Growth
Surprise! Traffic Has Increased
Good news for the merchants at Eagle Road and Fairview–traffic is up 10% in the past three years. Bad news for motorists at Eagle and Fairview–traffic is up 10% in the past three years. Ada County Highway District has released its tally of worst intersections in the county and Eagle-Fairview heads the list at 6,320 […]
The Cost of Progress
GUARDIAN CORRESPONDENT STEVE HULME OFFERS AN OPEN LETTER TO ELECTED OFFICIALS: Our elected “representatives” are currently giving only lip service to the notion of residential property tax relief. Seems those tax bills, which in many cases have gone up 20 or 25 or even 33 percent over the space of a year or two, have […]
Power To The People
Congratulations and a pat on the back to John Weber, Richard Kaylor and Tish Hetrick who have each paid $174 to file an appeal on the Boise planning commission’s Jan. 9 approval of the two natural gas-fired plants. Among other reasons for filing the appeal, the trio have cited the importance of the decision to […]
Downtowners Fight 8th Street Project
(A GUARDIAN correspondent report) Downtown residents have appealed the Design Review approval for the proposed 81 unit apartment complex slated for 100 N. 8th St in the heart of downtown. Residents and business owners fear the project, with little additional parking will cripple the vital Capitol Terrance garage, which is already heavily used by visitors […]
Tale of Two Cities
Eagle and Boise represent a tale of two cities when it comes to development philosophy. A proposed high end development in Eagle built around a designer golf course along with a designer swimming, tennis, and soccer sports programs is a far cry from Boise’s penchant for “infill.” Boise provides those amenities at taxpayer expense. Both […]
Hide the Statehouse?
A social engineering project is underway for Boise’s downtown in the form of a welfare housing project atop the trendy Piper Pub and Grill at 8th and Main. It is complicated bunch of tax credits and public financing, but the bottom line is people who can’t afford to pay market rates for rent are slated […]
Park Land Could Prove Costly
Marianne and Larry Williams have donated 70 acres of Boise river front land in the Harris Ranch subdivision to the city of Boise to be used as a park. On the face of it the deal looks good. It will extend the greenbelt, it is a nice gesture, it will preserve a mile of river […]
Contractor Law Pressures Cities
An unintended effect of the new contractor registration law which goes into effect January 1, 2006 places cities throughout Idaho in the position of encouraging contractors to be dishonest or forget about building permits. While there are no provisions (or funding) for cities and counties to enforce the new law, these local governments issue building […]
Yet Another “Unique Mall”
While listening to the KBOI “eye in the sky” warn motorists of multi-mile traffic jams on I-84, the GUARDIAN editor was reading a newspaper story about a wonderful new shopping mall being built in Nampa. We wondered if the mall was a result of “Smart Growth, Blueprint for Growth, or just Greedy Growth.” Hard to […]
Yet Another “Unique Mall”
While listening to the KBOI “eye in the sky” warn motorists of multi-mile traffic jams on I-84, the GUARDIAN editor was reading a newspaper story about a wonderful new shopping mall being built in Nampa. We wondered if the mall was a result of “Smart Growth, Blueprint for Growth, or just Greedy Growth.” Hard to […]
Yet Another “Unique Mall”
While listening to the KBOI “eye in the sky” warn motorists of multi-mile traffic jams on I-84, the GUARDIAN editor was reading a newspaper story about a wonderful new shopping mall being built in Nampa. We wondered if the mall was a result of “Smart Growth, Blueprint for Growth, or just Greedy Growth.” Hard to […]
Yet Another “Unique Mall”
While listening to the KBOI “eye in the sky” warn motorists of multi-mile traffic jams on I-84, the GUARDIAN editor was reading a newspaper story about a wonderful new shopping mall being built in Nampa. We wondered if the mall was a result of “Smart Growth, Blueprint for Growth, or just Greedy Growth.” Hard to […]
Yet Another “Unique Mall”
While listening to the KBOI “eye in the sky” warn motorists of multi-mile traffic jams on I-84, the GUARDIAN editor was reading a newspaper story about a wonderful new shopping mall being built in Nampa. We wondered if the mall was a result of “Smart Growth, Blueprint for Growth, or just Greedy Growth.” Hard to […]
Boise Wrong on Ustick Issue
The ongoing feud between the Boise City Council and Ada County Highway District over Ustick Road is a direct result of rampant developments along the once rural country road. After years of approving thousands of housing units, office parks, retail outlets and their own library-recreation center along Ustick, Boise has created the demand to widen […]
Big Lie Continues
The Idaho Statesman ran a front page puff piece Sunday about BoDo, the newest development about to open in downtown Boise and included the ”big lie” which remains untrue, though oft repeated. The Statesman reported, “The project will also boost Boise property tax revenues, create hundreds of jobs and is expected to trigger new Downtown […]
Infill Out…Sort Of
Southeast neighbors led by Fred Fritchman took a 2×4 to the Boise City Council mule Friday and apparently “got their attention.” Once they got whacked between the eyes with complaints of three duplex homes sneaked into a tiny space in the middle of the night on Hale St., they called an emergency council meeting and […]
Look For Meridian Bond Failure
We look for the Meridian School Bond to fail at the polls Tuesday, but not for lack of trying. Both sides sent mailings to school patrons–a fancy word for taxpayers–and both had reasons to vote their way. The GUARDIAN predicts the vote will actually become a referendum AGAINST growth rather than any judgement for or […]
Boise, GROWING with Bieter
In a front page display by reporter Brad Hem, the IDAHO STATESMAN offered a retrospective of Mayor Dave Bieter’s first 21 months in office and the conclusion was “mixed reviews.” In typical mainstream media style, the newest link in the Knight-Ridder chain offered a near perfect blend of cheers and jeers. Bottom line in Hem’s […]
Seriously Silly Stinky
Ustick Road has the potential of being a skunk with more stripes than a zebra–but it will still stink, thanks to a “compromise” between the Boise City Council and the Ada County Highway District. Regarding road improvements Boise thinks , “If you don’t build it they won’t come,”. ACHD wants to build their standard 5 […]
Meridian School Bond Battle
The taxpayer snipers have their sights trained on the upcoming Meridian School Bond battle and early indications show the District’s volunteer army may not be as experienced as their tax foe adversaries. The first skirmish had kids used as innocent couriers for a pro bond post card that crowds the line of propriety with a […]
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