Greetings!   If you are like me, you are once again peeved, incredulous, frustrated, and just plain tired of  north valley politics.  If the north valley can't get it's act together, how can the valley as a whole work together to bring us out of our economic morass?  My thoughts on some local issues:

The 1% LOT?  I vote Yes, but the money absolutely cannot be given to the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance (SVMA), nor to any other underfunded and jerry-rigged group with faulty ideas. 

SVMA? Get rid of it. It has done nothing of note, other than spend tax money and an Idaho Travel Council grant, mostly on salaries.  Let's raise the Chamber of Commerce, like the Phoenix, from its ashes.  The Chamber's Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation must still exist somewhere (unless the cities actually dissolved the organization - which I doubt).  Dust them off, gather businesses together, vote for officers, direct the officers to write a mission, collect dues, and put administrative functions back in place.  Things won't be perfect right away but the business community could do this in a week if it had the will.  It needs just a handful of collaborative leaders to take it on - and they could well be the past Board members.

SVMA's winter campaign?  Get rid of it.  First, does it really exist?  Four weeks ago, the Executive Director had no campaign.  Hard to believe it's now in place.  Second, if it's anything like Skippy the Stone, find a new campaign as soon as possible.  

The URA? Get rid of it. This should appeal to those in the valley who don't believe government should be involved in private enterprise. I'm not in that camp, but eliminating the URA appeals to me because it has behaved irresponsibly from the start: subsidizing the multinational Starbucks, subsidizing Seattle-based GMD Development to build affordable housing, and subsidizing the quite wealthy Sun Valley Company by designating River Run, the Company's privately-owned property, a blighted area that must be "rehabilitated" by taxpayer funds.

The KCDC?  Get rid of it.  The walkability project should be overseen by Ketchum's Economic and Community Development Director, as should should all other economic development projects, e.g. affordable housing and small business support efforts.  The Director, having the staff, compensation level, and title for these activities, should  be doing them - as do economic development directors in other communities.

The Sun Valley City Council?  Get rid of the arrogance and really bad manners, but praise its interest in accountability.

The Ketchum City Council?  Get rid of the Council's willingness to let the Mayor run the show with time-consuming verbosity and behind-the-scenes deals. 

And that's just the tip of the iceberg of valley craziness.  I wasn't going to write about any of this today - it's too depressing. But it happened and, having done it, I feel better!  I'll end on a good note, mentioning three new entrepreneurial endeavors:

Techie Sam Young, a resident millenial, has created an app, Sun Valley Trails, that helps hikers navigate the local terrain.  A few years ago, he created a website called Trailweb.net, and this is his newest development based on that website.  The app, which Sam is improving and expanding in his spare time, was mentioned in the Idaho Statesman. 

Delicia's English Toffee, handmade for the past 13 years by none other than Delicia, is another item on our ever-growing food production scene.  Toffee is my favorite candy and this is one of my favorite toffees.  It's based on Delicia's mother's 50-year-old confidential recipe and can be bought retail or wholesale via her website,  

Environmental scientist, educator, adventurer and artist obsessed with all things water, Dr. Wendy Pabich is about to depart the valley for a book tour promoting her second book, Taking on Water: How One Water Expert Challenged Her Inner Hypocrite, Reduced Her Water Footprint (without Sacrificing a Toasty Shower) and Found Nirvana. Wendy's first book was Idaho: An Explorer's Guide.  

Until next week...Jima Rice