News Media
Blackfoot Woman Wins Open Government Award
A Blackfoot woman who went to court to expose secret payments to a former school superintendent has been named the recipient of the 2013 Max Dalton Open Government Award sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. Joyce Bingham will receive the award and accompanying $1,000 prize at an awards luncheon scheduled for Saturday in Boise. The […]
Got Any Story Ideas?
We seem to have temporarily run out of material for the GUARDIAN. Without the legislature churning out new laws or the city council spending our cash for a Sun Valley Junket, we don’t have much to discuss. The GUARDIAN was three weeks ahead of the DAILY PAPER on the GBAD election, so nothing new there. […]
Rich Wright Sues Ada County
Former Ada County “Director of Administration,” Rich Wright, his filed a $1.5 million wrongful termination suit against the county after the newly elected commishes eliminated his position in favor of a “chief of staff,” during their first meeting. Don’t look for the suit to go anywhere because the position amounted to a political appointment for […]
Boise’s Team Dave To Ignore Will Of People With Yet Another Transit Survey
Despite repeated attempts at shaping public opinion through surveys, informational events, and “$24,500” expenditures for consultants, Boise officials refuse to take “NO” for an answer when it comes to Mayor Dave Bieter’s desire named street car. Citizens overwhelmingly opposed every plan he has brought forth. The Idaho Statesman commissioned an independent survey which also came […]
Trigger Happy Coppers Tarnish The LAPD Badge
No two ways about it–The Los Angeles copper who is on a murder rampage is WRONG. There is never any justification for killing just because someone may have done you wrong or pose a potential threat. That said, we are really concerned about the glossing over of the obvious “hit squad” mentality of the LAPD. […]
Lobbyist, Reporter Too Close For Comfort?
GUARDIAN reader Clancy Anderson passed along some research on the issue of reporter vs lobbyist with the Idaho Freedom Foundation and its editor, Wayne Hoffman. By CLANCY ANDERSON I do not see enough separation between the Idaho Reporter and the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Mr. Hoffman states the day to day operations are independent of him […]
Can One Forget Details Of First Booze Encounter?
Senior Mike Crapo got the standard penalty Friday for first time DUI (DWI in Virginia)–drivers license is suspended for one year, he was ordered to pay a $250 fine and attend alcohol awareness classes for 10 weeks. He begged forgiveness and apologized outside the Alexandria, Virginia court after the sentence was handed down. Idaho media […]
No Takers For Honor Code At Lesiglature
Despite coming off a year that included members being charged with or convicted of lying, cheating, and stealing none of the leadership would go on record at a Friday media conference to adopt of a version of the West Point honor code as the foundation for ethical behavior among legislators. The GUARDIAN noted lawmakers will […]
Annual Report From GUARDIAN
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. The GUARDIAN was viewed about 390,000 times (unique visits) in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 7 years for that many people to see it! The GUARDIAN had more visits than a small country in Europe! In 2012, there were 238 new posts, growing the […]
Media, Games, Internet Shape Our Violent Views
While society struggles to explain the inexplicable in the wake of the latest mass shooting deaths, we can’t help but ponder the impact of visual stimulation on those who kill in mass. Whether it is the news video of crumbling World Trade Center towers in the wake of an attack on America or two presidents […]
Despair, Frustration, Fear, Anger, Grief–Sandy Hook School
We have spent much of the day pondering the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary School In Connecticut where twenty children and eight adults were shot to death today. The one thing that comes into sharp perspective immediately is the insignificance of most things in our lives when confronted with the knowledge that at least 28 […]
Ada Plays Hide N’ Seek With Public Records
Ada County continues its game of “hide n’ seek” when it comes to public records by telling the DAILY PAPER it will cost $110 to obtain copies of public comment submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The cover letter is a damning comment from P&Z about the process of approving the Dynamis trash to […]
Mom Of General’s “Friend” Lives In Boise
Amazing what you find on the “social media” these days. A Statesman online editor tells the TWITTER world she was “staking out” the Boise home of Paula Broadwell’s mother in Boise and was followed home by a reporter from the New York Post. Ms. Broadwell is the alleged subject of an affair with Gen. David […]
Statesman Dynamis Story Reveals Sad Commentary On Local Governments
Once again we have to offer compliments to the Daily Paper’s Cynthia Sewell for some tedious reporting efforts on the Dynamis-Ada County scandal. Her SUNDAY STORY should serve as a Bible for the investigator looking into the irregularities both the Statesman and the GUARDIAN have uncovered. Inflated hourly rates, purchase of computers, consultants, a lobbyist, […]
Planned Skinhead Event Disguised In Mayor Hotline Summary
Word of a planned gathering of neo-Nazi skinheads was relayed to the Mayor’s hotline August 31, but only became public knowledge Tuesday when KTVB Channel 7 reporter Jamie Grey broke the story after following an e-mail tip to her. Record of a call to the Mayor Hotline August 31 three weeks earlier was so sanitized […]
Dope Reporter Nomination For Visual Math Effort
We haven’t made any “Dope Reporter” awards recently, but KIVI Channel 6 reporter Tina Jensen was nominated Tuesday by a reader for a convoluted attempt to use three “visuals” to make a TV story out of a dry census report about poverty. Jensen noted there are 255,000 thousand people in Idaho living at or below […]
Did County Legal Dept. Act In Bad Faith?
The Ada County Prosecutor’s office needs a reminder about their ultimate boss. It is the people of Ada County, not the Commishes. When the Idaho Statesman was sent a LETTER denying access to public information on the grounds the information was a “personnel matter” exempt from disclosure, that office acted in bad faith in our […]
Kudos To Statesman For Commish-Dynamis Story
Kudos to the DAILY PAPER for some good old fashioned journalism on the Ada Commission coverage in today’s paper. No sense in us attempting to match reporter Cynthia Sewell on this one. She simply “told it like it is.” It is a long read by today’s news standards, but she covered the 12 minutes of […]
Battling Smoke And Flames With Words And Images
Flying into Boise Tuesday we noticed hundreds of black spots on the desert from past fires as well as the smoke we are all seeing and breathing. The task of protecting lives and property while battling wildfires has taken on a new face over the past decade or so, thanks to the internet, social media […]
Booze Chief Flips Over Polygamy Vodka
One of these days a government politico is gonna come out and say, “Sorry. I screwed up and I was wrong about that.” It apparently ain’t happening at the Idaho Liquor Dispensary. The booze office was threatened with a couple of lawsuits in federal court for banning “Five Wives” vodka, so they blinked. In a […]
Recent Comments