Feb 24
Update @2:50 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25: The House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 13 to 5 today to kill the proposed beer and wine tax. The Idaho Beer and Wine Distributors Association and The White Space have done an excellent job using social media for public policy, the first such use I am aware of …
Feb 18
There’s been a lot of emotion but not enough light on the issue of a transit center in downtown Boise. Hoping to get the project shovel-ready to take advantage of a federal grant that expires this year, officials from the Ada County Highway District, City of Boise and the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho …
Feb 11
We own a home on Randolph Drive, on the Boise Bench overlooking Bishop Kelly High School. My family lived in the home from July 2001 until July 2007, when we moved to Hidden Springs. Over the years, we volunteered in various ways in the Borah Neighborhood Association (Barbara is modest but she did start the …
Feb 09
Public relations people get so wrapped up in promoting our clients that we sometimes forget we can use your skills to help friends. Last week, I got an email from David MacNeill, who recorded me last fall for a musical project. Our families have hung out together a few times and become friends. David said …
Feb 08
My creative passion is music. I’m a percussionist and drummer and I’ve played in many bands, primiarly original music, since moving to Boise in 1990. On Friday, Feb. 6, I was privileged to play at the Discovery Center of Idaho annual Chocolate and Diamonds fundraiser, one of the great black-tie events in Boise. I’ve played …
Feb 06
I was fortunate to attend a Fettuccine Forum last night, where a leading urban policy analyst showed the “drive ’til you qualify” trend actually costs people more. Jacky Grimshaw, vice president for Policy, Transportation and Communications at Chicago’s Center for Neighborhood Technology, presented some fascinating studies showing that higher transportation costs more than eat up …
Feb 04
While I risk upsetting people in the building industry, I support recent legislation by Rep. John “Bert” Stevenson, R-Rupert, intended to charge new homes and businesses a fee for electrical system expansion. The development industry will likely oppose this measure, but it would be shortsighted of them to do so. Idaho Power is in a …
Feb 02
Last August, Snake River Alliance Executive Director Andrea Shipley went on Channel 7 and called one of my clients (and myself by extension) “scammers.” My client, Alternate Energy Holdings Inc., which is seeking to build a nuclear power plant in Elmore County, sued for defamation. The SRA moved to dismiss the suit and we didn’t …
Social media this-and-that