I asked a scooter user how the payment works and he said “the first initial payment is a dollar, then it’s .15 a mile from their. I have no idea if this pays for itself. Those scooters have battery maintenance and GPS tech and are not cheap, I’m sure.

EDITOR NOTE–Actually they do pay a fee plus a fee for each scooter. The real tragedy is the hundreds and hundreds of thousand dollare of tax money spent on the greenbikes which is run by Valley Regional Transit.

“The free press is the first line of defense of our republic.

It is the media that can demand truth from power and hold those who wield that massive power accountable to the people.

The press represents the American people’s check-and-balance on government.

But the media cannot operate in a vacuum — which is where our New Year’s resolution to participate comes in.

Now more than ever, the media needs an engaged, INFORMED and vocal public.

Silence is as dangerous as ignorance and complacency. “-Kurt Bardella

The Boise Guardian is doing a great job of holding our city politicians to task. That is a tough job when only a small number of people are engaged and serious about local government.

And I ask readers to review the previous year to be reminded how the basic American principal of free press has been under assault, by the latest irrational tweet of the day, ignorant social media comments, and some peoples’ egos.

On the bright side, look how 2018 did indeed show more participation in our political process- particularly more participation from women, such as our Boise City Council, and our Ada County Commission, Idaho state-wide officials, and our Congress.

I expect the female tide will continue to rise in 2019 along with increased participation from the youngest generation of voters.
Good things to look forward to.

I don’t drink because have seen too many livers that did. Just watched a media clip about increased DUI rates and new penalties in Idaho. These media clips always fail to mention the number one $$$$$$$$$$ beneficiary of alcohol sales is the governments. They profit from both sales and DUI cases. Alcohol is the number one health problem in America. Yes, worse than cigarettes and multiple fat rolls.

Media fail, always fail. Apparently is media job to only tell a snippet of the big picture. I expect an entire additional year of media failures in 2019 (except for The Boise Guardian).

Should be a great year otherwise. Happy New Year!