Business
Homecoming Is Sweet Sorrow
January 31, 2007 
After two weeks in “unruly” Brazil where everyone from cops to street vendors warned this camera-toting Gringo of potential violent assault and theft, it is good to be home in the number one rated “most secure” place in America.
Checking the old news there was a double ax murder, a boy killed his school teacher mom, and a 12-year-old is suspected of beating a little girl. There was also the routine note about a drive by shooting in Caldwell Not bad for an area that took pride when a made up survey residents in the area had the “most secure” sense in America.
Then our Boise police department places ads in the highest paid market in America to recruit more Southern Cal cops to Boise because the Broncos won the Fiesta Bowl!? Why not advertise in Mississippi or Alabama–at least we could offer them a pay hike.
We notice the Ada Commishes are working on a plan to use eminent domain on their own courthouse to take over commercial space they–or some government–already owns!
A Fox news report that looked like a free ad for new businesses at Bown Crossing–under the guise of a “booming economy” rounded out our return to Idaho and the City of Trees.
Good to be home. Too much poverty and negative talk about American foreign policy among fellow travelers can be depressing.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Jan 31, 2007, 2:29 pm
Welcome home, now get typing. I think there are many missing their daily Guardian fix just as they need their daily Latte fix.
Jan 31, 2007, 2:40 pm
Welcome back. We’ve missed you! The local news lately has reminded my husband of 4 years he lived in southern california…murders, gruesome crimes, etc. for the first 15 mintues.
If the BPD recruited in Alabama or Mississippi…there wouldn’t be any leverage to boost pay. Riverside and OC make it easy to keep the message that they don’t get paid enough coming through, loud and strong.
Jan 31, 2007, 3:55 pm
Welcome home, Dave! We missed your face!
You are fortunate to travel abroad, and for the perspective it provides. Sure, we have our troubles in these parts, and we all tend to be whiners. But at the end of the day, what a BLESSING it is to live in the U.S.A.! So much freedom; so much comparative prosperity. (The “poverty” class in this country doesn’t know what the word means – they should see the shanty towns on the “bad” side of Rio or Sao Paulo, huh?)
A lady visiting from Germany complained to me recently. She said she had gone to the grocery store to get some “Ranch” salad dressing – her favorite. But alas, when she got to the store, there were 50 varieties of RANCH dressing to choose from!
May we Americans appreciate the great gift that is ours.
Jan 31, 2007, 4:59 pm
Regarding the Courthouse – I was there last week and took the time to walk around the area and look at all the EMPTY space that we as tax payers are paying for. What a joke!
Even the little coffee shop in the Courthouse is gone now. The apartment buildings next door are still mostly vacant too.
So this is what is known as creative financing!
PS…. You missed Mr. Coles going back to court and being told everything is ok now and it is as if nothing ever happened.
Jan 31, 2007, 6:10 pm
Dave!
Thank heavens you’re home! I hope your photos are fab, but the faithful missed you more than you can know. In your recap, you missed the story in the Statesman on the Ada County planner who resigned after he was noted to be moonlighting for Elmore County as a paid consultant. He says he is leaving to start his own consulting business — but not before he wrote his new job description into the Conditions of Approval for The Cliffs.
No wonder the guy told the Daily that he gets several job offers a week. Au revoir, public service! Who woulda guessed that planned community applications could become such a cottage industry? Curious George, still think there’s no conflict of interest at Ada County Development Services? I have two words for you: WAKE UP!
Jan 31, 2007, 6:37 pm
Welcome home Guardian! Brazil and all of S. America must be most beautiful…isn’t it late summer down there? I find it interesting that many S. american countries are becoming more democratic every day as the USA succumbs to Bush and his push toward Orwellian control.
Lots of important things are taking place and we’re all hoping the “wisdom of the guardian” will give us a chance to add our 2 cents to;
The unneeded expansion of the statehouse or the question does local mass media “sensationalize violent crimes?” or what exactly are the county commishes trying to do with the luxuriantly vacant buildings they built with millions of tax payers dollars? Another is why is the state leg. refusing to give needed tax relief to property owners.How about Al Gores visit to BSU-what a fantastic event!
Then there’s the courageous Boiseans who went to the” Stop the war in Iraq ” mass demo in Wash,DC on 1-27. Bush heard they were comin’and left town on the midnight stage! Oh Guardian Sage,enlighten us ere we descend into spudaho chaos….
Feb 1, 2007, 12:40 am
Yay! Yer back!
My fingers were getting tired from calling this site up over and over, only to see you were still hiding in the jungle.
Man, you missed a lot of fun stuff — including the possible Headline of the Year, something like, “Naked man leads police to double murder.!
Don’t get one like that very often.
Yeah, the pols are still up to B.S. It’s amazing how they can keep figuring out new ways to do things wrong.
Re the Statehouse wings: Aside from the fact that I’ve long thought it might be a good idea to hide our legislating goons underground, I don’t quite know why the need a huge expansion. One of the backers pointed out that wings were added to the U.S. Capitol as more states were added. Seems no one pointed out to him that Idaho hasn’t added more states; hasn’t even added more counties for many years.
Oh, but I guess I’m making that dumb mistake again — expecting something they do to make sense.
Anyway, we need The Guardian now as much as ever; keep trying to kick ’em in the head until they ease off on doing stupid things quite so frequently and rapidly.
Feb 1, 2007, 7:27 am
Well about time you got home!
My mother used to say that to me when I was a teenager back when you could run the Streets of Boise safe and sound.
Feb 5, 2007, 9:37 pm
I think I’ll just shoot myself and save the taxpayers a few pennies for the bullets.
welcome home? ego tripping?
Feb 9, 2007, 4:38 pm
I tried to rent an apartment by the Ada County courthouse and was told all apartments were full. I asked if I could be on a waiting list. I was told no and then this young gal said real quietly that I was the wrong color, sex and age and probably made too much money. I asked her how much money was too much but she didn’t know.