Letters to the editor: Stadium, Koch brothers, breaching dams, environment | Idaho Statesman

Downtown stadium

Reference the Nov. 28 Idaho Statesman reporting of an alleged misdemeanor charge against Bill Ilett. Doesn’t it seem strange that prosecution of the case against Mr. Ilett was referred to the Garden City attorney because of an actual or perceived conflict of interest at the Boise city prosecutor’s office? Consider that Mr. Ilett is a recognized figure head for opposition to Boise Mayor Bieter’s favored downtown stadium project.

There may well be a similar conflict of interest within Garden City. Mayor Evans of Garden City has made it known that he holds out hope that the Ada County fairgrounds property might be transferred to Garden City for development. A great many local folks believe that the fairgrounds property is the best site for the proposed sports complex. It is a logical location for transportation access, parking and land availability. Bill Ilett along with Gary Michael and many others oppose not only the River Street/Americana Boulevard location but the proposed public-agency financing/ private ownership to achieve it. So, the Garden City officials clearly have reason to support the downtown Boise location. The affront between Messrs. Ilett and Brunelle could surely be settled amicably and the appearance of a vendetta avoided.

Click to resize

Koch Brothers, IFF

Kudos to the hundreds of thousands of Idahoans who voted for the Medicaid Expansion. It got more votes than Brad Little.

I was expecting our 80 percent Republican state Legislature to stonewall it but the Koch Brothers political empire’s local affiliate, the Idaho Freedom Foundation, beat them to it. They are taking their objections to our desire to help all Idahoans have access to health care to our state Supreme Court pronto.

If you are not aware of the Koch Brothers political empire, just be aware that it is bigger and better funded than either the Republican or Democratic parties. The Brothers helped create the Libertarian Party to fight regulations on corporations and avoid taxes for the wealthy and corporations.

You know that tax cut our Republican Congress just passed? Eighty-three percent of it helped the Koch Brothers, big corporations and the rest of the 1 percent while only 17 percent of it helps us every day folks. Now do you get the idea of what the Koch Brothers and the IFF really stand for?

They definitely do not want us to have a social safety net, living wages, affordable education, infrastructure, or pay their fair share of taxes to support our country.

Breaching dams

Whenever outfitters and businessmen get upset about closed steelhead seasons, politicians suddenly recognize the importance of our salmon and steelhead resources and become involved in their management.

Everyone would be happier if we had more fish to harvest. Unfortunately, there seems to be little universal support, especially among politicians, for the obvious action needed to restore our salmon and steelhead. We need to have rivers if we want fish.

All fisheries experts in Idaho and the Northwest agree we have to remove the four dams on the lower Snake River to save these fish. Outfitters and business people in our fishing communities need to join sportsmen and conservationists and become advocates for the fish, not just harvest.

Until we convince the politicians that our fish are more important than the dams, we will continue to squabble like children over the last fish.

Save the environment

As the majority of us know, the world and its environment have been taking devastating blows. God’s beautiful, lush Earth is now littered with thousands on thousands of pieces of garbage. The wonderful animals he’s created are now being driven out of their homes with no place left to go. It’s time to take action, and I’m calling out the state Legislature, to add a budget increase for the Department of Environmental Quality to do so. You all love God, so why won’t you show the same love for what he’s created?