On the road it meant driving with intelligence and realizing the speed limit is not a suggestion. Your turn signals are meant to be used in a timely manner. One of the most basic ways to be respectful is to use your turn signal.

We can’t read your mind. So do not make a turn or cut into a lane without signaling a good distance away. Stop signs mean full stop, not rolling through and putting others in danger. You are on the road driving a vehicle with the potential to cause great harm so please pay attention. Not the time for putting on make-up or texting. It also meant living in a neighborhood, a place where neighbors are people who know, help out and care for each other.

Sadly, things have changed so much in the last few years. This up-zone is a developer’s dream. The neighborhood I live in is on a road that is 25’ across. It actually should be a lane as two cars cannot park across from each other or emergency vehicles cannot get through. Our street, sadly, now has 5 rental houses. Some are rented by the room and are overflowing with occupants, too many cars on the street and an abundance of visitors who come and go. Most of these have Cali plates and go way too fast up and down the street without paying attention. Damn, there are small children who live here!

Along with the above, other traffic has really increased with trucks from UPS, AMAZON, FED EX and food delivery ALL DAY LONG. Places that were once homes and focused on family living are turning to rentals, Air BnB, and VRBO.

So, from one who grew up here, I feel there is very little respect left. It’s a losing battle to get newcomers to understand and I feel our city government has lost control and can’t seem to help in any positive way. They don’t seem to care much about the Boise way of days past and now seem to react only to the green…..and I don’t mean the trees.

RESPECT THE CULTURE was actually emblazoned on the tailgate of a small truck. It got us to thinking.

How many of the thousands of newcomers to Boise and Idaho in general come here to join in the lifestyle, rather than change it? Do folks come here to take advantage of cheap labor, cheap electricity, business “incentives,” or do they want to become Idahoans?

We would welcome your thoughts. When farms start growing houses, schools are overstuffed, the roads are insufficient for the traffic volume, and there aren’t enough jail cells, the culture changes.

BY STEVE HULME

In 1986, I was a working-class guy, married with two kids and another on the way. And a dilemma. I had a new job – downtown. (Up ’til then I’d been in easy walking distance from the office.) With one car between us, suddenly we were competing for the wheels. Occasionally I drove to work; more often I took the bus, or Robin dropped me off and kept the car.

Betty, a friend at the office, rode a bicycle… and she lived twice as far away as me! Betty was always cheerful and energetic… and was an enthusiastic proponent of bicycles-as-transportation. Her steed was a pretty red Gitane road bike; she had a choice parking spot in the back hallway. (That was another thing about driving to work… sitting in traffic, finding a parking spot, etc., etc.) Betty really put me to thinkin’.

I told wife Robin I was going to get a bicycle and start riding to work. She was skeptical… confident I was just negotiating for some “new toy money” from our very limited budget. But I forged ahead, ultimately deciding on something that was new-fangled in ’86 – a “mountain bike,” they called it. Nobody was sure whether they’d catch on.

But – it caught on with me! That’s what matters. That bicycle became my primary mode of transportation. Riding up “Mount Protest Road” seemed like a daunting task at the time! But I got to coast down in the morning, and the rest of my route was pretty flat.

I immediately started appreciating some of the benefits – no traffic headaches… no parking headaches… no pumping gas! But as the days got longer and the weather nicer, my route started varying (at least in the afternoon, when I wasn’t pressed for time). Bicycling proved itself as recreation and exercise, besides transportation.

That first year, I ended up riding 2195 miles. (I spent $80 or so extra for another new-on-the-market gizmo – a Cateye bike computer.) 1986 was the last year I bicycled less than 4000 miles, as the bike became my primary transportation. (I still occasionally rode the bus, or a motorcycle, or caught a ride, but 95% of my commuting was on the bike – year ’round.)

The last day I drove a car to work was in September, 1997. I retired in 2019 – twenty-one years later, and exactly one year before the pandemic.

On September 6, 2004, I hit 100,000 cumulative bicycle miles.

Today – April 23, 2022 – I hit 200,000 cumulative bicycle miles. It doesn’t seem as momentous. I s’pose it’s like birthdays – after enough of ’em they lose a bit of luster. Bike miles are bike miles.

I still average about 350 “bicycle days” per year. I still ride about 5000 miles per year, and have no intention of letting up. 300K seems pretty unlikely, but I’d like to shoot for 250,000 miles, 9 or 10 years from now. Back during the employment years, probably 2/3 of my miles were transportation, 1/3 pleasure/exercise/recreation. Those numbers are reversed now… the majority of my miles are just because I love to ride! The best rides these days, are rides with my grandkids. (Oh, and 2022 Steve is considerably slower than 1986 Steve, despite all that “training”!!)

The number of HOURS spent riding over 36 years? That is a sobering thought! But consider how many hours a lot of people are sitting in traffic over the course of a year. Consider how many gas station fill-ups I’ve skipped. And – most of that bicycle time is combined transportation/recreation/exercise! Win-win-win!

There IS a down-side to transportation cycling. There is some effort involved (if you consider that a “down-side”). Cold and wet weather… really HOT weather… and slippery road conditions… wind… an unpleasant encounter with another roadway user, can take the gilt off the lily. You are severely limited in carrying capacity – no stops at the lumber yard on the way home from work. Probably a half-dozen times I got home… took my shoes off… and poured water out of ’em. I’ve had a few crashes – some painful! – fortunately never involving a serious injury. But the wonderful days far outnumber the marginal days.

One thought that gives me comfort: Lots of old geezers get to a certain age, and their kids intervene and take the car keys. For me, that won’t be too painful. (Now if they lock my bike up and hide the key… THAT might be a problem!)

If you are thinking about riding a bike to work – START TODAY!

I’d love to answer any questions you GUARDIAN readers might have – please submit them, and with help from Mr. Frazier, I’ll do my best to provide a forthright response. THANK YOU to everybody who is patient with bike riders, and gives us space to operate. Be safe – keep the shiny side up!

“Bikeboy” Steve Hulme

Meanwhile local politico mothers and fathers work overtime to attract more population, cars, trains, planes, and buses through “incentives.” They want those of us who live here to finance their addictive habit.

As budget approval times approach for local governments, tax increases are coming and expansion of everything from schools to roads, coppers, city workers and traffic are imminent.

Those of us who have lived here and revere the lifestyle, weather, and culture of SW Idaho are an endangered species. In a nutshell we are being exploited by outside forces and have to pay the bill so developers and other “birds of prey” can flourish.

We often hear the cry, “We have been discovered and we can’t keep people from moving here!” True, but we shouldn’t have to PAY them to come here. Paylocity posted a testimonial on a chamber of commerce site which is worth noting:

“In Boise’s favor were state incentives like a Workforce Development Training Fund, a reimbursement program to help cover the costs of training and onboarding initiatives, and a Tax Reimbursement Incentive (TRI) of 28 percent for 15 years. TRI is an incentive available to new or existing Idaho companies that create 50 or more high-wage jobs in Idaho. Companies have the ability to receive a reimbursement on their payroll, sales and corporate income taxes up to 30 percent for a maximum of 15 years. TRI is awarded to companies that prove their stability and significant economic impact to the industry, community and state.”

Wouldn’t we ALL like to have a 28 percent tax kickback for 15 years?

To top it off, the land was formerly agricultural cropland. Meridian made it an urban renewal agency and none of the taxes on the multimillion dollar buildings go to schools, ACHD, the city or the county. Sadly, the scenario is repeated over and over.

In the annual budget competition between local governments to see who can offer the most “savings,” Ada County is this year’s winner. The commishes budget includes a $12M cut in property taxes. Don’t hold your breath because future budgets can “clawback” the foregone taxing authority. Just ask the Ada County Highway District.

ACHD is faced with dozens of needed road projects and they are exploring to use that clawback feature to add $7.5 million cash to their bank account. See this BoiseDev piece.

Boise City has approved a $276.2 million budget to include 44 new hires in various departments–because of growth. Officials predict a 29% tax hike.

All these new people and companies need a bigger airport with more flights. Alaska Airlines has a deal with the University of idaho to pay the carrier if their new route to Moscow-Pullman is not profitable. Also, we wonder about the “incentives” offered to airlines for new flight routes. Do they pay landing and gate fees like everyone else?

In summary, when local government works against the will of the citizens thinking they are “creating jobs” and “competing with other cities,” they are destroying our culture and a way of life that has been eroded almost to the point of destruction.

When growth is the number one concern of society it is counter- productive to encourage growth. The politicos have caused the price of housing to climb out of sight and then they strive to build some cheap housing to take care of the problem they themselves created.
They create that which they seek to escape.

Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane and the Secretary of State’s office have notified ACHD candidates Rebecca Arnold and Kara Veit and Cecil Grow that campaign contributions from assorted companies owned or controlled by developer James Conger exceeded the $1,000 legal limit.

The GUARDIAN resident volunteer research guru, Clancy Anderson, provided the info to McGrane who consulted with the Idaho Secretary of State about the assorted LLC companies listed as sources for money for the candidates.

The election officials agreed with Anderson and notified the candidates who said they were unaware for the violations and agreed to return the amounts exceeding the $1,000 limit.

In what is nothing unusual in Idaho politics, it is not really clear who is the violator. Is it the candidate who accepted the payments or the developer who made the payment? Also, it would appear nearly impossible for candidates to check the ownership and control for all the companies making political campaign contributions.

UPDATE: Since this story was posted, other violations have come to light and election officials will likely notify candidates to return funds to donors.

Here is the applicable Idaho Code:

67-6610A. LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, aggregate contributions for a primary election or a general election made by a corporation, political committee, other recognized legal entity or an individual shall be subject to the limitations of this subsection; provided, however, this subsection shall not apply to a candidate contributing or loaning money to his own campaign account.
(a) Aggregate contributions by a corporation, political committee, other recognized legal entity, or an individual to a candidate for the state legislature, judicial office, or local government office, and political committees organized on the candidate’s behalf, shall be limited to an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the primary election and an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the general election.

(6) For the purposes of contribution limits, the following apply:
a) A contribution by a political committee with funds that have all been contributed by one (1) person who exercises exclusive control over the distribution of the funds of the political committee is a contribution by the controlling person.
(b) All contributions made by a person or political committee whose contribution or expenditure activity is financed, maintained or controlled by a trade association, labor union or collective bargaining organization shall be considered a contribution from such trade association, labor union or collective bargaining organization.
(c) Two (2) or more entities are treated as a single entity if the entities:
(i) Share the majority of members on their board of directors;
(ii) Share two (2) or more officers;
(iii) Are owned or controlled by the same majority shareholder or shareholders or persons;
(iv) Are in a parent-subsidiary relationship; or
(v) Have bylaws so stating.

Seems that Boise State University officials won’t take NO for an answer when it comes to depriving citizens and motorists from using four City streets near the campus.

On June 24 the Ada County Highway District commissioners in a video (zoom) meeting voted 3-2 to deny a request from BSU for “Vacation (closure) of public rights-of-way for a portion of West Belmont Street, South Vermont Avenue, South Manitou Avenue, South Grant Avenue and the alley right-of-way located in Blocks 13, 19 and 22 of South Boise First Subdivision.”
A letter was sent to the ACHD yesterday asking for reconsideration of the denial by the elected board, claiming that since no one appeared at the meeting in opposition to the proposed closing the board erred.

Randi McDermott
Vice President for Campus Operations/COO
Boise State University
1910 University Dr.
Boise, ID 83725-1360
208-426-1493
randimcdermott@boisestate.edu

Former Mayor Dave Bieter was often downright pugnacious with legislators, but he is gone and there is new blood at Boise’s City Hall. The statehouse boys need to give Lauren Mclean an the new council a chance.

According to Betsy Russell at the IDAHO PRESS, bill to force “cities of more than 100,000 population” to elect city councilors from districts is being circulated under the Capitol dome, but it obviously is aimed at Boise politicos.

The GUARDIAN has no problem with forcing council members to living within geographical districts. The only caveat is we think EVERYONE should get to vote for (or against) them. We do that for the county commishes.

It has always bothered us that Ada County Highway District commishes don’t have to get countywide approval. We can vote for only one of the five members, yet they all get to decide how to spend our money.

While we have state legislative districts and congressional districts, we also have senators and a governor and president with veto power. To allow city councilors to garner approval from only one-sixth of the voters would disenfranchise too many citizens.

The proposed project included “60 condos and 20 AFFORDABLE HOUSING units!” That prompted us to ponder just exactly what constituted “affordable” on the trendy real estate? Then, we realized the local lingo seems to be the same throughout the USA.

With that in mind the GUARDIAN has compiled a list of terms which can mean whatever the politicos want them to mean.

TERMS WORTHY OF LIMITS

REVENUE, CLAWBACK, TRANSPARENCY, SHARROW, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOMELESS, INCENTIVES, HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, CONNECTIVITY, URBAN RENEWAL, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, SUSTAINABILITY, GREEN CERTIFIED, ROUNDABOUT, COMMUNITY POLICING, OUTREACH, LISTENING, FIRST RESPONDER, CLIENT, CONSULTANT, DEVELOPER, SURVEY, POLL, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, SUSTAINABILITY, LOCAL OPTION TAX, TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR, INCREASED DENSITY, MASS TRANSIT, BICYCLE FRIENDLY, URBAN RENEWAL, INFILL, INCREASED DENSITY, SMART GROWTH

SELECTED DEFINITIONS

REVENUE–a term used to disguise “tax money taken from the hard earned wages of local citizens, usually against their wishes.

CLAWBACK–A way to grab REVENUE previously not collected.

TRANSPARENCY–A way to hide CLAWBACK of missed REVENUE.

TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR–Formerly called streets, but includes bike lanes, pedestrian routes, street cars, scooters, electric bikes, and some autos.

ROUNDABOUT–A junction of two TRAFFIC CORRIDORS where it is difficult for HOMELESS to solicit because cars don’t stop.

MASS TRANSIT–Church bus for Catholics or use of TRAFFIC CORRIDORS.

INFILL–Result of INCREASED DENSITY and justification for MASS TRANSIT.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY–Motorists who stay out of SHARROW lanes to make a right turn.

SUSTAINABILITY–The ability to keep collecting REVENUES.

GREEN CERTIFICATION–A government declaration of color. Not red, yellow or blue. The certification can lead to SUSTAINABILITY.

INCENTIVES–Payments and tax breaks for DEVELOPERS and businesses seeking to exploit Idahoans. These lead to increased density and the clamor for GREEN CERTIFIED BUILDINGS.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP–A scheme for DEVELOPERS to get tax REVENUES and INCENTIVES for free.

SMART GROWTH–A cult following. Those in the cult advocate SUSTAINABILITY, SHARROWS, INFILL, ROUNDABOUTS, MASS TRANSIT, COMMUNITY POLICING, CONNECTIVITY, SURVEYS, CONSULTANTS, CLAWBACKS. A fantasy not rooted in reality.

Any way you care to spin it, growthophobes who have lived here for any length of time are funding the growth to benefit the mortgage lenders, developers, contractors, planners, consultants, etc. Growth is costly and does NOT pay for itself.

There are no impact fees for schools, and the list of “incentives” we are forced by the politicos to pay businesses to locate in Idaho (and the Boise area) turns our stomach. The GUARDIAN growthophobe policy has long been to welcome any business or individual willing to pay their fair share of taxes and not seek welfare. “If you can’t make it without taking cash from the citizens, please take your business elsewhere.”

Our combined Ada County property tax bill here at the GUARDIAN world headquarters increased 35% over last year and all we have to show for it is more traffic, homeless people at every entrance to the super market, crowded schools, and mean spirited politcos who spend OUR money advertising and promoting the area as a destination for those who seek to exploit us.

The GUARDIAN has long complained about members of state and local government who abuse urban renewal, cater to developers, and generally spend “other people’s money” with reckless abandon.

The oft heard cry of, “you can’t stop growth” rings hollow when cities compete to attract businesses and form illicit partnerships with the private special interest lobbying entity known as the Chamber of Commerce. Realistic impact fees for police, fire, highways, and parks would serve to curb the developers seeking the best deals from local governments.

The public outrage at Boise’s mayor and city council to get around the state constitution with massive spending schemes for a luxury library edifice and a sports stadium could easily be the first whisper of what could become an angry shout from citizens seeking some equity in the way they are treated.

Feel free to share your tax numbers with us (they are all a public record). Hint: to figure the increase subtract last year’s tax found in the “common questions” box from this year’s total. Divide the increase by the previous year amount to get the perc entage increase.

Example: 2019 tax of $3,000 minus the 2018 tax of $2,500 is a $500 increase divided by the original 2,500 which equals .20 or 20%.

Coles has recently made public appearances at hearings and city council meetings chiding councilors and the mayor for their spending habits and various decisions regarding the Library! and other projects.

As of noon Friday Coles will run against incumbent mayor David Bieter who ran on an ethics platform after Coles’ resignation, council president Lauren McLean, Courtney Nielsen, Adriel Martinez and Wayne Richey.

Don Day offers up a concise account at BOISEDEV.

1P.M. UPDATE, BREAKING NEWS

ACHD Chairman Rebecca Arnold has just told the STATESMAN she will also join the crowded mayor race. With four candidates who have a fair amount of name recognition running, it is likely there will be a run off election. The law requires the mayor to have a majority of the votes (not councilors however) cast.