State Government
Does Butch Really Get $4500 For House Rent?
A reader sent us a message suggesting Guv Butch might want to rethink his housing allowance–which was reported by the reader to be $4500 a month. We don’t know if he actually gets that much for not living in his former father-in-law’s hilltop Guv Mansion, opting for the personal property along the river near Star. […]
CWI Joins Long List of Faltering Ventures
The new College of Western Idaho, set to open January 20, joins a long list of ventures that glibly blame “the soft economy” for failing to meet predictions. It looks like the long awaited opening will fall two-thirds short of predicted enrollment. We fear the bill of goods sold to voters was overly optimistic and […]
Time To Clear The Roads Now
Anyone who shovels the snow from their driveway knows it is a lot easier to do BEFORE several inches have accumulated and packed down. We go through this every time it snows or there is any kind of emergency. Before we go any further, SOLDIERS, NURSES, FIREMEN, COPPERS, TEACHERS, SNOWPLOW DRIVERS, and the TRASH GUYS […]
Detox Deal Done, Despite Dollar Drain
There is no doubt about the need for a detox center in Boise so the coppers can take people someplace besides the Emergency Room or the slammer to sober up. There was a lot of fanfare about an agreement and possible 2010 opening for a joint city, county, state facility known as “Substance Abuse and […]
Positive Note On Illinois Politics
While the world is pointing fingers at a “tradition of corruption” in Illinois politics, the GUARDIAN takes a different SLANT on the news and offers a positive view–at least Illinois politicos get prosecuted for their misdeeds. The FBI arrested Illinois Guv. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday. We would like to see a division of either the Idaho […]
The Real Dirt On Clean Air
For growthophobes there may be a silver lining in that yellow cloud of pollution hanging over the Treasure Valley. Without reductions in current levels of existing pollution, new businesses won’t be able to locate here and dump their vile concoctions into the air. During a recent speech, the Idaho DEQ air quality czar said if […]
Fame, Greed Behind Special Winter Olympics
PREFACE I have lived in Boise all my adult life–38 of those 40 years in the first and only home I ever owned. There is no other place on earth I care to live. My roots go deep and I am on a first name basis with most of the movers and shakers, having known […]
Politicos Continue Puppet Act For Chamber
In the spirit of Christmas, local politcos continue to act as puppets of the Chamber of Commerce–often at the expense of commoners unable to buy the access to power the Chamber controls. For a mere $40 you can drink and munch with politicians who don’t even understand they are being used like Willy Nelson at […]
Audits Should Be Routine In Government
At least three issues involving audits–or lack of audits–in Idaho governments have hit the GUARDIAN in the past few days. Readers have asked for comment. The State of Idaho caught a couple of crooked employees embezzling funds at an obscure agency of the Agriculture Department, but there seems to be a difference of opinion among […]
Virtual Racing Nothing More Than Video Slots
When we saw the story in the Daily Paper about “virtual horse racing” it looked like just more of the remote video races from other locations. Turns out it is nothing more than video slots–like video poker, blackjack. By all accounts Guv Butch Otter is in favor of the gambling scheme put forth by Capitol […]
Gas Is Cheaper, But What About Roads?
By BIKEBOY, aka Steve Hulme Idaho’s highways are in serious need of repair and upgrade. The Transportation Department (ITD) estimates that it would cost an additional $250 million per year, just to maintain the status quo. Many of us are skeptical. To us, the roads look fine… until a bridge falls into the river, like […]
Down Side Of Absentee Ballot
Traveling in New Hampshire this week where all the license plates remind us, “Live Free or Die.” Local discussion here in the Granite State seems to be about absentee ballots–when not talking about “leaf peepers” and the awesome progression of fall color across the state. Today, in Boise the clerk has begun mailing 50,000 ballots requested by […]
Greenbelt Bikers Seek State Help
Gary Segers, the hard pedaling proponent of opening the Garden City stretch of Greenbelt to bikers, is taking his case to the top elected officials in Idaho–the Land Board. He will make a presentation to the Idaho State Board of Lands Commissioners on Tuesday, August 19. The GUARDIAN is not certain if the board has […]
IDAHO HOUSING FUNDS GO TO GOP
A reader tells us the Republican Party was given funds from the Idaho Housing and Finance Association–the agency that has its board appointed by the Guv and includes legislators, but it isn’t really a state agency. Public records at the Idaho Secretary of State site show the “quasi-governmental” corporation donated $500 to the Republicans for […]
Power To The People Not Easy
Politics and economics are the key factors driving the energy policy of the USA. Al Gore of course is the current poster child for the latest buzz phrase “carbon footprint.” Controversy and lobbying over electricity goes back to the days of Edison and Tesla as they vied for acceptance of “their” methods of generation and […]
Ethanol Spells Corny Economics
Guest Post by Bill Goodnight The ethanol boondoggle was first brought to my attention during the 2006 legislative session when the Farm Bureau attempted to mandate that all gas pumps in Idaho dispense E10 (10% ethanol). I am the president of United Street Rods of Idaho, a lobbying organization for Idaho auto hobbyists. We were […]
Police Patches, Look Alike Cars Abound
When is a cop car not a cop car? When it is driven by a renta cop trying to look just like a real cop. A couple of readers report sighting a white Ford Crown Vic “police car” sporting a set of overhead lights, the outline of Idaho on a shiny gold shield pasted to […]
Idaho Imports Radioactive Kuwaiti Waste
When a local company sells a product off shore it usually qualifies as “EXPORT” sales, but what is it when they are selling space for contaminated uranium waste that is IMPORTED? Local media and the mainstreamers in Longview, Washington are all over a story about 6,700 tons of sand from Kuwait contaminated with depleted uranium […]
Sun Valley Politico Junket
Finally! The GUARDIAN has found common ground with local politicos and the Chamber of Commerce. We both discuss ad nausea the topic of growth, blueprint for growth, smart growth, regional cooperation, transit, local option taxes etc. AND WE HAVE BOTH ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING! The difference is the GUARDIAN does it for free. Once again the hard […]
Power To The People Prevails
Wow! What an intense week of positive events for the rights of citizens to vote on long term debt by local government. Just a week ago the Idaho Senate pushed a proposed constitutional amendment through in an attempt to get around the Supreme Court FRAZIER decision which reconfirmed the fact local governments must get approval […]
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