Business
Gateway West Power Line Will Dominate Future News Of The West
GUARDIAN editor Dave Frazier toured the coal fields of Wyoming this summer as part of the day job at his DRFPHOTO.COM His observations in photos and words. ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT COPYRIGHT DAVID R. FRAZIER It falls under the name of “Gateway West, but the issue is electricity, who wants it, who can sell it, […]
United Water Seeks $7,616,015 Annual Fee Hike
Interesting how one can spin the numbers when it comes to making millions upon millions of dollars for a French-owned monopoly company like Suez United Water. We got our water bill today which includes a notice the company has filed for “rate relief” with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission asking for a mere “19 cents […]
Otter’s NY TIMES Spoof Could Generate Idaho Fame
NEW YORK TIMES columnist Gail Collins has named Idaho Guv Butch for the second time in two weeks as a man she would like to see as a presidential candidate. The Statesman’s political scribe, DAN POPKEY has piggy-backed on Collins’ piece and got an official spokesman statement that Butch is perfectly happy commuting from Star […]
Debt, Economy, Just A credit Card Thing
A GUARDIAN reader sent us this economic “comparison” which may be a bit simplistic, but it certainly puts not only our economic woes in perspective, but illustrates why so many Americans don’t see a problem. • U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 • Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000 • New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000 • National debt: $14,271,000,000,000 • Recent […]
Chamber Wants YOU To Pay While Business Gets Tax Breaks
The Idaho Chamber Alliance met in Meridian this week to plan how to influence the legislature. The Chamber of Commerce is a private special interest lobbying group–not officially connected with government. The alliance consists of 21 chambers of commerce from across Idaho, including Boise Metro, Eagle, Garden City, Gem County, Kuna, Meridian and Nampa. Their […]
Can’t Find Local Officials? Try Valley County’s Tamarack Resort
If you can’t find your local mayor, city councilor, or county commish, try looking at Tamarack Resort in Valley County. These members of the “Treasure Valley Partnership”–comprised of local elected officials–are spending YOUR tax money for hotel rooms, travel, and rental houses to meet and discuss a topic near and dear to Treasure Valley residents: […]
Jobless Woes Persist, Government Can’t Fix
By DAVID R. FRAZIER, editor BOISE GUARDIAN We visited a “job fair” recently, but rather than an arena full of employers recruiting workers, we found countless private and public educational institutions vying to take the last nickel from the pockets of the unemployed through assorted training offers. There were several charitable organizations seeking volunteers, verterans […]
GBAD Ponies Up Cash To BCVB
The GBAD boys were able to get around the GBAD girls Wednesday and pony up $24,500 to the Boise Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for promotional services. No other agency was asked to bid. The Greater Boise Auditorium District treasurer refused to sign a check to BCVP, citing a Pocatello court ruling that prevented using auditorium […]
Land Board Reveals Vacancy Rates
After the GUARDIAN broke the story of the Idaho Land Board advertising for a construction manager to build a brew pub in downtown Boise, it was revealed they were spending the endowment fund money to attract a new tenant to the building with an 86% vacancy rate. One of our readers provided the results of […]
Payette County P&Z Commishes Have Gas Deals
We all know that much of government fails to pass the “smell test.” In Payette County they appear to have passed gas, at least in a meeting approving a gas fired dehydration plant. Normally these things don’t get our attention, but this sentence from the BOISE WEEKLY left us shaking our head. “Last night’s meeting […]
Land Board To Build Brew Pub?
Not satisfied with the controversial ownership of a public storage business, Idaho’s land board has apparently decided to enter the brew pub and restaurant business. We doubt if they will send out press releases, but the state agency is advertising for a construction manager to oversee building a restaurant and brewing facility. The request for […]
Optimistic Developer Gambles On Boise “Hole”
Yet another developer has signed on to build something at 8th and Main –the site of the infamous downtown vacant lot known variously as “the hole, ground zero, and the pit.” A feasibility study is planned to decide just WHAT to build. If the Gardner Company wants to insure success, they will look toward something […]
Yet Another Baseball Park Survey
Team Dave and a group calling itself the Better Boise Coalition is aiming to commission yet another survey about the feasibility of building a minor league baseball park in Boise. They are doing wonders for the consulting industry, but everything is predicated upon the “need” for a new ball park. The Boise Hawks team is […]
Coppers Complicate Cleaning Contract Caper
Fourth District Judge Thomas Neville has issued a final decision “Denying in Larger Part and Granting in Smaller Part” the Boise City motion to keep certain e-mails secret in the saga of the Clearview Cleaning contracdt. BACKGROUND– In mid February Clearview was awarded a janitorial contract for about $368,000 to clean Boise’s City HAll, Police […]
BIGGER Isn’t Better, BETTER Is Better
The downtown deciders need to take lesson from the previous Bronco Football God, Dan Hawkins who once proclaimed that “Bigger isn’t better, better is better.” The Sunday DAILY PAPER has a story by Cynthia Sewell detailing the the “options” for a new convention center. One of the ideas would involve demolishing a newly constructed county […]
E-15 Fuel No Good For Older Cars
A GUARDIAN car buff reader sent this along as a reminder, warning, grump at the Feds: BY BILL GOODNIGHT The “ethanol industry” (mostly prospering corn farmers) has successfully lobbied the EPA to issue a final rule approving the use of gasoline diluted with 15% ethanol (E15). EPA recognized this fuel will seriously damage vehicles manufactured […]
Cleaning Contract Caper Awaits Court Ruling
Judge Thomas Neville heard arguments today from attorneys representing Boise City and Clearview Cleaning in a public records request case in which the city has refused to provide certain documents. After the City rescinded a $368,000 signed contract with Clearview Cleaning the night before the local firm was to begin work, owner Sylvia Hampel filed […]
Guv: Storage Business Purchase “Was A Mistake”
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has withdrawn his support for a controversial Land Board decision to own and operate a commercial storage business. The GUARDIAN revealed the state ownership–which competes directly with the private sector–in an EXCLUSIVE story last November. Otter told the IDAHO REPORTER his support of the decision to invest in the private retail […]
Chinese “Takeover” Is Like Japanese Boom Of 1980’s
Conservative American blogs have created a significant buzz over the issue of a “Chinese Takeover” of America and much of the fear mongering is centered in Boise–thanks to statements by politicos seeking the almighty Renminbi. Some of those concerns have a foundation in fact. In reality, the situation so far is much like the Japanese […]
Running Government Like A Business
A couple of stories we have noticed recently in rural Idaho media show just how to run government like a business AND turn a tidy profit for government workers. Some are legal, some are crooked, and some just stink. –The GUARDIAN detailed how Boise motorcycle coppers make $56 an hour using city equipment to patrol […]
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