A Different SLANT On Election Results

Now that pundits, critics, and proponents have had a day to digest the results of the Tuesday election, it is time for the GUARDIAN slant. The DAILY PAPER’s Joe Estrella did a piece on the Meridian school levy election claiming voters “torpedoed” the tax hike. Did voters perhaps “decline to grant a request to raise [...]

Abandoned Bodies, Hookers In Meridian, Naked Man

Without the legislature in town and in the midst of the TV ratings “sweeps week,” the news is just a bit tawdry–but still fun. The DAILY paper reports the arrest of a man in the North End wearing a birthday suit and it wasn’t even his birthday. KIVI exposes hookers in Meridian, KBOI-TV tells us [...]

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 [...]

PERSI Scam Not Mentioned In CDA Press

The COEUR d’ALENE PRESS ran a Saturday story that looks to us like it was planted by someone within the Idaho state government aimed at getting government worker retirement raised–or to draw attention away from the political abuse of the system. The GUARDIAN doesn’t know where this story came from, but it is a self [...]

Media Perks Questioned At Legislature

By DAVID R. FRAZIER GUARDIAN editor I have been a beneficiary of media perks for more than 50 years. It started in the 1960′s when I carried Speed Graphic cameras and film holders for my newspaperman father at Michigan State sports events in East Lansing, Michigan. The free meals, donuts, and soft drinks at Spartan [...]

GUARDIAN Featured In Columbia Journalism Review

A highly respected professional journal, the Columbia Journalism Review (Columbia University), has featured the Boise GUARDIAN in a recent article. Our humble attitude and softball reporting style was probably what got the attention of one of the top J-schools in the USA. Take a read at CJR. If you are a newsmedia reader or an [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Different DIFFERENT Slants On Urban Renewal

At least four bills aimed at getting more citizen approval for debt, election of commissioners or creation of Urban Renewal Districts are headed for the floor of the Idaho House. Politicos bent on keeping the public from having any authority over their tax spending as mandated by the Idaho Constitution are rallying to oppose the [...]

Channel 7 Is 800lb Gorilla In News Ratings

Michal Deeds, the media, entertainment, restaurant, music guru at the DAILY PAPER posted a tantalizing little CHART Thursday with the latest Neilsen ratings for local TV. As usual KTVB, channel 7 dominates the standings–to the extent the newsies at the other stations appear to be talking mostly to themselves. Any time slot where they share [...]

Marketing The Fear Factor In Wake Of Tragedy

Following the tragic “Safeway Massacare” in Tucson, the airwaves and internet are alive with exchanges of blame game, gun nuts, anti-gun nuts, calls for more laws, more guns to every shopper, and hate mongers vowing to disrupt funerals. And a sobering account from SLATE. We are a violent nation with people being shot all day [...]

Some Grist For The Coffee Shop Mill

We offer a round up today of some topics of conversation, bearing in mind the legislative crazy season will soon be upon us. That means the legacy media will do their “one stop shopping” at the Statehouse instead of Bronco Stadium. –The G-BAD boys will get a report from a consultant on Monday saying it’s [...]

Ada County Explains Scope of Magistrate Court Litigation

Here is the latest round of dueling press releases between Boise and Ada County over the issue of magistrate court space. This one is from Ada County. On December 21, 2010, Ada County filed suit against Boise, Meridian and Garden City seeking relief from the undo financial burden their actions have brought to all Ada [...]

Christmas Greetings From The GUARDIAN

GUARDIAN Year In Review Ballot

We are working on our 6th year at the GUARDIAN and it is time to have you weigh in on the biggest stories of 2010. The most disappointing for us and a clear victory for government and big money was the passage of the three state constitutional amendments which take away our right to vote [...]

Tuesday’s Daily Paper A Pleasant Surprise

We honestly doubt the GUARDIAN can take any credit, but Tuesday’s STATESMAN was chock full of local news of substance! They even offered up an editorial opinion. –The Simplot family JUMP project got unanimous approval from the City P&Z commission and in the process the design review committee was publicly spanked for “overstepping the bounds [...]

Daily Paper News Content Lacking

Apart from endless stories about BSU football, we have noticed a paucity of local news content in the STATESMAN of late. Not only have they cut staff–and consequently coverage–the paper has put staffers on a rotating “furlough” system that results in a week of no editorials with the pages being filled by syndicated columnists or [...]

Airport Seeks Public Financing Of Private Business Facilities

In a page one Saturday story by reporter Cynthia Sewell, the IDAHO STATESMAN ran a statement by Richard McConnell, Boise Airport’s director, which illustrates the need to oppose HJR5. “If a company says it wants to lease a cargo facility within the next 12 months for a 20-year period, the city would first have to [...]

What Others Say About Amendments

As election day draws near, interest in the three constitutional amendments is drawing media attention throughout the state. All three aim to abolish the constitutional rights we currently hold to vote on debt by airports, public hospitals, and city electric utilities. We will add links to this page as we learn of coverage and invite [...]