TIMES-NEWS
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020 |
Blow to Boise St. fans
COVID-19 vaccine study Do you want to volunteer?
A1
MWC conference indefinitely postpones fall football B1
A2
PARTLY SUNNY 90 • 63 FORECAST, B2 |
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
|
magicvalley.com
Twin Falls schools set to open RYAN BLAKE
rblake@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS — Students, parents and staff in Twin Falls schools should prepare to return to class full-time next week. Twin Falls School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved Monday returning to school in the level of operation that corresponds with the county’s risk level. South Central Public Health District has not yet released the risk level for Twin Falls County, but Superintendent Brady Dickinson said he spoke with health officials Monday morning who told him the county is in the “yellow” risk designation. “We’re going to tell our staff to prepare to open up in yellow at this
point,” Dickinson told the board. School trustees recently approved a reopening plan that outlines four levels of district operation based on the presence of COVID-19 in the area, from mostly normal school days to fully remote instruction. The yellow level allows students to attend class in-person on a traditional schedule but includes a series of health precautions meant to encourage social distancing and prevent virus transmission. All students and staff are required to wear face masks in the yellow level. If health officials change the risk level for Twin Falls County before school opens on Aug. 19, the district would open in the corresponding level of operation. Once the district
opens, however, board members will need to vote to change levels, Dickinson said. “Our intention is not to move between colors back and forth every week,” he said. Last week, South Central Public Health District’s board approved a plan for determining the risk level in each county. Health officials will use several criteria for determining risk, including case totals, positivity rate and hospital capacity. Risk levels will be issued for counties, and the plan is not formal guidance for area schools, though many disDREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO tricts based their reopening plans on those assessments. Health offi- Randy Givens, school security officer, has a family fill out a form to check cials are expected to release the risk out a Chromebook on March 30 at Lincoln Elementary School in Twin Falls. levels later this week.
Lebanese government resigns after Beirut blast
Pandemic aid talks come down to politics
BASSEM MROUE
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not about to blink. The Democratic leader has been here before, negotiating a deal with the White House to save the U.S. economy, and lessons from the Great Recession are now punctuating the coronavirus talks. With Republicans again balking at big government bailouts, Democratic leaders believe they have the leverage, forcing President Donald Trump into a politically risky standoff over help for millions of Americans. “It’s impossible to know whether she has overplayed her hand until we see if there is a COVID package,” says Michael Steel, a former top aide to thenSpeaker John Boehner. Monday brought no new talks between Trump’s team and negotiators on Capitol Hill as the president tries a go-it-alone strategy. Over the weekend, he launched a series of executive actions that give the appearance of a White House taking charge but may end up providing little help for ordinary Americans. The president’s orders seek to reverse the devastating fallout from unemployment assistance, eviction protections and other aid that has expired. But there are limits, and legal pitfalls, in trying to make an end run around the legislative branch. Trump acknowledged he’s still open to a deal with Congress, tweeting an invitation for the Democratic leaders to give him a call.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associated Press
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s prime minister stepped down from his job Monday in the wake of the catastrophic explosion in Beirut that has triggered public outrage, saying he has come to the conclusion that corruption in the country is “bigger than the state.” The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. It follows a weekend of anti-government protests after the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that decimated the facility and caused widespread destruction, killing at least 160 people and injuring about 6,000 others. In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said he and his government were stepping down. “May God protect Lebanon,” he said, repeating the last phrase three times. As he spoke, protesters demonstrated in the streets near parliament for a third straight day. The moment typified Lebanon’s political dilemma. Since October, there have been mass demonstrations demanding the departure of the entire sectarian-based leadership over entrenched corruption, incompetence and mismanagement. But the ruling oligarchy has held onto power for so long — since the end of the civil war in 1990 — that it is difficult to find Please see LEBANON, Page A5
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
A FINE DAY FOR FISH STOCKING Daniel Anta, with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, unleashes about 1,000 rainbow trout into Lake Cleveland near Pomerelle Mountain on Monday. See more photos of fish stocking at Magicvalley. com/gallery.
Please see AID, Page A5
An early warning system Researchers hope to spot algae blooms in waters from space NATALIA GUTIERREZ-PINTO
Idaho Statesman
BOISE — Detecting algae blooms is not an easy task, especially in regions with as many small and remote bodies of water as Idaho. According to Idaho’s Department of Water Resources, the state has more than 2,000 lakes and about 93,000 miles of streams and rivers. IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY When algal blooms happen, Blooms can vary in appearance, sometimes looking like mats, foam, or Idaho’s Department of Envisurface sum. Blooms can range in color from blue and bright green to brown ronmental Quality is in charge and red. Some blooms produce a foul odor. This one is from the Brownlee of issuing advisories for people Reservoir in August 2016. engaging in water-related recreSUBSCRIBERS: In this rapidly changing news environment, make sure your digital account is activated so you can read the latest local news. A digital copy of your newspaper is included with your membership. Visit magicvalley.com/activate to activate your account. M 1
$2
•
D
•
Volume 115, Issue 287
•
A Lee Enterprises Newspaper
OBITUARIES COMICS OPINION •
Copyright 2020
A4 B6 A6
cyanobacteria because of their blue-green color. These organisms can do photosynthesis, meaning they can produce their own food from carbon dioxide and sunlight, like plants. Cyanobacteria are natural inhabitants of ecosystems, both in water and soil, and are food for many other organisms. They live year-round, but their numbers naturally grow when temperatures warm in the late spring. Blooms occur when conditions for cyanobacteria are ideal and there is an abundance of resources — especially nitrogen and phosphorus — in their habWhat is an algae bloom? itat. Many human activities conThese blooms in Idaho’s bod- tribute to that nitrogen increase, ies of water are actually caused by a type of bacteria — called Please see ALGAE, Page A5 ational activities. However, the DEQ doesn’t have the resources to constantly monitor all bodies of water in the hope of detecting blooms early, so it mostly relies on people reporting blooms when they are already happening. Idaho researchers at the USGS Idaho Water Science Center are studying how to use satellite images to help local environmental agencies with the early detection of blooms. This could save the public thousands of dollars in operational costs and health care fees.
JUMBLE CROSSWORD SUDOKU
B8 B7 B5 Follow us online:
SPORTS COLUMN
B1 B8
facebook.com/thetimesnews
twitter.com/twinfallstn