Boise Joins Growthophobe Movement, GUARDIAN Offers “Back Story”

In a brilliant act to cut development in the Foothills, Team Dave has apparently seen the light and joined the GUARDIAN GROWTHOPHOBE movement.
Boise City Council Tuesday made public the purchase of Hammer Flat – a 701-acre wintering range for mule deer, elk and antelope in east Boise – using funds generated by the [...]

School For Pregnant Teens Cheaper Than Welfare?

We’re going to take a big step and post the following information which comes from Andy Hedden-Nicely, a one time Democrat politico for the U.S. senate, and one time founder of the Boise WEEKLY. As with any one-sided post from outside the GUARDIAN fold, we will gladly accept opposing views of approximately the same [...]

Bruneau Dunes Could Be Abuzz with ATVs

During the Vietnam War an Army officer explained a village had to be burned “in order to save it.”

Idaho Parks Director Nancy Merrill finds herself in that same situation today as she considers allowing dune buggies to chew up the tallest free standing sand dune on the continent to possibly make a few bucks to [...]

Fraud Alert To Educators–Xpress Flex

We are posting this memo sent to Nampa School District employees as a public service to alert others who may do business with Xpress Flex. No word on the scope of the damage, but certainly not good news to folks who thought they were making a wise financial decision. There will no [...]

We Are In Midst Of Economic Civil War

The Daily Paper’s print edition has competing headlines on the front page today that offer a prophetic sign of the times.
“SOME EDUCATORS GET RAISES IN IDAHO” screams the bold type on the left. The message to the right is “FURLOUGHS COMING TO U of I” .
Bottom line in good stories by Statesman reporters [...]

Amendment Seeks To Deny Voter Rights

The Idaho legislature will soon be considering HJR 005 which looks pretty tame at first glance, but it is designed to deny citizens the right to approve long term debt at airports and allow airports to go into the real estate speculation and rental business. Here is the GUARDIAN’s take on the bill.

The net [...]

City Has Poor Record On Land Speculation

The Daily Paper ran a lengthy story Saturday detailing plans by Team Dave to sell a bunch of “surplus property” to finance other projects intended to stimulate the economy through GROWTH.
The City can’t be trusted to follow through. Since the inception of the GUARDIAN we have watched the city buy land with grandiose plans [...]

F-35 Could Double F-15 Noise Level At Gowen

An interesting report on the noise levels of the F-35 fighter jet proposed for Boise’s Gowen Field.
According to the AIR FORCE TIMES–the unofficial newspaper of the Air Force–noise levels of the F-35 are double those of the F-15s which were here this past summer from the Oregon Air Guard.
The AF Times went on to describe [...]

Governments Fight Each Other With PR Efforts

The last minute “panic attack” to to get the Air Force to locate not one, but two bases of F-35 fighter jets in Idaho brings to mind some the other ill fated government-funded Public Relations efforts we have seen over the years.
If the F-35 follows in the footsteps of most of the other projects [...]

“Non-Partisan” Think Tank Issues Pork Report

An outfit called the Idaho Freedom Foundation is gaining traction billing itself as a “think tank” and offering the public a variety of “reports” and op-ed pieces.
While they call themselves non-partisan, it is fair to say there probably aren’t too many liberal Democrats within the ranks. Wayne Hoffman, an able journalist and former [...]

Macy’s Departure Is Due To Inept Government

Macy’s leaving downtown Boise comes as no surprise. For more than 40 years we have watched officials tout their “vision for the future” in downtown Boise. It changes with each new planner and consultant.

The Bon Marche (Macy’s today), J.C. Penney’s, The Mode, Falk’s I.D. and many smaller merchants vanished, thanks to the far [...]

Bronco Nation Pays Well

Poet Paul offers this little diddy on Idaho’s highest paid state employee at a time when “Coach Pete” has the attention of most of Boise–if not much of the sports world. Peterson recently announced he will remain at the helm of BSU football for at least another half decade.
There are those who work every [...]

GUARDIAN Top 2009 Stories By Month

As the legacy media does its annual TOP TEN stories to fill space between the holidays, the GUARDIAN has done the same thing based on what we have posted in the past year.
In rereading some of the posts and comments, it appears we have an inordinate number of comments on police and fire stories. [...]

Hyped Development Now Pathetic Footnote

Interesting note for GROWTHOPHOBES out Eagle way.
When the developers offered all the hype for a golf course community, the city fathers and mothers of Eagle jumped aboard and all crowed about pumping millions upon millions of dollars into the Treasure Valley annually.
It never happened because the developers didn’t have the money–as with Avimor, [...]

Politicos Seek To Mandate FAA Decisions

A story in the DAILY PAPER today by Joe Estrella says the Federal Aviation Administration is scurrying to get ahead of the politicos in their desire to move the local approach radar facility from Boise to Salt Lake City.
Idaho and Boise politicians cite “economic and safety concerns” in their opposition to the move. After [...]

Urban Renewal Agencies Plot State Law Revisions

While most of us are planning for the holidays and trying to finance toys for the kids, urban renewal agencies around the state are plotting legislation that will give them unbridled control of spending public funds for projects that belong under city control–like sewers, transportation, and public buildings.
Their plan to get the state [...]

More On “Desire Named Street Car” (sorry)

EDITOR NOTE–We hate to keep beating this Trolley Horse, but the politicos and press just won’t let it die.
Team Dave Just won’t quit
Pushing this streetcar bit
There is no way they can
Cover this crazy plan
They’ll just put a LID on it!
–Poet Paul
Both the DAILY PAPER and the BOISE WEEKLY have published stories about the Desire [...]

Internet Pricing Lesson Please

The day job has taken the GUARDIAN editor to Mexico, suck up smog, sun, and more images for the Photolibrary.
It isn’t as cheery as a couple years ago–economy is bad, swine flu scare lingers with hand washing fluid everywhere, heavy police presence, drugs.
As a result, you can get some pretty good hotel deals, but only [...]

Homeless-No Solution, No End

FROM POET PAUL–
Homeless have decided to sue
These folks haven’t a place to sleep
From he City we get nary a peep
It’s objectionable to some
No matter where from
But there’s a difference
Between Homeless and Bum
As we travel around Boise these days, it seems like every corner–and every supermarket–has a homeless person or team panhandling. It [...]

The Apple Is Smaller, Bite The Same

Everything we oldtimers learned in economics classes seems to be as applicable to current events as film is to photography in this digital age.
When interest rates go down, stocks go up. NOT! It pays to save–not when you get less than 2% for a CD. The list goes on.
Talking to an Idaho government [...]