Controversy erupted after conservative groups, the Republican Party, and others complained about “the sexualization of children” in the planned kiddie drag show.

“While the vast majority of our sponsors and supporters have voiced their support for the Boise Pride Festival and the Drag Kids program, we have made the very difficult decision to postpone this performance due to increased safety concerns. The health and well-being of the kids, their parents, and the attendees of the Festival are our priority,” a Pride news release said in part.

The EVENT.

The GUARDIAN has discussed the event with our trusted liberal and gay friends. We also talked to some middle of the roaders and conservatives. At first they all doubted the event was actually scheduled. When it was finally sorted out, the consensus was as follows:

–Sponsors probably were unaware that young boys would be on stage as part of a gay pride event.
–It is inappropriate to use kids on stage for such an event.
–Boys, girls, and non-gender folks of any age should be allowed to dress as they please.
–Organizers are fanning the flames of discontent with the “in your face” act.
–The news media and the GUARDIAN wouldn’t publish images of juvenile suspects involved in criminal cases and the same rule would logically apply for child drag queens (princesses?).

Finally, based on the plethora of images on the internet, an appearance as a drag performer at a young age could stay with someone for their lifetime and would easily pop up during a Supreme Court nomination hearing or at a future criminal trial.

3pm 9/7/22UPDATE–Zions bank has withdrawn sponsorship based on the child event.

The GUARDIAN had just finished lunch nearby and responded to the fire long before Boise Fire units arrived. It turned out to be at least a three alarm fire with 3 battalion chiefs, 3 ladder trucks, 9 engines, and assorted support vehicles on scene.

Here are exclusive GUARDIAN photos.

High ambient temperatures as well as the intense heat from the fire caused firefighters to rotate assignments and “rehab” to prevent heat stroke. There were at least three Ada County EMS ambulances on scene, but no injuries were reported so far.

Boise’s “growth tsunami” continues unabated. And while realtors and chamber of commerce boosters breathlessly extol the virtues of this unique and lovely community, they’re short on providing newcomers with a handy list of 10 tips to ease their personal transition to their new home — a place that’s under severe stress at the moment from the continued pangs of unbridled change and in-migration.

So here are my “Top 10” tips, learned from experience when I came to Boise from rural West Virginia a decade ago. I’ve practiced them, and they’ve served me fairly well. I’ve tried to follow them daily. Hopefully, they’ll serve you equally well in 2022:

–Pick up your dog crap. It’s not neighborly to leave “calling cards” of varying amounts and consistencies throughout the neighborhood. And that means carrying the poop bag out with you, not leaving it on any convenient doorstep.

–Swap your California or Oregon license plates for Idaho tags … promptly. It’s the law. It’s also just good form. Starting to pay the taxes to cope with the infrastructure demands your arrival has caused is only fair. Not doing so is a deliberate “eye-poke” to the community. It marks you as not caring.

–Know and respect your neighbors. In mega-states with tens of millions of residents, like Texas and Florida and California, it’s possible to live an anonymous and detached life. Not here. We have barely 1.8 million people. It’s your job as a new resident to get to know most of them, on a first-name basis.

–Recycle those glossy, granite countertop “Boise lifestyle” magazines from realtors that lured you here. They’re no more reflective of this place than fantasy comic books.

–Remember that while you are busy living a lifestyle, others are simply just trying to live a life. Those shelf-stockers, field pickers, and dirt farmers are the ones who make your tenancy here possible. Understand that they are the ones who are getting unfairly priced out of a city now on growth steroids.

–While you may have just moved in, know and respect that others have been here their entire lives. Their pioneering families may have lived here since Idaho first became a state. History didn’t begin with your arrival.

–Humanize your driving habits. You no longer have a 4-hour daily commute to Bellevue or Marina del Rey. Slow down through the neighborhoods, cool it with the “rolling stops”, and yield to people in the crosswalks instead of flipping them off. There’s no place in Idaho that you need to be that’s that important.

–Fully assume your new Idaho citizenship. Vote, read the newspaper, and take an active interest in what local government is doing. In California, you were just one of 40 million people. Here, it’s possible to be on a first-name basis with the Governor and the Mayor.

–Remember that worth in Idaho is traditionally not determined by the glitz of your house, the cost of your car, or the heft of your bank balance. Here, where your word is your bond, you look people in the eye, keep your word, help others, and treat the place with respect. Adjust to “western” … not “West Coast” … behavior.

–Appreciate all of the good qualities of this place. Work to conserve and protect them for they will be gone soon enough.

We have cut back as you no doubt are aware, mostly because when we started the GUARDIAN we were about the only game in town when it came to on-line opinions and stories. With 53 years of institutional memory under our belt we are possibly the oldest reporter both in age and seniority.

Today, there are plenty of on-line blogs and news sources which means the GUARDIAN weighs in only when we get fired up at the motives and actions of the politicos.

Feel free to toss your spears and rose petals and stimulate some healthy discourse.

The added treat is making pictures through the kitchen window. We have Anna’s Hummingbirds visiting two small feeders heated with small light bulbs. Never realized they winter in Boise until last year. Sorry no pictures yet, but we are happy to share those below.

FOR WHAT? There was no one drying the car, vacuuming the interior, or cleaning the glass. The entire experience is automated and self service. You wouldn’t tip at the automated super market check stand.

We generally leave a 20% gratuity in restaurants and even as much as $100 at a regular coffee haunt during the Christmas holidays–to be spread among the baristas. But a tip to an automated computer screen is simply too much. We also find it intimidating when restaurant wait service staff produces a credit card device with built in tip calculations. They are holding the device and you feel like a bum if you don’t tip the suggested high end amount.

We feel it is up to the employer to pay the staff at the car wash and not try to grab extra cash from customers. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

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

“I was doing rewrite on the Statesman night desk and wrote up a short story with a photo from a staff lensman.

“Backlash came the next day when a reader called in to complain that I ruined the Santa story for her kids. Sorry.”

A trusted source in the Southeastern USA sent the GUARDIAN a text saying SOCIAL MEDIA is on fire with news claiming Harsin will leave the Bronco stable and become a Tiger trainer.