I was born and raised in Boise and fondly remember the old view of Boise looking from the Depot down Capital Blvd. The Capitol building seemed majestic & beautiful. I loved taking pictures from that location. Now, I don’t even bother trying to photograph Boise from that old viewpoint .. the photo just becomes an advertisement for banks and hotels. I am afraid we have gone too far to ever get our great skyline back. I certainly hope this bad idea does not win the approval of Planning & Zoning but, honestly, I haven’t much faith in the city’s P&Z department. I’d really love it if someone from P&Z would explain their seemingly twisted logic to all us Boise Guardian readers.

“A social engineering project is underway for Boise’s downtown in the form of a welfare housing project ”

Pruitt-Igoe comes to Boise?

Folks, the Battle for the Capitol Skyline View was over in the late 50s.

I can remember visiting the Depot as a kid when the Capitol was the tallest building in Idaho. (The only one that came close was the Hotel Boise, which looked a bit like a miniature Empire State Building, off to the left.)

Then along came Bank of Idaho, with their lofty plans to build their “skyscraper” at Capitol Blvd. and Idaho Streets. The new tallest building in Idaho!

There was a massive outcry at the time. The view of the Capitol had value to the community. The Bank reassured the protesters (and more importantly, the “city fathers”) that their lovely building would add to the view, not detract from it. (And in reality, an argument can be made for their right to develop the property they own as they see fit.)

Anyway, the bank went up. And the rest is history. That cleared the way for the Idaho First National Bank, and ultimately the “Eggo Hotel,” arguably the ugliest building in Idaho.

It’s a joke to complain about some little peephole view of the Capitol, that will be ruint by up-building the Piper Pub. The lot was cast. The party’s over – go on home, people.

Speaking of low income housing… I’m waiting with baited breath for the impending announcement about where the Homeless Tent City will be erected. (Announcement postponed because they still have to notify the neighbors? That’s a bit like the identity of the deceased being withheld until the next-of-kin are notified, isn’t it?)

I’d suggest the porch out front of City Hall. There’s probably room out there for a dozen or 20 tents. And they’d be very close to additional city services, and Mayor Bieter could check on ’em frequently and make sure they’re OK.

Let’s put a large tent in the front yard of every City Council person – I think that would quailfy as INFILL. We’ll see how NIMBY they get.

Treva, A person doesn’t have to drive to get a DUI in Boise. I was riding shotgun, the driver crashed, ran, I was trapped by the dash and air bag and my seat/shoulder belt, I was extracated, taken to the ER, refused a field sobriety test since I was broken up physically and on heavy meds, arrested, charged with DUI and spent a lot of money and time to have a judge overturn it. If they can’t get you one way, they will get you another. I hadn’t had alcohol in 20 years before that but am thinking about starting again.

Downtown Boise needs affordable housing.

I support the project and I applaud those who are involved in the development.

Ever notice the massive tax subsidies for those who choose to live in sprawling suburban housing developments?

Ever add up the costs of extending sewer lines, roads, water, and other infrastructure to all of these far-flung housing developments located away from the Treasure Valley city centers?

Pseudo-conservatives don’t seem to complain quite as much about that kind of subsidy even though it has been going on for years and years.

And when did “density” get such a bad name?

Density is what makes light rail in Europe and Japan affordable.

And as Portland, Oregon has discovered, light rail is a job magnet.

Contrary to the belief of some, public transit in Boise is used heavily by well-paid professionals.

I know Boise civil engineers who ride the bus to work and back EVERY DAY.

These are professional people who know how to save money.

They know how to CONSERVE.

They actually live a conservative lifestyle (instead of talking about it).

I believe true conservatives, therefore, should support public transit and not oppose it.

Guess what is worse than the “social engineering” that Idaho’s pseudo-conservatives complain about?

I would suggest the answer is “anti-social engineering.”

And that’s what the pseudo-conservatives of Boise — and Idaho — have a difficult time defending.

Many of them fail to criticize the ANTI-SOCIAL ENGINEERING policies that have been in place for decades at the local, state and federal government levels.

Meanwhile, take a look at Boise’s air quality:

http://www.cityofboise.org/public_works/services/air_quality/index.aspx?id=air_quality_visibility

If Boise’s pseudo-conservatives were really worried about the view of the capitol, they’d be more vocal about what’s happening to our air.

If we don’t get our collective act together soon, we won’t be able to see our hands in front of our own faces.

We’ll be inserting quarters into filter mask vending machines on Capitol Boulevard.

Ever wonder why there’s so little in the TV news media about the effects of vehicle exhaust in the Treasure Valley?

I got it straight from the former director of advertising sales at KTVB-TV…

Commercials from vehicle ads — when I asked about this in the ’90s — accounted for almost HALF (50%) of KTVB-TV’s revenues.

Now let’s add the $100 BILLION in subsidies we’ve given to the private sector commercial broadcasters…

http://tinyurl.com/yxwfks

…and we begin to see why the corporations that own our local TV stations are able to earn those astounding 40% to 60% profit margins, as confirmed by the State of the News Media page here:

http://www.stateofthemedia.com/2005/narrative_localtv_economics.asp?cat=4&media=6

I used to be one of the reporters who worked at KTVB-TV and — at least once — I was not allowed to publish the names of local car dealerships who got caught by the Idaho Attorney General.

The AG forced these dealerships to sign “voluntary assurance of compliance” documents promising they would cease business practices that were considered by the AG to be illegal.

If the dealerships refused to sign, they faced criminal prosecution.

My photographer and I recorded video of several of the car dealerships mentioned in the news release — in preparation for a news report we hoped to air later that evening.

As we were taping, one of the Boise car dealership managers shouted at us and ordered us to stop taping and warned us that if we persisted he would call our bosses, cancel the ads, and “have our a _ _ e s.”

After I returned to the station, sure enough, KTVB-TV’s sales manager was sitting in the office with the news director.

The news director came out of the office and instructed me “not to mention the names” of the car dealerships mentioned in the AG’s news release.

Censored in Boise once again!

(I am convinced it happens in Boise and many other American cities on a routine basis.)

After years of watching the mutilation of Idaho journalism by corporate and business interests, I understood why many journalists leave for other careers.

Ever watch the recent documentary, THE CORPORATION?

http://www.thecorporation.com

It contains a segment revealing that censorship is common in America’s news industry.

I would suggest that Boise and many other Mountain West cities have been the victims of ANTI-SOCIAL ENGINEERING for about the last four decades, but you’ll rarely see any coverage about it on the corporate-owned local TV news.

I support Dave’s expression of opinion, but I suspect his criticism of the downtown housing project is a reactionary red herring.

In fact, I suspect it may even deflect attention from other, far more grim realities about how our public dollars are being wasted in Idaho and throughout America.

Cordially,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

Jerry J – your commnets would be great IF the facts were correct – and they are not! There are no subsidies for suburban homeowners and the buses are virtually empty and HEAVILY subsidized – two goofs right there. If you are a great reporter then post the facts here and share the documentation with the Guardian.

There are a few (and I mean few) ok reporters in town but most just report the press releases they are sent by government flacks. Then they go to work as flacks as soon as they can get a job. The editors at the Daily Statesman clearly have agendas and censor editorials from readers EVERY DAY and think nothing of it!!

If we had even a few doing as much digging as the Guardian MAYBE we could actually hold our officials accountable. They openly tells us that they could care less about getting sued or about getting voted out of office because they all belong to the same little club and they protect each other – they simply don’t care and the media cares even less about digging to get the facts – sorta like the facts you state.

All Govt. buildings with their 200 yr. style tend to remind me that they are architectural monstrosities that house a govt. that stopped representing the People some time ago. It’s ironic that most of those buildings now towering over them are Banks, our new gods and governments.

The low income housing re-development idea is a total ruse. The developers get low interest government backed loans to buld these projects, provide cheap rents for a minimum of time,2-3 years, then kick out the tennants,re-model and it becomes high rent housing. Who cares about views anyway. Usually the view sucks because of the inversions. Wake up, Idaho is “for sale”. The Ada County Commissoners are really the Ada County Welcome Wagon in disguise.