Here is a copy of what he sent to potential donors with no mention that current Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin has spent most of the office’s budget appropriation. He includes a stern warning about what happened to Colorado…whatever that may have been.

HEADS UP!

Scott Bedke

Council President Elaine Clegg said, “This is a great opportunity to secure a revenue source for taxpayers and preserve shelter for our unhoused community members.” She noted the city is in the real estate rental business at the airport, Gateway industrial park, and the Franklin-Orchard housing development. The trailer business would just be an extension of the city’s marketing scheme.

Mayor Lauren McLean was a supporter of the idea noting she would gladly make a “business recruiting trip” in an attempt to attract house trailer manufacturers to relocate in Boise. She declined to name potential businesses or a destination for any trip. At one time there were several manufacturers along Federal Way providing jobs for Boiseans.

Golden Dawn trailer park off Warm Springs is nearly surrounded by Harris Ranch upscale housing and Councilor Lisa Sanchez suggested the city purchase the property so, “People who look like me” can have cheap housing in the east Boise area.

Newest councilor Luci Willits liked the idea of more affordable housing and noted the house trailers are similar in shape to the so-called “skinny housing” found throughout the city. Willits noted with the modular design and shape, the house trailers would fit nicely on the median strip already owned by the city along Harrison Blvd.

She jokingly called her plan a “median priced” housing fix, adding, “No reason to limit affordable housing to the Bench area. We should provide affordable shelter in the North End as well.”

Councilor Jimmy Hallyburton jumped on the idea saying he would gladly give each new resident on Harrison a bicycle to show his support of unhoused citizens moving into the median priced homes.

Always the voice of caution, Councilor Patrick Bagaent told his colleagues, “Check the date here and then think!”

Exercising forward planning and backward logic, Ada County Highway District has installed an ADA certified wheelchair ramp TO NOWHERE at the corner of Columbus and Targee.

The GUARDIAN didn’t even bother to file all the record requests to find out what it cost to install, but the concrete placing, excavation, and ramp component provides access to NOWHERE! If the installation could even be justified as a “future use,” it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to relocate utility poles and condemn private property for future sidewalks.

There are sidewalks on the opposite sides of both Targee and Columbus.

This press release is what police NEWS used to be about! It appears that kidnapping lizards is a felony rather than simple shoplifting when the lizards are of high value. WHO carries a lizard in their pocket?

The official police account:
This afternoon the Boise Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Unit worked with the Caldwell Police Department to arrest Christopher Garcia,49, in Caldwell on two counts of felony Grand Theft.

Boise Police had been investigating the theft of multiple lizards from local retailers since July. Evidence indicates Garcia entered multiple retail locations in Boise and in each case waited until employees were not around, removed a lizard from their cage, and walked out with the lizard in his pocket.

Local retailers were an integral part of this investigation and helped BPD’s ORC unit identify Garcia. Garcia has been booked into the Canyon County Jail on the listed charges. Additional charges are expected.

As the property assessments which are used as the basis for our taxes are being prepared and the Assessor is warning of “sticker shock” we offer a rerun of an early post which could have been written today.

The CBS Sunday Morning show featured Boise’s outrageous real estate market May 23. One owner was paid $65,000 more than the asking price for a Boise home. A newly arrived Californian dismissively noted “locals” say they can’t afford to live here anymore.

Growing Numbers of Growthophobes
April 26, 2006
We are noticing more and more people coming to their senses and opposing insane growth which manifests itself in flood threats, infill arguments, annexation hassles, inflated housing prices, traffic, and a host of other offensive habits.

Latest growthophobe to go public is Sarah Wiltz, president of the Sunset neighborhood association. She sees growth as a threat to the character of the neighborhood west of 30th and north of State St. Wiltz has cause to worry.
Farm sale sign.jpg

Wednesday we saw a number of signs at dairy farms proclaiming DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL and they didn’t mean agriculture.

We talked to a farmer prepping a field of the nicest soil you would ever want to drop a seed into. He shook his head sadly and said, “It’s all over for us. We’re done here.”

His plan is to sell out to the developers, take the money and build a new farm life across the Snake River in Oregon where there is less pressure to build houses–at least for now.

There are currently plans afoot to populate the Foothills all the way from Middleton to Lucky Peak. All tolled there are probably 15 developments either in the works or soon to be filed. Some will eat up as much as 30,000 acres.

“Team Dave” leader Dave Bieter is pushing to populate the south hills with another round of development. We see little hope of preserving any semblance of what “Boise used to be” without a united effort like the one Wiltz is pushing. She wants a moratorium on building in the foothills. It is not likely to happen, but if you love your kids, breathable air, and a view of something other than neighbors, better wake up.

Growthophobia is a contagious disease characterized by an intense longing for life as it used to be, should be, and CAN be if we unite to fight the insurgents who are ruining a great state full of mostly fine people.

2021 Note: Nampa and Caldwell have recently considered or put temporary halts on new construction, Avimor has approval for expansion into Boise County, taxes are increasing, traffic is toxic, and local governments are STILL offering “incentives” for new businesses and developments. Meanwhile, Boise officials have been convinced the secret to success is to jam as many people and residential units as possible into city spaces.

Idaho State Police report that a Utah man is in jail following a road rage incident on I-15 Tuesday. The Utah driver approached the Pocatello driver’s car at a high rate of speed and fired several rounds at the slower moving car.

Police report that one round went through the driver side window and continued THROUGH THE DRIVER’S BASEBALL CAP, but he was not injured! He suffered a few scratches from the shattered window, but the bullet only penetrated the hat.

Christian Heskett, 22, of West Jordan, Utah was charged with aggravated battery by use of a deadly weapon.

The GUARDIAN suggests the victim wear the hat with the bullet hole on future fishing and gambling trips… just for luck.

Introduced by Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger and Sen. Regina Bayer, HB 311 would require public art costing $25,000 or less be approved by a simple two-thirds majority vote from City Council, but projects of $25,000 or more would require approval of a sixty percent majority public vote.

Ironically, this bill comes from a legislature that is hell-bent on denying a public voice in matters of state wide citizen initiatives, but giving us a voice in public art projects in excess of $25,000.

The legislature has also sought to limit the authority of the governor and the attorney general.

If the city rationale to kill the legislation is any indicator, perhaps the folks at the capitol have a point.

Rusty iron “cottonwoods” on city hall plaza.

Which means that Boise City isn’t thrilled to submit art expenditures to public approval.

“Crack in the wall” was inspired by Boise river drainage.

We can hear it now as folks in New York, Atlanta, or Austin plan their summer vacations saying, “We need to visit Boise and see that rusty iron at city hall and the crack in the wall on the big hotel.”

Boise lobbying effort letter.

THE CITY ARTS LETTER FOLLOWS

City of Boise Opposes House Bill 311 Relating to Funding of Public Art
The City of Boise and its department of Arts & History would like to bring a proposed bill, House Bill 311: Restrictions on Public Art Expenditures, to your attention. Introduced by Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger and Sen. Regina Bayer, HB 311 would require that public art costing $25,000 or less be approved by two-thirds majority vote from City Council, and projects of $25,000 or more be approved by sixty percent majority public vote.

We write to you today to express our opposition to HB 311. Municipal public art programs already involve significant public engagement and financial oversight. As drafted, the bill would add unnecessary costs to the City’s ability to adequately resource and manage public art. Public art is one of the many attributes of the City of Boise that contributes to the city’s perennial listing as one of the top communities to live, and supports a diverse local economy of professional artists and their interconnected support networks and trades.

While the proposed bill has not yet been voted on by the full House, the course of action you may choose to take is to contact members of the House of Representatives and your respective legislators expressing your opposition to HB 311.

Useful Links
Talking Points
Testimony of Kathy Griesmyer, Government Affairs Director
Members of the House of Representatives
Public art throughout the city is what makes Boise unique, and draws tourists from around the country who in turn support our local tourism industry and hospitality workers, restaurants and small businesses. Our community members recognize the value of investing in art and the artistic community in an effort to increase vibrancy in our urban environment.

If you have any questions about our position on this bill, please contact Kathy Griesmyer at kgriesmyer@cityofboise.org or at 208-890-3800, or Karl LeClair, Public Art Program Manager, at kleclair@cityofboise.org or 208-608-7044.

Thank you!
Your Boise Arts & History Team

We don’t know if the weekly paper wrote the story or if the text came from a City of Boise press release, but it is one of the better examples of obfuscation we have seen.

“Jillana Finnegan has been named the strategic initiatives director by Mayor Lauren McLean. As director of programs for Boise State University’s College of Innovation and Design, she provided direction and support for new programs, increased student employability and broke down institutional silos that stood in the way of progress. In her role as strategic initiatives director, she will lead the efforts to support strategic priorities and work with project leaders to create infrastructure.”

Which leads the GUARDIAN to ponder:
–What is an institutional silo?
–What is a strategic initiative?
–What is a strategic priority?
–How do project leaders create infrastructure?

She will no doubt be well paid to provide these services to the citizens of Boise who apparently need to have their strategic initiatives directed.

We don’t have a TRUMP TOWER in Boise, but if things go right for a former City Councilor we could have a “LUDWIG TOWER”.

Scot Ludwig, the former city councilor and CCDC member, is proposing to build a tall building in Idaho at 5th and Broad Streets. If approved, it could be 19 stories tall and at 235 feet a standout on the Boise skyline.

The price will be “upscale” at around $600 per square foot.

BOISE DEV has the official details of Ludwig’s proposal.

Here’s what the proposal calls for:

–44 condominium units, with most around 2,000 square feet. The top floor would feature two-story penthouse units.
–An elevator parking system. The building would include space for 192 cars, which would serve tenants in the building, as well as a building Ludwig partially owns next door. More on this below.
–An indoor/outdoor amenity level with yoga studio, fitness center, outdoor terrace and rentable guest suites.
–A series of four live/work units along the ground and second floors, facing 5th St.
–An exterior “cascading steps” feature would connect the 7th-floor amenity deck to a series of outdoor terraces above the live-work units.

The GUARDIAN has taken the liberty of offering a different view of the project than what the Planning and Zoning department will see and hear.

—Marketing slogan: “Luxury living for those who look down on their neighbors.”

—A Rubic Cube mechanical parking garage. We have remote meetings, robotic bank tellers, drones for everything from photography to SWAT shotguns, so why not mechanical garages for luxury cars. No doubt electric models will get special treatment. We envision onthly “rewards” if you can retrieve your vehicle in under 10 minutes. No pick ups allowed.

—Target market will be rich people willing to pony up $600 a sqft to view rooftops and endless urban sprawl.

—Tenants will be bankers, lawyers, and investors from the likes of Chicago, New York, and Miami who are tired of looking at Lake Michigan, the Statue of Liberty, and palm-lined Florida beaches. “Tiffany, if we are going to live in a city, let’s make it Boise!”

—Affordable housing” units are a MUST these days. They should sell for a mere $300 per sqft. Sort of like putting mobile homes on Warm Springs and skinny houses on the Harrison Blvd. median to show compassion.

—Barristas selling foo-foo latte drinks will have a chance to live on the lower floors above the garage and walk to work down two flights of stairs. They will have to make $50 per hour and coffee will be $20 a cup.

Think about it. The girls have to wear a mask to cover their nose and mouth, but most everything else is NOT covered! What a city!