A DOPE REPORTER award is automatically bestowed on any TV reporter caught on camera wading in flood waters…the GUARDIAN source said Vogel was wearing boots and reporting at noon Friday from the Hailey area where the Wood River has overflowed its banks.

Only the actor-reporters on TV seem to qualify for the Dope Awards. It has little drama for a radio reporter to say, “I am standing in water up to my knees as I speak.”

Same is true for print media reporters who would be laughed out of the newsroom if they wrote, “This reporter waded in the water to get the story and photos.”

We love the video flood followers because their actions elicit so many comments on the GUARDIAN.

Laguna Pointe sounds pretty sweet – 56 big lots along a 43-acre lake with
sandy beaches and bass fishing.

Only time will tell if those 56 new well-heeled families will join their Island
Woods neighbors in future lawsuits. (Laguna Pointe IS in the flood plain.) We didn’t make the Eagle Council meeting, but no doubt the houses are to be raised enough so only the lawns will flood in the future.

Idaho is really a state of mind–just like California. “Kalifornikcate” is a state of mind about people and developers ruining a once beautiful spot on earth–regardless of their origins, or the spot.

Based on comments to the GUARDIAN, callers to talk radio, and coffee shop chatter, we see a culture clash that has bubbled to the surface of the of local society as the water rises in the Boise River.

There is a flood of resentment, fear, and envy, as well as more water than greedy developers and homeowners can handle. Old timers secretly revel in the misery of the “rich Californians, who should know better than to buy in a flood plain.” Local officials are defending their decisions to approve revenue producing construction along the river.

Quaint street names with reference to “river, brook, island, stream or creek” have become reality.
Perhaps the most telling sight is a real estate “contract pending” sign surrounded by sandbags–no doubt the sale will go through!

Unlike the Midwest where folks come together routinely to save their communities with sandbags, slave labor from the Ada jail is used to ease the flood threats to homes along the river.

State and Federal water agency folks tend toward, “they built it, it is their responsibility, not ours.” A homeowners group has threatened to sue, but we don’t think they have the cash or the cajones to do it. They sound like playground bullies.

It is hard to generate much sympathy for owners of homes with three car garages, private fishing lakes, walking trails, club houses, and all kinds of private access to the river that many Idahoans consider a public asset for everyone to use.

To build on a flood plain in Idaho is like building in California without regard for earthquakes.

There is no doubt a tendency among the newcomers to look at the old timers as Idaho conservative xenophobic bohunks. (For you non-library types that means hicks who are afraid of outsiders). What they don’t realize is the tremendous impact their arrival has on a community.

Ada County Assessor Bob McQuade told the GUARDIAN many parcels of land will nearly DOUBLE their value in just a single year. That’s good news if you are selling, but if you just want to stay put on a place you own, brace yourselves for tax hikes–offset a little by the new increase in the homeowners exemption. This inflation is caused by the newcomers–mostly Californians.

We can’t blame the Californians for selling their little bungalows in Orange County and moving to their dream home along the river in Eagle, but they create traffic and then demand traffic signals. They get in the path of floodwaters and want to get bailed out. Their elegant (extravagant) homes fan the flames of resentment for those who have to pay increased property taxes, fund school bonds, and deal with traffic while living in modest homes by comparision.

Perhaps “immigration” is also a state of mind.

NOTE–All the photos were recently made in Eagle Island subdivisions.

MEANWHILE IN BOISE…
Here is a little tidbit offered by a reader from the May 5 agenda for the Boise Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. He (or she) claims the area in question is in a floodplain and floodway. Timing is everything. Anyone taking bets?

“CHARTER BUILDERS, LLC requests approval for a Conditional Use Permit to construct a Planned
Development consisting of 80 residential units on ±2.95 acres located at 444 E. Parkcenter Boulevard in an L-OD (Limited Office with Design Review overlay) zone. This includes a request for a height exception. CUP06-00035 Carl Miller”

“CHARTER BUILDERS, LLC requests approval of a variance to construct an underground garage within the Greenbelt setback located at 444 E. Parkcenter Boulevard in an L-OD (Limited Office with Design Review overlay) zone. CVA06-00011 Carl Miller”

“Guardian, I bet your readers would be interested in talking about the threatened lawsuit against the federal and state agencies by the homeowners in Eagle Island arguing that government is not doing enough to stop the flooding. Yes, that’s right, the homeowners who knowingly bought their house in the flood plain plan to sue the government for their predicament.”

It is not nice to fool Mother Nature, but the folks who own those pricey houses in the flood zone on Eagle Island are rattling their upscale sabers with legal threats aimed at the Corps of Engineers, FEMA, EPA, Idaho Water Resources, Ada County, and the City of Eagle.

We hate to quote George Bush, but the GUARDIAN says, “Bring it on!”

If the Island Woods Homeowners Association has enough cash to fund a court battle against the city, county, state AND federal government it will be worth the price of admission to watch. Wonder how many Idaho Natives are in that group!

The heart of their gripe is they want the Boise River diverted from the south channel because their president, Ric Tenner, thinks the north channel should carry 70% of the river flow.

We hate to set up Tenner as a target for GROWTHOPHOBES, but when he went on camera asking to be “saved” he wasn’t generating much sympathy from any of the government folks or those of who can’t affort to live in the hills or along the river.

Gravity lesson for new home owners: Idaho water flows DOWNWARD to the lowest point.

To get accurate, unobstructed stream flow measurements, hydrologists ride out to the middle of the river upstream from the Glenwood bridge on a little cable car. They lower an airplane looking device into the water and the current turns the “propeller” to indicate the water speed which is combined with the depth to calculate the CFS.

The flooding is cause for poking fun at the TV reporters who like to wade in the water–bare legged or with boots–on camera.

It has also prompted calls to insurance agents about flood insurance–there is a waiting period and it costs about $12 per $1,000 worth of coverage. That’s $3,600 for a $300,000 house and there aren’t many that cheap along the river.

Then there is the classification of one of the “most threatened” rivers in the country, thanks in part to a proposed gold mine near Atlanta on the Middle Fork of the Boise. Developers say their plan to use a cyanide leaching process to extract the gold from the ore is “bulletproof.” Those of us who take our drinking water and fish out of the river aren’t eager to see if our Kevlar vests are effective. Doubt if you see this “national recognition” on the Boise City or Chamber of Commerce web sites.

Finally, remember the hassle about the “warning signs” the GUARDIAN wanted along the river when the tree blocked the flow? Must be “risk management” and legal folks had a change of heart and allowed the Parks Dept. to warn people of danger spots.

Johnson was spotted on the evening newscast April 17 standing on a picnic table surrounded by water!The actor/reporter was dry, so he had to have either helicoptered or boated to the table to stand and talk to the camera.

He is the second Channel 6 reporter to win the award. Brandi Smith was our first winner from that station. She stood in water up to her knees wearing a fashionable skirt and bare legs. Scott Logan at 2 and Ysabel Bilbao at 7 are also previous winners.

The GUARDIAN served notice April 5 that reporters caught on camera in flood water would receive the Dope Award and be subject to public ridicule.

Johnson was spotted on the evening newscast April 17 standing on a picnic table surrounded by water!The actor/reporter was dry, so he had to have either helicoptered or boated to the table to stand and talk to the camera.

He is the second Channel 6 reporter to win the award. Brandi Smith was our first winner from that station. She stood in water up to her knees wearing a fashionable skirt and bare legs. Scott Logan at 2 and Ysabel Bilbao at 7 are also previous winners.

The GUARDIAN served notice April 5 that reporters caught on camera in flood water would receive the Dope Award and be subject to public ridicule.

Johnson was spotted on the evening newscast April 17 standing on a picnic table surrounded by water!The actor/reporter was dry, so he had to have either helicoptered or boated to the table to stand and talk to the camera.

He is the second Channel 6 reporter to win the award. Brandi Smith was our first winner from that station. She stood in water up to her knees wearing a fashionable skirt and bare legs. Scott Logan at 2 and Ysabel Bilbao at 7 are also previous winners.

The GUARDIAN served notice April 5 that reporters caught on camera in flood water would receive the Dope Award and be subject to public ridicule.

Johnson was spotted on the evening newscast April 17 standing on a picnic table surrounded by water!The actor/reporter was dry, so he had to have either helicoptered or boated to the table to stand and talk to the camera.

He is the second Channel 6 reporter to win the award. Brandi Smith was our first winner from that station. She stood in water up to her knees wearing a fashionable skirt and bare legs. Scott Logan at 2 and Ysabel Bilbao at 7 are also previous winners.

The GUARDIAN served notice April 5 that reporters caught on camera in flood water would receive the Dope Award and be subject to public ridicule.

The photos were taken off Park Center Blvd. at Spring Meadow Lane. The original developer was ordered to provide Greenbelt parking and access as a condition of approval for the subdivision.
He complied–three handicap parking spots and a crushed stone pathway for wheel chairs! There are also onerous signs warning of no parking and towing.

The following guest comments probably explain some of the negative sentiments which for the most part were created by development along the flood plain.

“So just how much are all of us who love the Boise River and all of the creeks in Idaho going to have to pay to help out those whose homes are flooding?

We have grown up watching the farmer in Eagle flood out each spring so have not built on the flood plain.

How much do the developers of those communities have to pay….or do they just smile as they keep their fat bank accounts at the expense of the fools who “just love the river” and have to live next to it.

Do you remember when some of the home owners in the Park Center area got into a big snit over the green belt going between their property and the river?

Yes, I guess I do have a few hard feelings toward the people who live next to the river because they have been less than kind about the idea that everyone enjoys the Boise River. It’s just that not everyone thinks a few own the right to exclude others from enjoying it. Nor does everyone think the river should be controlled. It’s a part of nature and nature should not be controlled. It’s not natural and dikes break.”