Boise is pretty much midway between Salt Lake and Portland. Sort of in the “middle of nowhere.” Unless folks in those population centers want to board at midnight, Boise will once again be a “wee hours” stop. It is also cost prohibitive to offer more than a few trains a week, let alone multiple daily trains.

Going east, after Mountain Home the only towns served would be Glenns Ferry and Shoshone until Pocatello. There would be no rail service to Hagerman, Buhl, Filer, Twin Falls, Burley, Rupert, Wendell, Jerome or any of the smaller Magic Valley settlements.

Why no rail service? Because THERE ARE NO RAILS!

The idea of passenger rail service is simply a novelty based on old memories and dreams of someday being “just like the Eastern seaboard.”

We challenge local and national politicos to agree to use any future rail service for their routine government work as public policy. That would be for all conferences, meetings, and any other public business. NO PUBLIC MOTOR VEHICLES ALLOWED–just trains. It would never happen.

Please take a look at two previous GUARDIAN stories. We suggested a federal bus service we dubbed AMBUS, but it got no takers.

We also panned Sen. Mike Crapo’s SURVEY spending

Boise’s city councilors brought the grief upon themselves with a resolution making investigation of abortion cases a low priority. The Boise resolution in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court Roe-vs-Wade recinding decision was the only such action in Idaho.

Making a public statement declaring intent to not enforce a law certainly invites retaliation. Not wise to list what laws a city will enforce or ignore.

Check out the BOISE DEV report from the legislature.

LITTLE

A question arises now that he may have violated that oath when he signed the abortion bill and even admitted it may be unconstitutional.

In a letter explaining his approval of the law, Little also said he worries the civil enforcement mechanism will be proven “unconstitutional and unwise.”

In a legal opinion sent to Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, who opposed the bill, Idaho Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane said the legislation would likely violate the U.S. Constitution.

GUEST OPINION
By ERIKA BENSON

What most voters will not know is there are other Federal funding sources that can pay for a lot of this, but Boise is going to use these monies to expand government while simultaneously allowing the citizens to subsidize even more growth. I have attached a document I put together that combines info. from your BG articles with additional content from city records, with the key points being the following:

There are three (3) buckets of Federal money that could be usedto help pay for the sewer and water renewal projects in the City’s Water Renewal Utility Plan, but only the first one below is in the City’s record to help cover the costs:

1) Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
Provides long–term, low cost fixed interest rate loans to finance up to 49% of a project.
The current round of funding through the EPA includes $6.5 billion.
The City has submitted an initial application under the recent July 23, 2021 deadline.
2) American Rescue Plan Act
Boise is receiving $36.9 million of the $1.9 trillion from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Funds can be used for necessary water and sewer infrastructure projects.
Boise website shows the City has already selected the following categories* to spend these funds on: Housing, Mental Health, Food Security, Small Business Support, and Childcare.

* The separate $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act will have provisions to cover many of the same categories Boise is listing on its website for the American Rescue Plan funds.

3) Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684)

$1 trillion in Federal funding to improve and modernize the nation’s infrastructure is currently making its way through the legislative approval process.
$55 billion of this amount is allocated for clean drinking water.
$50 billion is specifically allocated for western water infrastructure and making systems more resilient to climate impacts.

A “Yes” Vote
Since the bond language does not specify which sources of funds will apply to replacing existing infrastructure versus funding the cost of expansion, the voter cannot know if a “yes” vote may be simply covering the cost of expansion to support more growth, while the WIFIA funds will be used to cover the cost of replacements to the existing system.

Does the voter understand that a “yes” vote will simply enable the developers and investors to not bear the costs by having the City avoid enacting water and sewer impact fees, or implementing a Community Infrastructure District?

A “No” Vote
Language in the City’s record and the ordinance says “up to 53%” – – which can mean this rate is not the final rate that would be implemented if this bond does not pass. In addition, the letter from the City’s legal department for the bond ordinance states the City Council has discretion on how to implement these increases and will decide in November whether to implement the entire amount in 2022, or potentially consider other rate increase alternatives.

A “no” vote will place pressure on the elected public servants to utilize other funding sources before resorting to large rate increases.

MORE DETAILS Election – Sewer Bond Topic

Four out of five Guantanamo detainees whom former President Barack Obama released in exchange for former U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014 now hold senior positions in the interim government created by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Adding further to the Idaho role in the Afghanistan War, Boise attorney David Nevin has represented at least one of the prisoners at Guantanamo.

The GUARDIAN has mentioned the weed problem repeatedly to clerks, but to no avail. Insiders tell us the guys with neckties claim there is no money to care for the exterior of the citizen-owned facility.

We spent more than an hour on the internet and telephone attempting to locate a postal manager in Boise. There was no published way to speak to the local postmaster or anyone else in the U.S. P. S. After a lengthy menu on an automated local number we were instructed to “hang up and dial an 800 number.”

The 800 automated voice had a similar menu, but no option to speak to a human being–with a necktie or not.

Not one to just complain with no solution, the GUARDIAN is seeking a one shot clean up by the Ada County Sheriff’s Inmate Labor Detail. These low risk criminals do similar landscape cleaning for Boise Parks and on FEDERAL Interstate highways. It would seem logical to have them do some weed whacking at the post office. The only problem is finding someone at the Post Office who will coordinate with the Ada Sheriff. If anyone wishes to offer up a phone number of a local necktie at the Post Office we will gladly share it with the sheriff.

What a waste of effort and tax money to keep doing surveys, hoping the facts will change. Nearly 12 years ago Crapo pushed for a “survey” about the cost of bringing Amtrak to Boise. We doubt it got any cheaper over the years. Some of the players have changed, but the idea is still not in the best interest of taxpayers.

Here is what happened in 2009 after Crapo dropped a ton of citizen cash on the survey.

Study Shows Boise Amtrak Not In Financial Best Interest Of USA
After spending at least $374,000,000 to get the tracks and people up to speed, Amtrak would have to charge passengers an average of $353 for each ticket–IF they could get 102,000 riders–just to break even on the cheapest option for rail service to Boise, according to figures released in an Amtrak report.

Politicos with overly optimistic plans were surprised at the projected costs, but not deterred. U.S. Senator Mike Crapo has urged folks to comment at HIS WEBSITE. He wants the train, but the GUARDIAN urges him to do the responsible thing and declare: “the report has clearly shown that AMTRAK service to Boise would not be in the best financial interests of that nation at this time.”

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has taken to “government by resolution” and convinced the city council ro approve a resolution supporting Amtrak’s return to Idaho. These resolutions have no legal standing, but they create the illusion of a broad support for Amtrak and foolishly spending tax money to support a political goal.

The “instant holiday” caught agencies as divergent as local police and U. S. Postal service unaware. As a result, Boise coppers will be receiving holiday pay along with federal postal workers.

In Boise for example, firefighters will get eight hours pay back, and general workers will receive a “floating holiday.”

The copper union contract gives them double time and a half for holidays. If they are not working they get 10 hours (1 day’s pay). The contract is for “any holidays passed by congress.”

Ada County was blindsided and had not implemented a policy by Friday regarding holiday pay.

Pandering to the masses to get the holiday designated so quickly was an ill-advised costly political move in the GUARDIAN’S opinion. Instead, the holiday should have been instituted on June 19th, 2022.

Here is the PRESS RELEASE:

Beginning 05/17/2021, through 05/28/2021, the U.S. Marshals Service partnered with numerous Treasure Valley law enforcement entities to conduct Operation Washout, a U.S. Marshals Service national initiative focused on the investigation and arrest of violent fugitives and gang members. Operation Washout brought together state, local, and federal law enforcement officers to focus on specific areas impacted by gang violence and target those gang members for investigation and arrest.

Operation Washout participating agencies included: Ada & Canyon County Sheriffs’ Offices, Boise, Garden City, Nampa & Caldwell Police Departments, Idaho Department of Correction, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Deputy U.S. Marshals from across the U.S.

The GUARDIAN received several calls from readers commenting on the excess noise from the fighters, so we called the Idaho Air National Guard command post to see if they could provide any info.

The duty sergeant told us, “I am in the basement with no windows. I can certainly hear them, but they are not using our facilities and I don’t know who they are.”

GUARDIAN reader Katie Fite got a reply from Lt Col Chris Borders, the ANG spokesman and he told her this:

“The sounds you’re hearing are the result of 10 USMC F-18 Hornets from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. They are not here to train with the IDANG, nor are they utilizing any of our facilities, ramps or services.

They are staying on the BOI (airport) side, receiving services from a commercial facility (Jackson Aviation) there. From what I can tell, they plan to be here through October 30th.

I don’t believe they are here for a “named” exercise (as in a major regional or larger exercise). They are utilizing/training in the Mountain Home Range Complex.”

NOTE 10/24: TRAGEDY FRIDAY