Boise Blogger

What is going on with this whole streetcar discussion? I’m a little confused about the whole deal.

They want to put a street car in downtown… is that right? So, they will be putting in tracks I guess. And along with the tracks comes the wiring overhead to power this thing. That seems like a lot of stuff to install permanently on a not so sure thing.

What is this thing going to cost to build? How about operating costs? Will it pay for itself? Will it be subsidized?

I don’t know much about this whole deal but I can really foresee a few problems. Like… very few people are going to use it.

Here’s the deal. I am going to miss my house payment this month and possibly next month. Who knows beyond that. I hear this thing is going to cost $40,000,000 bucks. I could really use some of that cash. To throw that kind of money into a gamble is, well, stupid. Really, it’s a stupid thing to do. I can only imagine some people are sitting in their offices downtown dreaming of movies being made here in Boise or whatever, but it probably won’t happen. You might get a commercial, but a real movie. No.

Use that kind of money to give people jobs. Hire people to pick up litter. Hire them to fix things around the city. That money will go directly back into the economy and help boost the economy. A streetcar is just a waste of money.

This is blasphemous… I KNOW. But, I think it is time for the smurf turf to go. I don’t go to the games but I enjoy watching them on TV. The one big glaring eyesore when watching the games is the blue uniforms against the blue turf. It is one big blue mess.

Sorry, Boise, that’s just how I feel.

This video starts out at the intersection of Franklin and Eagle, heading south. Kinda short and really has no purpose, but hey, it’s Boise.

Homeless Idaho residents sue over camping law

According to this article it says that there are up to 4,500 homeless people in Boise. That seems like alot. According to Wikipedia the population of Boise in 2008 was 205,314. That means that about 2.2% of Boise’s population is homeless. That seems like a lot of people who are homeless.

They say that the reason for the lawsuit is that the law amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. How so? Sounds reasonable to me. If there were no “no camping laws” I really believe the parks and other common areas would quickly become the less than desirable places for residents to go. Lets not forget that the people who pay for the parks and common areas are the tax payers and deserve to frequent those places without fear of harassment.

Just a thought.

The recent election in Boise only brought out 18% of the voters. Pretty dismal I would say. I voted by the way.

Why was the turnout so low? I have a guess. If you read the Guardian they open with this line:

Tuesday’s local election results sent a strong message from voters: NOBODY REALLY CARES!

I personally think people do care. But this time around I think people are tired of politics. The fighting in Washington over Healthcare, the economy being as bad as it is, and unemployment at a ridiculous high. I would say that this time around the people are just tired of all the fighting and bickering.

Hopefully, come November 2010 the people will be re-energized and anxious to vote.

I don’t want BoiseBlogger.com to be a political site so I will just leave it at that.

Here is a more recent article concerning the subject. An interesting point made in the article is that Dave Foldesi paid the property taxes in 2007 to, in his mind I guess, take possession of the house but he has failed to pay them since. Why would that be?

Dispute over ownership of home in Boise’s North End may be resolved

I drive by Boobies restaurant everyday and rarely see more than one car in the parking lot. I wonder if the community is standing behind their fellow boiseans and staying away from those who would take advantage of their fellow boisean?

I feel sorry for the co-owners of Boobies Restaurant. I hope they had no knowledge of Foldesi’s actions.

I’m a fan of the little Mom and Pop place. Whether it be a store, or hamburger shop, or whatever, I’m all for it. Its really the idea I’m behind. The freedom that comes with opening your own place. The challenge of putting it all on the line and then making it work or not. Well, that brings me to Boobies Restaurant on Ustick Road in good old Boise, Idaho.

I stopped in there a few months ago and had a burger. It was a chili burger with cheese on it. I think it was called a Boobie Burger. Not really sure about that. The burger was okay. The chili on it was kinda pasty. I like a spicy, runny, chili and this was not it. It was very obviously scooped directly out of a can. I can’t say it was for sure, but that is my impression. They didn’t have fries which kinda disappointed me. I’m a freak for fries. Instead I got some chips. The chips were very dry. They had very little taste. I didn’t get anything to go along with them either. No guacamole. No melted cheese. Nothing. I had to use the chili from my burger as a dip so the chips would go down easier. I haven’t been back since because the burger was just okay. It wasn’t really worth the money I spent for it. If they have improved since, I couldn’t tell ya.

And I really don’t care… and here is why:

Stranger rents out Boise woman’s home without her permission!

This is a story of a man who went down and paid the taxes on another persons home and then claims that he is the owner. Wow. You mean I can go find out if a home has unpaid taxes and then just pay them off and take possession? Is it really that easy? No. It isn’t that easy. David Foldesi is this person according to the Idahostatesmen story linked above.

On May 16, 2007, David Foldesi walked into the Ada County Courthouse and paid $8,875.62 in delinquent property taxes on Boylan’s house.

Who is David Foldesi and why does this involve Boobies Restaurant?

Foldesi spoke only briefly to the Statesman before hanging up. He has not returned subsequent calls, including requests to see a tax deed for the house or a certificate of sale from the county. Foldesi and his partner, Debbie Smith, own Boobies restaurant on Ustick Road.

I can’t really bring myself to support a person who tries to purchase property in such a way. If he did gain ownership of this house that would mean that the ‘old’ owners would be out $100,000 plus. I think that was his intent. Some states allow a person to purchase a tax deed and then gain ownership of the home as stated here

Foldesi thinks differently. When asked who gave him permission to rent out Boylan’s house, he said: “The owners. Who are the owners? The tax deed holder.” But neither Foldesi nor anyone else can hold a tax deed to the house, because there is no tax deed for this property, according to the county.(1) Only if the house had gone to auction could someone have bought the tax deed, which would have given that person ownership over the home. Some states do sell tax deeds or tax liens without an auction giving ownership to the person who pays off the tax bills. That may be part of the confusion.

You won’t see me at Boobies. I choose to NOT support this kind of person

I ran across the name of a new local eatery, the Idaho Fry Company, and wanted to find out where it was located since I had never heard of it and I really like going to new places. So, I did a search on Google and found an article at the Idaho Statesman that discussed the Idaho Potato Commissions insistence that the Idaho Fry Company change its name.

This piqued my curiosity. I’m an “armchair lawyer” and enjoy inserting my legal opinion on most things. This means I have no formal education in the law. Quite frankly, I have NO education in the law.

I am gathering from the article I read that there is some sort of trademark violation concerning the term “Idaho Fry”. Or, actually, there is a possible trademark violation. The article wasn’t very clear on the matter so I went to the “the Idaho Fry Company” website and found out exactly what the problem is. Apparently the Idaho Potato Commission has a trademark on the word “Idaho”.

“Blake – This name is a problem. Idaho™ is our trade name.”

How can you trademark the name of a state? In addition how can you ask a business in Idaho not to use the word Idaho in the name of their business? Has the IPC contacted the State and asked them to change their name to maybe… “An Idaho” and not “The Idaho” as is implied simply by calling itself Idaho?

I think the IPC should only have a problem if the Idaho Fry Company advertised that they were the sole distributor of fried Idaho potatoes since it seems to me the IPC is more centered around the potato and not Idaho specifically. If I started a business called “the Idaho T-Shirt Company” would this be a problem? I doubt it.

If they do change their name I have two suggestions… “the Boise Fry Company”, or “the Northwest Fry Company”.

I just hope nobody has claim to “Boise” or “Northwest”.

I’m gonna find my way over to the Idaho Fry Company sometime this week and try a hamburger. I’m a big fan of the burger.

I’ve seen these dogs. They aren’t your average lap dog.