City Government
Lament Of A Growthophobe (A Rant)
The GUARDIAN created the word “growthophobe,” welcomed new people and businesses if they wished to pay their fair share of taxes and offer good wages. Otherwise relocate elsewhere. 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 […]
SW Boise: “We Get No Respect”
GUEST OPINION By Rachael Grotsky, Chief Administrative Officer of Friends of Murgoitio Park, and David King, President Recent news articles have injudiciously placed the problem of annexation squarely on the shoulders of county-dwellers, claiming that the City of Boise has repeatedly shelved the annexation process because residents fought it so hard. The issue is more […]
Mayor Nixes SW Land Swap
Mayor Lauren McLean has put the brakes on the ill-advised land swap of 160 acres of designated park land in SW Boise. According to the STATESMAN Heronner declared the deal no longer made “financial sense.” The GUARDIAN broke the original story after neighbors contacted us crying foul, saying the land had been promised as a […]
Park Land Worth $128,000,000 Up For $15 million Trade
Irate neighbors in SW Boise were provided some deadly ammunition Monday when the Boise School District announced a deal to sell 15 acres of surplus land adjacent to the 160 Murgoitio Park site for $800,000 per acre. That 160 acre parcel is south of the Victory Road School District headquarters and West Jr. High, between […]
Council District Law Eliminates 84% Of Voters
The new State law creating district elections for city councils in municipalities of more than 100,000 population eliminates 84% of potential voters in Boise. On the face of it, the new law was aimed at eliminating the strangle hold on the powerful North Enders. The law reasonably says candidates must live within geographical districts. But […]
Politicos Ignorant To Past Study
Boise politicos and U.S. Sen Mike Crapo are riding the rails once again on the AMTRAK FOLLY. Banking on the short memory of voters or the lack of sound judgment, these officials are once again seeking Amtrak service to Boise. What a waste of effort and tax money to keep doing surveys, hoping the facts […]
SW Cropland Worth 20 Times Foothills Per Acre
After seeing about 400 residents sign up for the public hearing on a proposed land swap that would plant up to 400 houses on proposed park land in SW Boise, we checked some official land value records. Boise City is proposing to swap 160 acres of irrigated farm land previously designated as a future park […]
Juneteenth Costly, But Boosts Wages
The spur of the moment Juneteenth declaration following the congressional approval (415-14 vote) and presidential signing Thursday will be an economic shot in the arm for some government workers, but cost untold millions of dollars for taxpayers. The “instant holiday” caught agencies as divergent as local police and U. S. Postal service unaware. As a […]
Boise Seeks To Make Public Land Available To Speculator
In an effort to feed the growth machine and urban sprawl, the City of Boise is proposing to make public land intended for the future Murgoitio Park available to real estate speculators. About 160 acres of public land south of Victory between S. Cole and S. Maple Grove owned by Boise City are targeted for […]
Shelter Move Put On Hold
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issued a statement Thursday which is bound to be received with some degree of hope by NW Boise residents who opposed a homeless shelter on State Street. She joined with the police chief and Jodi Peterson, Executive Director of Interfaith Sanctuary in a decision to put the proposed (and opposed) move […]
Growth Still Raises Its Ugly Head
More than 15 years ago the GUARDIAN coined the term “growthophobe” in an attempt to wake up folks about the cancer spreading throughout the valley. As the property assessments which are used as the basis for our taxes are being prepared and the Assessor is warning of “sticker shock” we offer a rerun of an […]
Former BPD Chief’s Ideas Could Include Police Commission
Former Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson holds the record for serving as chief longer than any other copper and has established a national reputation among local government leaders. In an article he co-authored for the August 2020 journal of the International City/County Management Association, Masterson advocated “regular conversations between police chiefs and city leaders. He […]
Boise STILL Needs A Police Commission
Each time there is a rash of high profile incidents involving police–either in Boise or nationally–there is a scramble to have some sort of oversight of the coppers. Back in the 1990s when Boise had a rash of officer involved shootings, a citizens group called for oversight and paid for a city councilor to attend […]
Tourists Come See The Rusty Iron Trees
A pair of Idaho legislators have spawned a letter campaign by Boise City’s arts department to seek support for a move to kill House Bill 311. Introduced by Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger and Sen. Regina Bayer, HB 311 would require public art costing $25,000 or less be approved by a simple two-thirds majority vote from […]
Reader’s Open Letter To Legislators
The following is a self-proclaimed rant by Dave Kangas about the state of the Idaho legislature and legislators. GUEST OPINION By Dave Kangas There have been few times in my life, when I have been as outraged by actions or proposals of or by government officials as I am now. The current bills limiting local […]
Former Boise Councilor Seeks City-wide Reps
GUEST OPINION By Sara Baker For years, we Boiseans have been represented on the City Council by those who live basically within spitting distance of each other, the North and East Ends. Those council people never wanted to create districts by geography. So finally, the legislature in 2020 changed the law to require cities over […]
Thoughts On The “Homeless Problem”
The GUARDIAN has thought long and hard on the “homeless problem” and we have concluded its a conundrum with no solution. We figure answers would be forthcoming if the folks living behind Albertson’s at Vista and Overland and along or near Shoreline were to relocate to Warm Springs or Harrison Blvd. or even Harris Ranch. […]
What Does That Mean In English?
A reader sent us this excerpt from the IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW regarding a new hire in the office of Mayor Lauren McLean We don’t know if the weekly paper wrote the story or if the text came from a City of Boise press release, but it is one of the better examples of obfuscation we […]
COVID, Answering Machines, Missent Mail
The following is a guest opinion and MAY be indicative of the experience of other Boiseans. We post it as an open letter to the Mayor and Council in the public interest, knowing many staffers are working from home and city hall is closed due to the pandemic. By JIM AULD Boise Citizen On nov […]
Sky Is The Limit For “Ludwig Tower”
We don’t have a TRUMP TOWER in Boise, but if things go right for a former City Councilor we could have a “LUDWIG TOWER”. Scot Ludwig, the former city councilor and CCDC member, is proposing to build a tall building in Idaho at 5th and Broad Streets. If approved, it could be 19 stories tall […]
Recent Comments