County
Assessor’s Tax Jumps Too
Guest Opinion By Robert McQuade, Ada County Assessor Last Friday I received a message left on the Boise Mayor’s hotline. The caller said, “The tax assessor must be smiling all the way to the bank thinking we were going to get any [property tax] relief.” If the caller only knew that my assessed property value […]
Assessor’s Tax Jumps Too
Guest Opinion By Robert McQuade, Ada County Assessor Last Friday I received a message left on the Boise Mayor’s hotline. The caller said, “The tax assessor must be smiling all the way to the bank thinking we were going to get any [property tax] relief.” If the caller only knew that my assessed property value […]
Assessor’s Tax Jumps Too
Guest Opinion By Robert McQuade, Ada County Assessor Last Friday I received a message left on the Boise Mayor’s hotline. The caller said, “The tax assessor must be smiling all the way to the bank thinking we were going to get any [property tax] relief.” If the caller only knew that my assessed property value […]
Insider Trading at City Hall
Cruising through the Mayor’s Hotline list we came across an entry which raised an alarm with a fireman: 5/16/06 Perry Oldenburg re: Political Material in City Mail: I work for the Boise Fire Department. I’m calling in regards to the pamphlets and flyers that we received in the cities’ mail. I work at a fire […]
Republicans Vote “NO” On Ada Commishes
UPDATED POSTING It looks like Judy Peavey-Derr, and even the Ada County Commission got a “NO” vote from Republicans–and perhaps some crossover Demos– in the Tuesday primary election. Veteran politician and incumbent Peavey-Derr was ousted from her $84,000 job by a low profile political unknown by the name of Steven Kimball with a solid 55% […]
The Down Side on The Foothills
Monday marks 5 years since voters passed the so called “Foothills Levy which created a fund to to keep parts of the Boise Front open to the public. Results have been mixed. The election was conducted in a fraudulent manner using taxpayer funds to promote passage of the levy. About $50,000 in city money was […]
Commishes Legal Bills Rise
The Attorney General’s office turned up the heat a notch this week when he filed a bill for nearly $13,000 in legal fees incurred by the state of Idaho prosecuting the Ada County Commishes for an open meeting violation. We can’t properly use “conviction” and “prosecution” in their common context because this case is a […]
Eagle Residents Balk at Gravity
Reader “Sisyphus” suggested we take a look at a piece by reporter Than Tan of KBCI TV. “Guardian, I bet your readers would be interested in talking about the threatened lawsuit against the federal and state agencies by the homeowners in Eagle Island arguing that government is not doing enough to stop the flooding. Yes, […]
Build It And They Will Come!
The same folks who promoted the Foothills preservation plan are bent on growing as many houses as possible in the rolling south hills…far away from the cozy North End. Recent “cover stories” in the Statesman about city-owned land and Boise’s plans for growing into the southeast desert should sound alarm bells for growthophobes–like the GUARDIAN. […]
Judge: Commishes Held Illegal Meeting
The Ada Commishes are stretching out their legal battle over holding a closed meeting last June 15 after Judge William H. Woodland declared the meeting to be illegal. He made the finding in response to a motion for summary judgment filed by the Idaho Attorney General’s office and the commishes are aiming to appeal. The […]
Evolution: Humans to Monkeys, Chimps, Gorillas
In the realm of Southwest Idaho Cities, Boise stands head and shoulders above the rest as the “800 pound gorilla” with the “chimpanzees” of Meridian and Nampa growing up fast. During the past 10 years as Boise City swung through the suburban jungle unchallenged, it intimidated the surrounding areas and annexed thousands of acres of […]
County To Sell Passed Gas
We never considered the production of methane gas to be “exciting”–unless it was produced in a fraternity house or Army barracks by a drunk with a lit match who raised his leg and said, “watch this!” In a press release detailing the highlights of the 2nd Annual “State of The County” breakfast fund raiser, Commish […]
Continuing Sagas
NEIGHBORS WIN ROUND ONE WITH QUASAR Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission sided up with existing residents Monday when they rejected plans for a 119 feet tall building in an area zoned for 45 feet structures. Quasar Development was attempting to get permission to build the tower on Park Boulevard near Walnut. existing resents and East […]
State To Study Detox Panel
Looks like there is hope, however slim, for some sort of detox treatment at the state level after the legislature forms its own interim committee to examine the failed efforts of the Department of Health and Welfare. The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee suggested a joint committee be formed to determine what needs to be done […]
Boise Mayor Charms Local Governments
“LOOKS LIKE WE GOT A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE” Recent news reports sound like Boise’s mayor may have attended the “Rumsfeld-Cheney School of Charm.” The mayor’s recent track record for making friends would qualify him as an honor student at that institution. Here are some of the memorable items: –DETOX center fell apart after city council […]
Boise Not Good Enough?
City and County officials from across the Treasure Valley are poised to meet with “Business Leaders” and the Chamber of Commerce for an annual gathering which gives attendees exclusive access to elected officials. This group of cheerleaders strives for economic vitality in the Boise area. They have economic development teams, they push tourism and convention […]
Detox…Just Do It!
Ada County needs a drug and alcohol detox treatment facility–no question about it. Who will pay, provide treatment, and administer the badly needed facility is a big question. Ada commishes were pushing the city for a commitment to repay half of $35,000 from United Way. United Way recognizes the need for a detox center, but […]
Justice Center Unjust to Taxpayers
EDITOR NOTE–THE FOLLOWING POSTING IS BY FORMER COUNTY COMMISSIONER SHARON ULLMAN. THE GUARDIAN HAS READ THE CONTRACT AND IT LOOKS TO US THAT ULMAN HAS IT RIGHT ON THIS ONE. THE COUNTY WILL PAY TAXES THEY SHOULDN’T PAY AND THERE IS NO VOTER APPROVAL FOR WHAT IS OBVIOUSLY A LONG TERM DEBT. Ada County has […]
Green Light on Red Flag
The GUARDIAN has talked to Ada County’s civil attorney and he assures us the planned destruction of records is necessary and that NO RECORDS will be destroyed on any pending or known litigation. The GUARDIAN raised the red flag question when an item appeared on the County Commish agenda along with a resolution that appeared […]
Hope For State Detox Compliance
We are not certain why the state of Idaho has decided to suddenly comply with the legislative mandate to act as the state authority to provide alcohol detox and substance abuse services, but we hope it was in part due to light shined on the problem by the GUARDIAN. When Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney […]
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