Bob Wire Has a Point (Under His Cowboy Hat)

Last Year Will Be Hard to Top

Not only will be 2008 be remembered as a watershed year in world history, but last year was especially dramatic for my personal life as well. Obama’s election is the obvious high water mark, but there were several other achievements and toe-stubbings that I will always associate with 2008. So here is my obligatory recap of the Best and Worst of 2008.

I already have a big jump on next year’s list: Worst Idea of 2009: Bob Wire writing a blog about breastfeeding.

Reading Utah’s Environmental News

Utah has had a surfeit of eco-news in the past couple of weeks. First, of course, there’s Tim DeChristopher, the “bogus BLM bidder.” DeChristopher put his paddle up on December 19th to disrupt a BLM sale of mineral rights in Utah. He is now awaiting charges from the BLM, which seems completely flummoxed. They are purportedly not planning on holding another auction.

Bob Wire Has a Point (Under His Cowboy Hat)

Public Breastfeeding: Two Sides to Every Story

Recently a public breast-feeding brouhaha was reported in the Missoulian, and it brought a pretty spirited reaction from a lot of people who had plenty of opinions on the subject. I’ve also got a few thoughts on the whole controversy, and fortunately, I’ve also got my own bully pulpit.

canyon county, idaho

Canyon County Refuses Freedom of Information Request

The Kuna-Melba News, a weekly paper that covers western Ada County and eastern Canyon County, is reporting that Canyon County has refused a Freedom of Information request for the messages Canyon County Commissioner Steve Rule sent out from his county email account on Dec. 2, comparing First Lady-elect Michelle Obama to a black widow spider.

“I understand from Commissioner Rule that he does not retain sent email,” the paper reported it was told. “I also consulted with the County IT Department and understand that Commissioner Rule’s sent emails are not archived by them.”

Aside from this particular issue, it raises troubling questions about oversight of Canyon County government.

More Calls for a Higher Gas Tax

A few things make this story timely. First, I just filled my gas tank for $1.33/gallon. Also, Flying J, the big truck stop chain I once worked for and from whom I bought my fuel while I was driving over the road, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, Dec. 22.

Generation Recreation

Avalanche Conditions Persist, But So Does Mindset of Invincibility

The tragedies from the mountains keep rolling in. As much of the Rocky Mountains battle an incredibly unstable snowpack and dangerous avalanche conditions, ski patrollers and avalanche forecasters are on the front lines trying to protect the public. In certain snow conditions, it's impossible to make a ski resort like Jackson Hole completely safe, no matter how many bombs are thrown. At the same time, many recreational skiers have been lured into a false sense of safety regarding the dangers that lurk in the mountains.

Eagle-Star Technology Corridor

If We Build It, Will They Come?

A number of localities have tried to recreate the magic that resulted in locations such as Silicon Valley in California and Route 128 in Massachusetts. Now it's Idaho's turn.

More than 100 Idaho business executives and politicians want to turn some 79,000 acres of land in Idaho, about 20 miles northwest of Boise, into the Eagle-Star High-Tech Corridor, named after the two cities involved.

It just isn’t clear that this is the right way to do it.

Bob Wire Has a Point (Under His Cowboy Hat)

Cure Your Cold, As Seen On TV

At Walgreens I strode purposefully through the store toward the back corner where they keep all the cold and flu dope. My hoodie was pulled up, string drawn tight around my face, only my itchy eyes, runny nose and chapped lips exposed. I was in no mood to chat, and hoped I didn’t run into anyone I knew. I rounded a corner to take a shortcut to the back wall, and was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of a battery-powered dog nail trimmer.

You’ve seen it on TV: the Pedi-Paws. It’s like a Dremel tool you use to grind down your dog’s nails (I’m guessing it has never been successfully used on a cat). The dogs in the commercials must be heavily sedated or tripping on DayQuil, because they sit on couches next to their owners, happily submitting to the grind job as if they were floating on a giant strip of bacon in a sea of pork chops.

2009 Idaho Legislature

Rep. Mike Moyle Still Doesn’t Get Public Transit

I love state representative Mike Moyle (R-Star) as a person from the top of his shiny head to the tippytoes of his snakeskin boots, but he doesn't get public transit, and his quotes in the Idaho Statesman this week show that he hasn't picked up anything new over the interim.

If you've ever been stuck in traffic on I-84 and wondered why Boise doesn't have public transit like other Mountain West cities such as Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, and now Phoenix -- Moyle's the reason.

Let's take it one sentence at a time.