Economy
Where To Find More Local Tax Revenue
We are starting to hear rumblings about assessing property taxes on the Idaho Department of Lands for its commercial enterprises like the 10 Barrel Brew Pub and Affordable Storage operations in Boise. If the legislature abolishes the personal property tax, it will devastate local cities, counties and schools–more so in smaller counties that lean heavily […]
Personal Property Tax Repeal Could Open Proverbial “Can Of Worms”
Before the personal property tax repeal has even been considered, the GUARDIAN got a call from a guy who has figured out how to beat the system–with a loophole that will be as bad as the current system. He predicts not only a loss of revenue from personal property taxes, but a steep decline in […]
Winter Doldrums, Not Much New To Blog
The GUARDIAN is still here, but there isn’t much new to share. Even the Statesman has resorted to devoting the front page to news that’s 100 years old–featuring Kuna and Eagle history books that have apparently hit the stores recently. Legislature is in town, Boise State football is over, Repubs and Tea Party still don’t […]
Name Your Favorite Stories For 2012
We trust everyone has opened their Christmas gifts, eaten a hearty meal and is now ready to reminisce about the past year’s news. Without a doubt the Ada-Dynamis energy to trash scandal has dominated the GUARDIAN posts, but there have been plenty of other misdeeds uncovered in government. You can use the search engine at […]
Taxpayers Big Losers When It Comes To “Purchasing Prosperity”
With Wednesday’s news that Micron–Idaho’s largest non-profit company–has failed in its latest government subsidized venture comes a message that taxpayer cash is no ticket to prosperity. The firm announced layoffs of 30 workers and a shutdown of a venture aimed at producing LED lights. The company frittered away $5 million in stimulus money paid by […]
HUD Favors Coppers, Teachers, Firefighters Over Professors And Private Sector Workers
In light of Boise’s new anti gay discrimination ordinance, a reader’s outrage over official U.S. Government discrimination against private sector employees in Ada County is worth sharing. The following e-mail was sent to the GUARDIAN and we have confirmed it is indeed real and private sector citizens are not allowed to compete for what amounts […]
Flying Low, Boise Airport Use Worst In More Than 10 Years
While politicos in Washington, D.C. are on the brink of the “financial cliff,” Chamber of Commerce types, some businessmen and Boise airport brass seem to advocate a jump off the cliff as they seek “grants and community support” to subsidize airlines with 80% seat occupancy guarantees. Next it will be paying the DAILY PAPER a […]
ACHD Commish Fires Another Round At Bieter Raise
EDITOR NOTE–The GUARDIAN will offer equal space to the MAyor and/or the Council to respond to this post. Ada County Highway District Commish Rebecca Arnold has fired another round over the pay hike for Mayor Dave Bieter which she adamently opposes. Arnold is calling for a performance evaluation by the city council since they are […]
Boise Raises Tax Levy, Doles Out Cash To Unions, Elected Officials, One Citizen Calls It An “Exhibition Of Unprecedented Arrogance”
The city council gave each other praise Before voting themselves a nice raise The taxpayers got What they paid for – NOT! Therein the big problem lays. –POET PAUL We haven’t seen a lot in the legacy media, but Tuesday’s council session was sort of like a lottery jackpot for some–at the expense of most. […]
Idaho Has History Of Ignoring Citizens
It should have come as no surprise when the Garden City Council ignored the vote of the people and repealed an initiative requiring public approval regarding green belt use. Consider just these measures which come to mind: –Boise City refused to put the “Ten Commandments” monument removal on the ballot, despite a huge number of […]
Poet Paul On Black Friday
It’s a sure sign of our econo mee Bread lines as far as we see Clutching their coats and shuffling their feet They’re not in line for something to eat They’re at Best Buy for a flat screen TV! AND… The Statesman said it in type “Black Friday is meaningless hype” Merchants don’t think They’ll […]
Boise Councilors To Propose Unneeded Ordinance
A couple of well intended Boise City Councilors are about to propose a gay rights ordinance which “would not apply to churches, religious schools, groups such as the Boy Scouts of America, and local, state and federal governments. Existing law limits how the city can regulate those organizations,” according to the DAILY PAPER. In Sandpoint […]
Councilors Should Delay Pay Hikes
After our earlier post regarding raises for Boise’s Mayor and City Council, readers prompted us to actually take a position on the proposed ordinance which will be considered today at first reading. The GUARDIAN sent the following letter to each member of the City Council. Ladies and Gentlemen, I posted a GUARDIAN STORY about the […]
Boise Officials To Reward Selves With Raises
We haven’t seen any campaign signs and doubt there has been any public outcry to grant Mayor Dave Bieter a 20% salary hike, but in this non-city election year the Mayor and City Council are granting themselves pay boosts. Not many people are able to give themselves raises. Most folks who work for someone else […]
Despite Empty Lot And Declining Passenger Use, BOI Airport Seeks $15 Million Parking Garage
Locked securely behind a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire sits a well constructed landscaped parking lot with sparkling restrooms and waiting rooms at the corner of Victory Road and Orchard. The “ECONOMY AIRPORT PARKING LOT” is closed and has sat mostly unused–despite more than $2 million in recent improvements. Now, despite a decline in […]
No Income Tax For Major Ada Employers
NOTE–Boise State Radio is part of a project called “StateImpact Idaho” which does some good non-partisan research. A recent post at Boise State PUBLIC RADIO provides an interesting interactive map of Idaho counties which shows just how much government impact we have when it comes to jobs. Of particular note was Ada County where the […]
Time Running Out On CCDC Tax Gravy Train
The DAILY PAPER ran a piece recently about Anthony Lyons, the new director of CCDC (Capital City Development Corp) who was quoted as saying, “We want a city that has lots of cranes, lots of scaffolding, lots of construction signs. That’s the sign of a city that’s moving forward.” Part of the motivation to get […]
United Airlines Flying Low
EDITOR NOTE–This personal experience is being shared because we felt passengers on United Airlines needed to know about it. We don’t want any coupons as hush money and welcome a corporate response. The GUARDIAN editor did the BSU-MSU ball game trip over the Labor Day weekend and returned Monday about noon aboard one of the […]
Bieter Ignores Public, Seeks More Tax Money From Feds For Pet Train
Ignoring at least two public opinion SURVEYS funded by the city and one conducted by the Idaho Statesman, Team Dave has continued its short sighted quest engineer expensive trains in the Treasure Valley. Mayor Dave Bieter gave away an autographed Kristin Armstrong bike helmet to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and got a promise of […]
Alternative Energy Firms Don’t Have Power To Succeed
The thought of generating electricity using the natural power of the sun and wind struck a cord with environmentalists, investors, and legislators about 30 years ago. Federal and state tax dollars poured into the “alternative fuel” industry and laws requiring power companies to purchase the electricity from these sources came out of Washington and state […]
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