Growth
Does Anyone Care About Voter Apathy?
Top winners in the Tuesday GBAD election captured about 1.5% of the registered votes. Not only were most voters in Ada County asleep when the Greater Boise Auditorium District (GBAD) votes were tallied last night, they napped rather than vote at all. Only 9,457 of the registered 175,849 voters (5%) bothered to exercise their right [...]
Four Votes Approve $781 Million Development Debt
The Spring Valley CID north of Eagle needed a 2/3 majority vote to pass Tuesday and it got exactly 4 out of six votes to approve the $325 million bonds worth a total of $781 million after interest. Future homeowners will have to repay the debt. VOTES PERCENT REGISTERED VOTERS – TOTAL . . . [...]
M3 To Get A Single Vote (Updating Previous Post)
In an election eve development Monday afternoon, Ada County Clerk Chris Rich as decided to “spoil” all 50 of the ballots sent to M3 headquarters in Arizona. However, M3 has come up with a local “authorized rep” in Ada County who will be allowed to cast a single ballot, bringing the number of voters to [...]
Fifty Votes From M3 Development To Be Sealed, Not Counted
Ada County Clerk Chris Rich told the GUARDIAN Monday that 50 ballots from the M3 development owner north of Eagle would not be counted in tomorrow’s bond election after both the Idaho Attorney General and Ada County Prosecutor determined only residents of Idaho and the district could vote. That leaves the fate of $325 million [...]
Do We Really Need GBAD?
The Greater Boise Auditorium District has $13,000,000 burning a hole in its collective pocket–garnered from a hotel room tax on visitors to the City of Trees. With the May 21 board election approaching, candidates are lining up with ideas on how to spend the cash. Perhaps we need a group dedicated to to doing nothing. [...]
Team Dave Suporters Run For G-BAD, Is Baseball Park The Motive?
While the upcoming election for the Greater Boise Auditorium District board is like a massive dose of Ambien to most folks, we see a potential behind the scenes “take over” by Team Dave which could be a dream or nightmare, depending on your point of view. Incumbents Stephanie Astorquia and Rob Perez are seeking reelection [...]
Valley Taxpayers To Fund Chamber Of Commerce Sun Valley Junket
For the 20th year citizens of Treasure Valley will be asked to fund a SUN VALLEY JUNKET for various elected officials and government staffers to learn about making Boise and the surrounding area more appealing to businesses and tourists. The Chamber of Commerce website post says: This year’s theme will be: “Building Livable Cities in [...]
Governor Forgot Most Important “Stakeholders”
This guest post comes from long time GUARDIAN reader “IDAHOLIC.” He makes a valid point that individual property owners will get whacked in the pocketbook if the personal property tax–paid in large part by big operators like power and telephone companies–is repealed. I can’t believe the lack of information and discussion of this proposal that [...]
ACHD Spending Shifts Back To Boise
After years of spending in newly developed areas in the western part of the county, Ada County Highway District officials released data Friday showing Boise will get more dollars. Fast-growing cities in western Ada County continue to get a larger share of roadway spending, according to the Ada County Highway District’s latest spending-and-revenue report released [...]
Name Your Favorite Stories For 2012
We trust everyone has opened their Christmas gifts, eaten a hearty meal and is now ready to reminisce about the past year’s news. Without a doubt the Ada-Dynamis energy to trash scandal has dominated the GUARDIAN posts, but there have been plenty of other misdeeds uncovered in government. You can use the search engine at [...]
Taxpayers Big Losers When It Comes To “Purchasing Prosperity”
With Wednesday’s news that Micron–Idaho’s largest non-profit company–has failed in its latest government subsidized venture comes a message that taxpayer cash is no ticket to prosperity. The firm announced layoffs of 30 workers and a shutdown of a venture aimed at producing LED lights. The company frittered away $5 million in stimulus money paid by [...]
Flying Low, Boise Airport Use Worst In More Than 10 Years
While politicos in Washington, D.C. are on the brink of the “financial cliff,” Chamber of Commerce types, some businessmen and Boise airport brass seem to advocate a jump off the cliff as they seek “grants and community support” to subsidize airlines with 80% seat occupancy guarantees. Next it will be paying the DAILY PAPER a [...]
Time Running Out On CCDC Tax Gravy Train
The DAILY PAPER ran a piece recently about Anthony Lyons, the new director of CCDC (Capital City Development Corp) who was quoted as saying, “We want a city that has lots of cranes, lots of scaffolding, lots of construction signs. That’s the sign of a city that’s moving forward.” Part of the motivation to get [...]
Bieter Ignores Public, Seeks More Tax Money From Feds For Pet Train
Ignoring at least two public opinion SURVEYS funded by the city and one conducted by the Idaho Statesman, Team Dave has continued its short sighted quest engineer expensive trains in the Treasure Valley. Mayor Dave Bieter gave away an autographed Kristin Armstrong bike helmet to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and got a promise of [...]
Proposed Brew Pub In State-Owned Building Illegal As Planned
Looks like the Oregon based brew pub set to go into a state-owned Boise commercial building has been cut off, at least temporarily. BOISE WEEKLY‘s Andrew Crisp has a good explanation. The short version is existing state laws preclude brewers from owning retail outlets that import beer from other states and also selling retail. The [...]
Boise’s Bungled Property Deals Focus of CCDC Project
With most of the planning completed and the deals done, Boise’s urban renewal folks are about to extend their long arms to include another 200 acres or so that will not generate revenue for the city. The Daily Paper has a lengthy file on the latest urban renewal plot. Its about the 30th Street-Fairview area [...]
GBAD “Directional Plan” Keeps Visitors Aimless
Since the GUARDIAN has advocated directional signs at major Boise intersections for more than 5 years, we were encouraged to receive the minutes from an April 6 Greater Boise Auditorium District (G-BAD) meeting which discussed “directional statements.” We read things like, “…meetings to determine directional statements…make sure we are on the right path…state how where [...]
County Outbids Citizen For Land
Jeff Wood lives in Hidden Springs and for years has dreamed of building his “dream home” atop a rugged bluff north of his current residence. He contacted the owner, only to learn the property was in the midst of a legal battle and subsequent foreclosure action. He followed the land dealings through the legal process [...]
Skeptics Take Dim View Of Dynamis Power Plant
While the GUARDIAN has always been skeptical about the proposed “trash to energy” project at the county dump, more folks are jumping on the trash truck seeking to short circuit the plan. A Thursday meeting called by residents in the Hidden Springs area adjacent to the landfill was attended by Ada Commish candidates and reps [...]
Big Brother Bieter’s Meters Monitored
Inquiring minds have asked the GUARDIAN about credit card security on the new parking meters being tested in the downtown area–thank goodness they haven’t put them on the Bench yet! Our sources tell us the credit card is swiped and the info goes via radio signal–like a cell phone–from each meter to a bank processing [...]
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