Politics
Inside Cop Union, City Negotiations
Labor negotiations between the City of Boise and its police department have bogged down over some health benefit issues, but a letter sent to the individual cops has caused allegations of union busting attempts by the City at worst and bad faith bargaining at best. It all stems from a Friday the 13th eight page […]
Winder Not A Candidate
Long time Republican politico and real estate baron Chuck Winder told the Daily Paper he will not be running for mayor. Winder ran in the last race for mayor and lost in a four way split that saw Bieter get over 50% of the vote. That leaves Dave Bieter, Jim Tibbs, and newcomer long shot […]
First Rounds Fired In Mayor Race
City Councilor and mayor candidate Jim Tibbs is learning a poker lesson in the early days of the mayoral campaign–DON’T SHOW YOUR CARDS UNTIL YOU PLAY ‘EM. The GUARDIAN on April 12 called for an audit and eventual dissolution of the CCDC (Capital City Development Corp.) following a news story published in the Statesman and […]
Cops Nab Bieter Staffer For DUI
No word if the Boise Copper who nabbed the mayor’s top aide for DUI got a pizza for a Friday the 13th arrest, but you can bet he is worthy of extra cheese and toppings. Just a few minutes before midnight somebody bagged Team Dave’s chief of staff, Jade Riley. He was booked into the […]
Time to Dissolve CCDC
With the latest revelations about the infamous “Hole” at 8th and Idaho, the GUARDIAN concludes it is time to dissolve the CCDC. In a front page piece Thursday, Statesman reporter Joe Estrella tells readers that Charterhouse Development is in default on a $2.6 million loan to finance the acquisition of the hole. Furthermore, financing looks […]
A Third Side to C. College
BY AN INSIDER As an employee of TVCC in Ontario (and an Idaho taxpayer), I obviously cannot comment publicly about the proposed election, but think there are several points being glossed over in the discussion about a community college district for Canyon and Ada county. 1. “Local control” is vastly overrated. Oregon community colleges are […]
Spring Means Blooming Politicos
Where is Mr. Babbit when you need him? (For you newcomers, he ran for everything all the time and was a great Irish tenor who was never elected) Along comes another apparent Irishman with a website proclaiming his candidacy for Boise Mayor. Mike Murphy’s website reads like an entry for on-line dating: Murphy for Mayor’s […]
Taxes Fund Chamber Business Programs
The GUARDIAN has discovered Boise and Ada County are SPENDING at least $150,000 of YOUR TAX MONEY to CREATE GROWTH. Then they turn around and PAY $300 a head to attend a seminar in Sun Valley to figure out how to handle the massive growth problems they paid to create! This year’s retreat at Sun […]
GUARDIAN Overwhelmed, Seeking Help
The GUARDIAN has been overwhelmed with information on stories the local media has either missed or refuses to research and publish or air. We have actual e-mail texts below or summaries. I simply cannot do the research and writing on these with no staff and continue to make a living with my photo business. If […]
Bieter Wants Control of ACHD
Team Dave’s coach, Mayor Bieter, declared on a Thursday KTVB-7 newscast that cities–not Ada County Highway District Commishes–should be in charge of roads. We don’t know exactly what Team Dave wants–control of ACHD or responsibility to fix roads. Legislators ignored a proposed bill to give control of the district to city officials. It sounded like […]
Anyone FOR Cyanide In Boise River?
Following the Tuesday “anti-poison”vote of four Boise city councilors, a coalition of greenies sent out a press release praising Mayor Dave Bieter for his actions, even though he is not allowed to vote on council resolutions. There were three references to “Mayor Dave Bieter” and “city council members–not a single councilor was named. Two were […]
Commish Raises Funds For Chamber
At $25 a head for 500 heads, Wednesday’s “Live Aid” (State of the County) breakfast speech by Ada Commish Fred Tilman grossed at least $12,000 for the special interest private lobbying group commonly known as Chamber of Commerce. For years the GUARDIAN has suggested the commishes and mayors of the valley are out of line, […]
Barefoot And Pregnant In The Kitchen
By SISYPHUS, Guardian reader In an effort to compel women stay home with their babies the House Health and Welfare committee killed a bill to set minimum standards for day cares in the state. House Bill 163 as amended would have set minimal health and safety standards, training requirements, staffing levels and required criminal history […]
GUARDIAN Predicts Tibbs Bieter Race
GUARDIAN EXCLUSIVE Copyright 2007 Just under two years ago the GUARDIAN ran a story about Jim Tibbs gearing up to run for City Council. We speculated he would be in position to run for mayor. Our humility is awesome and everything the GUARDIAN predicted has come to pass right down to Tibbs defeating Jerome Mapp, […]
Develop At All Costs Everywhere
The GUARDIAN admits a lack of knowledge about the funding details of the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, but we know when things don’t smell right and a bill to expand bond authority for IHFA has an aroma. We know IHFA is created by Idaho law, but it isn’t a state agency. People who work […]
Monkeys In Urban Jungle
Southwest Ada residents against annexation are conducting their annual legislative battle with cities who want to capture them–and their taxes–against their will. We thought it was time to roll out this early GUARDIAN post. In the realm of Southwest Idaho Cities, Boise stands head and shoulders above the rest as the “800 pound gorilla” with […]
Luxury Living At Our Expense
The Daily Paper tells us there are no fewer than 11 condo projects currently in the works for downtown Boise. It looks like all but one has already been approved by the City. If you are into growth, more people living in “a vibrant core area that creates economic vitality,” lots of cars, and dirty […]
City Survey Costs $60 Per Interview
If you get one of those “survey” phone calls like the GUARDIAN did yesterday claiming to be working on behalf of the City of Boise, beware your tax dollars are paying $30,000 for the survey. That’s right. Boise City Councilors authorized $30,000 to be spent for a mere 500 responses to the survey–that comes out […]
Boise Taxes Go to Private Lobbyists
The recent GUARDIAN piece questioning WHO calls the shots regarding the Boise City position on state legislation has prompted increased communication among Boise Councilors. It seems council president Elaine Clegg gave direction to lobbyist Lyn Darrington on how to testify on a bill that would impact Boise’s urban renewal agency, the CCDC. She told the […]
Councilors Clueless On Lobby Effort
The Idaho legislature’s House Revenue and Taxation Committee heard testimony Friday on a proposed urban renewal law that would require members of agencies like Boise’s CCDC to be elected. The bill was held in committee and effectively killed by a 10-8 vote, but the REAL story is WHO testified and WHY. Two non-elected people paid […]
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