google “Crash in Trash” and “Recycling myths debunked”

“Team Dave negotiated for “single stream” recycling. Beginning early in 2009, all recycables in Boise will be picked up in one container. Gone are the days of sorting.”

We can all get jobs sitting out at the dump or wherever separating the cans from the newspapers from the magazines from the junk mail, etc.
Minimum wage and all the Playboy mags you can slip inside your shirt.

The SMILEY FACED elected officials who insist we can spend our way into prosperity are wearing thin. The property taxes on my home are now more than my mortgage was before it got paid off. I now make my “mortgage payments” to the county treasurer.

It boils down to this..what do we want, what do we actually need, and what are the voters willing to pay for via bond elections. Urban Renewal laws are getting full on abuse all across this valley and in other parts of the state.

I’ll give you one small example. I complained to the assessor last week about a garage having been converted into living space (a residence) but was still being assessed as a garage. In other words, a property similar in age, size and location was assessed nearly the same as my single family property, yet it is being used as a tri-plex. I forgot to mention the basement apartment.

The assessor’s excuse was that no permit had been pulled, therefore the garage was technically not living space. Meanwhile, across the street is the exact same situation. Two houses on one lot, no building permit to be found for the secondary unit, but that property’s assessment shows 2 residences, and therefore pays its fair share.

Why is this important? Why should I poke my nose into another’s business? Because it’s my business too.

I’m going to convert one of my single family houses into a duplex. I’ll will go by the book and get the proper permits. Long story short, I will end up with significantly higher property taxes. Billy Bob, down the street, with his illegal conversion, and Tijuana quality construction standards, pays less property taxes. How can I compete? I will have to charge more rent to cover my higher property taxes. Therefore, why should I bother to improve my property?

If growthophobes want to squelch suburban growth, they might do well to start with cleaning up the slums by advocating more stringent code enforcement. The proposed Urban Renewal District for the Fairview/Main corridor, yeah, growthophobes might want to swallow their pride on that idea, and support it.

With all the talk of bailout money, and fiscal stimulus, how about a grant program for inner city owners of older homes to remodel? Add a 2nd unit? This would solve the need for more roads, lessen the demand for oil —etc etc.

I would hope in the new year that more people would explore our world energy situation in depth and find that oil depletion has some ugly surprises for any of those who think business as usual, AKA “The American Dream 1.0” has any chance of continuing.

I fervently pray that Boise forms a ‘Peak Oil Task Force’ like so many other cities around us such as Portland, Spokane, Oakland, and so many others. We need to figure out our strengths and weaknesses and how to mitigate the effects of ‘Peak Oil’ or we may face a darker future than any can imagine.