Bill Introduced To Repeal Idaho Urban Renewal Laws

Nampa Republican wants to repeal Idaho’s urban renewal law

By Dustin Hurst  February 16, 2012  IDAHO REPORTER ARTICLE

Rep. Robert Schaefer, R-Nampa

While other lawmakers are running legislation to put limits on urban renewal agencies, one lawmaker wants to pass a law completely removing authorization for them.

Rep. Robert Schaefer, R-Nampa, introduced a bill Thursday in the House Local Government Committee that would entirely repeal Idaho’s urban renewal law and require debts incurred by the agencies be retired.

This is the second time Schaefer has pushed a bill like this. He attempted it last year, but the measure didn’t make it out of committee.

The Nampa Republican is pushing the bill to send more money back to school districts, highway agencies and fire departments.

Urban renewal agencies are funded by increases in property taxes, money that would normally go to schools or other government entities if the agencies didn’t exist.

Schaefer said he is introducing the measure to get legislators talking about the problem he believes exists with urban renewal. “I’d like to have this printed so we can have expanded discourse about the real impact of urban renewal,” Schaefer said, adding that he believes urban renewal represents “legalized theft.”

Rep. Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City, opposed the bill, saying her local urban renewal agency is providing a good service to her community. “In the city I live in, the urban renewal agency has done an absolutely excellent job,” Higgins said, though she acknowledged there have been problems with the entities in other areas of the state.

The measure was introduced with two lawmakers dissenting and will receive a thorough hearing in the next week.

The House Local Government Committee has considered three other bills to limit urban renewal agencies, including one to create elections for entity oversight boards


The above is taken from "THE IDAHO REPORTER" article by Dustin Hurst here's a Link http://www.idahoreporter.com/2012/nampa-republican-wants-to-repeal-idahos-urban-renewal-law/?utm_source=IdahoReporter.com+Update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=55ded6bb02-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN 

Textbooks, Why Haven't Schools Gone Digital With This Expense?

Every day we see more and more people reading the latest novel from a Kindle or some other wireless/paperless provider of information.  Mind you,  I prefer my morning newspaper just as it is and find online editions not very satisfying.  I want to drink my coffee and get my daily fix of news and information in print and on paper.

However, for textbooks and the delivery of the information content that is in a constant state of flux for students wireless makes sense.  I see kids trudging to and from schools with a big backpack of books.  Given the costs of these things compared to a wireless device and e-copies of texts why don't we see any significant transition to e-textbooks?

Schools are pushing online courses, why do we still cling to big bulky and generally out of date textbooks?  On the surface it looks like a great way to save a lot of money for cash strapped schools.

Credit Card Fraud Hits Home Canadian Style

THE GUARDIAN who uses his credit cards very infrequently got a call from American Express Thursday evening.  The nice person on the other end explained my AMEX number had been compromised and several charges for gasoline had been made and more attempted in Canada!  How did this happen?

It was not a scam call as I was never asked for my credit card info they guy on the phone had it all on his computer screen and was asking me to verify any charges made by me v. the ones made by the credit card thief.  We sorted through what were my charges v. the thief's, the old card number cancelled and a new card is on its way.

How does this happen?  All the magnetic strip info is kept by merchants where you do business with your card, that's how.  The numbers and data are not always under lock and key and can be hijacked fairly easily.  Card companies have algorithms for each card holder for buying patterns and when an outlier  shows up the card company gets an alarm.  The charges on my card were for $20 give or take and Canadian Shell gas stations.  Not a lot of money and the first couple of times under the radar for AMEX.

Lesson learned here is NEVER, EVER let your debit card out of your sight.  It is not protected and charges will go through until your account is drained dry or you catch the problem purchases.  That is why there is a daily limit on debit purchases.  We infrequently use credit cards and the bad charges were easy to sort out.  Pay for out of town purchases with your credit card v. a debit card. Your liability is limited and in my case the cost to me was ZERO thanks to the watchful systems and people at AMEX.

Editor note: I have been advised liability with debt cards is limited but it can be a lot more effort to untangle than a credit card due to the daily limits on debit charges...usually $300.00 before a flag is raised.

One Trillion And Climbing- College Debt Bubble

College debt has been treated with very little regard for the day of reckoning by students and parents of college students.  Today the debt balloon stands at over $1 Trillion dollars and climbing on a daily basis. FAFSA and college is for the most part a gigantic loan program that has to be paid back.

College "aid" is not a freebie but more like a big fat line of credit that will have to be paid back upon graduation.  Interest rates run from 3.5% to 8.5% depending on where the loan came from and who the underwriter is.  Another nasty part of college debt is it can't be discharged in bankruptcy.  It will follow you to the grave unless paid off sooner.

Parents and students have bought into the nonsense that it make a huge difference where you get your degree.  The reality is it takes and education as well as someone who knows what to do with their education, good people skills and a host of other things.  The biggest factor is the course of study and will there be a demand for your degree upon graduation.  Liberal Arts may have opened a door 20 or more years ago but today it will qualify you to flip hamburgers.

The critical reality of education is High Schools are College Prep places for the most part.  Colleges have dumbed down college to accommodate and encourage all manner degree programs that have no reasonable odds of employment upon graduation.   Additionally, there are abundant for profit colleges we see on TV who accept anyone willing to sign on the dotted line for the expense of their "college".

A lot of students would be far better off to go to a trade school or community college offering a course of study with a real job waiting upon graduation.  It makes no sense to attend a well known college and come out of the experience with nothing but a huge debt and no prospect of a job to pay back the costs of attending. Two-thirds of college grads come away with a debt of $25k or more.  Many end up moving back in with mom and dad and no job.

Caveat-emptor when it comes to taking on college debt.  There are lots of colleges out there with the intent of doing little more that fleecing parents and students of their money.  $1 Trillion in college debt is the latest bubble out there about to burst.
One-third of  college grads end up taking jobs that do not require a college degree.

Here's a link to PBS NEED TO KNOW and a very excellent segment on college debt:  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/  young lady in the Need to Know piece ended up with $65K in college debt and the interest meter is ticking.

West Valley Medical Center Wants Hole #3 Fairview Golf Course

Management at West Valley Hospital is putting a full court press on Team Garrett to hand over hole #3 on Fairview Golf Course for a hospital expansion project.  THE GUARDIAN was amazed at the response from Mayor Nancolas and city council for not getting to the point and telling the good people at the hospital an emphatic NO WAY! to this request.  Now it is another media event.

Fairview golf course is a community asset and  unique geographic feature of Caldwell.  It is not something to hand over to West Valley for development.  It was overheard the WV administrator said the hospital taking over that portion of the golf course would make the course "better".  The reality is it would not make the course better nor would it make the hospital expansion issues go away.  West Valley is developed on all sides except the South side and that  property is for sale but they don't want to pay the asking price.  A local dentist owns the property in question.

The real problem is previous hospital administrations gave no consideration to future expansion issues.  Now they want the citizens of Caldwell to give up a valuable community and public asset.  West Valley has taken to strong-arm tactics with the Mayor and City Council over this claiming their status as the largest employer in the City of Caldwell and they deserve this concession. (Think Urban Renewal giveaways here)

The reality is they need to take a good hard look at what St. Luke's did in Boise.  They need to pony up for the property on the south side of the hospital and start going upward with more floors in their hospital operation and build a parking garage. Destroying Fairview golf course is a slap in the face to all Caldwell citizens.

Here's the link to the IPT story in today's paper:
http://www.idahopress.com/news/local/west-valley-medical-center-approaches-mayor-about-expanding-onto-golf/article_d86838fe-522f-11e1-a0dd-0019bb2963f4.html

Here's another link to city email accounts for Caldwell City Councilors:
http://city.cityofcaldwell.com/page/172823/

Fork In Road or Poke In Eye? County Has New PIO

Canyon County Commishes have once again demonstrated their willingness to emphasize to taxpayers they are the deciders.  The Commishes have come to another "fork in the road" and have decided to take wrong direction again.  THE GUARDIAN learned from a page 2 article in the IPT today our Commishes have hired Joe Decker to be the new Public Info. Guy, his starting pay will be $40,000/year with full benefits package costs added to the base pay.

A public information officer has been a political minefield for as long as anyone has held this position.  Most taxpayers feel like it is just another layer of government limiting access to elected officials.  Those in office and in support of this position think this is a much needed person to interface with the media.  

It's no secret THE GUARDIAN'S  stand is we elected these people to stand up, look us in the eye and tells what needs to be said.  They don't have to be perfect speakers, we can figure out what the purpose and intent is without a PIO.  To that end County Clerk Chris Yamamoto and Sheriff Candidate Craig Hanson have stated county officials need to speak for themselves.  Most voters and taxpayers agree with Yamamoto and Hanson.

This is just another example of not listening to folks paying the bills for county government. Another poke in the eyes of taxpayers by our county deciders. Contact with constituents and the media will not be enhanced via this latest move by commissioners.

US Car Companies Highly Profitable

You can argue if the government bail outs of the car companies was a good thing or a bad thing.  The one thing you can't dispute is the profitability of the BIG THREE, Ford, GM and Chrysler.  Ford is expecting a profit of more than $20 Billion, GM is expected to come in at $8-$10 Billion and Chrysler is showing a profit for the first time in years but unspecified in the article in today's WSJ.

Taxpayers still own about 26% of the new GM but they have hired over 13,000 workers in the last year and reopened a closed plant where Saturn's were once produced.  GM is once again the largest producer of cars in the world.

Most of you watched the Super Bowl and saw the Chrysler ad with Clint Eastwood.  THE GUARDIAN would tend to agree with the ad, we are shaking off the horrible effects of this recession and brighter days are ahead for all of us.  This has been the worst recession in my lifetime and my first recollection of the business cycle and the pain they inflict on working people goes back to the recession of 1957.

In one respect recessions can have a cleansing effect on the economy by weeding out all but financially strong companies.  This time around the depth and impact of bad banking decisions along with an overdose of just plain greed just about put us in a full blown depression.

The housing market was not sustainable for the product, pricing and financing.  People with bad or no credit were given loans on terms the could not afford and it had to implode.  The good part is people entering the housing market for the first time can actually afford a home if they have a decent job.

I found the Chrysler Ad with Mr. Eastwood a mirror for my thoughts about where we are and probably so for a lot of folks.  We are now starting to move out of the doldrums of the last four years and should pick up steam, jobs and income for a lot of people who are out of work.

California Supreme Court Puts Urban Renewal Out of Business Statewide

THE GUARDIAN learned today via the LA Times Newspaper, all Urban Renewal (aka Redevelopment Agencies in Ca.) will be officially shut down in California as of February 1, 2012.  The High Court in California ruled unanimously in favor of a state law passed last summer to abolish more than 400 redevelopment agencies statewide,

Gov. Jerry Brown called for the demise of all redevelopment agencies in California when he was running for governor and was able to get it passed into law and now the court has ruled in his favor in this matter. Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, said "the Legislature had the power to create the redevelopment agencies and the power to end them."


Assemblyman Chris Norby of Fullerton, Ca. stated " Redevelopment has become a cash cow for developers. NFL team owners and big box stores who have been on the public dole for a long, long time, subsidized by these redevelopment funds."


We can only hope Idaho Legislators come to the same conclusion about Urban Renewal abuses in Idaho. It is a legalized form of "earmarks" for local government to bypass voter approval of all manner of projects that would never pass muster with voters.  Yet all the funds for Urban Renewal come from property taxes within and outside the UR district.  Higher levy rates are put on property outside the UR districts to make up for the increased demand for city and county services.

We applaud Gov. Brown and the California Legislature's efforts to stop all the waste, fraud and abuses of California property owners. Here's a link to the full article in the LA Times.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/29/local/la-me-redevelopment-20111230 

Density and Costs of Alternative Electricity - Time to Think Nuclear

We are bombarded with all the information about alternative power from solar, wind and anything you can imagine.  I ran into a very interesting piece on the subject of "density" required per KWH of alternative electricity last week in the Wall Street Journal.  Going "green" has an offset cost in density not many of the experts are talking about.  Here are some density factors for your consideration:

1. Bio fuels  0.05 watts of energy per square meter 
2. Small Natural gas well 28 watts per square meter
3. Wind turbines  1.0 watts per square meter

If we wanted to replace 10% of our fuel requirements with bio fuel made from switch grass it would take 37 million acres or a land area roughly the size of the State of Illinois just to grow the stuff.  We all know what happened when corn was diverted to ethanol production.  Food costs shot up in proportion to the amount of corn diverted to ethanol production.

Solution for this would be to get serious about Nuclear Power.  In all the history of Nuclear Power the amount of high level waste comes to 62,000 tons of high level waste products.  Stacked to a depth of 20 feet it would cover an area the size on one football field.  France produces about 80% of their electricity from Nuclear Power.

The picture in this post is a photo of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station in San  Diego County.  It has been there since the late 1960's with the original reactor, SONGS #1, shut down in the early 1990's but reactors two an three are still on line and not scheduled for decommissioning until 2022.  It was built to withstand a 7.0 magnitude seismic event directly under the plant and still survive.   The people in the photo look pretty relaxed about the proximity of the Nuke Plant next to their beach.

Note:  The WSJ article was titled Small Is Beautiful - So Go Nuclear by Robert Bryce a senior fellow at Manhattan Institute and was adapted from the Winter 2012 edition of City Journal.  The photo is San Onofre State Beach Park located just south of San Clemete, Ca.  and right next to SONGS run by So. Cal. Edison.

Montana Constitutional Amendment Re: Initiatives

We all know how initiatives are treated by the Idaho Legislature.  The last time around was TERM LIMITS passed by the people and promptly disposed of in the first ten minutes of session.  The good people of Montana are fed up with such antics by their legislature and are going for a Montana Constitutional amendment.  Here it is and it would be a good one for Idahoans to put forward:

THE COMPLETE TEXT OF CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 109 (CI-109)

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Article III, section 4, of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended to read:

“Section 4. Initiative. (1) The people may enact laws by initiative on all matters except appropriations of money and local or special laws.

(2) Initiative petitions must contain the full text of the proposed measure, shall be signed by at least five percent of the qualified electors in each of at least one-half of the counties and the total number of signers must be at least five percent of the total qualified electors of the state. Petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state at least three months prior to the election at which the measure will be voted upon.

(3) The sufficiency of the initiative petition shall not be questioned after the election is held.

(4) The people reserve to themselves the powers to repeal or amend all laws passed by initiative.

(5) The legislature may not amend or repeal an initiative statute except by another statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors unless the initiative statute permits amendment or repeal without the approval of the electorate.”

A like effort in Idaho would put a stop to what happened to our last effort to implement term limits. 


 The photo in this post was taken in the Montana House chamber.  The painting is a C. M. Russel and all the furnishings are original dating back to the days of statehood formation.  The wolf-dog was put their by Mr. Russel as he did not like the Speaker of the House.  The Speaker was left-handed and every time he looked over his shoulder he saw that snarling dog