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Poet Paul Fans Flames of BSU-U of I Feud

Boise State”s prez, Dr. Bob, has backed off a bit on his ill-thought comments about not playing ball with our northern in-state rivals. The legacy media has been all over it and Poet Paul has weighed in as well.

BSU’s Kustra has lately been able
To give the U of I a well-deserved label
His comments weren’t bad
For any U of I grad…
Can drink me under the table!

No F-35 For Gowen, Possible Italian Cargo Planes

Despite heavy lobbying, advertising banners and expenditure of public funds to get noisy F-35 fighters in Boise the U.S. Air Force has ignored the city of trees in favor of Hill AFB in Utah, Luke in Arizona, and the Burlington Air Guard facility in Vermont as potential F-35 sites.

Instead we may get the C-27 which is an old twin engined cargo plane built by an Italian consortium for NATO. This may be a blessing in disguise since some experts question if the F-35 will EVER be built on a production basis. Here is what the politicos had to say about the National Defense decision.

PRESS RELEASE FROM SENATOR CRAPO’S OFFICE:
Washington, DC – Members of Idaho’s Congressional Delegation say today’s announcement by the U.S. Air Force that neither Mountain Home Air Force Base nor Gowen Field made the initial list for a new F-35 mission is “disappointing,” but does not mean Idaho’s bases are out of the running for future F-35 missions. The Air Force says an initial review indicates a preference for locating the new fighter jets at locations other than Idaho. Delegation members, who were briefed by phone on the decision this morning, noted that they did receive assurances that both bases remain candidates for future F-35 missions.
Continue reading here…

Wildfire Shows Why NOT to Allow Foothills Homes

The terms are all too familiar…”structures are threatened…trying to get a handle on the fire…lightning caused…man caused…” tallies on the number of engines, tankers, retardant aircraft, helicopters, and hotshot crews from other locations.

The reason for the massive response is all too familiar as well–lives and property are endangered because people move into areas subject to wildfire and local politicos allow the development. GROWTHOPHOBES can complain forever, but it seems little changes and emergency crews are forced to respond as fire rages across the so-called “urban wilderness interface.”

At this writing it appears three homes are damaged or destroyed by a Wednesday fire believed to have been caused when lightning strikes dotted the landscape Wednesday morning north of Eagle. An estimated 2,500 acres which is currently targeted for residential development was scorched. One firefighter told the GUARDIAN, “It certainly wouldn’t be a pretty sight” if the area is developed as proposed.

At least 50 fire engines, 5 air tankers, and hundreds of firefighters from Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Star, BLM, etc. etc. are as the TV folks like to say, “On Scene!”

As a former editor at the trade journal “FIRE ENGINEERING,” the GUARDIAN is an old hand at covering fires and the fire service. Yellowstone’s Old Faithful firestorm was the worst. Over the years we find politicos put an unneeded burden on fire chiefs and firefighters alike when they increase the demands–and risks–all in the name of GROWTH. One issue which hampered emergency crews was also familiar: Police and Fire can’t communicate. The technology exists with the new radio communications system, but the players can’t seem to agree on who gets access to which frequencies.

On the bright side we saw one McMansion north of Beacon Light Rd. that survived a direct wildfire assault because the owners did the right things creating “defensible space.” From everything we observed and heard, the emergency responders did their jobs well battling the fire, traffic, and conducting evacuations.

EDITOR NOTE–For all of you getting updates during the day about the fire from your favorite media outlet. It is a pretty sure bet most of it was funneled (not filtered) through the Boise PD/Boise FD spokeslady, Lynn Hightower. The GUARDIAN and all the rest of the media outlets got Lynn’s constant updates–sometimes as often as only 4 minutes apart. She provide important information to the media–and by extension the public–about the fire, damages, direction of travel, evacuation, etc. She also let the media folks know where they could get information at the scene without bothering commanders directing firefighters. At one point she even sent warnings to field reporters to avoid the path of the fire. From the GUARDIAN on behalf of all our colleagues we offer a hearty WELL DONE!

City “Varnishes” Mayor Hotline Public Record

Mayor Dave Bieter’s “Team Dave” has decided to provide their own version of Hotline Calls made to the Mayor’s office after providing a word-for-word transcription to the media for years.

We find it ironic the city spends $60,000 in public funds to “educate” voters about a political question on the November ballot, but eliminated a weekly transcription of citizen views called into the Mayor as a cost saving move. They claimed the city needed to provide “unvarnished” data on the issue of a constitutional amendment aimed at denying voter approval of debt at airports statewide.

The unvarnished Hotline versions provided information, entertainment, and topics of public discussion for GUARDIAN readers. Credibility certainly comes into question. We don’t know if a caller said, “I heard…” or REALLY said, “I heard a rumor.” For instance the call featured this week in the summary posted earlier quotes Don Nelson as “wondering” how the city can legally take something without returning a service. Did he say that–which may well be true–or did he conclude, “this is simply wrong and illegal!?”

Some of our past favorites:

• Ice World employees making a midnight lunch run to Burger King aboard a pair of Zambonis. This one put Boise on the world news map!
• “Strip Hockey” at Ice World. We had to sue for the video, but won the case when the city claimed “national security” concerns as the reason to deny the video.
• This week’s complaint about charging for trash pick up, but not picking up due to street repairs or offering credit for the missed service.
• Police confiscating an “offensive sign” at a downtown event.

We sent a letter to the Mayor’s Office seeking the actual audio of calls in lieu of the transcript after a City Councilor assured us he was informed it would be made available. Well it is–sort of. You decide.

Here is the unvarnished text of the letter without GUARDIAN summaries:

Dear Mr. Frazier:
I received your request for audio recordings of the hotline calls as well as the written summary of those calls received by the Mayor’s Office. As you know, this office has been providing courtesy copies of the transcribed calls to you for some time without requiring you to formally request them each week, as contemplated by Idaho’s Public Records law.

A full transcription of each call is no longer being created; the written summary is the only document available.

Your request for “audio recording in a digital on-line format” of these calls cannot be accommodated. The voice mail system the City uses is not integrated with our computer network. The messages can be heard only by listening on a City Hall telephone. As you are undoubtedly aware, Idaho’s Public Records law provides that you “have a right to examine and take a copy of any public record …” (Idaho Code 9-338). You are free to listen to and record, using your own recording device, any calls not otherwise exempt from disclosure pursuant to one of the many exemptions in the public records law.

Please contact me if you would like to schedule a date and time to come to City Hall to listen to hotline calls.

Michael Zuzel
Office of the Mayor, City of Boise
208-384-4422

Mayor Hotline July 17-23

BOISE CITY NO LONGER PROVIDES A TRANSCRIPT OF THE HOTLINE CALLS. THE SUMMARY VERSION IS CREATED BY THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STAFF AND REFLECTS THE VIEWS OF THE WRITER.

7/19/10
Don Nelson
Tioga St.
Boise, ID 83709
No trash pick-up/credit on bill
ISSUE: His trash as well as others in his neighborhood was not picked up last week due to sewer construction on Tioga St. He called Utility Billing to ask for a credit because the service was not provided and was told that there was no credit being offered and that he had no recourse in the matter. He wants to know if that’s correct. He wonders how the city can legally take something without returning the service.
PW
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