ACHD
What Was Top GUARDIAN 2017 Story?
December 25, 2017 
This is the traditional time to look back at the past year’s news and vote for the top stories.
From this side of the computer, the F-35 story wins hands down. The effort and expense to expose the clandestine efforts of the local politicos to land the noisy fighter jet was massive.
Other topics we covered:
–Snow season and Mayor Bieter’s ongoing attempt to do away with the ACHD.
–The sports stadium plans and resulting opposition.
–Growth continues to dominate the Valley and cause heartburn for school districts strapped for cash.
–Developers continue to seek (and often receive) concessions to create urban sprawl.
–Governments continue to offer corporate welfare to businesses to locate in the area, forcing taxpayers to fund growth.
–Of course the Trolley Folly, Desire Named Street Car scam raised its ugly head again for a mere $111 million along with the usual assortment of “surveys.”
You may have your own favorites to share with readers. Use the ARCHIVE search at the top of the page beneath the photo to job your memory.
And of course we wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Dec 26, 2017, 10:20 am
From my perspective the city and ACHD giving St. Lukes Jefferson Street was the most egregious government concession to growth in 2017.
Dec 26, 2017, 11:16 am
Very interesting the Mayor and others
were more concerned about downtown noise pollution but FOR the F 35’s.
It’s all about the money!!!
Dec 26, 2017, 4:09 pm
One of the big stories that was not reported on to any degree was the death of Bill Agee. But for sure it is a big story…. as the Guardian will remember ( Hey Mr. Guardian is almost as old as I am).
I’m sure many of the new folks don’t know about the history of Bill and Mary Cunningham that ran the once great company MK into the ground. Harry Morrison donated the ground for Ann Morrison park back in at the late 1950, and the park was built by MK employees. The list of MK projects is as long as your arm…. including Hoover Dam. Great company to have in Boise.
If I remember the Agee’s were like Brent Coles on steroids. MK paying to defend him from the IRS… and the Agee’s flying to the Vatican and to Lourdes and other shrines for Catholics.. in private jets.. with the body guards ( which was a strange thing since the Agee’s were divorced). If I remember the Pope wouldn’t see them… but they tried. Mary having bodyguards go with her to the beauty parlor and Bill having body guards follow him to work… with guns at the ready. But of course he drove around with a license plate on his car that was AG1. His board of directors were stacked with his buddies…. and no board meeting was ever held in Boise… No bad news for this board. Losses kept rising as we got more into building trains. Board kept ignoring letters until William Clark got on the board if I remember.
But the Agee’s were very religious people…. that were steal and running MK into the ground.
It should be a great lesson for CEO’s in Boise. What not to do if you are in charge.
Dec 26, 2017, 4:16 pm
I agree that the F-35 is probably top story followed by the stadium boondoggle. However, throw in streetcar desire and there’s an underlying story—the effort of local elected officials to buy propaganda expertise to convince rather than listen to their own constituents. After a while, many people who keep getting reelected get a bit arrogant.
Dec 26, 2017, 4:35 pm
I think the umbrella of all of those issues is Urban Renewal Districts. Team Bieter and Downtown advocates are putting all our eggs in the downtown area.
Top that off with the fact most people don’t understand how those actually work.
https://tax.idaho.gov/i-2007.cfm
Cassia Street right across from Monroe Elementary doesn’t even have complete sidewalks, but downtown sidewalks were recently torn up (perfectly fine before other than some gum) and redone with beautiful bricks to go along nice benches for bus riders (and bums). A bus stop on Roosevelt Street is lucky to get a sign- and no you don’t get a sidewalk to walk your butt there. Although you might get a trolley ride downtown.
Inequality done geographically,
-thanks to CCDC and similar money grabs.
EDITOR NOTE–Careful Eastie…CCDC would love to create a district on Vista and orchard and take all that property off the tax revenue rolls next.
Dec 26, 2017, 5:35 pm
I would like to see the biggest thing that happens in 2018 be that Urban Renewal Districts are dissolved by the legislature.
I laugh every time I drive on the interstate and pass the 10 mile exit and see the gopher hole district that is now an “Urban” renewal district. How do you renew something that is not there to renew?
If these cities, and more importantly the developers, had their way ALL of Ada and Canyon Counties would be renewal districts and the tax payers would get the entire royal shaft for everything that needs funding.
What a joke.
Dec 26, 2017, 8:21 pm
I’m pretty sure that Gardner Company, from Utah, is the largest recipient of property and monies thanks to the City of Boise’s CCDC. I’m pretty sure that Gardner Company, form Utah, is a major force to the Franklin and 10 mile Road project in Meridian. Maybe we need to consider who Tommy Ahlquist will be working for as a Governor?
Dec 27, 2017, 6:28 am
I agree Porcupine. I remember sitting in the auditorium with employees and retirees and their spouses when they announced that common stock was being taken to zero. Lots of tears from retirees. The board was at the front of the room facing the stage–including Peter Lynch of Magellan/Fidelity fame and Zbigniew Brzeisnki. The board came in and left through a side door and never once looked back at the tears.
Dec 27, 2017, 7:23 am
GROWTH is also an issue in Salt Lake.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865694409/?user=app
Dec 27, 2017, 11:33 am
I must give credit to Boise City. The people in the business of attracting and sustaining vagrants were not allowed to set up shop on our Boise streets en masse as they wanted to.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5214593/Christmas-Day-2017-Downtown-Los-Angeles.html
Dec 28, 2017, 11:40 am
erico49
Thank God that Micron was on the upswing when this all happened… at least for me. Great job at MK one day, unemployed the next… then on the line on the night shift at Micron for a pay check.
I still have my MK stock that I pasted on my wall to remind me of Bill Agee. Good wallpaper is worth more than the stock.
Dec 29, 2017, 7:53 am
While I strongly support the military, as I studied the issues I came to the conclusion that the F-35s were not a fit for Boise City. The city’s continued fight to get the fighters displayed an “all growth is good” attitude.
The sports stadium is a good enough idea, although I would prefer a simple updating of the current Hawks stadium. But then as is common in your city, it became a tussle and scandal. How does the mayor survive these?
The trolley is simply Bieter’s conceit. See two sentences above.
Dec 29, 2017, 7:56 am
It should be interesting to see what happens if that stadium deal falls through. From Betsy Russell’s expose (sad how a Spokane-based newspaper blew the lid off of this before our own paper) it looks like the folks involved got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Dec 29, 2017, 7:33 pm
Chickenhawk – there are no real reporters left in Boise save one or two that get assigned certain stories. Betsy Russell is the only real reporter that digs into to the local politics.
Local reporters just re-vomit the press releases they are fed by the corporates, the city, county and state public affairs kids.
The reason they do not go after real stories is that anytime there is job opening they all apply and they don’t want to be on the bad side of anyone as they try to get a job.
The Guardian is much more of a reporter than those that call themselves that today.