Emergency Service
BREAKING NEWS: House Explodes On Boise Bench
Following a massive explosion, a house 302 Wilson Court (Near Morris Hill and Roosevelt) erupted in flames prompting a multi alarm response by the Boise Fire Department Friday afternoon. Witnesses told the GUARDIAN they heard the explosion while on Latah street and looked up to see a cloud of black smoke followed by other colored […]
Chief Updates On Copper Capers
Boise’s top copper, Mike Masterson, has lumped several controversial incidents in a media release posted Christmas Eve. While some of the details won’t be made public, the message sent to other members of the department as well as the public has to be viewed as a positive action. Three of the incidents were in OCTOBER. […]
Boise Officials Adopt GUARDIAN Fire Training Plan
Kudos to Boise officials for joining the GUARDIAN in calling for a joint training facility for Boise, Meridian, and Eagle fire departments. We had questioned the need for a $17 bond–not the facility, but the funding–well before the election. On October 6, the GUARDIAN said: “Boise Fire Dept. recently entered into some “mutual aid” cooperative […]
Boise Coppers Give More Than Tickets To Bikers
Following up on a GUARDIAN post in October, Boise Police are now stopping bicyclists without lights. Rather than pass out expensive tickets, the officers will be offering a safety briefing and FREE lights to make the cyclists more visible. Coppers joined ranks with the Ada County Highway District to provide the temporary lights which are […]
Boise’s Top Copper Wants Your Opinion
Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson wants to hear from GUARDIAN readers regarding their thoughts about various technologies used in law enforcement today. By MIKE MASTERSON Boise Police Chief Technological gains over the last decade have allowed society and businesses to do their jobs more efficiently. Policing is no different where it often seems every new […]
Explosives Site Not Likely A Foreign Terrorist Link
Officers from all sorts of copper agencies occupied the Vista Neighborhood south of Overland and Columbus Wednesday for about 12 hours as they investigated “substances” believed to be stashed in a house which could be used to make bombs. The cryptic language in police updates said little about the bomb making site, but the GUARDIAN […]
Boise GUARDIAN Election Analysis
While there were no surprises with the incumbents keeping their Boise City Council seats, we were surprised to see Bill Jarocki come in third in the race against TJ Thomson who was also challenged by Jill G. Humble. The big news was the defeat of both bond debt proposals which would have cost taxpayers more […]
Boise Councilors Stay, Bond Debt Goes
At 11:30 p.m. Tuesday it looks like the Three Musketeers of the Boise City Council–TJ Thomson, Marryanne Jordan, and Ben Quintana–easily retained their seats. It also looks like both the Fire Safety and Parks Open Space bonds failed once the precinct results began coming in. The votes “bought” with direct mail absentee ballot request forms […]
BB Gun Incident Could Have Been Fatal
When some juvenile hooligans cruised around West Boise Monday brandishing a BB pistol it had all the makings of a fatal chain of errors. As it turned out no one was shot, but a 10-year-old girl was traumatized, a copper crashed a cruiser, the gunman was sent to juvenile detention leaving a path of horror […]
Bond Opposition Muzzled By Team Dave And Friends
The standard media statement about the upcoming bond election is along the lines of, “There is no organized opposition.” Pretty hard to have organized opposition when the health care industry, contractor/developers, unions, and others who do business with the city pony up $137,000. Consider the following: –Boise’s City Council passed an ordinance and rushed to […]
Big Money For Bieter Bond Proposal
Proponents of the bond measures that could put Boise into debt to the tune of $51,000,000 have collected about $137,000 to push the ballot question. The Boise WEEKLY checked the campaign finance reports and came up with the following highlights: ESI ($15,000) Gardner Property Holdings ($15,000) Thornton, Oliver, Keller ($1,000) Old Boise Properties ($1,000) Boise […]
Bike Death Prompts Safety Reminder
Four years ago the GUARDIAN posted a story encouraging BIKE SAFETY and it is probably time for a re-run. Thursday morning’s fatal accident which is possibly a hit and run (the driver may or may not have known) involving a bicycle at 30th and State is a reminder that cyclists need to have proper apparel […]
Fire Chief Asks Birthday Money Go To Mayor
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter attended Fire Chief Dennis Doan’s birthday party over the past weekend at the Basque Center and it paid off–literally. Doan invited plenty of guests–including the presidents of the police and firefighter unions. Guests were asked to make donations to Dave Bieter in lieu of birthday presents. We haven’t heard if Bieter […]
Fire Bond is An Open Ended $24,000,000 Line Of Credit To Be Repaid By Taxpayers
PART TWO OF ANALYSIS OF THE Nov. 5 BOND PROPOSAL Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has convinced the City Council the city needs a $24 million loan to be repaid by property owners for the purpose of fixing up existing fire department facilities and constructing new projects. He seems to have forgotten to sell it to […]
Park Bailout Needed Due To Bad Management, Citizens Deserve Voice In Spending
ANALYSIS OF THE PARK BOND Mayor Dave Bieter has promoted his voter-financed bailout of needed fire department facilities and additional parks as “A buck a month,” project. The GUARDIAN sees it as a whopping $51,000,000 expenditure of tax money. The ballot fine print legalese says: “The total amount to be repaid not later than twenty […]
Bieter Splits Bond, Follows Guardian Advice
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has taken the free advice from the GUARDIAN and split a bond debt proposal into two portions, allowing citizens to have a say over both park and fire department expenditures. A downtown police station was removed from the debt package because the specifics were not ready to be considered. Bieter shaved […]
Coppers Opt To Not Expand Shooting Range
In what can only be described as a “surprise move,” Boise coppers have decided to not appeal the city planning and zoning board’s recent denial of a permit to expand the shooting range in the foothills off Reserve Street. A police commander had previously declared the department exempt from the zoning and vowed to appeal […]
Elmore Fires= A One Mile Wide Strip From Chicago To Detroit
Size and distance take on totally different perspectives from Idaho to the Midwest. Consider this: The Elk Complex and Pony Complex fires burning in the Boise National Forest east of Boise have charred more than 300 square miles (200,000 acres). With 640 acres per square mile, that means the area burned just in Elmore county […]
Boise Lives Beyond Its Means, Bieter To Ask For $34M Bond Debt
Two days after the city annexed an additional 1.5 square miles–increasing the need to provide services–and only a week or so after announcing a joint agreement with emergency service providers, plans are afoot to go into debt to buy $34,000,000 worth of “infrastructure” improvements and expansions for police, fire, and parks. The good news is […]
Fire Threatens Sawtooth Hatchery
Idaho Fish and Game employees and local firefighters fended off a wildfire in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Monday evening which threatened the F&G salmon hatchery. The fire started Monday afternoon about a mile north of the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery near Stanley. As the fire approached the staff dormitory, hatchery crews and firefighters mobilized to […]
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