Politics
CCDC Pot Of Gold To Stay “Protected.”
“POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER IS HANDY WHEN YOU HAVE IT” Here’s a dirty little secret when it comes to gaining access to the CCDC urban renewal pot of gold (bonding authority). Members are appointed by the mayor of the “governing body” (usually a city). Once appointed, the board is “an independent body, corporate and […]
Meridian Dream (nightmare) Comes True
Ten years ago the GUARDIAN reported on the potential accounting problems when a developer is allowed to divert Idaho sales tax to personal use. That’s what ITD did at the VILLAGE Mall in Meridian. The developer created his own urban renewal district with sales tax from retailers. The resulting traffic, growth, and ham-handed accounting are […]
Woodings Only REAL Winner In Boise Election
Tuesday’s Boise election saw only a single REAL winner and that was Holli Woodings who garnered about 52% of the votes cast for seat 6–the only candidate to have a majority in a crowded council race with 13 candidates vying for 3 seats. Incumbent TJ Thomson tallied 47% of the votes for seat 4 in […]
Corporate Welfare Costly To Idahoans
Corporate monsters gobbling up local businesses like the Pac Man monsters was easy to understand when the K-Mart, Wal Mart, and Home Depots ran the neighborhood hardware and local clothing stores out of business. When the cities and states created “economic development” departments and urban renewal agencies the equation became cloudier, but no less devastating. […]
GUEST OPINION: Oppose CVS At 16th And State
By Stephen C. Fischer It’s a longshot, but a grassroots effort of average citizens in Boise is taking on the big corporation of CVS Pharmacy and their plans to build a 15,000-foot store at State and 16th – with a petition that has garnered more than 300 signatures in its first week. This proposed CVS […]
Early Voting For Ada Elections Saturday 28th
This Saturday, October 28th, Early Voting will be available from 9am to 4pm at the Ada County Elections Office. Voting is taking place for the November 7th local elections. This is an opportunity for those voters unable to vote on Election Day or during regular business hours. Early voting will continue at all early voting […]
BSU Takes a Walk on Boise Stadium Deal
Boise State University President Bob Kustra on Thursday declared the school a free agent in the Downtown Stadium Saga with a surprise announcement the school will not participate in the subsidized real estate development plan put forth by Boise City officials, opting instead on creating its own ball park. The announcement from BSU said, “In […]
GBAD To Hear First Comments On Stadium
While Boise Mayor Dave Bieter has been promoting his pet downtown stadium project to any group that will listen, he has factored in a $5 million payment from the Greater Boise Auditorium District, but the District has never discussed it or been presented a formal proposal. Concerned Boise Taxpayers, the group organized to oppose the […]
F-35 Decision Delayed Until December
Friends in the Detroit area report that Sec. of Air Force Heather Wilson has delayed the decision on basing F-35s at two undecided locations until December. The Michigan folks feel their Selfridge Air National Guard base is an ideal location. Of course, there are four other final venues who think THEIR location is best for […]
Developers Pay Top $ For Council Seats
With $1,000 payments from Barber Valley Development, Brighton Corp., Conger Development, Hawkins Companies and Republic Services, incumbent Boise Councilor TJ Thomson is the top money maker to date in the Nov. 7 city council race with $25,666. Holli Woodings was in second place in the money game with $18,187. She also accepted $1,000 payments from […]
CANDIDATE FORUM: Rachel Misnick On Issues
I’d like to give a thank you to the Boise Guardian for giving me the opportunity to address issues that are important in our community. I just recently discovered your news site and have been reading through the articles and comments, which are echoing my concern of City Council under-representation of the areas outside of […]
CANDIDATE FORUM ACCESS
NOTE: The GUARDIAN offers space to all candidates for Boise City Council to share their views with citizens and readers. Press release from Logan Kimball: KIMBALL ADVOCATES INCOME TAX ON DEVELOPER SUBSIDIES Responding to an item published in a WASHINGTON POST op-ed piece Wednesday about stadium funding schemes, Boise Council Candidate Logan Kimball noted, “The […]
Naomi Johnson Offers Council Pitch
Naomi Johnson is running for seat 4 in the Nov. 7 council election. “I am running as an advocate, not a politician. While the circulator may be a good first step in a light rail system between us and surrounding areas, right now I hear more concern around improvements to our current transportation system. We […]
Will Guns Really PROTECT You?
In the wake of the tragic and senseless massacre in Las Vegas there is the usual call for limiting guns, large ammunition magazines, automatic weapons, and crazy people. These high profile shootings invariably prompt citizens to arm themselves for “protection.” There are no doubt legal gun toting folks who justify (rationalize) frequently carrying a weapon. […]
Field Of Dreams Or Financial Nightmare?
UPDATE: A reader sent us a link 10/11/17 to a great website called FIELD OF SCHEMES which includes a Washington POST op-ed story published October 11, 2017. The easily applied metaphor of “Field of Dreams” for Mayor Dave Bieter’s publicly funded sales pitch for a downtown stadium is all too true. Like many of Team […]
Massive Anti Ball Park Reaction At Open House
We visited the Convention Center Thursday where Boise promoters of a baseball park-Sports Stadium had set up their sales pitch in the lobby. Without question, the reaction of those who attended was overwhelmingly opposed to the idea. City Council Candidate Logan Kimball crashed the party, handing out flyers detailing reasons to oppose the stadium. This […]
Boise Council Candidate Forum Is Open
It looks like the big issues for future Boise Councilors running in the Nov. 7 election will be team Dave’s proposed downtown ball park, the desire named Street Car, and the noisy F-35. From what we are able to gather, Bieter seeks to dedicate future funds from multiple government agencies to help a for-profit development […]
Fair Idea Ignored By Commishes
In light of the desire of Garden City to takeover the Expo Idaho Fairgrounds and Ada Commishes refusal to give it up, we felt compelled to share this vision which the GUARDIAN editor offered up 10 years ago to the Ada County Commishes. This post is a repeat from 2007 and still worthy of consideration. […]
NFL Rules Demand Honoring Anthem (Maybe)
Football is a game of rules. For instance if a ball carrier’s knee touches the ground, play stops at that point. Well…the GUARDIAN’s chief legal counsel examined the NFL Football League rules and came up with a rule on pages A62-63 of the official NFL rule book: “the National Anthem must be played prior to […]
Meridian Gives Public Money To Developer
Growthophobes often ask, “why is there such rapid and massive growth in Meridian?” The answer: the city uses citizen money to pay developers to locate there. When an out of state entrepreneur came to town with plans to make money off a for-profit osteopathic med school, the city mothers and fathers at Meridian fell all […]
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