Potato Drop injury, stray bullet, Eagle Road project: what you may have missed

From a multimillion-dollar claim tied to the New Year’s Eve Potato Drop to the closure of a beloved Meridian restaurant, the Idaho Statesman covered a wide range of news over Juneteenth weekend . Here is a quick look at top stories readers were following.

• The parents of a girl injured by shattered glass during the New Year’s Eve Potato Drop have filed a tort claim against the city of Boise, asking for $10 million per respondent. The parents allege the city knew organizers would fail to follow planning documents and allowed the event to continue despite previous violations; their daughter underwent three hours of surgery and a skin graft.
• A stray bullet turned up inside an unoccupied home in Eagle’s Valnova subdivision during a real estate showing on May 23. No one was injured, and police said the caliber and source of the bullet remain under investigation as developers hire security patrols after construction trailers in the area were also hit.
• National developer Quarterra has filed early plans to build Emblem Meridian, a 250-unit apartment and town house project near Eagle and Victory roads. The proposal would nearly double the 138 units previously approved for the 14-acre site in 2023 and could exceed the area’s 15-units-per-acre density cap.
• A growing “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement is pushing Treasure Valley religious institutions to turn unused land into affordable housing partnerships. Collister United Methodist Church leased land to Leap Housing for $1 a year for 50 years, producing two homes completed in 2022. Advocates estimate about 180 acres of religious land in the Boise metro is open.
• Spice Indian Cuisine in Meridian will close after a final day of service on June 27 as owners Madhu and Sudesh Jain retire. The Jain family is releasing “House of Spice: A Family Cookbook,” and Madhu plans to teach cooking classes in Boise and launch a YouTube channel in July.
• The Boise County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of 67-year-old John Barmettler from the South Fork of the Payette River on Wednesday. Barmettler was last seen June 1 east of Garden Valley, and his vehicle was found that same day stranded on a steep embankment near milepost 4 on South Fork Road.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.