Pete Rimkus, the organizer says BCW (Boise Cop Watch) will be on patrol in Boise, Idaho this Saturday Night, January 14th, 2012.

Their goal: accountability through transparency so the streets are safer for all who wish to set foot upon the pavement as free individuals. The BCW will join with others who believe in documenting police interactions through the lens of a camera. BCW hopes that the police – who purport to strive for openness – will welcome their efforts.

For more information about this topic or to volunteer, contact Pete Rimkus 208.570.1945 or email boisecopwatch@gmail.com

Related Posts

1. Sep 8, 2011: Coppers Cap Cornered Cougar — 7 comments
2. Apr 21, 2011: Conservation Group Heads For the Hills — 4 comments
3. Dec 2, 2011: Coppers Cope With Public Puffing — 10 comments

The scandal at the Ada County Misdemeanor Probation services was by far the most commented upon. We first broke the story in May. Some things never change, the Depot is still closed to the public and Boise City continues to find cash for surveys and studies that go nowhere.

–The F-35 seems to being having trouble getting airborne
–Urban Renewal got a little bit of control on future agencies
–Avimor remains a ghost town
–Ice World Hockey remains colorful
–Ada Landfill remains controversial, County is still our $2 million
–Fire Station closed in Garden City due to budget woes
–Boise Council election slips by unnoticed
–Idaho continues to offer PAYMENTS to businesses locating here
–Guns on campus debated
–G-Bad boys and girls have colorful run
–Garden Valley School District has serious politics
–Bike Ban in Garden City drags on
–Guv Butch joined GUARDIAN opposition to State purchase of storage units
–Coppers on Choppers, Boise PD patrols Boise County
–Fire Dept. fee schedule caused stir and fast fade
–Fire union does charity drive on city time
–Land Board to Build Brew Pub downtown
–Sniper School revealed in Caribou Forest
–Occupy folks still camped out
–Ada Commish on gender bias,Boise library harassment

Related Posts

1. Aug 11, 2011: Thoughts From The Road Summer 2011 — one comment
2. May 11, 2011: GUARDIAN Turns Six, But No Party Scheduled — 8 comments
3. Mar 29, 2011: GUARDIAN Featured In Columbia Journalism Review — 12 comments

Due to corporate “downsizing” (job elimination), my company is no longer paying for the car they “required” me to purchase. I approached my lender and asked to refinance the loan for a longer term.

This institution holds more than 2x the amount of the auto loan in a CASH account and I have a very high credit score. The bank will not refi the loan because of my joblessness of one month. I just realized this morning that all my major credit cards (frequent flier, dept store, bank cards, etc) are with that bank.

They are offering me over $120k in credit & cash lines, I have $40k cash in their bank and they won’t refi a $15k auto loan, for which I have never been late? So ridiculous!!! I called my local credit union, and they are happy to refi (as long as I maintain an account of the value of the refi) with an interest rate of 2.51% – 50% lower than the banks best rate. Plus, the Credit Union told me on the phone that they would do this loan. I did not have to spend 2 hours sitting in a bank waiting for them to say no.

I am not going to use those credit cards anymore and I am moving my money today. We are responsible in part for our demise for buying things we didn’t have the cash for and allowing the bank to give us credit. The attitude of entitlement in this country needs to change and EVERYONE needs to start taking responsibility for their actions and think about what they are REALLY saying and doing.

Link to story Dorothy commented upon

Related Posts

1. Sep 26, 2011: Debt, Economy, Just A credit Card Thing — 16 comments
2. Aug 11, 2011: Thoughts From The Road Summer 2011 — one comment

–Poet Paul

“Cyclops,” one of the most frequent commenters and loyal readers of the GUARDIAN closed his good eye Sunday for the last time, a victim of cancer.

For those who remember the name, we can now tell you Cyclops was Jim Monihan, a one-eyed bald guy who was an advocate of the common man and one of those guys who “got it” when it came to life, politics, and humor. Over the years he posted 1,135 comments on the GUARDIAN and most were written about 5 or 6 a.m.

Here is one of our favorites from a “Mayor Hotline” post:

“Be sure to scan through the remainder of team Daves shenanigans and read the call from Tom Sweeney.

The thought of some “Blithering Fool from city hall” standing around telling this man what he can and can’t do, just boils my blood. If there was ever a citizen’s fight that needs a champion, this is it!”

Twice when Team Dave attempted to garner support for a trolley, Cyclops visited the “public information” site in a downtown storefront passing out flyers with facts gleaned from the GUARDIAN.

He reveled in telling the story of being forced to a backroom table where citizens wishing to fill out “comment cards” sat to write their thoughts–AFTER Jim had a chance to share the “rest of the story” with them. No surprise that most folks were against spending money for a downtown trolley.

We will all miss the pirate who wore Hawaiian shirts and a black eye-patch.

Related Posts

No related posts.

Boise’s artists were all shunned by a city committee selecting public art for the new City Hall remodel project. Not a single Idaho artist, let alone a Boise artist is being considered as a finalist.

Some 44 artists applied for a grant to create public art for the City Hall Plaza. The committee has narrowed the field to three. They hail from Texas, New York, and Seattle. Below is the form letter sent to all the local losers whose work will not appear in the city. So much for “Buy Idaho” and local preference for vendors.

Related Posts

1. Nov 1, 2011: Free Candidate Space And Roster For Boise City Elections — 24 comments
2. May 19, 2011: Flood Threat Eases, But Boise River Remains At Critical Capacity Through City — 3 comments
3. Apr 15, 2011: Yuba City Councilor Disses Idaho — 9 comments

Here in Boise, Occupiers have several local issues they have decided they’d like to address. One issue that has been discussed is the decision to build on the “Hole” downtown. For many of us it was a revelation the CCDC was subsidizing millions in public money towards the construction of a new Zions Bank building. It will surely have living and business space besides just Zions, but I think there is more to that point; Zions also recieved TARP bailout money, and they currently entangled in some kind of legal actions against them. Is this really a wise investment for CCDC? Why don’t we do something drastically cheaper and just put in a park! Some of us see no reason to build a multi-million dollar building at a time when the economy is contracting. Especially when this money is being diverted away from other areas, such as education, city, and county governments.

On the national level Occupy Boise shares the same complaints and interests as every other Occupier out there. With so much discontent it is hard to see what a “victory” would look like, and I find myself doubting if it is even possible for political or legislated solutions to work towards such an end.

For us, Occupy represents our own complete lack of faith in the system. I think for now, that is powerful enough. There have been a number of positive messages and plans growing out of the Occupied discussions. We have working groups addressing the homeless and unemployed issues here in Boise. Others are interested in our education policy, and hope to be more engaged in our local political theater. There are talks of “occupying” local businesses that condone the kind of practices we prefer in the hopes that we can persuade our little community to support those causes over other outlets. Community building is just another goal for some of the diverse community that exists at Occupy Boise.

The biggest lesson I have learned from the scope of this public uprising, and from my personal experience with Occupy Boise is that every one of us needs to remember the way we live, the things we buy, our day-to-day actions all contribute to this network of businesses and government. Such an understanding causes one to confront our role as consumer, as producers, and to invest our efforts into strategic actions that will benefit those in our community. Vote ‘no confidence’ and support our local businesses and institutions.

One of the biggest moves so far has been the slow migration of Occupiers financial accounts from large banks to local banks and community credit unions. I spoke with my long-time bank manager upon closing my savings account. I had to explain that while I have no complaints, and wished no harm on the employees and their branch, I had to close my account because I understand that my money helps that bank do business, and I cannot support their actions any longer. We had a candid conversation about what it meant, both symbolically and realistically. That is the other thing about the Occupation. We are having these conversations. Everyday. Everywhere.

But I am from the creationist camp. I acknowledge the failures and the unsustainability of the current system—I have to—but if it is at all possible, I’d like to focus on a solution–one that requires quite a bit of personal responsibility. I want my efforts to focus on what is possible, and how we might make it happen. Mostly I am concerned with the way we might again be confident in our community, and our place within it.

Related Posts

1. Oct 27, 2011: Occupy Boise Marches In Solidarity With Oakland — 34 comments
2. Feb 7, 2012: PEACE OFFICER Trumps LAW ENFORCEMENT — 4 comments
3. Mar 22, 2011: TVCTV Favors Democratic Politicos — 14 comments

Members of the group told the GUARDIAN they were demonstrating solidarity with their counterparts in Oakland, California who came under physical attack Tuesday in a confrontation with police.

They marched past the “Hole” at 8th and Main which is the site of a proposed high rise office tower. Zions Bank and the developer are set to receive as much as $4 million in tax money from Boise citizens via the CCDC and the group has said they wanted to call attention to the fact.

Related Posts

1. Jul 27, 2011: Optimistic Developer Gambles On Boise “Hole” — 8 comments
2. May 17, 2011: Boise Budget Grows 8 Times Faster Than Population — 16 comments
3. Mar 22, 2011: Boise Library Joins Communist Movement — 22 comments

The GUARDIAN editor worked on assignment for the New York TIMES during the circus-like atmosphere when a delegation of Libyans came to town to buy Idaho wheat in the late 1970′s. John Evans was governor and a Libyan-born professor at the University of Idaho brokered a deal with the Idaho Wheat Commission to sell Idaho wheat to Libya.

The true motivation of Gadhafi and his delegation was to put political pressure on Senator Church to release C-130 military aircraft being withheld from Libya for fear they would be used against Israel. When the deal was signed the Libyan representative said there could be more deals to benefit Idaho farmers if they could convince their senator to release the aircraft purchased by Libya.

History will note that farmer Steve Symms beat Church at the next election and there are also pictures floating around the internet of Rep. Symms and Gadhafi exchanging gifts. One of which was used by John Evans in an attempt to link Symms to Libya’s military dictator during his 1986 unsuccessful attempt to oust Symms from his Senate sweat….ironically Evans had welcomed the Libyan wheat buyers to Idaho.

While the wheat farmers met with the foreign delegation, others milled about the Riverside Hotel seeking to sell everything from cattle to beans. All were met with a line that went something like, “We love Idaho products and people.” It was pretty gushy and hugely manipulative.

The NY TIMES was eager to catch the less than sophisticated Idaho folks signing an agreement with a “anti-zionist clause” which prohibited any financing, brokering, transporting by Jews or Jewish companies. Gadhafi didn’t care for Israel or Jews. Sure enough the Idaho folks signed the deal to deliver the wheat to Tripoli, complete with the anti-zionist clause.

Ironically, when it came time to deliver, the deal called for HARD RED wheat. Idaho grows mostly SOFT WHITE. Panicky Idaho wheat commission staffers made a quick phone call to a Portland grain dealer and secured an equal amount of HARD RED wheat. While the Idaho politicos basked in their international trade glory, not a kernel of grain came from Idaho.

Related Posts

1. Jun 29, 2011: Balanced Budget Amendment Is Grandstanding Politics — 12 comments
2. Mar 16, 2011: Idaho Ag Heritage Park Is Good Fit At Expo Idaho — 9 comments
3. Nov 22, 2011: PUC Plugs Into Dynamis-Idaho Power Deal — 7 comments

• U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000
…………

Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget.
• Annual family income: $21,700
• Money the family spent: $38,200
• New debt on the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on credit card: $142,710
• Total budget cuts: $385

So what’s the problem?

Related Posts

1. Aug 5, 2011: Jerome Seeks To Go Around Voters For Debt — 5 comments
2. Dec 16, 2011: Dorothy Goes Down Yellow Brick Road To Credit Union — 15 comments
3. Nov 16, 2011: Boise County Debt Easily Solved — 12 comments

“IDAHO WIC PROGRAM IS AMONG TOP 3 IN THE NATION FOR BREAST-FEEDING RATES”

Does this mean Idaho babies are some of the fastest little suckers in the country?
Does it mean more Idaho women are prone to the natural method in lieu of bottles?
Does it mean someone gets top dollar for their breast milk?
The million dollar-plus “performance bonus” sounds interesting as well.

Results of yet another survey and we couldn’t resist noting the Idaho ranking…especially when MONEY MAGAZINE’s October issue has listed Boise as one of the “top 25 retirement cities” in the nation.

Related Posts

1. Jul 13, 2011: River To Open, Sandy Point Polluted With Poop — 13 comments
2. Apr 30, 2011: PERSI Scam Not Mentioned In CDA Press — 6 comments