Pay-Housing Disparities

I doubt many readers will be surprised by this, but Idaho’s housing-to-pay disparity is awfully bleak. Idaho home prices rose 146% between 2010 and 2022, while wages rose 64% in the same timeframe. To afford Idaho’s median home price of $440,000, you should be earning $130,000 a year. In actuality, the average annual wage for Idahoans is $54,000. Honestly, I’m a little numb! [Idaho Statesman]

• It won’t fix everything, but could a new zoning code provide some relief for Boiseans? [City Cast Boise]

Sánchez’s Emergency Request Denied

A judge denied former Boise City Council Member Lisa Sánchez’s request to be placed back on the council. This is after Sánchez moved out of her district, and the judge said that the law around vacating public officials’ seats is too unspecific to merit Sánchez’s emergency request. [BoiseDev]

VRT Wants to Change It Up

Valley Regional Transit (VRT) is looking for public feedback on new plans for the future of the bus system. Those include three different scenarios, all of which include cutting some lesser-used routes to establish higher frequencies in areas with more demand. For these changes to happen, VRT CEO Elaine Clegg said that they’ll have to tap their funding partners in the coming months. [VRT]

It’s not just eggs. While inflation has slowed some, it’s still high, meaning that almost everything is costing more these days. And due to a range of factors — from what some call simple corporate greed to complex chains of reactions — the costs of services required to live in the Treasure Valley are also going up.

Boise’s water, gas, and power utility companies are all looking to raise their prices. They vary based on commercial, governmental, or residential status, but we’re just focusing on residences for today. Here’s the breakdown:

⚡ Idaho Power has requested an increase of 10.3%, which equates to $11.06 per month for the average residence.

⛽ Intermountain Gas implemented an increase of 16.6% in February, which equates to $8.58 per month.

⛽ Intermountain is now seeking a different kind of increase to the tune of 4.4%, or $2.19 per month.

💧 Veolia, Boise’s main water servicer, has requested an increase of 24.1%, which amounts to $7.59 per month.

📈 Some of these might get reduced, but if they all went through as-is, the average Boise residence will be paying $29.42 more per month on utilities. That could come as soon as June.

So what’s next? Each of these requests are in different steps of their approval processes, but have to go through the Public Utilities Commission first. Veolia’s has probably been the most unpopular, but there are opportunities for public testimony on each that we’ll keep you updated on.

A Redditor’s favorite gluten-free pasta place recently closed, and they said “... now we don't know where to get great pasta. I know a bunch of sandwich shops have GF bread, but we are looking for more than just sandwiches.”

I understand that the landscape of gluten-free foods is quite vast — albeit more so in other cities — but a few of the suggestions they got go beyond pasta, and I want to hear your non-sandwich gluten-free favorites, too.

For pasta, several people shouted out Alavita: “Their menu is awesome and about 80% is gluten-free or can be made gluten-free. It's one of my favorite places to go when I want lots of options. I honestly can't name another restaurant that takes that level of care for gluten-free people.”

Also, Luciano’s can substitute pastas for gluten-free risotto.

For gluten-free pizzas, folks really like Casanova, Red Bench, and Smoky Mountain Pizza. I’ll also throw in that WinCo, which, as you might know, already has the City Cast Boise team’s undying love, has a cauliflower crust pizza that is very cheap and way better than it has any business being.

Beyond Italian cuisine, here are a few other places that got some love:

• Nahm Thai
• Fork
• Kibrom’s Ethiopian
• Water Bear Bar
• Pho Nouveau
• Sofia’s Greek Bistro
• BBQ4LIFE
• KIN
• Big Bun

Are there any other places that were missed? I’m curious if there are good gluten-free spots in Boise’s burgeoning brunch scene, but shout out your favorite local spots for any meal and I’ll share some. Bonus points if they don’t charge extra for substitutes!

Before we move on, I want to focus next week’s Chatter on water conservation. As we’re apparently in summer already, what are your methods for helping drive down water usage?

Have you thought about uprooting your grass lawn or setting up a rain-catching system? Better yet, are there ways you think local governments or businesses could explore for conserving water? Let me know!

‘The Christians’ 🙏🏻 | Today - Friday | Times vary

This is the last week of the last show of the Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) season, so get your tickets to this play by Lucas Hnath. [$28+, Downtown Boise]

Land Art Exhibit ⛰️ | Today - Saturday | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Idaho Botanical Garden will be closing this exhibit of nature-inspired sculptures and installations at the end of this week. [$12 for non-members, all ages, Warm Springs]

Treasure Valley Pollinator Project 🪲 | Friday & Saturday | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Go online now to shop flowers that support pollinator populations, then head to Peaceful Belly Farm at the times above for pick-up! [prices vary, south of Caldwell]

Sometimes, you just need to vent.

Loving a city deeply means you’re allowed to dislike some things about it, so we’re back with a Mother’s Day edition of our Hater’s Guide to Boise. Our pal and contributor Graham McBride tells us where he would take his beloved mother-in-law, even though those places are definitely not his vibe.

Thanks for being here! See ya tomorrow.