Hi, friends!

This is the sixth Weekend Countdown so far, and I’m wondering — when do you like to receive these newsletters? I know many of you were morning readers of my previous newsletter, but I’m experimenting. If you have a preference, let me know!

Boise’s week has been defined by smoke and more smoke, so a good chunk of today’s newsletter is about those lovely particulates. But here’s a brighter spot: The Basque San Inazio Festival begins today! There will be plenty of games and dancing at this annual festival honoring St. Ignatius de Loyola, the Basque’s patron saint. Ondo pasa!

3 of the week’s headlines

Fire status and order

On Tuesday, Idaho Gov. Brad Little declared a wildfire disaster emergency in Owyhee Boundary Counties and deployed the Idaho National Guard to fight the Big Grass Fire, which has crossed the border from Oregon into Idaho. There, the Idaho National Guard will join Oregon forces, rural Idaho fire crews, and Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs; more on these later) already fighting the blaze, which so far has burned 280,000 acres and was at 21% containment as of Friday morning.

The Big Grass Fire is just one of at least 40 fires now burning in eastern Oregon. High temperatures, dry and occasionally windy conditions mean the wildfires could surge again in the coming days.

Recommended reading from North Country Public Radio: How the fires are impacting all those ranching towns in eastern Oregon.

City of Nampa might cut all VRT funding

The City of Nampa will release its new budget proposal on Monday, Aug. 3, which will open a public feedback period ahead of its Aug. 17 budget public hearing. Missing from the budget will likely be any and all funds for Valley Regional Transit (VRT), and recent city council hearings indicate that library funding could also be up for reconsideration.

According to VRT and meeting records, the public transit agency requested slightly less from Nampa than last year, and was rejected. The City Council asked VRT to return with a budget for half a million dollars less. The agency did so, and the Nampa City Council rejected the proposal, instead voting to cut funding for the agency entirely.

​VRT says they worked in good faith with the city, proposing more on-demand and rideshare services, and that Nampans took an estimated 35,000 trips and “boardings” in fiscal year 2025.

The fundraising race for Proposition 1

Idaho’s Proposition 1, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act Initiative, is coming to the ballot on Nov. 3.

In the fundraising sprint, Proposition 1’s opposition has amassed $1.2 million in the Too Extreme for Idaho committee, with Idaho Chooses Life pulling in another $274,000. Republican groups around the state are also likely to throw money at the initiative.

​Idahoans United for Women and Families, the group that put together the ballot initiative together, has spent over half a million dollars so far this year, and is sitting on a warchest of almost $1.3 million.

Boise State Public Radio broke down who the biggest funders are on the anti-Proposition 1 side.

2 smokeless activities

Time to get into indoor athletics

This morning I watched pods of runners bobbing on the Greenbelt, a welcome sight after so many ghost town mornings. But as for myself, I was watching from an enclosed and air-filtered environment, because my lungs still feel like concrete from the accumulation of the smoke of the last two weeks, and the forecast isn’t encouraging my hopes of a breezy run outside any time soon. The stir-crazies are setting in, so here are some ways to get indoor exercise without getting on a treadmill.

It’s a shame that the pretty-expensive-anyway S2 Pickleball gym shuttered just ahead of wildfire season.

• Meridian’s The Flying Pickle, for the largest indoor pickleball gym in the valley — but the Boise Pickleball Club has a list of other places to play, including the downtown YMCA.
• This is the YMCA’s time to shine. Check out rates, if you don’t have a pass.
• Swim some laps at the Idaho Central Aquatic Center, which has day passes for $7.50.
• This isn’t an immediate relief, but you could get yourself on a team at Let’s Play Soccer.

Speaking of, the city’s fall activity registration opens Monday.

And/or, support local cinemas

​The Flicks is currently showing everyone’s favorite uncle play Odysseus, a new comedy starring Seth Rogen, the timely “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” and more.

The Egyptian Theatre has movies from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, including the last showing of "Truth & Treason.”

And for the truly indie feel, the Idaho Film Society has “The Elephant Man” tomorrow and “Basket Case” on Sunday.

1 thing giving me hope

The U.S. Forest Service has suffered massive staffing and budgetary cuts since the beginning of 2025, and now President Donald Trump wants to close 57 of the Forest Service’s 77 research facilities. As we all breathe the smoke from wildfires exacerbated by climate change, we’re also swallowing the idea of fewer resources and less research going into fire mitigation and response.

But amid the nation-wide perspective, I get some hope from the grassroots response to these fires. Rangeland Fire Protection Associations are non-profits staffed by the people who live and work near where the fires are occurring, often ranchers and farmers. And right now, they’re calling for support and getting it — like the Jordan Valley RFPA, which has a GoFundMe currently operating. The Idaho Statesman has an updated breakdown of how to support.

That’ll do it for this week! Thank you for reading, and I’ll be here next week!

— Blake Hunter
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