Dave Frazier
Auditor! What Auditor?
Boise city councilor Vern Bisterfeldt has previously declared the internal auditor was, “worth his weight in gold.” Trouble is we don’t have an auditor and none is on the horizon at present. The office of internal auditor was set up in the wake of the scandal surrounding former mayor Brent Coles. Coles, and two city […]
Continuing Sagas
NEIGHBORS WIN ROUND ONE WITH QUASAR Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission sided up with existing residents Monday when they rejected plans for a 119 feet tall building in an area zoned for 45 feet structures. Quasar Development was attempting to get permission to build the tower on Park Boulevard near Walnut. existing resents and East […]
Statesman and Others Evolve
The impending sale of the Idaho Statesman’s terminally ill adoptive parent has caused many in the newsroom to ponder the question “who’s your daddy now.” The mood in the newsroom was euphoria that they escaped reacquisition by Gannett, muted optimism about McClatchy, and a little remorse at the loss of Knight-Ridder before anyone really got […]
More Poop On Sewer Plant
Insiders tell us there have been some “come to Jesus” meetings with about half of Boise’s employees, including those at the Public Works Department’s sewage treatment facilities. These group ethics training sessions were prompted by the scandals during the previous city administration which saw several leaders go to jail. To his credit, Mayor Dave Bieter […]
State To Study Detox Panel
Looks like there is hope, however slim, for some sort of detox treatment at the state level after the legislature forms its own interim committee to examine the failed efforts of the Department of Health and Welfare. The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee suggested a joint committee be formed to determine what needs to be done […]
Boise Mayor Charms Local Governments
“LOOKS LIKE WE GOT A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE” Recent news reports sound like Boise’s mayor may have attended the “Rumsfeld-Cheney School of Charm.” The mayor’s recent track record for making friends would qualify him as an honor student at that institution. Here are some of the memorable items: –DETOX center fell apart after city council […]
Local Governments Need Scrutiny
Ada commishes approved plans for the SunCor Development planned community off Highway 55 north of Eagle a month ago and now the City of Boise is taking them to court over the decision. Mayor Dave Bieter has opposed the project from the beginning–now he knows how it feels to be ignored by local government officials! […]
Boise City Land Speculators
Defeat of the Boise Library bond was a perfect example of WHY we need bond elections to keep the local government leaders in check. Mayor Dave Bieter now wants to sell off excess city property, get private funding and build store front library branches WITHOUT a tax increase or a bond. Great idea! He should […]
County To Raise Funds For Chamber
Ada County Commissioners will conduct a fundraising event on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce March 15 with their “State of the County” breakfast event at the Grove Hotel. Stung by charges of holding closed door meetings and media coverage of an ill fated get together at the Arid Club last summer, the commishes and […]
Boise Not Good Enough?
City and County officials from across the Treasure Valley are poised to meet with “Business Leaders” and the Chamber of Commerce for an annual gathering which gives attendees exclusive access to elected officials. This group of cheerleaders strives for economic vitality in the Boise area. They have economic development teams, they push tourism and convention […]
Mother of All Skinny Houses
First it was those ubiquitous (for you non-library types that is “ever present”) skinny in-fill houses and now a developer is aiming for the MOTHER OF ALL SKINNY HOUSES with a 194 feet tall tower only 30 feet wide. Big spread on the business page of the Statesman newspaper Sunday cheerleading a proposed skyscraper which […]
Free Speech Remembered
EDITOR NOTE: This comment was received about Dwitght Scarbrough’s FREE SPEECH skirmish with the Homeland Security cops over anti-war signs on his truck parked at a Federal parking lot. We thought it worthy of a headline posting. As a US soldier over in Iraq right now I may disagrgee with the anti war part BUT […]
Special Treatment for Tamarack
The foreign business interests controlling TAMARACK Resort in Valley County continue their successful courting of Idaho government officials. Their latest coup came as André Agassi and Steffi Graf along with their Canadian real estate partners got the Idaho House of Reps to pass a bill to give them a special exemption from the Idaho liquor […]
Educated Inside Insight
GUARDIAN READER (insider) VIEW. Take a trip to Victory Road. Check out Boise School District Facilities. Then, go to Caldwell and check out their retrofit building from the turn of the 20th century. I would agree that the facility on Victory Road was an excessive use of public funds. Yes, BSD piddles money away on […]
Library Types To Try Again
We noticed a Statesman story by Brad Hem says that despite voter denial of a $38 million library bond, proponents plan to offer up another version…soon. Some alternatives were discussed at a Wednesday meeting of the library board: –Rerun the same losing proposal –Smaller branches in strip malls –Seek private funding to reduce the bond […]
Who Pays For School PR Campaign?
A GUARDIAN READER VIEW It seems odd that the Boise School District’s final spin cycle is beginning with an attack on their opponent’s spin? The only thing they’re taking issue with, at least so far, is the accusation that “maintenance funds” were used to build their new administration building on Victory Road. From this voter’s […]
Gun Merchant Senator To try Again
Meridian Arms dealer, Senator Gerry Sweet, has vowed to introduce his controversial concealed weapons bill next year, but it will be a pared down version with different language. He wanted to allow people to carry weapons concealed in vehicles without a permit, but cops and sheriffs raised a ruckus and the media got to picking […]
Costly Closed Meetings Considered
Illegal closed meetings could be a bit more costly for local Idaho officials if proposed amendments in the OPEN MEETING LAW are enacted by the legislature. House Bill 620 would raise the fine for violation from $150 to $500 for a first offense and top out at $1,000 for a second offense. Representative Russ Matthews […]
Free Speech Update
Looks like Dwight Scarbrough has won his free speech battle with the Federal Protection Service (Homeland Security Agents). No shots were fired and no weapons of mass destruction were found. Scarbrough, a federal employee, was rousted for having anti-war signs on his truck parked in a government facility. The agents said it was illegal for […]
Conflict or Coincidence?
A little work on the internet by GUARDIAN sleuths turned up some interesting data on a Meridian arms dealer who happens to also be a state legislator pushing a bill to allow people to carry weapons concealed in vehicles without a permit. Seems that Sen. GERRY SWEET (R) Meridian is president of an Idaho corporation […]
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