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Boise Crime and the Holiday Season

Something crime-inducing is in the water in the Boise area. Or maybe it’s just that people are panicky about not having enough dough this holiday season but the Boise Police Department has a lot of work on their hands this week.

The BPD issued three reports of robberies in the last two days. Garden City and Meridian each had one.

First there is the story about the bank robber who held up the US Bank on Vista at 9:43 this morning. [more]

'Santa Paws' is a pet peeve

For about 23 years I asked Santa for a dog for Christmas. The fat man never brought me one. Though, to be fair, I also asked for a dog from the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, the turkey wishbone, the birthday candle genie, the first star I saw one night, and my parents and no one ever brought me one.

I eventually got a dog and it was a good idea to wait and pick her out myself because I got to select the one I loved most from all the wonderful homeless pups at the Idaho Humane Society.

This Saturday, Santa will be at the Humane Society, the state’s non-profit animal welfare organization, for the Holiday Adoption Festival. It is a festive opportunity to welcome a new dog or cat into your home this holiday season. [more]

Idaho Housing

Everyone knows the mess sub-prime mortgages and refinancing caused the country and the state. For a while it seemed that things were continuously going downhill, but there’s a little bright news for some Idaho homeowners who dealt with Ameriquest Mortgage, the largest sub-prime lender.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, finance regulators and 49 other Attorneys General – not Virginia’s AG because Ameriquest didn’t do business in Virginia – and the District of Columbia settled allegations that Ameriquest used predatory lending practices.

Wasden announced that 455 Idahoans will receive more than $432,000 in restitution payments as a result of the multi-state settlement.

[more]

Boise Events We Like

If you don’t have any holiday parties or you’ve got all your gifts already wrapped this week, fret not because there is still a lot of activity in the days before Christmas. Check it out.

Friday, Dec. 14
"The Nutcracker" – Catch a showing of the quintessential holiday ballet story with Ballet Idaho’s interpretation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's popular yarn. Adult tickets are $19-$45, children tickets are $10-$35 for the performances through Dec. 16 at the Velma V. Morrison Center.

Saturday, Dec. 15
Ice Skating – Idaho Ice World is holding two events Saturday, one of which is bound to tickle a skater’s fancy. Holiday Skate from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. is an afternoon of skating to holiday music. The $7 admission for adults or $5 for seniors and children includes skate rental and benefits the Boise Parks & Recreation's AdVenture program. Also, the Holiday Festival on Ice is a skating show featuring the Boise Figure Skating Club and Boise Parks & Recreation Learn to Skate students. $3, $1 for children for shows at 3 and 6 p.m.

Christmas in the Nighttime Sky Fireworks – A special holiday light show with 20,000-shell fireworks erupting in sync with holiday music. Food sales will benefit the American Heart Association and admission, one unwrapped toy per family, will benefit Toys for Tots. Fireworks begin at 6:30 at Boise Hawks Memorial Stadium at the Expo Idaho.

Tuesday, Dec. 18
Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons – The popular and constantly touring rock-jam band, one of several projects by Jerry Joseph himself, is hitting up the Neurolux again. Show is 21 and older, tickets are $8.

For more events, got to www.boiseevents.net [more]

Your 15 seconds of fame

Tryouts for the next season of American Idol are not going to be held in Boise. But don’t chuck your dreams of being an American Idol just yet.

North By Northwest, a Spokane- and Boise-based production company, is looking for several people to be featured in an upcoming series of television commercials for the Idaho Lottery’s new American Idol scratch ticket game.

Okay, so there’s no Ryan Seacrest, but the prospective notoriety is pretty sweet, and on the plus side there is no Simon Cowell either.

Individuals can video tape themselves singing any audition song, turn it in and potentially star in a commercial and get $500. [more]

Season of Suppers

There are canned food drives everywhere you look during the holidays. There are Idaho Foodbank barrels at the grocery store, in your bank, at the library. But unfortunately, people aren’t the only ones starving; there are hundreds of pets going without meals this season as well.

Hopefully there will be fewer hungry people and fewer hungry pets this year because Meals On Wheels is organizing a pet food drive.

Meals On Wheels, the agency that provides more than 600 seniors in Ada and Elmore counties with daily hot, nutritious meals, is partnering with Banfield, the pet hospital inside the Petsmart in Meridian, for Season of Suppers, a pet food drive for the canine and feline companions of homebound seniors.

[more]

the holiday spirit

Sunday night was the sixth night of Chanukah. Boiseans celebrated the Jewish Festival of Lights with a crowded gathering at the giant menorah on Capitol Boulevard.

Chabad Jewish Center of Idaho hosted the Grand Menorah Lighting party for the dozens of revelers who braved the cold and avoided black ice to dance the Hora in a parking lot beneath the giant menorah.
[more]

Boise Events We Like

Saturday, Dec. 8
Claus 'n' Paws – Animals, kids and Santa, what could be cuter? It’s Zoo Boise’s holiday fete with music, cocoa and other activities all day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Zoo Boise in Julia Davis Park. $5.25, $2.75 for children 4-11 and free for kids younger than 3.

Tool – The experimental, heavy-rock band from Los Angeles is coming to Boise to promote the new album. Catch them at 8 p.m. at the Idaho Center. Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50.

Monday, Dec. 10
Teacher-Astronaut Barbara Morgan – The McCall school teacher who became an astronaut and flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor this past summer will speak to Boiseans at this free presentation. Tickets are required and must be picked up in person at the Discovery Center prior to the speech on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts at Boise State University.

For more events, check out www.boiseevents.net
[more]

reducing the digital divide

You have an old computer - what are you going to do with it? You can either take it to the desert and kick and smash it like in Office Space, effectively taking your technological frustrations out on an inanimate object, or you can recycle it.

The City of Boise would prefer you recycle it.

In fact, the city partnered with the non-profit organization Computers for Kids and has, in the last 10 months, recycled 1,300 surplus computers to kids who don’t have computers at home.
[more]

the thought that counts

“So three of my neighbors brought over Christmas cookies this weekend,” my friend Rachel griped Monday morning. “They were big and green and red and wrapped up all fancy. And I panicked because now I have to give them cookies in return and you know I don’t bake. So I have to go get something at Albertsons today.”

“Or just don’t get them anything,” I suggested. “Don’t perpetuate this routine.”

Rachel doesn’t even eat cookies. “I can’t do that,” she sighed, feeling guilty for even considering to hamper the annual exchange. [more]