Seems each neighborhood, or burrough, if you will, offers up it’s own state of mind. Each area so different from the other.

Here is my state of mind…What strikes me about the differences is how practical some are compared to others. West Boise and the Bench seem more practical and neighborly than those of the North End and Eagle.

Now before anyone screams, I did say this was MY state of mind.

Guardian,

I agree with most of what you say in this article- – – and the way you say it. You have captured a substantial portion of the gist of the problem with Idaho’s malignant growth.

Eastern carpetbaggers (and more than a few local opportunists) have perpetrated Kalifornication upon us too. As you point out, the Californians, possibly because der Vaterland (aka the People’s Socialist Repulik of Kalifornia) is so close to Idaho, represent the preponderance of immigrants.

They also tend to be the most demanding, vociferous, abrasive and, in general, obnoxious. (“Hey! Look at me on my illegally loud motorbike. Aren’t I just too cool?” or “How do you like the rap/hip-hop blaring from my two-bazillion watt car stereo? Ain’t I just the bomb?” {NO! But I’d sure like to toss one in there with you!} And “Look at me, I’m a “dude” with a dork haircut, ear rings and an attitude. I like to ride your bumper because you are going the posted speed limit and I’m too important to bother with speed limits, STOP signs or turn signals.”

And, another real blood pressure raiser on any of our two lane highways: “The corners on these twisty mountain highways REALLY SCARE me. I just HAVE to brake for each one and then floor my little road racer on the straight stretches. Pull over if delaying three vehicles? Hell, you can’t even “touch” me in the straight passing zones. . . As I said before, I’m more important than you, you silly hick. I don’t have time, or the ego, to let someone who knows how to drive pass me.”)

However, I don’t feel that fear or envy are proper adjectives to describe the feelings most real Idahoans have for the transplants. I have been quite content with our last two houses. The seventy year old place we owned for thirty years and were forced out of by excessive taxation, the new Truck Route in front of it and the threat of annexation by greedy city officials would still have been just fine if not for “them.” I can’t really say that I’m envious of someone dumb enough to build in a known flood plain or go too fast on a slick road either.

But- – – I don’t fear or envy field mice, locust, starlings, magpies, ticks, mosquitoes, ground squirrels or hailstorms. Nor do I fear, or envy, the transplants. (Well, maybe they do concern me a bit with their poor and aggressive driving habits) They are all destructive in what they do to Idaho.

The collective memory of most of these people is so short that I will only go back one year for this example: In 2005 the initial tax valuation on our eleven-year-old house increased twenty two percent. When I called to dispute this incredible inflation, the assessor’s representative (they MUST be trained in conflict management) was very polite when she told me “NEXT year we’ll get you on the property.” This is absolutely nothing but outrageous, double digit inflation for those of us not yet quite ready to become displaced refugees from our hometowns and state. Unlike gasoline prices, there is nothing we can do to avoid the legalized extortion for the rent on our homes. All because a horde of “transplants” have moved to Idaho.

And then there is the issue of seeing more of the “So glad we “Discovered” Idaho” crowd on weekdays in the backcountry than I used to see on opening days of the various hunting and fishing seasons. Don’t any of these newbies work?

Guardian, I realize that you are being sensitive when you say that Idahoans may “secretly revel” in the misery of the silly “lowlanders.” There is nothing secret about it in my book. I’d rather have them run a stop sign in front of a fast freight train (or a loaded garbage/gravel truck) than in front of me or a loved one in our little old hup-mobiles. I’d rather see them take themselves out on the slick road to Bogus than to lose control on a valley thoroughfare or Highway 55. Snow doesn’t “cause” crashes. Idiots in a hurry who think they are still on L.A. or Frisco freeways cause crashes. Mourn their losses or pretentious flooded houses? Hardly!

EDITOR NOTE–Take two blood pressure pills, call me in the morning and tell me how you really feel.

“CHARTER BUILDERS, LLC requests approval for a Conditional Use Permit to construct a Planned Development consisting of 80 residential units on ±2.95 acres located at 444 E. Parkcenter Boulevard in an L-OD (Limited Office with Design Review overlay) zone.”

How do developers (the Kalifornicating kind, anyway) keep interpreting “Limited Office” and “Agricultural” zoning as meaning “Here’s a great place to build houses, especially great big gigantic way overpriced ones.”?

And why do our cities and counties bother to do zoning when they’ll dump it in the sewer anytime somebody waves a handful of cash in their faces?

If these developers really have the compulsion to keep building, why don’t they go do it in Louisanna, Missippi etc., where people really *need* houses after Katrina et al.”

Besides, it’d be lifetime employment in areas where hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding etc. are annual events, rather than just the undependable random years they get here.

P.S. If anyone out there thinks this area actually needs more homes built, just pick up copies of any of the area real estate sales magazines (Harmon Homes, Property by Owner, etc.), and look through the ads in the Boise and Nampa papers.

Luddite,

I think I believe the same thing when I say that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can change. I see it all the time. Sometimes a person learns from the experience and changes while others see if they can get lower still.

There’s a solution to kalifornication of Idaho riverfronts. No one, except possibly kali-pimpers, wants to see development in the flood plains. Look at the mess in New Orleans.

Before it gets built up, pass effective zoning laws to maintain green (or brown) belts in the flood plains. Do something proactive in everyone’s favor.

EDITOR NOTE–The zoners are the ones working with the kali-pimper developers. What does that make THEM?

Several have asked how all this building in the flood plain gets approved…..same way that massive condos and row houses get approved.

Your elected officals have agendas with the developers and they allow “variances” or even amend the comp plans to accommidate. Most of the time the area home owners are never notified (because they live more than 300 ft away) nor does the city or county want them to know – they might show up and voice an opinion!

You might has well know now that the comp plan and your neighborhood plans are not worth the paper they are written on – especially in Boise.

Neighborhood plans were (and are) just a way to make the neighborhoods “feel like” they have a voice – but not a voice tha holds any water..pun intended.

Time for today’s religion lesson, boys and girls.

“… A wise man … built his house upon a rock:

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

“… A foolish man … built his house upon the sand:

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

– Jesus (paraphrased from Matthew 7:24-27)

I would add, “… and great was the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth… and threats of litigation.”

And I’d also speculate that the wise man’s house wasn’t built in the river bottoms. A wise man would NEVER build a house in the river bottoms!

I’m amazed at your readers ability to identify stranger’s state of origin based on their level of irritating habits. I share this ability. For instance, my coworker with the loud harley claims to be a 4th gen Idahoan, but I know better. I saw a woman picking her nose on the street today. Definity Orange County, probably a south Anaheim native.

I would have loved to have stayed in Northern California. Alas, I couldn’t afford to buy a house in the town I grew up in. Now that was a beautiful place before it was ‘discovered’.

Oh, the irony.

I think we Idahoans (natively speaking) have finely honed observation skills and the gift of discernment that does, in fact, allow us to sniff out a “Caulifornian” a mile off. Here’s proof: (example) Joe says his coworker has a loud Harley, which is irritating…so, Joe is from Caulifornia. We, born here, know there is NO SUCH THING AS AN IRRITATINGLY LOUD HARLEY. I am hoping Steve will back me up here. I used to ride, I don’t anymore, but the louder the better and the sound still makes my heart beat faster and forces a smile to my face. Only a ferriner could think it irritating.

I think it might be important to point out to the richy-riches whose mansions along the Boise river are threatened by flooding that thousands of the poorest people in Eastern Europe, Romanina, Ukraine, Hungary, etc. are being displaced by serious flooding of the Danube river at this moment.

These people do not have the resources that the Boise Riverside dwellers have to sustain themselves in such a crisis. Many of these Europeans are now homeless without the luxury of flood insurance or fat bank account to fall back on in the case of such an emergency.

I find it utterly pathetic that these Eagle residents are threatening legal action for “potential” flooding when there are those around the world who have lost everything and have nothing but the sweat on their brow and the will to move on
to start over again. It makes me sick.

Flood victims image capture from MSNBC week in pictures:
http://www.2gn.net/images/4BG94620.jpg

Anyway, I thought it was a good point to ponder.

Thank you for this site. It is a breath of fresh air.

Jennifer