I love Iran!

From 1975 to 1979, my wife and I lived in Iran. We spent the first year and a half in Tehran, and lived during the rest of our stay in the magical city of Esfahan – a place that richly inhabits my imagination to this day.

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‘Boise’ scores again!

Our wonderful capital city has again been recognized for what it is – a wonderful place to live. Selected from 2,000 locales, “Boise” joined Austin, Albuquerque, and Auburn, La Crosse and Loveland, and others in the annual U.S. News and World Report (July 2009) search for low crime, high-tech, easy lifestyle and good living amenities.

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IBR honors 2009 Accomplished Under 40 recipients

The spirit of camaraderie, the chance to network with Idaho’s movers and shakers and the opportunity to share professional and personal achievements proved a compelling mix for attendees of the Idaho Business Review’s 2009 Idaho Accomplished Under 40 awards.

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Ten Mile overpass construction ready

With the growl of a huge earthmover, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter moved a huge shovel of dirt, as the newest construction project on the I-84 corridor gets under way.

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The rules for health care 'reform'

The problem with health care “reform” is that liberals see a broken national system badly needing fixing, and conservatives neither see nor desire such a system in the first place. If it isn’t there, don’t fix it.

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How treasured is my valley?

I received an e-mail yesterday from Kellie Kluksdal from the Idaho Department of Tourism giving me a heads up on the launch of their 2010 promotional campaign, “Adventures in Living.”

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Changing the world, one local government at a time

If you ask land-use attorney Chris Duerksen, there are some things wrong with the world. We’re using more and more fossil fuels, icebergs are disappearing, species are going extinct, health is deteriorating, and the U.S. is importing more food than it’s exporting.

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Frank Muir is a heckuva nice guy!

This blog is about a perfectly good story that was ruined by reality – and its title may well be one of the most shocking and controversial I’ve ever penned. At least you’d be forgiven for thinking so if you paid any attention to the David and Goliath story surrounding the Idaho Potato Commission and the Idaho Fry Company. It’s certainly a departure from my original title, “The Empire Strikes Back” – but then, that was the one I envisioned before I actually sat down and talked with the Idaho Potato Commission president, Frank Muir.

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Stimulus $ – take it or leave it?

I argued against the “stimulus” idea when our big-spending, big government president first pitched it, but George W. Bush got it passed anyway. And to very little effect or impact. Based upon that failure our new big-spending, big government president, Barack Obama, has decided more of a bad idea is better.

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We are the media…a slight return

Here’s a riddle for you.  If something happened in the forest and no journalist was there to report it, would it still be news?  The answer can be found at the end of this blog … but I want you to restrain the urge to read ahead.

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Bieter announces new alternative energy incubator

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter announced the creation of a new business incubator to support local alternative energy startups during his State of the City address Wednesday morning.

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Political Analysis: Supreme disappointment in Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor is imminently qualified for the Supreme Court. Educated at Princeton, and Yale Law, an experienced jurist nominated by George H.W. Bush, and William Jefferson Clinton and twice confirmed. She is perhaps the most experienced and best prepared nominee since Robert Bork.

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Meridian Business Day energizes 300-plus attendees

Mayor Tammy DeWeerd said she could not agree more with the goals at the core of Meridian Business Day.

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Dale Peterson has a network he’d like to sell you

I seriously suspect when Dale Peterson nicks himself shaving, he bleeds blue and yellow – the colors of the Buy Idaho logo.

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Simplot foundation unveils downtown parkscape plan

Construction of Jack’s Urban Meeting Place is slated to begin in the spring of 2010 in downtown Boise.

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Commuter rail experts on track about Treasure Valley

Sometimes experts are just that – expert. They know their industry, they understand the big picture, and they can do the full “SWOT” thing; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. So it was with the “experts” assembled recently to advise the Treasure Valley on its commuter rail futures.

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Get rich slow: three local LILOpreneurs share their stories

Not long ago, Time Magazine ran a story about what it cleverly referred to as “LILOpreneurs.” Personally, you can’t have enough acronyms for my money, but I should explain that LILO stands for “little in, lots out.”

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Non-profits may profit from gesture

Getting rid of the everything’s-down-nothing’s-going-right mood may be just a little easier for seven non-profit organizations.

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Buffett's purchase of R.C. Willey makes interesting tale

If you haven’t guessed, I’m a big Warren Buffett fan. No, he’s not the guy who sings about Margaritaville, but the billionaire investor.

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We are the media…now what?

If you want to discover the true members of Boise’s social media cognoscenti, just drop the name Wyatt Werner and see what happens. Of course, if you are speaking with someone who is wearing a “#FreeWyatt” T-shirt, you needn’t bother. Today’s blog is a meditation on a story that by now is well known, but whose implications go well beyond its basic narrative.

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IBR names 2009 Accomplished Under 40 honorees

The Idaho Business Review has announced the 2009 recipients of the Idaho Accomplished Under 40 awards.

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The stalemate that is not

While ballyhooed by the media, the 2009 so-called “stalemate” between Governor Otter and Idaho’s House is our representative form of government at its best. It is the Governor properly leading and pointing the way, and the peoples’ representatives correctly saying we don’t wish to go there. How cool is that!

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It’s not the bean, it’s the scene

Why I love Boise, reason 423: only in the City of Trees could a heated verbal exchange between a state governor and a local coffee shop proprietor earn an Associated Press wire service story. I pity the communities that have to settle for the humdrum drive-by shooting or viral outbreak for headline news. We have “The Brew-Ha-Ha.”

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The problem with “Equal Pay Day”

It isn’t true. That is the problem. Rep.Anne Pasley-Stuart and Sen. Les Bock would have you believe that he earns 40 percent more than she…assuming they were both in the Senate, or both in the House. It isn’t true.

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NYT Magazine profiles Sandpoint Transition Initiative

When the national media takes notice of Sandpoint, Idaho – my hometown – it’s usually the result of a nearby standoff (armed or otherwise), something to do with white supremacy or it’s a lengthy paean to the area’s outdoorsy-ness.

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