Guardian Top Stories

Mayor Hotline June 20 To 26

NO TROLLEY and UNLIMITED TRASH, UNHAPPY TRASH TALK, CIRCUS WITHOUT ELEPHANTS,
6/19/09
Don Day
1504 S. Arcadia
Boise, ID 83705
344-0894
Curb It & Streetcars: Just a couple of comments; I’m really disappointed in you. I know this is a
little late, but on your new trash program. This is something that the city dealt with about 20 or
25 years ago and they went through all this coupon and one can and extra cans and it didn’t
work. They finally did the unlimited and it’s worked very well for 20 years and the city’s stayed
clean. What’s going to happen is we’re going to start having a dirty city again, particularly in the
rental market. People are not going to be paying extra money to get rid of their trash and stuff.
You did improvement on the recycle part of it, but I think you made a big mistake by going away
from unlimited garbage pick-up. I’m very disappointed that you didn’t go back in old records and
find out that you’ve already gone through this whole thing. The other thing is that this
downtown transit system isn’t going to work either. People are not going to drive down and
jump onto a tram for another two or three blocks and pay extra money. I don’t know if you’re
thinking about closing off the whole city down the road or something, but this is just a big tax
burden that’s going to cost everybody a bunch of money and not gain us anything. I know it
sounds great but we don’t have the population base and people just aren’t going to use it. I
mean who’s going to want to drive down, park, probably end up paying parking, then go pay to
ride the tran the next four to five blocks to get into your unit. So, this is not a good idea.
Thanks.
Action Taken: msj
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Highway District Driver Saves Canyon Home

The folks at Lincoln Road and Middleton Road were visibly grateful to a Canyon County Highway District Driver who saved their home from advancing flames Monday afternoon.

It appeared that a weed burning project got out of control, igniting a hedge of 20 feet tall arbor vitae running along the wall of the frame home. Residents with a single garden hose were no match for the inferno which consumed the tinder dry brush. When the GUARDIAN editor–out making photos for the day job–rolled up and summoned the Middleton Fire Department it looked dicey.

Several motorists stopped, but the intensity of the flames and the lack of any water beyond the single garden hose left them helpless. EXCEPT for Ed Kyle who just happened to be passing by at the wheel of his Highway District truck loaded with 2,800 gallons of water!

Kyle parked his truck in just the perfect spot, flicked a switch in the cab and sent a plume of water onto the blaze, reducing it to a cloud of white smoke by the time fire engines arrived. When congratulated on his actions Kyle matter-of-factly said, “I thought I would cool it off a bit for them.”

Then–like the Lone Ranger– he got in his truck and drove away, leaving the firefighters to do the mop up.

Ed Kyle gets a GUARDIAN HERO award!

Wise Voters Behind New Library, Police Digs

Thanks to the wisdom of Boise citizens dedicated to fiscal responsibility, a new library is set to open Tuesday at Ustick and Cole for under $5 million. It joins recently opened store front facilities at Hillcrest and Collister shopping centers.

Boise Councilors along with Team Dave wanted to spend $38 million for grandiose library projects, but citizens gave them a resounding “NO” for such wasteful spending about six years ago at a bond election.

Even though the library bond failed, the city now has a series of small libraries without long term debt. Why wasn’t this done in the beginning? If it was not the right plan, why did council approve an ill conceived proposal…which is what the mayor essentially called it AFTER it failed?

That election proves that when citizens put their foot down and demand common sense from elected officials, services can still be provided for a a reasonable amount…in the case of four branch libraries, the citizens were able to have what they need for less than HALF the amount politicos tried to spend. There is one more library branch to be built at Bown Crossing in east Boise.

On the down side, Boise politicos have taken away ANY voice of the voters when it comes to long term debt. They simply will not allow us to vote on long term debt as mandated by the Idaho Constitution. Such was the case with the newly opened “City Hall West” which houses both police and fire department headquarters and other departments at a location west of Maple Grove off Emerald. They “saved” the money by overtaxing us for about five years–which also amounts to long term debt without a vote.

GUARDIAN editor David R. Frazier asked City Councilors seven years ago to put a proposed $30 million (with interest) police headquarters to a vote of the people during the Coles administraton. When they refused, he battled them in court and won, saving citizens more than $15 million in tax money. Ultimately, the new facility cost only $14 million.

Don’t be fooled by the media hype. These worthy projects are the result of vigilant citizens, not the whims of politicos. The GUARDIAN is convinced that empowered citizens are the key to a unified community working for the common good.

North Beach At Payette Lake To Remain Open

Acting State Park Director Dave Ricks tells the GUARDIAN there are no plans to close North Beach at Ponderosa State Park over the July 4th weekend.

Reader “Justin” contacted us in a panic claiming that North Beach was to be closed as a “pre-emptive strike” to eliminate rowdy partying over the July 4th Weekend. Ricks said there had been problems in the past, but this year Park Rangers, Valley County Sheriff’s Deputies and McCall Police will be keeping a watch on the situation.

If you don’t like beer drinking college kids, scantily clad beautiful girls, loud music, dancing, swimming, junk food, and the smell of tanning lotion, better stay away.

Coppers To Increase Scrutiny Of Bike Laws

The Boise Depot became a motion picture set Wednesday when as many as 200 cyclists showed up as extras for a a public service announcement (PSA) produced by Cable One.

The big name of course was local Olympian Kristin Armstrong. Along with a cast including a politico, paramedic, fireman, construction worker, and others, she made the pitch for bike safety. The bikers formed the backdrop for the message and to their credit nearly everyone wore a helmet.

Meanwhile, Boise’s Top Copper Mike Masterson, sent word to his coppers encouraging them to “educated and enforce if necessary” the bike laws.

Here is the official word to the coppers from the BPD Chief:
“In addition to your ongoing enforcement initiatives, I’m reminding all sworn personnel to take every opportunity to educate citizens on bicycle safety, whether they be motorists or cyclists. When you see a motorist violate a traffic law that may endanger a cyclist, or if you observe a cyclist make one of the following violations, if you are not en route to a priority/emergency call, please stop and address their behavior warn citizens their behavior is against the law and subjects them to possible injury.”

Despite recent collisions that have killed three cyclists in the last six weeks, a good number of cyclists continue riding behaviors that are not only dangerous, but against City and State laws.

“If we can better educate cyclists that their riding in a way that’s dangerous, hopefully we can prevent future collisions and injuries,” said Chief Masterson.

“Boise officers have worked with local media in presenting dozens of news stories recently detailing bike safety laws and related motorist responsibilities. But officers, including myself, continue to see cyclists riding against traffic and breaking other laws. We also know more cyclists are on the road and many may be new, trying to save money on gas or help the environment. Some of these cyclists may not be aware their riding is dangerous and illegal,” said Chief Masterson.

“You see much more of this behavior when you’re actually focused on looking for it. So that’s what I’m asking officers to increase, is their own awareness of this problem, and to remind officers that we, as our community’s police department, have the responsibility and authority to immediately begin doing more about it.” said the Chief.
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