The studies you site are created by those who benefit from the stuies and they simply support their agendas – and can be debunked by other “studies” – just depends how much you pay to get the data you want.

I too have worked in the TV media industry – in Boise in fact.

The bus system simply does not support itself today. That is a fact – even proven by the study you sight.

The only thing that will stop sprawl is when the City Council gets out of the pockets of the developers and does not approve another subdivision – but that will never happen – especially when you look at who contributes to their races. Bill Clark does not get the “favors” he gets on his projects just because he has nice handwritting on his applications. Funny – I do not see a single reporter digging into this story.

http://tinyurl.com/ycqyj5

This is a report published by the Bank of America and I think it might change your mind about whether or not subsidies are associated with suburban sprawl.

FACT 2. The bus system in the Boise metro area lacks adequate funding as explained here:

http://tinyurl.com/yaehuo
“When voters approved the formation of a regional public transportation authority, the new Idaho Code did not provide a funding source to pay for services.”

Boise’s bus system does have a significant ridership, currently, but it could be improved dramatically if enough funding were to be made available to increase service FREQUENCY to a point where a person could hop on a bus every fifteen (15) minutes instead of the current practice of making customers wait for long periods of time between rides.

Believe it or not, I’ve seen better bus service in Third World countries.

In La Paz, Bolivia — in South America — the buses arrive every 15 minutes at well-marked stops located everywhere in the city and the result is a surprisingly efficient system with very high ridership.

You also seem to misunderstand my remarks about local news.

I never suggested that local reporters don’t want to do real journalism.

Most local reporters do want to do authentic journalism and I have sympathy for their dilemma because I’ve been in their shoes.

I would suggest my 11+ years of professional experience in Idaho TV news gives me some perspectives about the strengths and weaknesses of the system.

I wonder if you have any such experience at all.

To survive, low-paid local Idaho TV journalists must comply with the mandates of CORPORATE MANAGERS that have no special allegiance or loyalty to Idaho or Boise.

Those awesome 40% – 60% local TV station profit margins, made possible by massive subsidies to broadcasters, do not go to the worker-bee employees of local TV stations, I can assure you.

Those profits benefit shareholders sitting in plush offices in cities such as New York, Dallas, Seattle, etc.

In addition, you don’t seem to understand why local TV newscasts look the same in virtually every city in America.

Ever hear of TV NEWS CONSULTANTS?

To find out more, please read this excellent Kent State University article:

http://www.personal.kent.edu/~glhanson/readings/tv%20news/bglobe.htm

Yes, there have been some good local journalists.

But notice how often they leave for other careers.

Why do you suppose this is true?

Cordially,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

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.

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