Business
Fate Of Downtown Boise Unknown In 2017
The GUARDIAN has been doing some preliminary inquiries regarding the fate of downtown Boise after the Central District urban renewal project expires in 2017. As it sits currently, no one can offer us a definitive answer to questions of ownership, management, and responsibility for certain Capital City Development Corp. properties. For instance, CCDC owns 8th […]
GUARDIAN Reader Seeks Second Opinion
Calling himself “Boise Cynic,” a long time GUARDIAN reader has taken it upon himself to seek a 2nd opinion on how downtown Boise should be managed with regard to traffic, pedestrians, and bikes. BY BOISE CYNIC Request to ACHD, Boise City, CCDC and/or BSU: Please pay for urban planner Robert Bruegmann to come to Boise […]
Caldwell GUARDIAN Vindicated Over Nampa Library
Thursday the Gardener Company sent Nampa Development Corporation (Urban Renewal) a letter backing out of the retail/officeportion of the Nampa Library Project. Caldwell GUARDIAN editor Paul Alldredge had filed legal action to allow citizens to weigh in on the indebtedness, but backed out when threatened with being forced to pay legal fees. In the letter, […]
Apply Emergency Brakes To Train Obsession
It used to be amusing to poke fun at Team Dave’s latest gimmick for a train, trolley, street car, etc. Now its time to derail this fantasy once and for all. The current topic is yet another round of consulting, planning, etc. for what amounts to a “cargo transit center.” The idea is to create […]
Is There No Shame In Medical Game?
After losing an anti-trust lawsuit in the United States District Court which generated attorney fees of $10,000,000 on the part of the winners, St. Lukes Health Foundation is sending out letters begging for cash from the community. St. Luke’s Foundation is using the excuse of “National Doctors Day” March 30 to give everyone a chance […]
Farmers Could Get Convicted Felon Labor
If a bill proposed in the Idaho Legislature becomes law, Idaho farmers could get a chance to pay minimum wages to prison inmates instead of paying higher wages to attack workers. “This would help us make sure we get our perishable Idaho crops harvested” in the event of worker shortages, said Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, […]
Bulging Boise’s Bungled Building Boom
At the risk of posting another typical “growthophobe” story, we offer up a major caution in the rush to embrace the Gardner folks’ latest plan for downtown Boise. As wise businessmen, they are gathering as much public funding as possible to build on some pretty small plots adjacent to the Grove Hotel and the U.S. […]
Micron, Samsung Top Offenders In Price Fixing Settlement
In a settlement announced Tuesday, Micron and Samsung were listed as the top offenders in a price fixing settlement for sales of DRAM computer chips between 1998 and 2002. The legal agreement came out of the U.S. District Court for Northern California. Micron has agreed to pay $66.7 million and Samsung will cough up $113 […]
Job Losses Prove You Can’t Buy Prosperity
Sitting in New Zealand where the minimum wage is set to jump to the US$ equivilant of $12 an hour and reading of recently announced losses of at least 1800 jobs in Idaho, it is obvious you can’t buy prosperity. It looks like there will be 1600 jobs leaving with the closure of a call […]
Opp Out Could Signal Land Policy Shift
The resignation of Dept. of Lands Deputy Director Cathy Opp and the revelation by the Statesman’s Dan Popkey that legislators have turned down donations from leaseholders of state-owned recreation lots at Payette and Priest Lakes, signals a possible policy shift of Idaho Land Board activities. The board is comprised of the five state elected officers […]
Bank Claims Canyon Lawmaker Owes $10,000
The Idaho Legislature will be in town shortly with elected representatives deciding how and where to spend all the tax money and other revenue collected by the state. One of those “spenders” will be Brandon Hixon, State Representative for Caldwell’s District 10. Based on public records, Rep. Hixon has an apparent history of stiffing creditors. […]
Snow Park Continues Slippery Slope
Eagle City officials are forging ahead with plans to acquire land from Ada County to provide exclusive use to a for-profit snow terrain park off Old Horseshoe Bend Road. Ada County Commissioners want to hear from residents about their desired use of the land. There will be a public meeting December 18 at the Ada […]
Downtown Has Moved To Eagle & Fairview
Eagle Road has become Main Street and Meridian is quickly becoming the new “China” for Boise planners, politicos and purchasers–threatening to either own or control everything from highway dollars to retail market share. While Boise has been preoccupied filling the former “hole in the ground” with a mirrored skyscraper, Meridian (Idaho’s third largest city) has […]
Ada Commishes Need To Rein In Racing Slots
The latest euphemism for SLOT MACHINE GAMBLING is a proposal to install hundreds of slot machines at Les Bois Park’s Turf Club under the guise of “Historical Horse Racing.” It may be a “sure bet,” but not for the sucker who thinks he can outsmart a computer game based on a previously run horse race. […]
Dept. of Lands Business Policy Short Sighted
Three years ago when the GUARDIAN exposed the state ownership of Affordable Storage in Boise, politicos dug in their heels on both sides of the state owning businesses. We pointed out at the time there was a significant loss of local property taxes when commercial property is owned by the tax-exempt state. Since then, the […]
Big Money For Bieter Bond Proposal
Proponents of the bond measures that could put Boise into debt to the tune of $51,000,000 have collected about $137,000 to push the ballot question. The Boise WEEKLY checked the campaign finance reports and came up with the following highlights: ESI ($15,000) Gardner Property Holdings ($15,000) Thornton, Oliver, Keller ($1,000) Old Boise Properties ($1,000) Boise […]
U of I Cows Make Milk AND Milk Bottles
In the ultimate recycling story, researchers at the University of Idaho have found a way for cows to not only produce milk, but the bovines can also be used to make plastic for the bottles to drink it from. A research group at the university claims to have developed a way to generate a significant […]
Food Bank Nets Cash From China Tour
The GUARDIAN editor is old enough to remember the admonishment from Mom, “Children are starving in China, eat your spinach.” There is a certain irony in a car driven across China with the Idaho Food Bank being featured on the sides. Do Chinese moms urge the kids to eat spuds because kids are hungry in […]
Trash Talking Boise City Utility Billing
The GUARDIAN noticed many calls to the mayor’s hotline during the past week or so were about utility billing by the city’s Public Works department. One citizen told us it was nearly impossible to get through the maze of automated telephone recordings trying to figure out what he thought was improper or non billing. Here […]
Idaho Land Dept. Under Fire On Land Swap
A a non-profit, voluntary group calling itself The Tax Accountability committee (“TAC”), will hold a press conference Monday morning at the Statehouse to call attention to a land swap they say cost the education endowment fund $1.3 million due to faulty appraisals. According to TAC, the Idaho Department of Lands traded 14 acres of endowment […]
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