Albertsons

Idaho Matters takes a look at the news that made headlines this week, including the verdict of the Lori Vallow Daybell trial, how the Fentanyl crisis is affecting Idaho and why volenteer numbers are dropping everywhere except the Mountain West.

Idaho Matters takes a look at the news that made headlines this week, including an update on the two vacant seats on the Boise City Council, a look at the proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger and the latest news on the house where four U of I students were killed last year.

The final roadblock to the payment came down Tuesday, when the Washington State Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling favoring Albertsons.

At a committee hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, senators questioned Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen and Albertson CEO Vivek Sankaran about the proposed merger, examining whether the grocers’ plan would lead to a monopoly.

A temporary restraining order blocking the dividend payout was extended seven days to allow witness testimony from Albertsons and Kroger executives.

A look at what's being spent on Idaho's 2022 elections, North Idaho College will soon vote in three new trustees, an overview of next weeks elections and Albertsons faces pushback on a $4 billion special dividend. Troy Oppie, host of All Things Considered with Boise State Public Radio; Kevin Richert, senior reporter and blogger with Idaho Ed News; Audrey Dutton, Senior Investigative Reporter with the Idaho Capital Sun break down the news of the week.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the dividend is anticompetitive and poses a danger to consumers.

A union representing workers at both Kroger and Albertsons locations in Colorado and Wyoming, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, called the announcement “devastating." General council for the union Matt Shechter said he’s been getting calls from members worried about store consolidation, layoffs and rising food prices.

The announced acquisition of Boise-based Albertsons by the Kroger Company still has to pass muster with federal regulators. But Albertsons is already facing pushback on a special dividend equal to about one-third of the company’s total value.

A look at the Kroger-Albertsons merger and what it means for Idaho, Boise City Council reads complaints against former police chief Ryan Lee, a Rexburg man who was killed while fighting in Ukraine and the Idaho Legislature will consider a bill prohibiting public drag performances. Don Day, the Founder and Editor of BoiseDev.com; Kelcie Moseley-Morris with the Idaho Capital Sun; Andrea Olson with EastIdahoNews.com; Alex Duggan Investigative Reporter with KTVB in Boise join Idaho Matters to break down the news of the week.