Stir to mix.

In your mixer cream 1/2 cup soften butter, 1/2 cup margarine with 2 cups white sugar. Mix at slow speed until it is light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs one at a time.  Add 2 teaspoons vanilla.  Gradually add the flour mixtures and beat at a slow speed.  Take about 2 cups of blueberries, mix with about 1 tablespoon lemon juice and sprinkle with 1/4 cups flour.  Mix with your hand lightly until the blueberries are coated with flour. Add the berries to the batter.  Pour the batter into your prepared tube pan. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes.  Check with a toothpick to see if it is done.  Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Remove from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

* Coating the berries with flour keeps them from all sinking to the bottom of the cake.
*I sprinkle the top of the batter with raw sugar (large granules of unrefined sugar) before baking this makes a great crunchy top for this moist cake.
*You can substitute 1 cup of butter for the 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup butter.  You can NOT substitute 1 cup of margarine.

Looking for Food and Recipes....

For those of you who have complained the last week that I have not been posting enough recipes lately, here is a solution.  Read Treasuredvalley.com.

Blogger Chris has created the best site in the valley specializing in news,events, reviews and food.
Each day Chris features creative, inventive and down right great recipes found throughout cyberspace.  For our vegan and vegetarian friends, there is a plethora, (yes plethora) of tasty foods that will certainly become part of your cooking repertoire.

Of course, this is just one feature of the blog. Check out Treasuredvalley.com

Lifting Charter School Cap

Lawmakers work to lift cap on charter schools reports the Idaho Press Tribune. Superintendent Tom Luna has made clear his priority to eliminate the limit on the number of charter schools that could be approved each year. Now, a reason being sighted to accomplish this is the hope that by so doing, Idaho's chances for Federal Education grants will increase.

Until and unless Idaho can fund the existing public schools adequately,increasing the number of charter schools without limits is not a good idea.  Each charter school opened is like one more school district competing for limited funds. Unless the size of the pie grows larger,everyone's slice grows smaller.

Lifting the cap on charter schools is like using your credit card to buy Power Ball tickets. It's like taking money you do not have and betting on the hope you will win big.  

Blueberry Buckle

This is a very flexible recipe.  You can use fresh or frozen berries. This summer blueberries have been plentiful and inexpensive.  

Grease a 8x8 pan.  I prefer glass.  If you are using metal, you will need to reduce the cooking time and watch that the bottom does not burn.

Cream:
   3/4 cup sugar
   1/4 cup shortening or margarine
Add:
    1 egg
Optional: 2 teaspoons vanilla or almond flavoring.

Mix 2 teaspoons baking powder. 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups of flour in a separate bowl.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup milk OR 1/2 soy milk to the first mixture.
Fold in 2 to 3 cups of blueberries. Pour into prepared pan.

Topping:
Mix 1/3 cup flour, 1/teaspoons cinnamon with 1/4 cup butter or margarine.  You can do this with a fork  or with your fingers.  I sometimes add chopped nuts and freshly grated nutmeg. Sprinkle on top and bake 30 tp 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Ideas to try:  Any kind of berry can be used in this recipe.  You can also use fresh apricots or peaches.  I have also made this using dried cherries or cranberries.  To do that, you must soak about 1 1/2 cups of dried fruit in hot orange juice for about 15 minutes.  Drain the excess liquid away before adding it to your batter.

Yes... Wendy

There is great speculation about which Democrat will run for governor. Why Wendy,Why Now? outlines great reasons for Wendy Jaquet to throw her hat into the ring.  

As an eight-term Representative, former Minority Leader and current member of JFAC, Wendy has built a solid resume on issues important to Idaho's working families, including: health care, low-income housing, economic development, education, domestic violence, property rights and public safety.

Plus, her party-building and fundraising skills are quite formidable:

1. Her PAC--Restore Representative Government--raised the most amount for coordinated and legislative candidates over a 10 year period.

2. She arranged for an entire group of legislators to receive free campaign training.

3. Nearly every Democratic candidate who has won in the past 10 years was recruited by Wendy.

4. She's built effective relationships across the isle in her district and across the state.

5. She has a network of supporters throughout the state due to her outreach efforts such as "Pizza and Politics", leadership building, fundraising and recruiting.

On a personal level, I know Wendy to be a tireless coalition builder whose commitment to the people of Idaho is limitless.  She is one of the few possible candidates that can energize young voters.  I am convinced the key to this upcoming state election lies in the 20 to 35 year old age group.