City Government
G-BAD Election Is About Spending Room Taxes
With six candidates chasing only two seats on an obscure government board, the Greater Boise Auditorium District election of May 17 would seem like a yawner. Not so if you are in the public relations, advertising, hotel, or even the DANCE business. The big issue is a split among candidates over funding The Boise Convention […]
Media Perks Questioned At Legislature
By DAVID R. FRAZIER GUARDIAN editor I have been a beneficiary of media perks for more than 50 years. It started in the 1960’s when I carried Speed Graphic cameras and film holders for my newspaperman father at Michigan State sports events in East Lansing, Michigan. The free meals, donuts, and soft drinks at Spartan […]
Canyon Government Workers Earn Top $$$
The Idaho Press-Tribune ran a salary roundup of top paid government workers which shows that Canyon County is a great place to work if you like to benefit from taxpayer largess…not so good if you are one of those taxpayers. While the story shows half a dozen Nampa coppers earned (received?) well in excess of […]
Where Have All The Candidates Gone? Serious Contenders Need To Get Organized!
Is it apathy or contentment? No one is popping up as a candidate for Boise City Council or mayor. Interesting to note at least 50 people applied for the appointment to fill Bisterfeldt’s seat without election. Will any of them run if they have to pass muster with voters? Of course, the incumbents will tell […]
Conservation Group Heads For the Hills
The Land Trust of the Treasure Valley is after $580,000 by the end of the year to acquire a parcel of Boise foothills land for hikers and dog walkers. The area is known as Harrison Hollow off Bogus Basin Road. We applaud such private efforts and will go a step further, offering them some tips […]
Mayor Hotline April April 9 to 15
4/13/11 Diane Ayres S Garden Place Boise, ID 83705 ISSUE: She was at the Hillcrest Shopping plaza and saw a city employee leave his car idling and unattended for 20+ minutes. She spoke with the employee and shared her concerns about wasting gas, polluting the air, wasting taxpayer money, etc. She felt the employee was […]
Nampa Homeowners Face $48 Flat Tax Hike
Question: When is a tax not a tax? Answer: When it comes in the form of a mandatory “fee” from Nampa City Hall. Mayor Tom Dale has sent a letter to property owners inviting them to attend an April 27 meeting at the Nampa Civic Center to discus a plan to curtail the continued pollution […]
Idaho Cities Battle For Convention Dollars
GROWTHOPHOBE (growth o phobe)–”One who opposes growth just for the sake of growth. Usually refers to municipalities and governments seeking to increase population and attract businesses merely for the sake of growing without due regard to long term affect on citizens and taxpayers.” The opposite of GROWTHOPHOBE is GROWTHOPHILE and that special breed seems prolific […]
Yuba City Councilor Disses Idaho
One of our California GUARDIAN readers sent us a story from the APPEAL-DEMOCRAT newspaper which proves that politicos at all levels have a propensity for eating shoe leather. During an April 13 meeting encouraging racial and cultural tolerance attended by local Sikh Indian-Americans and officials including the U.S. Attorney for the area, a Yuba City […]
New Airport Will Need Property Tax Money
Proponents of the constitutional amendment that passed in November repeatedly claimed “no tax money” would be used for airports. Now, it looks like they were wrong if the news from Sun Valley area is any indication. The proposition that amended the Idaho Constitution allows airports to sell municipal bonds without a public vote. The sale […]
Politicos Favor Self Interest In Election Laws
The recall petition campaign against two District 18 legislators will be historic if it is successful. The last time there was a successful recall of a legislator was 1971 when Aden Hyde and Fisher Ellsworth, both of Idaho Falls got ousted in a a special election–but the rules were different. The next year–1972–the legislators got […]
Mayor Hotline April 2 to 8
4/4/11 Matt Shifley Greenbriar Drive Boise, ID 83705 ISSUE: Would like to suggest that the City of Boise designate the proceeds from certain, marked parking meters and donate them to homeless coalition groups and animal rescue groups. DFA 4/5/11 Ken Kirkbride Hawthorne Way Boise, ID 83703 ISSUE: Recently there has been flooding and trees falling […]
City Misses Target (again) At Shooting Range
Team Dave and the Councilors just can’t seem to get away from consequences of their back room dealing on the police shooting range three-way land swap. That deal left Fairview and 27th a vacant piece of urban decay with only a doggie day care kennel and the city holding a vacant piece rock-strewn land in […]
Mayor Hotline March 26 to April 1
3/29/11 Ford Northcut E Aphrodite Drive Boise, ID 83716 ISSUE: Concerned about police car 188 which has been sitting in front of his place of residence (in Columbia Village) for the last four plus weeks. He feels this is a waste of funds. Police 3/27/11 Jared ISSUE: In the past few years there have been […]
City Election Could Be Ultimate “Job Stimulus”
It hardly ranks near “Dancing With The Stars” or “American Idol,” but there is an import vote coming up in November–for Boise City offices. Team Dave’s figurehead, Mayor Dave Bieter and four council seats are up for grabs. There is no primary for these city offices, but at seven months out we don’t see any […]
Hammer Flat Declared “No Fly Zone”
Hang glider enthusiasts are at odds with Boise City–especially Team Dave–because they have been banned since the land came under public ownership using $4 million in public Foothills Levy funds. John Kangas, spokesman for the group claims his fellow flyers have soared over the eastern edge of the city for 35 years from the Crow […]
TVCTV Favors Democratic Politicos
Local public access cable channel 11 at TVCTV hardly is hardly in the league of National Public Radio, but they have sure left themselves open to claims of liberal bias. A press release about an upcoming fundraiser telethon says,”TVCTV’s mission is to facilitate a free exchange of ideas, community dialogue and cultural and artistic expression […]
Boise Library Joins Communist Movement
communism |ˈkämyəˌnizəm| (often Communism) noun a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned…Central to Marxist theory is an explanation of social change in terms of economic factors, according to which the means of production provide the economic base, which influences or […]
Mayor Hotline March 12 to 18
3/16/11 Tracy Johnson ISSUE: Tracy from Earth Day Network. She would like know Boise’s plans for Earth Day and to highlight city’s work on their website. PW – email 3/17/11 Ray Panhandling should be outlawed. The Sanctuary should be examined by the Health Department. Panhandlers are engaging in illicit activities near the skateboard park by […]
Idaho Offers Businesses A Welfare Home
While Idaho legislators are looking for money in all the wrong places, the text from a Dept. of Commerce brochure is quite revealing. In short, the state and local governments are in an economic civil war with their neighbors in a battle predicated upon seeing who can give away the most. Businesses decide where to […]
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