Oct 10
I recently ran across this 2008 column that was published in the Idaho Statesman. The original Statesman page is no longer available, but the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho has kept it up (see Statesman reader comments here). While we clamor for more transit, cities like Boise simply haven’t required the kind of development …
Mar 31
Men’s Health Magazine has put up a ranking of the 100 top cities for social networking and Boise ranks 20th, beating out San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago and New York. Also remarkable: Salt Lake City was 10th. Washington, DC was first. Boise is the smallest city in the top 20. Interesting figures, but what’s …
Oct 03
Besides showing the city’s over-regulation of a good proposal, the delays also highlight the city’s complete ignorance of the 95 percent of Boise that is not downtown.
Aug 11
For some reason, local governments in Boise can’t put much value on historic preservation south of the Boise River. In the latest news, the Boise School District has announced it will tear down the Franklin and Cole elementary schools. These schools became obsolete after a 2006 bond election, which built new schools and consolidated the …
May 15
Trains have strong romantic appeal, but from a functional perspective, they are hopelessly unable of meeting the needs of a modern sprawling city and its residents’ demand for point-to-point flexibility. That’s starting to sink in, after decades of local planners and wonks hoping for a commuter train system. A story in today’s Idaho Statesman quotes …
Mar 06
Good work by the Greater Boise Auditorium District and the state for putting in a request for federal stimulus money to finally build a larger downtown Boise convention center. I did some PR consulting work for GBAD in 2002 and I applaud their persistence in trying to get this important part of our economy in place. The …
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 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 …
Jan 28
Yet in those past 15 years there’s been precious little progress toward enforcing transit-friendly development.
Social media this-and-that