Idaho Statewide Development, News and Miscellaneous Thread

[Cottonwood]

Beautiful, looking forward to the Stanley thread
I read once that Boise is the most white water accessible city in the country, having a river like the Payette less than an hours drive away in that kind of scenery is truly Idaho.
Cascade hosted kayaking championships this weekend:



http://www.ktvb.com/news/Kayaking-Ch...125304888.html
by Justin Corr
Bio | Email| Follow: @KTVB
KTVB.COM
Posted on July 10, 2011 at 5:20 PM


CASCADE -- Some of the best kayakers in the nation were in Cascade this weekend for the Ford National Freestyle Championships.

Kelly's Whitewater Park opened just last year, and already it's hosted a national championship event

[Cottonwood]

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/0...-way-as-a.html


Wine: Idaho is finding its way as a wine-making state
- Idaho Statesman
Published: 07/13/11


Exciting things are happening in Idaho wine. The establishment of Idaho’s first American Viticultural Area in 2007 was a big step in elevating the wines of Idaho onto the national and international stage.

An AVA is a defined area for winegrowing, such as the Napa Valley or Walla Walla. The Snake River Valley has been recognized as having unique characteristics and has been legally defined. The AVA is large, more than 5 million acres, stretching from Ontario, Ore., nearly to Twin Falls. That makes it the fifth largest AVA in the country



Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/0...#ixzz1S0FI1tH1

[202_Cyclist]

^My girlfriend and I were out at dinner in Arlington, VA, a few months ago and enjoyed a bottle of the wine from the Sawtooth Winery. In addition to being shocked to find Idaho wine on the east coast, the wine was quite good.

http://www.sawtoothwinery.com/index.htm

[Sawtooth]

[Cottonwood]

Looks nice. I just checked out their website....very impressive.

[202_Cyclist]

That building looks great. I volunteered at the Sun Valley wine & jazz festival a few years ago, which benefited the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.

[Cottonwood]

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...le-shore-will/

Almost mile of Lake Pend Oreille shore may go for public use
By Becky Kramer The Spokesman-Review


Just a short stroll from downtown Sandpoint, a dirt trail follows Lake Pend Oreille’s shoreline past groves of leafy cottonwoods that block out the sights and sounds of the bustling resort town.

Instead of traffic, trail users hear lapping waves and the musical cadence of song sparrows. To the east, they can watch storm clouds gathering over the Cabinet Mountains

[Cottonwood]

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/201...tional_forests


Seven million visitors spend $400 million in Idaho national forests

Submitted by Rocky Barker on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 8:53am.

[boisecynic]

Relocation of Friedman Memorial Airport (Hailey/Ketchum/Sun Valley Airport) approval process postponed indefinitely.

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005138179

[202_Cyclist]

Regarding relocating the Sun Valley airport, I looked and the airport has just over 50,000 annual passengers. One of the issues cost/benefit analysis for federal discretionary funding for airports looks at is passenger travel time. Relocating the airport thirty miles south would have increased travel time 30-45 minutes for most passengers in the Wood River valley and tourists to the region.

The added travel time, combined with the very uncertain prospect that building a longer runway in an area with better visibility would attract new carriers using larger aircraft is a very poor gamble of $160M of federal funds, in additional to the tens of millions of state and local funds this would have required.

[BoiseAirport]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Regarding relocating the Sun Valley airport, I looked and the airport has just over 50,000 annual passengers. One of the issues cost/benefit analysis for federal discretionary funding for airports looks at is passenger travel time. Relocating the airport thirty miles south would have increased travel time 30-45 minutes for most passengers in the Wood River valley and tourists to the region.

The added travel time, combined with the very uncertain prospect that building a longer runway in an area with better visibility would attract new carriers using larger aircraft is a very poor gamble of $160M of federal funds, in additional to the tens of millions of state and local funds this would have required.

Could not agree more.

New airports are always exciting proposals, but the one thing so many people don't appreciate with airport expansions and new airports is that they cost a lot of money, and someone needs to foot that bill. That always translates to higher airport fees, making the airport very unattractive for new service. Especially if that service is 30-45 minutes away. With higher fares out of Sun Valley, the result of a new Sun Valley/Twin Falls airport could very well be more people just driving out to Boise to fly or simply choosing not to travel, as I guarantee the airport would see less service, and higher fares.

IMO, I don't disagree that it's an exciting proposal and it'd be neat to see built, but it just does not make economic sense. I feel the proposal needs to be scrapped for the time being. There's just not much to gain, and so much to lose.

[boisecynic]

Pretty hard to talk sense into some Blaine County residents. Moving the airport is economic lunacy.

Way back in the 70s ITD was going to widen the highway. Nimby's protested and now we're stuck with the current silliness that's Hwy 75. And nearly no one who protested that widening back then is still around.

Btw, the latest version of Hwy 75 widening is also shelved.

[202_Cyclist]

boisecynic:

Pretty hard to talk sense into some Blaine County residents. Moving the airport is economic lunacy.

Way back in the 70s ITD was going to widen the highway. Nimby's protested and now we're stuck with the current silliness that's Hwy 75. And nearly no one who protested that widening back then is still around.

Btw, the latest version of Hwy 75 widening is also shelved.

A largely rural area like Hailey/Sun Valley/Ketchum has different mobility challenges than larger metro areas but highway widenings are usually not effective long-term solutions to auto congestion. Anthony Downs, who wrote Still Stuck in Traffic, wrote about the 'triple convergence' to describe why adding new highway lanes alone is an ineffective solution to reduce congestion.

http://www.uctc.net/access/25/Access...0to%20Stay.pdf

Regardless, it's a bit amusing to see all the people who moved to this area from Southern California to escape traffic and crowds stuck in congestion commuting to/from Sun Valley. Part of the reason is the large mismatch between where the service industry jobs are located and where more affordable housing is located for the people who work in these jobs (Bellevue and further south).

[isangpogi]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

Could not agree more.

New airports are always exciting proposals, but the one thing so many people don't appreciate with airport expansions and new airports is that they cost a lot of money, and someone needs to foot that bill. That always translates to higher airport fees, making the airport very unattractive for new service. Especially if that service is 30-45 minutes away. With higher fares out of Sun Valley, the result of a new Sun Valley/Twin Falls airport could very well be more people just driving out to Boise to fly or simply choosing not to travel, as I guarantee the airport would see less service, and higher fares.

IMO, I don't disagree that it's an exciting proposal and it'd be neat to see built, but it just does not make economic sense. I feel the proposal needs to be scrapped for the time being. There's just not much to gain, and so much to lose.

My understanding of the situation though is that the current airport is dangerous and unfit because of its location in the valley between rugged mtns where weather is often a problem. I think having to relocate it further away would be a huge disadvantage but I thought relocation was unavoidable because of the aforementioned reasons. Am I remembering this right?

[Sawtooth]

Nice, a new brewery is opening in Ketchum named Sawtooth Brewery
I am looking forward to tasting some of this. It has to be good if being brewed in Sun Valley and using local Idaho products, the best around, for their beer.
Bring it to Boise or I will have to go back to Sun Valley to taste!

http://www.sawtoothbrewery.com/




http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?...=09&var_Day=02

[202_Cyclist]

Sawtooth--

This is good to hear. The Sun Valley Brewery in Hailey is excellent. As the saying goes, the consumer (or the drunkard!) wins with more competition.

[Cottonwood]

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005138538


National Geographic to feature Idaho rivers
Library offers rare sneak peek at images
By JENNIFER LIEBRUM
Express Staff Writer



"Idaho has some of the finest Wild & Scenic Rivers in the country," he said. "From the Middle Fork of the Salmon to the Lochsa and Selway, to name only a few, Idaho is synonymous with Wild & Scenic Rivers."

The late Sen. Frank Church championed the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The act has since protected more than 11,000 miles on 166 rivers in 38 states.

Idaho is home to more than 1,000 miles of America's finest Wild & Scenic Rivers, including 316 miles of new designations in southwest Idaho's desert canyon country that were signed into law as Wild & Scenic in 2009. These rivers and their corridors provide habitat for wildlife and treasured recreational places for rafters, anglers, campers, cyclists, hikers and others.

[202_Cyclist]

FAA official provides explanation but little guidance

By Greg Moore
Idaho Mountain Express
9/14/2011

"During a meeting Tuesday night, a representative from the Federal Aviation Administration made it clear that local officials will have to either propose a less expensive replacement for Friedman Memorial Airport or explain how the community will come up with about half the cost of a $300 million facility.

Donna Taylor, manager of the FAA’s Northwest Mountain Region, spoke during a two-hour meeting of the Airport Authority board, as well as sat down earlier in the day with the Idaho Mountain Express for a Q&A. She explained that after spending $6.1 million, the FAA had suspended work on an environmental impact statement for a proposed new airport site when it became clear that increased cost estimates and environmental concerns were making construction of a new airport on the proposed site unlikely..."

Taylor said all alternatives are still on the table, but offered local officials little guidance about what to do next..."

http://www.mtexpress.com/vu_breaking....php?bid=97523

[boisecynic]

Hate to sound like a broken record, but Blaine County and the State of Idaho can't even get ID 75 right, how the heck do they think they can move the airport?

And then what? It's my understanding Friedman would still be used for general aviation. Or would they grind up all that tarmac and haul it to the dump which is where--- Burley? And then more condos which means more traffic heading to Ketchum every morning?

The danger argument is really flimsy. Friedman has a miles long straight in approach from the south, if a pilot can't get it right in that long approach... There's plenty of airports more dangerous than Friedman. Quick google gave me this site: http://www.oddee.com/item_93109.aspx

Check out Courchevel. Mute your speakers!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFzP9CRFdWw" target="_blank">Video Link

[boisecynic]

Compare that with approach to Friedman:

Note: If you're GA you usually request from the tower for a long landing otherwise you're taxiing for half a mile.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCPKGP-TzVo" target="_blank">Video Link