Economy
Social Engineering Or Prudent Planning?
The DAILY PAPER had a good story by reporter Sven Berg Sunday detailing plans by Boise officials to offer “developer welfare” for downtown apartments catering to young professionals. We see it as social engineering. Efforts to increase population density — not to mention traffic and urban crowding — have not been particularly successful due to […]
Who Will Pay For Airline Welfare In Boise?
Boise’s Airport (BOI) is asking the City Council for approval of even more welfare for airlines in addition to the $100,000 waiver of landing fees for the first year of new service routes. Now, they want to give away ticket counter space and parking with the hope such a discount program will encourage an airline […]
Simplot, Gardner Projects Differ In Funding
The announcement by the J. R. Simplot Company to build a nine story headquarters at 11th and Front while Gardner plans a new project at 8th and Main brings to mind the differences in funding. Simplot’s project won’t depend on public money like the Gardner project which depends of lots of public money–just for the […]
Fate Of Downtown Boise Unknown In 2017
The GUARDIAN has been doing some preliminary inquiries regarding the fate of downtown Boise after the Central District urban renewal project expires in 2017. As it sits currently, no one can offer us a definitive answer to questions of ownership, management, and responsibility for certain Capital City Development Corp. properties. For instance, CCDC owns 8th […]
Apply Emergency Brakes To Train Obsession
It used to be amusing to poke fun at Team Dave’s latest gimmick for a train, trolley, street car, etc. Now its time to derail this fantasy once and for all. The current topic is yet another round of consulting, planning, etc. for what amounts to a “cargo transit center.” The idea is to create […]
Is Air Guard A Job Mill Or Defense Unit?
A Potential cost-saving plan by the U.S.Department of Defense to move the Idaho Air National Guard from Boise to Mountain Home Air Force Base is drawing flak from politicos. Mayor Dave Bieter told the Daily Paper the plan was “puzzling”and made no sense. It makes sense to the GUARDIAN. What doesn’t make sense is to […]
Farmers Could Get Convicted Felon Labor
If a bill proposed in the Idaho Legislature becomes law, Idaho farmers could get a chance to pay minimum wages to prison inmates instead of paying higher wages to attack workers. “This would help us make sure we get our perishable Idaho crops harvested” in the event of worker shortages, said Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, […]
Bulging Boise’s Bungled Building Boom
At the risk of posting another typical “growthophobe” story, we offer up a major caution in the rush to embrace the Gardner folks’ latest plan for downtown Boise. As wise businessmen, they are gathering as much public funding as possible to build on some pretty small plots adjacent to the Grove Hotel and the U.S. […]
Governments Run Amok
Where do we start? The GUARDIAN has been in warmer climes for three weeks and comes home to chaos–or is always like this? –Top item in the foolishness file is the Idaho legislature’s apparent push to get guns on campus. The amazing thing to us is not the wacko legislators–we always have them–but the fact […]
Job Losses Prove You Can’t Buy Prosperity
Sitting in New Zealand where the minimum wage is set to jump to the US$ equivilant of $12 an hour and reading of recently announced losses of at least 1800 jobs in Idaho, it is obvious you can’t buy prosperity. It looks like there will be 1600 jobs leaving with the closure of a call […]
Lawmakers Claim Deception On Horse Racing
Amid claims of “duping” among some members, the Idaho Legislature could put slot machine betting on horse races near the finish line. In a story posted by the DAILY PAPER, Rep. Gayle Batt of Wilder told the House State Affairs Committee some members felt duped by advocates of the so-called “video terminals displaying historical horse […]
Bank Claims Canyon Lawmaker Owes $10,000
The Idaho Legislature will be in town shortly with elected representatives deciding how and where to spend all the tax money and other revenue collected by the state. One of those “spenders” will be Brandon Hixon, State Representative for Caldwell’s District 10. Based on public records, Rep. Hixon has an apparent history of stiffing creditors. […]
Downtown Has Moved To Eagle & Fairview
Eagle Road has become Main Street and Meridian is quickly becoming the new “China” for Boise planners, politicos and purchasers–threatening to either own or control everything from highway dollars to retail market share. While Boise has been preoccupied filling the former “hole in the ground” with a mirrored skyscraper, Meridian (Idaho’s third largest city) has […]
Horse Race Slots Face Constitutional Challenge
The bid by a group to “preserve the horse racing industry” may be galloping toward a constitutional challenge that is anything but a sure bet. Despite legislation that says otherwise, there is a valid argument over the definition of what constitutes a SLOT MACHINE or CASINO GAMBLING–both specifically prohibited under the Idaho Constitution. Ada County […]
Ada Commishes Need To Rein In Racing Slots
The latest euphemism for SLOT MACHINE GAMBLING is a proposal to install hundreds of slot machines at Les Bois Park’s Turf Club under the guise of “Historical Horse Racing.” It may be a “sure bet,” but not for the sucker who thinks he can outsmart a computer game based on a previously run horse race. […]
Former Legislator Questions Land Board Action
Former Idaho Representative Bob Forrey has been an ardent opponent of recent Land Board actions regarding cottage leases, trades of state land for commercial property, and the Land Board going into commercial business operations like the storage unit venture in Boise. The following is a guest opinion from him. By BOB FORREY Despite a constitutional […]
Greedy Garden City Wants OUR Fair Grounds
This post first appeared in the GUARDIAN more than 6 years ago after Dave Frazier, GUARDIAN editor, communicated with then Ada Commishes over the ailing Les Bois Park race track–part of Expo Idaho. The issue remains the same: Garden City politicos want OUR land for business. This comes only 2 days after Boise voters were […]
Dept. of Lands Business Policy Short Sighted
Three years ago when the GUARDIAN exposed the state ownership of Affordable Storage in Boise, politicos dug in their heels on both sides of the state owning businesses. We pointed out at the time there was a significant loss of local property taxes when commercial property is owned by the tax-exempt state. Since then, the […]
Up And Down With BOI
First we get news the Boise airport is ranked #7 in a poll of some sort by a travel magazine. On time departures seemed to be the reason for the national ranking. GOOD NEWS! Then, the same day we hear the airport is turned down for a $700,000 grant from the Feds to get flights […]
U of I Cows Make Milk AND Milk Bottles
In the ultimate recycling story, researchers at the University of Idaho have found a way for cows to not only produce milk, but the bovines can also be used to make plastic for the bottles to drink it from. A research group at the university claims to have developed a way to generate a significant […]
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