County
Boise County Bankruptcy Is Historic
While Boise County is set to file for bankruptcy in federal court, there probably won’t be any auctions for snowplows and road graders in the near future. Since the developers who won the $4 million judgement against the county are themselves delinquent in paying their property taxes to the tune of $368,182, we expect a […]
Landfill Energy Project May Be Just Garbage
After getting some negative comments as well as talking with an engineer, the GUARDIAN’s red flag began to wave over the electric generation project with Dynamis and Lloyd Mahaffey at the Ada Landfill. Last week the DAILY PAPER ran a big page one story which clearly said the firm operates a trash-to-electricity project at Barrow, […]
Powerful Trash Talk On Ada Landfill
Boise’s much touted no-sort blue bin recycle program could face some major alterations in the future if the electric generator project at the county dump doesn’t get short circuited. The DAILY PAPER had a page one story Tuesday on the project with details about the technology of superheating trash to reduce emissions. This a new […]
Cities Seek More Authority Without Oversight
While at least 7 bills are pending in the Idaho Legislature aimed at limiting Urban Renewal by allowing citizens to vote on board members and creation of districts, Idaho”s cities are pushing for a law allowing “Intermodal Commerce Authorities” with no voter control. SB 1060 passed the Senate Friday and is headed for the House. […]
Paramedic Trade Worthy Of Major League Baseball
In a four-way trade between Ada County, The Western Idaho Fair (Expo Idaho), North Ada County Fire & Rescue, and the Ada County Emergency Medical Services, the Chinden Blvd. fire station will reopen… sort of… sometimes. In October the fire station was closed when NACFR ran out of money due to lower assessed property values. […]
Local Issues Cropping Up In Legislature
The GUARDIAN is familiar with much of what’s on the plate of lawmakers this session. We brought the issue of a state-owned storage business to the attention of readers last fall. Sen. Russ Fulcher of Meridian went after the deputy director of the State Lands Department in a Senate State Affairs committee hearing Wednesday over […]
Ada Landfill Gas To Double Electric Output
Ada County’s Hidden Hollow Landfill apparently is rotting away at a rate that will double the potential to capture methane and burn it to power two more electrical generators, doubling the current capacity. Idaho Power will enter into an agreement with Fortistar Methjane Group, the owner of the plant, to use the electricity as an […]
Avimor Parent Could Leave Arizona Buyers On The Hook
One of our GUARDIAN admirers in Arizona sent this news story regarding a planned community in that state developed by the same outfit that built the Avimor development off Highway 55 north of Eagle. The story points out the potential nightmare Idaho buyers could face if infrastructure is financed using a law that SunCor/Avimor lobbied […]
Ada Commishes Get “Personal” At New Term
Despite public statements to the contrary, it will be hard to imagine a harmonious atmosphere at the Ada County Commishes’ office in the coming months. The IDAHO STATESMAN finally went public with a “dirty secret” that many media folks (including the GUARDIAN) were aware of, but reluctant to publish. In a nutshell Commish Sharon Ullman’s […]
Ada County Explains Scope of Magistrate Court Litigation
Here is the latest round of dueling press releases between Boise and Ada County over the issue of magistrate court space. This one is from Ada County. On December 21, 2010, Ada County filed suit against Boise, Meridian and Garden City seeking relief from the undo financial burden their actions have brought to all Ada […]
Cities Ask Ada To Drop Courtroom Lawsuit
The mayors of Boise, Meridian, and Garden City issued a media release Monday asking Ada County to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the cities last month. Link to LAWSUIT POST. The cities claim the lawsuit, filed by the Ada County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 21, 2010, seeks to tax residents of the three cities […]
Who Says Crime Doesn’t Pay?
As a follow up on the earlier post about Ada County filing suit against the cities over magistrate court facilities, we thought it would be interesting to see how much revenue is generated on a single ticket or DUI conviction. Here is how it breaks down in 4th District Magistrate Court: The allocation for a […]
Nampa Cheese Plant Noisy As Promised
Nearly two and a half years ago the GUARDIAN published a CHEESY STORY about an impending noisy, smelly new whey tower that would have caused Little Miss Muffet to fall off her tuffet. Here’s what a nearby frustrated neighbor has to say about the noise at Sorrento Lactalis’ cheese plant. By TOM FLANARY Eight and […]
Ada Sues Boise, Meridian, Garden City
Ada County has sent Christmas Greetings to Boise, Garden City, and Meridian in the form of a lawsuit and a demand the cities pay up millions of dollars for magistrate court facilities provided by Ada County. The lawsuit was filed last week in Fourth District court and is part of a long festering feud between […]
Boise County Prospectors Still Abound
Since the gold rush days of the mid 1800’s, Boise County has been a target for get rich quick schemes…like the guys who “salted” gold in the area known today as Bogus Basin to make it appear a valuable claim. The huge forested county north of Boise has a history of suspect local government, a […]
Greed and Politicos Diddle Retirement System
A reader sent us a link to a WALL STREET JOURNAL story about ailing public retirement plans. Idaho’s PERSI (Public Employee Retirement System) covers city county and state workers so each city doesn’t have its own burden, but we still need reform. PERSI is full of flaws that cost taxpayers millions and is in danager […]
GUARDIAN Year In Review Ballot
We are working on our 6th year at the GUARDIAN and it is time to have you weigh in on the biggest stories of 2010. The most disappointing for us and a clear victory for government and big money was the passage of the three state constitutional amendments which take away our right to vote […]
License Plates Sold Like Theater Tickets
Taking a page out of the concert and sports ticket business, Ada County’s assessor is now offering same day “will call” for license plates. The Motor Vehicles Division of the Ada County Assessor’s Office now offers a new “Will Call” window for pick up of vehicle registration renewals at the new Motor Vehicles office located […]
“Chill Out” Treatment For Heart Attacks
If you suffer a heart stopping attack, Ada County the paramedics are liable to “put you on ice” before you even reach the hospital, thanks to a new “Induced Hypothermia” treatment. It seems to work on the same science as the “cold water drowning” syndrome that enables people to survive after being under water for […]
AG: Officials Not Entitled To YMCA Memberships
Results of an eight month Attorney General’s investigation of Caldwell urban renewal will not result in criminal charges, but it reveal serious flaws in existing laws. The investigation was requested by former prosecutor John Bujak–before he became subject of criminal and civil investigations himself. Bujak handed it off after Caldwell GUARDIAN editor Paul Alldredge discovered […]
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