Tac Anderson's Library tagged Idaho → View Popular

Ok I know I said I was going to try and control my cynicism, but I can't resist myself. Honestly I don't care about the LGBT issue. What does concern me?

"Bonner County legislative candidate C.J. Rose has never been to Boise. The soon-to-be-61-year-old retired teacher lives in a log cabin near Spirit Lake. She heats and cooks with wood. She has to drive to town for mail and a cell signal."

"Rose hopes to bring diversity to Boise, but not just the sexual orientation kind. She is rural. She is a Democrat."

So the diversity is that she's a Dem? We got everything else.

www.boiseweekly.com/...Content - Preview

TechBoise Politics idaho boise bw

10 Jun 08

Idaho growth rates revised downward

While this is still nothing to complain about, to me this is one of the problems with such a low unemployment rate.
"The pace of Idaho’s real economic growth in 2006 was significantly reduced by the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on June 5, the Idaho Department of Labor said in a release. Idaho’s growth estimate for 2007 was even slower despite record low unemployment."

www.idahobusiness.net/...-growth-rates-revised-downward - Preview

TechBoise Idaho IBR

25 Apr 08

Industry leaders agree Idaho’s tech economy uncertain

The last article from Eddie at the IBR. "A half a dozen of the state’s technology leaders met for breakfast last week to tackle the same problem that’s been plaguing Idaho’s technology sector for nearly a decade: What can the industry do to sustain its growth?"

www.idahobusiness.net/...-Idahos-tech-economy-uncertain - Preview

IBR TechBoise Eddie.Kovsky idaho

09 Mar 08

Does Idaho’s business brand matter?

www.idahobusiness.net/...s-Idahos-business-brand-matter - Preview

brand ibr idaho ncb techboise

Mike Tomlin has an interesting post over on Idaho Business Review about if a state's brand matters to business or not. I would say it absolutley does. For a state like Idaho we either have to compete on incentives or brand. In the long run it's better for the state to attract residents and businesses based on our brand. The problem is that our state is run by people who care more about their personal brand and what their buddies think of them than what our brand means outside the state.
This post is cross tagged on both newcommbiz and TechBoise

- tacanderson on 2008-03-09

23 Dec 06

Idaho News - The Idaho Statesman - Always Idaho

www.idahostatesman.com/...64629.html - Preview

growth idaho mouth of word

Idaho has been listed as the third fastest-growing state in the county for the second year in a row, a trend fueled by the state's strong economy, relatively low housing prices and high quality of life.
Other factors contributing to the influx of newcomers include positive national press stories and word-of-mouth from happy Idaho transplants, experts say.
"Whether it's been Forbes or Time or Newsweek or Money magazine, there's been a constant drumbeat for the last 15 years," said Alan Porter, an economic and demographic analyst for the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor.
There also is the "beaten path effect," said Mike Ferguson, Idaho's chief economist.
"Early migrants moving from one area to another by virtue of their success and information they convey back, there is a potential flood of more migrants following the beaten path," Ferguson said.
Idaho's population grew by 2.6 percent — 37,098 people — from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, for a total population of 1,466,465, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau today.
Texas led all states with the largest number of new residents but grew only 2.5 percent. The Lone Star State gained 579,275 residents in 2005-06.
Idaho has a healthy birth rate, but the majority of the state's population growth came from people moving here — 22,500 came from other states and 2,770 arrived from other countries.
Idaho has secured a spot as one the 10 fastest-growing states for more than a decade.
The two fastest-growing states in 2005-06 were Arizona and Nevada, which grew 3.6 and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Porter and Ferguson said people come to Idaho for a plethora of reasons: They can buy a house twice the size for half the price; crime is low; and outdoor recreational opportunities are abundant.
But do jobs attract people or does the influx of people bring more jobs?
"There's a raging debate among regional economists in terms of which comes first," Ferguson said. "It's a chicken or egg argument. I don't think there's a real simple answer."
Ferguson said businesses find workers in Idaho to be more dependable than in other places.
"We hear that from employers," Ferguson said. "Absenteeism and other problems that exist in urban areas are less of a problem here."
The 10 fastest-growing states are in the West or the South with Georgia, Texas, Utah, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida and South Carolina rounding out the top ten.
Idaho's raging growth isn't welcomed by everyone. Take the Meridian School District, for example, which is bursting at the seams.
In 2000, the district welcomed a thousand new students. In the past few years, it's been 1,700 or more a year.
Voters passed a $139 million school bond in 2005.
"Certainly growth is something the Meridian School District is accustomed to," said Eric Exline, district spokesman. "I think we're pretty good at managing it. But when it reaches that explosive level, it does strain our ability to provide facilities, supplies and transportation."