A Realistic Look at Boise

[Heiwos]

Originally Posted by Lacerta

I have to ask...were you naked or something? Were you looking in your own windows on tiptoe? Were you climbing a tree with binoculars? Do you have a "house arrest" anklet? Were you toilet papering your neighbor's tree? Or spray painting "I hate pigs" on the sidewalk? There has to be more to this story. I can't see any cop stopping in a subdivision to ask someone what they were doing unless 1) They were naked or 2) They were acting suspicious or doing something illegal. And I can't see them frisking you unless you got mouthy with them.

Nope, not naked or anything like that, just standing on the front lawn. Even at that age I was wise enough to be respectful. I attributed this action to an overzealous rookie who thought I was casing houses, but I really don't know what he was thinking.

Nowadays when I visit Boise I play a game of "count the cops". I usually arrive at night, and can count about 5 police cars in the span of a few miles. You don't really notice it when you live there. I'm very careful not to exceed the speed limit by even 1 mph. Getting a speeding ticket in my early 20s in Boise, for going 40 in a 35 zone, cost me ~$3K in higher insurance costs (a veritable fortune when you're making only about $8/hr). One time a relative of mine got pulled over for doing 38 in a 35 zone, and another car also pulled over & the lady got out to yell at the cop for giving a ticket. I also got ticketed for a tail light that was out. In Seattle in 20 years I've gotten pulled over only twice (KOW), for an illegal U-turn and no front license plate, and both times got a warning--law enforcement is not a profit center here.

[DESERTRYDER]

I think we should show some serious respect to the police.
Can you imagine how difficult that job is ?
I speed everyday on my motorcycle. If I get caught I know I'm guilty and expect a ticket. If you can't afford to get a ticket go the posted limit. It's that easy.
I have only been in Boise a few times but what I saw was a clean city with no graffiti, no Gangster punks, no street beggars no whores waving at you.
I live in a city that has all of that and not enough cops.
Everything that isn't bolted down is stolen. Every wall plasterd with gang crap.
Be proud of your police and do a ride along one night and your tone might change

[Heiwos]

Obviously there's a balance that's best. About the only realistic way to never exceed the speed limit is to make sure you're always doing about 5 mph less when you look. In any case I think the cops in Boise should be more cognizant that giving a ticket for doing 38 in a 35 zone can be a severe financial burden given typical Boise wages and insurance companies taking every advantage.

[Jarndyce]

Given the implosion of our national economy...and the downward trend of Boise's local economy..I can't honestly say Ive seen an increase in speeding tickets to fill the state/county coffers.

I think, in reality, the police have little to do since people aren't "out and about" shopping, boozing, and the police are probably broadly evaluating their operating budgets. We may actually see less police if less taxes are *received*.

There are a couple of speed traps on Fairview..mostly the cops position themselves in front of the sunlight, so you LITERALLY can't see them as the sun rises in the morning.

Recently, I've seen more accidents on the I84 then people receiving tickets there.

[boisefan88]

Originally Posted by Jarndyce

Given the implosion of our national economy...and the downward trend of Boise's local economy..I can't honestly say Ive seen an increase in speeding tickets to fill the state/county coffers.

I think, in reality, the police have little to do since people aren't "out and about" shopping, boozing, and the police are probably broadly evaluating their operating budgets. We may actually see less police if less taxes are *received*.

There are a couple of speed traps on Fairview..mostly the cops position themselves in front of the sunlight, so you LITERALLY can't see them as the sun rises in the morning.

Recently, I've seen more accidents on the I84 then people receiving tickets there.

That's the truth ^^^

However, there has been some discussion amongst the Valley's police departments to refocus their efforts towards traffic enforcement.

[MOD CUT]

To be fair, they received a lot of criticism in just a few days and released a statement amending their position.

[jwest09]

Rising real property value is creating a new class of poor, more than 60% of Ada County school children qualify for assisted meal programs in schools. US Department of Agriculture ranked Idaho the 3rd 4th worst hunger state. 60,000 Idahoans – 24,000 of them children – in 19,000 households went hungry in Idaho. People are also hampered by high housing costs that force them to spend more than 30% of their income on the rent or mortgage payments.

Rising real property value permits local governments to increase local taxes with-out the vote or consent of the taxpayer. Ada County Assessor office included an “estimated taxes” figure on your recent 2007 assessment notice. When property values go up, the tax levy rate must go down proportionately.

2008 Property tax assessments have sightly dropped to some property being assessed more than 80% increase. Idaho's real-estate market has dropped more than 25% in value since mid 2007. Homes sit vacant or the home owners are forced to rent homes for less than their mortgage and property tax payments.

[Heiwos]

What's worse than rising property values is ballooning property values, then a bust in property values. That creates even more hungry children. This is why it is so important that Idahoans stop voting against their own best interests.

[jessysunshine]

I have not read every post made here in response to the original post, but I would like to add the negatives I see and feel...

land-locked -- I wish we were closer to the ocean or AT LEAST some lakes...there's so few here
allergies -- allergies are really bad here for a lot of people, including my husband
brown and dry -- not enough green or trees

But there is a lot of good, too.

[Sage of Sagle]

We need to bring this back on topic.