A TWIN Day!

Today, I had the pleasure of attending the "TWIN" Luncheon at the Boise Centre on the Grove. Although I do have ten-year-old girl/boy twins, it wasn't about them. The event, more specifically the 17th Annual Tribute to Women and Industry Luncheon, honored successful businesswomen in our community. More importantly, it was a fundraiser for the Women's and Children's Alliance.

According to their website, "The Women’s and Children’s Alliance exists to provide safety, healing and freedom to victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault." It's a terrific organization doing very worthwhile work. If you are seeking a worthy cause to which you can contribute time, money or both, please contact the WCA at 208-343-3688.

Emissions Testing Program Facts

The story in today’s Idaho Statesman about vehicle emissions testing contains several inaccuracies and/or misrepresentations.

First, I have been advocating reducing the number of required emissions tests since I first served on the Air Quality Board in 2001, as the relevant science has shown the additional tests do little to improve our air quality. The Board finally voted in December of 2009 to reduce testing frequency as of January 1, 2010. This change was in no way precipitated by, “a state program forcing the tests on Canyon County drivers.”

Second, because of the dramatic reduction in the number of required emissions tests, the Ada County Air Quality Board expected about half of the testing stations to go out of business soon with or without SysTech and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in the picture.

Third, if the county joins the DEQ program, Ada County vehicle owners stand to save up to $9 per emissions test which would add up to over a million dollars each of the next five years. This money will stay in the pockets of individuals, who will then be able to save it or invest it however they see fit, in the local economy.

Fourth, the article states that in Canyon County, “people may have no choice but to get out of their cars and go to a waiting room while their car is tested”. Nothing stops us, in Ada County, from requiring DEQ to set up a certain percentage of drive-in/drive-out testing sites. In addition, nothing prohibits Canyon County vehicle owners from watching the test be performed on their vehicle either.

Fifth, the Ada County emissions testing program and the DEQ rules have a prohibition against testing stations also doing repairs. This rule is in place to prevent testing stations from purposely failing vehicles. If a testing station fails to abide by this rule, they stand to have their license to operate evoked.

Sixth, the DEQ and SysTech emissions testing program has significantly greater anti-fraud protections in place than the current Ada County program. To imply otherwise is not only grossly misleading, but is also a disservice to all Ada County vehicle owners.

For more factual information about vehicle emissions testing, check out the DEQ website at http://www.deq.idaho.gov/air/prog_issues/emissions_testing/treasure_valley_program.cfm

The bottom line is that DEQ and SysTech offer the opportunity for Ada County vehicle owners to save over $1 million a year for five years for a government-mandated emissions test that many of us view with suspicion to begin with. That savings is good for vehicle owners and for the local economy.

Family Values

Well folks, it’s political season again and speculation about the next eleven weeks is running rampant. Political types have pulled out tired old campaign rhetoric to try to wow us, once again. One of my favorites is the old cliché about, “Family values.” I’ll tell you a little bit about what the phrase means to me.

I value my family so much that I want to be sure we live in a community and a state in which our constitutional rights are protected. I value my family so much that I want our government to have a different set of priorities. For example, last year at a COMPASS (Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho) Board Meeting, I learned that the Idaho Transportation Department does not prioritize the implementation of signalized crosswalks even at locations known to be dangerous, until someone gets killed there.

As a mother of six children, ranging in age from 23 down to six, I have a different view of “family values.” Let’s start placing a high enough value on the people of our state – including our children – that we take a proactive approach to public safety. Family values must begin with valuing our Idaho families.

Solution-Based Government

It’s been quite some time since I posted anything on my blog, not because things are quiet but rather, to the contrary, because it’s been so busy that I haven’t found the time.

These days, I am working on the following major issues:

· Teaming up with Idaho State University, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Central District Health Department to provide free health screenings by ISU health sciences students to underserved adults in the community in an effort to keep folks with problems from ending up in the costly emergency room at taxpayer expense. I’ll provide more details on this project soon.

· Working with Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and his staff to fight back against the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation that would require Ada County to add scales out at the landfill at an estimated cost of $1 million to ratepayers.

· Working with community members and legislators to improve the situation with regard to horse racing at Idaho Downs (formerly known as Les Bois Park) including taking a serious look at legislative fixes to reduce the government red tape.

· Learning more about the emissions testing program that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is implementing in Canyon County. If our questions about the program are all satisfactorily addressed, Ada County residents stand to save over $1 million a year with the $11 per emissions test price tag.

· Working with colleagues from Eastern Idaho on statewide radio interoperability. In addition we are having conversations about how to deal with the fact that the state is taking more than the 20 percent administration fee from federal grant funds that are passed through to local agencies, such as our own Ada City-County Emergency Management organization.

My approach to these issues is to try to find workable solutions that limit government regulation and decrease costs to taxpayers and ratepayers. I call it, “Solution-Based Government.”