City Government
Cop Shooting Range Has Sordid History
POST UPDATED 3 p.m. No doubt about it, Boise coppers need a shooting range to maintain a safe standard of proficiency with their weapons to protect themselves and the public. That’s a given. However, when the biggest county sheriff’s department, state coppers and others are able to use an existing facility in the desert, it […]
Boise Lives Beyond Its Means, Bieter To Ask For $34M Bond Debt
Two days after the city annexed an additional 1.5 square miles–increasing the need to provide services–and only a week or so after announcing a joint agreement with emergency service providers, plans are afoot to go into debt to buy $34,000,000 worth of “infrastructure” improvements and expansions for police, fire, and parks. The good news is […]
What Happened To Honesty And Common Sense?
Gotta admit it has been difficult to write much in the way of “constructive” criticism lately with all the crooked businessmen and business deals coming to light and politicos trying to match the business folks. We have a plethora (for non-library types that’s a whole bunch) of scams that have come to light and not […]
No Free Ads For Bronco Boozers
As an indication of how absurd booze laws can be, Boise City Council is considering an ordinance to allow tailgating and drinking within a portion of Julia Davis Park and on certain streets, but only when BSU is playing football. No exceptions for NCAA basketball tournaments, baseball games, or bike racing and with NO LOGOS […]
Coppers Use “Manual” Red Light Cams
Just a day after announcing a crackdown on red light runners, Boise coppers cited a driver who allegedly ran a red light and whacked a bicycle hard enough to break the bike frame while causing only scrapes to the rider. The incident happened at Latah and Rose Hill Tuesday morning. That driver was not caught […]
Unintended Consequences Law Resurfaces, God Bless
Boise’s City mothers and fathers are in another no-win situation as they consider an ordinance at 6 p.m. tonight which is aimed to reduce the number of panhandlers on city streets. We asked it before: “If it is illegal for homeless poor folks (or even those who pose as such) to ask for cash, what […]
Boise Seeks $700,000 ObamaFare For Airlines
Boise cheerleaders are at it once again, dumping public money into a sales pitch for a corporate welfare plan under the delusion business will flock to the City of Trees if you pay them enough. This time the idea is pay airlines–with federal matching funds–to fly routes that are otherwise not profitable in a free […]
Boise Wins Political “Hockey Game” 3-2
Boise City’s Team Dave won a “hockey game” at Wednesday’s Ada County Highway District meeting where the issue of embedding hockey puck-like parking sensors in the street was discussed. In the end it was 3-2 in favor of allowing the pucks, but not before ACHD chair Sara Baker got in a few high stick swings […]
You Be The Judge On 8th Street
Tuesday morning the GUARDIAN watched over coffee at 8th Street just south of Bannock as an unsuspecting motorist fell victim to the heartless Boise Parking machine. The guy carefully backed into a parking spot behind a beer truck. He aligned his shiny black car within the lines, exited his vehicle and confronted the meter. A […]
City Provides Parking Revenue Stats
Boise’s parking department has kindly provided the GUARDIAN with statistics we requested about revenues for meters, all parking fines, and overtime parking ticket fines. Here,s the breakdown: ‐‐Most recent year’s revenue for parking meters: FY12 ‐ $630,952 FY13 YTD* ‐ $503,934 ‐‐Most recent year’s fines in total revenue for all parking violations: FY12 ‐ $1,254,972 […]
ACHD Commish Weighs In On Parking
ACHD Commish Rebecca Arnold, stressing her comments are her own opinion and not that of the ACHD board, sent a letter to the Boise City Council to be read at Tuesday’s public hearing. She claims a local developer wants the rate hike to benefit a private parking structure he wants to build. The GUARDIAN offers […]
ACHD “Can’t Get No Respect” From Boise
As the Downtown parking wars escalate, don’t expect approval of installing a hockey puck-shaped sensor device linked to hi-tech parking meters to be a slam-dunk at Wednesday’s Ada County Highway District meeting. Boise’s City Council will hold a public hearing at noon Tuesday to consider a 50% rate hike at meters and Saturday enforcement. Ironically, […]
Boise Coppers Stung And Sweaty During Rescue Attempt
Here is an interesting little backstory on the tragic drowning Saturday in the Boise River and the copper who was treated for heat stroke as a result of the hot response. Chief Mike Masterson says, “We are extremely proud of the officers who responded. I’m told the updates from dispatch to officers included emotional appeals […]
Boise Bench vs Downtown War Brewing
We joke that “Downtown is so crowded that nobody goes there anymore,” but perhaps its time for everyone to just be honest about the intent of the city mothers and fathers and admit the rivalry (war?) between The Bench and Downtown. The latest chapter in the parking wars is a good example. The City is […]
Council Should Act Responsibly On Drinking Ordinance
Boise officials from the police chief to the Parks Board are on the right track when it comes to backing an ordinance aimed at allowing football fans to wash down their tailgate cuisine with their favorite beverage. The GUARDIAN is concerned about “equal protection” under the law. The proposed ordinance would allow consumption of alcohol […]
City Ponders 50% Parking Rate Hike
Boise’s City Council, and the Department of Finance and Administration are forging ahead with plans to raise the rates 50% for on-street parking and extend the enforcement to include evenings and Saturdays. The avowed reason is to drive street parking motorists back into the parking garages, according to some reports. Boise WEEKLY has a good […]
Ombudsman Departure Signals Need For Police Commission
With the departure of Boise Police Ombudsman Pierce Murphy, citizens are left without an advocate who is not beholding to the coppers. Murphy is unique in that he made the rules for his job and ended up with a national rep for fair handed oversight of coppers. He has left for a similar post in […]
Cop Cars: How Many How Much?
OPEN LETTER TO THE BOISE MAYOR AND COUNCIL Dear Mayor and Council, With the Boise City budget pending final approval and police union negotiations approaching, we thought it was a public benefit to check on the Boise Police vehicle fleet and the “take home car” policy. The police budget accounts for 34% of the entire […]
Everything Old Is New Again
Proving that “everything old is new again,” Boise coppers will wear new badges (which look 106 years old) for the month of July to celebrate the city’s sesquicentennial…then coppers can purchase the shields as souvenirs. Look for any extra or unsold shields to be sold or auctioned for police-related community causes like Crime Stoppers or […]
Treasure Valley Taxes Compared
GUEST POST BY RON HARRIMAN In the chart below are the tax amounts from the budgets of Boise, Meridian, Caldwell and Nampa. The data is from the Idaho Tax Commission and Idaho Census. Calculations of the taxes are per person on budget expenditures and then per household. The average household is statistically adjusted by 2011 […]
Recent Comments