Business
Geezer Group Gropes For Gravitas
UPDATE If reader CLANCY’s links to the House WAYS and MEANS are on target, it looks like AARP itself is topped by only three others when it comes to paying off politicos. The lobbyists at AARP put out a press release Thursday with an analysis of state political payoffs after they came out of the [...]
GUARDIAN Turns Six, But No Party Scheduled
In a shameless attempt at self-serving friendly comments, we offer the following. It was six years ago today when the GUARDIAN posted its FIRST STORY which just happened to be about the public being locked out of the City-owned Boise Depot most of the time. Things haven’t changed much. Ironically, the Depot was purchased with [...]
Insider Trading At BCVB For G-BAD Election?
E-mail is such a wonderful thing! Once something hits cyberspace it leaves tracks like an 800 pound gorilla in fresh snow. Such was the case when the following showed up in the GUARDIAN’s “In” box this morning. “Sully – Here are the hotel contacts. Sorry, I forgot to send them to youyesterday. If you click [...]
G-BAD Election Heats Up (More)
Playing by the rules has always been a loose proposition in politics, but the GUARDIAN has copies of a document favoring two candidates for the May 17 Greater Boise Auditorium District election that appears to have crossed the line. The “800 pound gorilla” in the race is over the issue of whether or not the [...]
G-BAD Election Is About Spending Room Taxes
With six candidates chasing only two seats on an obscure government board, the Greater Boise Auditorium District election of May 17 would seem like a yawner. Not so if you are in the public relations, advertising, hotel, or even the DANCE business. The big issue is a split among candidates over funding The Boise Convention [...]
Canyon Government Workers Earn Top $$$
The Idaho Press-Tribune ran a salary roundup of top paid government workers which shows that Canyon County is a great place to work if you like to benefit from taxpayer largess…not so good if you are one of those taxpayers. While the story shows half a dozen Nampa coppers earned (received?) well in excess of [...]
Idaho Cities Battle For Convention Dollars
GROWTHOPHOBE (growth o phobe)–”One who opposes growth just for the sake of growth. Usually refers to municipalities and governments seeking to increase population and attract businesses merely for the sake of growing without due regard to long term affect on citizens and taxpayers.” The opposite of GROWTHOPHOBE is GROWTHOPHILE and that special breed seems prolific [...]
New Airport Will Need Property Tax Money
Proponents of the constitutional amendment that passed in November repeatedly claimed “no tax money” would be used for airports. Now, it looks like they were wrong if the news from Sun Valley area is any indication. The proposition that amended the Idaho Constitution allows airports to sell municipal bonds without a public vote. The sale [...]
Crapo Caters To Special Interests, Reduces Revenue
The bold face is a current press release from Idaho Senior Senator Mike Crapo: Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said the spending reductions outlined by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) provide ideas on immediate steps to reduce the nation’s dangerously unsustainable federal debt. Elements of the House proposal have already been a part [...]
How About Testimony Under Oath At Legislature?
After 40 plus years of watching the Idaho Legislature and seeing how much influence (control) the lobbyists have over legislators and ultimately the laws they pass, we think it is time that all testimony–written or oral–given to a legislative committee should be taken under oath with the penalty of perjury for offering false information. Jurors [...]
TVCTV Favors Democratic Politicos
Local public access cable channel 11 at TVCTV hardly is hardly in the league of National Public Radio, but they have sure left themselves open to claims of liberal bias. A press release about an upcoming fundraiser telethon says,”TVCTV’s mission is to facilitate a free exchange of ideas, community dialogue and cultural and artistic expression [...]
Boise Library Joins Communist Movement
communism |ˈkämyəˌnizəm| (often Communism) noun a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned…Central to Marxist theory is an explanation of social change in terms of economic factors, according to which the means of production provide the economic base, which influences or [...]
Idaho Offers Businesses A Welfare Home
While Idaho legislators are looking for money in all the wrong places, the text from a Dept. of Commerce brochure is quite revealing. In short, the state and local governments are in an economic civil war with their neighbors in a battle predicated upon seeing who can give away the most. Businesses decide where to [...]
Politicos Cater To Special Interests
It’s enough to turn your stomach listening to the politicos at all levels crying about the lack of revenue for education, police, medicaid, on one hand while their other hand is quietly catering to special interests. Senior Crapo complains almost daily about Obama fiscal policies, yet he seeks to redefine “small brewers” and cut taxes [...]
BoDo Developer “Passionate” About Niagara Falls
We got a tip about Boise developer Mark Rivers’ attempt to hustle some bucks out of the city of Niagara Falls, New York–not unlike the parking garage deal he got from Boise’s CCDC for the Hampton Inn. When we looked at the details of the deal and the way the mayor dishes out studies and [...]
Boise County Bankruptcy Is Historic
While Boise County is set to file for bankruptcy in federal court, there probably won’t be any auctions for snowplows and road graders in the near future. Since the developers who won the $4 million judgement against the county are themselves delinquent in paying their property taxes to the tune of $368,182, we expect a [...]
Students To Be Exploited For Revenue?
(8) The state board of education shall promulgate rules authorizing local boards of trustees to sell advertising space on school buses. Such rules shall provide for the safe placement of such advertising and shall provide for reasonable restrictions on advertising content. Idaho’s Senate passed a bill (S1111) Tuesday that will allow advertising on school buses. [...]
Landfill Energy Project May Be Just Garbage
After getting some negative comments as well as talking with an engineer, the GUARDIAN’s red flag began to wave over the electric generation project with Dynamis and Lloyd Mahaffey at the Ada Landfill. Last week the DAILY PAPER ran a big page one story which clearly said the firm operates a trash-to-electricity project at Barrow, [...]
Tom Luna: Was He Duper or Dupee?
The GUARDIAN listened to Idaho School Super Tom Luna’s speech Friday at the City Club of Boise and came away somewhat sympathetic to his education reform plan. That was before we read a damning piece by John Miller of the AP This pro is one of the best journalists in the state and he certainly [...]
GUARDIAN Supports Urban Renewal Reform
AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN BILLS ARE CURRENTLY BEFORE THE IDAHO LEGISLATURE AIMED AT CUTTING AUTHORITY OF URBAN RENEWAL AGENCIES AND CREATING CITIZEN OVERSIGHT OF ACTIVITIES. NEWSPAPERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE (NOTE IN BOISE HOWEVER) HAVE REPORTED ON THE ISSUE. MOST HAVE LEANED TOWARD THE VIEW OF LOCAL POLITICOS, BUT WITHOUT FACTUAL DETAILS ABOUT WHAT HAS [...]
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