Frazier’s Time With Fidel Castro

BY DAVID R. FRAZIER, editor Yesterday’s death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro brought back memories of one of my biggest international photo assignments nearly 40 years ago as I accompanied Senator Frank Church on a historic visit to Cuba in 1977. I had a friendly relationship with Sen. Church and managed to get the only […]

Airport Open House Crowd Turns Hostile

High performance fighter jets may sound like a wisper compared to the roar of angry citizens on the Boise Bench. Boise Airport manager Rebecca Hupp faced an angry crowd Wednesday evening as she attempted to present the latest “master plan” for the airport. About 150 citizens packed the meeting room, expecting to have a talk […]

NO Means NO, Not Maybe, Or Later

The election of Donald Trump pointed out the fact politicos at all levels of government simply are ignoring the will of the people, hence the surprise victory. Some of these elected officials feel they are acting for the “greater good,” and voter/citizens just don’t know what they need. No doubt a many Dems feel that […]

USA Election Watch From Phu Quoc

It is 1 p.m. On November 9 here in Vietnam where I am sitting with six Vietnamese/Americans at the Phu Quoc airport. They are locked onto the election results on their Smartphones and into heavy discussion about Trump and Hillary. They are all “boat people” who escaped to the USA whe3re they now live in […]

Park Sign Shows Proper Poop Posture

Political Payoff Tally

We have always been bothered by the euphemism “campaign contribution.” Contributions are for charities. We prefer POLITICAL PAYOFF. A friend–political insider at that– used to say, “They claim there is no quid pro quo, but there is no reason for the pro quo without the quid.” Here is the latest political payoff tally from Randy […]

Airport Noise Plan Calls For Home Buys

Boise airport officials in a press release have claimed support from the Federal Aviation Administration for a recently approved noise plan at the facility. The FAA RECORD is full of acronyms and references. Long time opponent of noisy F-15 and F-35 fighters being based in Boise, Monty Mericle offered up the following report based on […]

Pyrocumulus Fire Cloud Looms Over Boise

A giant Pyrocumulus cloud loomed over the Boise Foothills at sunset Friday as wild land firefighters conducted a “burnout” on one flank of the Pioneer Fire north of Idaho City. A burnout is intended to “fight fire with fire” by consuming fuels in a controlled manner. The cloud is caused by moisture in the fuel […]

Nix F-35, Boise Should Try To Land F-16

If ever there was an Air Force mission designed for Boise’s Gowen Field, it is the planned relocation of F-16 fighters from Hill AFB in Utah. The Air Force has a shortage of fighter pilots, seeks a training facility with long runways and nearby bombing range. The agile and relatively quiet F-16s which look like […]

Air War Plays Out Near Lucky Peak

It looked like an all out air war Tuesday afternoon when fire broke out in prime winter deer habitat near Hilltop along both sides of Highway 21. The usual assortment of BLM, Forest Service, and local fire departments tossed everything they had at the blaze. At the scene we were told that “two structures” were […]

Tracking Boise’s Mayor

It has been admittedly slow on the local news front, so here are a couple items for discussion . A reader sent this city council agenda item: “This was on the agenda for the June 7th, seems cryptic and Brent Coles like.” “David H. Bieter, Mayor’s Office, to attend meetings with potential city benefactor in […]

Forest Service Wants To Route 630 Truckloads Of Logs Over Ada Streets

After the Ada County Highway District Commishes turned down a request April 11 from the Forest Service to route 630 truckloads of logs through Hidden Springs or Boise’s North End, the Federal Agency appealed to the next level–Boise Mayor Dave Bieter. In a MAY 20 LETTER to the ACHD, Bieter lobbied on behalf of the […]

GUARDIAN Bus Would Run Every 13 Sec. For Cost Of Trolley

In the quest to make downtown Boise the most “unfriendly car city” in America, Boise’s Team Dave has come up with, would you believe yet another…TROLLEY CIRCULATOR plan. The Boise WEEKLY’s George Prentice offers a look which prompted the GUARDIAN to turn to the calculator for perspective. Using the City’s figures, reported by Prentice, we […]

Costly Ties That Bind Are Off Track

Short line railroads in Idaho will soon be blowing their horns over a proposed taxpayer funded subsidy that will amount to more than $2 million in federal tax credits which comes out to $14,090 per railroad employee. AND, that is just for Idaho rail companies. Short lines are the the railroads that connect to the […]

Test New Voting Device In R Primary

It’s only for Republicans and Constitutionalists, but early Voting in Ada County began February 22nd and will continue through March 4th. It will be a good opportunity to test the new voting devices. You mark your ballot as usual, but when it is slipped into the “tabulator,” the vote is recorded and at the close […]

Imagine A Gun Rally In NYC or D.C.

We made these images for the day job to show folks in the rest of the world how we do business in Idaho. Imagine how this little noted event would have played out in the Eastern seaboard or even Chicago or Detroit! The Saturday rally on the Statehouse steps in support of the proposed Idaho […]

Protest Erupts In Gun Fire At Burns, Rangeland Protesters Set To Meet In Boise Saturday

MSNBC is reporting gunfire and death Tuesday afternoon at the standoff in Harney County, Oregon where armed protesters have occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge for several weeks. See the FBI news release at the end of this post for more details. The GUARDIAN has confirmed that a group with apparently similar concerns as the protesters […]

A-10 Quietly Remains On Guard

An article in yesterday’s edition of AIR FORCE TIMES claims the top guns in the military have put retirement of the A-10 Warthog air-to-ground attack fighter on hold. That should come as good news to folks living near Gowen Field who have been fighting local and federal politicos to keep the noisy F-35 and F-15 […]

Ada Commishes Nix Guns, Crapo Blames Obama?

Sometimes the “news” is not easy to understand. After a couple of accidental discharges at gun shows held at EXPO IDAHO (not to be confused with the IDAHO CENTER or the Fairgrounds) the Ada Commishes prudently banned gun shows for the immediate future. A reasonable move, lest someone gets shot. Then, Idaho’s senior senator, Mike […]

2016 Resolution Requests…HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The GUARDIAN promises to at least try to have a more positive attitude during the coming year. One step in that direction would be fulfilling the following list of New Year’s resolutions: –Boise city council will abandon any plans for a trolley or any other permanent tracks in our streets. –Taxes will be reduced across […]