Economy
No Need For Urban Renewal On Vista
With the increasing push to expand the reach of Boise’s Capital City Development Corp. (CCDC) to include the “Vista corridor,” we took a closer look at the commercial properties which are targeted for urban renewal designation. One of the deciding factors to include an area into the urban renewal fold is BLIGHT. It appears to […]
Slow News, Some Points To Ponder
Our apologies for not offering up much lately. Old age, lack of motivation, and travel are the reasons. Unlike the city and state politicos, we will offer up some topics your can vote upon and comment. –BSU annual survey which has often been used by Boise and Team Dave to justify trolley spending, cops, fire, […]
Topics For Discussion, Let’s Talk
Sorry for the lack of content lately. Other priorities and lack of motivation are prime excuses. Here are some topics for discussion and we freely admit they are not all new. –Boise officials and the USAF staged a demonstration of their close air support (CAS) urban warfare training over our fair city at the end […]
Reader Question And History Lesson Worth A Look
QUESTION Editor, could you possibly educate me (and others) a bit about Boise and its real estate swapping? In every other city in which I’ve ever lived, city government tended to focus on the day-to-day, mundane, “unsexy” aspects of municipal government — fixing the street lamps and the potholes, making sure the police department ran […]
Developers Dump Big $$$ For ACHD Fee Hike
Property developers have paid many thousand dollars to the “Citizens For Better Transportation” PAC in an effort to pass a proposed Ada County Highway District vehicle fee hike on the November ballot. It comes as no surprise to the GUARDIAN that big developers seek to raise fees for the average automobile owner while exempting all […]
Boise Preys On Auditorium Cash Reserves
The Greater Boise Auditorium District (GBAD) is awash in cash from the local hotel room tax and Boise City’s Team Dave is trying to get their hands on it. The City Council will discuss a scheme at Tuesday’s meeting that would allow them to sell the Grove Plaza and fountain for $8 to 10 million […]
Boise Schools To Launch Marketing Campaign
Boise Schools has taken a page directly out of the Team Dave play book by seeking an advertising agency to create a demand for their services. The district will dedicate $175,000 for an advertising campaign in 2018-19, with an ongoing commitment for at least three years, according to documents obtained by IDAHO EDUCATION NEWS. Advertising […]
Library Hidden Costs Leave Bad Taste
We have had several readers contact the GUARDIAN expressing concern about the library proposal. Chief concern is the funding plan which is as “loosey-goosey” as the the fire department bond which was approved by voters, but failed to live up to its promise. Here is an excerpt from the preliminary contract with the “world class […]
Treat The Cause, Not The Disease
We note Mike Wetherell’s Statesman OPINION regarding planning for mass transit failed to get to the core cause of our “transportation woes”–GROWTH. Rather than create more cancer treatments and simply concede “cancer will always be around,” let’s eliminate some of the causes. Wetherell’s admonitions to clear freeway medians and expand rights-of-way along State Street sound […]
Horse Race Ads Run On Muddy Track
Advertisements airing on Idaho media outlets would have you believe that a vote in favor of proposition 1 on the November 6 election ballot would return horse racing to Idaho. That may not be a very good bet. Betsy Russell over at the IDAHO PRESS has posted an analysis of the ads which are deceiving […]
ACHD Commishes, Director Push Fee Hike On Advocacy Website
Highway District Commishes in Ada County are sponsoring a WEBSITE advocating passage of a fee hike on private cars. Ada County Highway District Commishes are openly campaigning to impose a 75% vehicle fee hike on Ada County car owners, but not on vehicles over 8,000 lbs. Rather than campaign to use some of their heavy […]
Adams Is “St. Lukes” Of Idaho Newspapers
The Adams Publishing group is fast becoming the “St. Lukes” of the news business in Idaho. They have as many newspapers as St. Lukes has medical facilities. The Adams family chain purchased the Boise Weekly Wednesday, adding another link in the growing chain of daily and weekly newspapers owned by the group throughout southern Idaho. […]
Ada Commishes’ “YES, NO, MAYBE,” Becomes Unanimous NO!
At the regular Tuesday Ada Commish business meeting all three commishes agreed to forgo the forgone taxing proposal which resulted in a three way split last week. Jim Tibbs, and outgoing Commish Dave Case apparently caved to the public pressure to NOT add $3 million to the tax bill for a court room upgrade and […]
Boise Is losing Its Sense Of Right And Wrong
The time has come for Boiseans to step up and CARE about what is happening at City Hall! Dave Bieter won his first race for mayor with a campaign based on ethics. That was after the previous mayor lost his moral compass, traveled the world, abused his expense account, and forgot he had been elected […]
Guard Your Wallet While Politicos Seek To Pick Your Pockets
Folks, we gotta do something about the way our politicians are after every dollar we have. The blame can be spread around equally in Idaho between the city, county, and state electeds. We will attempt to offer some insight with the example of the Ada Commisshes plan to use $3 million in “foregone taxes” in […]
No End To Local Tax And Budget Hikes
As the budget season reaches full swing it is downright frightening how local officials are conditioning folks for tax and budget hikes. It is also a bit frightening how glibly the legacy media offers reports like this one from the Idaho Press and Idaho Statesman regarding the proposed new Boise Library: “On top of the […]
ACHD Proposes To Give Commercial Vehicles “Free Ride,” Stick Little Guys With Tax Hike
Ada County Highway District Commissioners will consider a craftily worded fee hike proposal at their July 11 noon meeting which places new fees squarely on the back of small passenger car owners while exempting the rigs that chew up our roads. The proposal, which is planned for the November 6 ballot, sets forth a fee […]
ACHD To Propose Tax Hike
The IDAHO PRESS reports Ada County Highway District Commishes are planning to put a tax hike proposal on the November ballot. Before they make the request ACHD would be well advised to work toward a fair tax that would not see us honest folks paying the bill for the commercial users and rental car companies […]
Tax Hike Due This Year AND Next!
The GUARDIAN has received several inquiries regarding property taxes following the assessment notices recently sent out by county assessors. The short version is this. YOUR TAX BILL WILL BE HIKED! Local politicos will brag they have “lowered the levy rate,” but when the value is increased the only way to profit is to sell your […]
The GUARDIAN is Baaaack
The GUARDIAN has returned to duty and unfortunately we don’t have a lot of cheery news to report after covering 1300 miles of Idaho, Yellowstone, and vicinity. Great time spent with 14-year-old grandson and a chance to learn the addictive qualities of those “smart” phones. Amazing how fast and readily available information can be obtained. […]
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