Latest news with #Boise-based
NBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
LGBTQ musician goes viral after playing protest song at ‘Hetero Awesome Fest' in Idaho
An LGBTQ musician managed to get a spot on stage at the 'Hetero Awesome Fest' in Boise, Idaho, last weekend, where he put on what he called his 'battle jacket' — which has an upside down American flag on one arm and a rainbow Pride heart on the other — and his tan beret from serving four years as an Army ranger and then played a song in protest about a transgender boy. His performance, which was live-streamed both by the festival and by a local journalist, went viral across social media this week. Daniel Hamrick, a Boise-based musician who performs at Renaissance festivals and with his band, Buzzbomb 7 Eleven, said his goal was to reach children and young adults in religious or conservative families who have to hide who they are for their own safety. 'I believe that anyone who's out has a responsibility to be gay and loud for the people who have to be gay and quiet,' he said in an interview with NBC News. Mark Fitzpatrick, owner of the Old State Saloon, a bar and restaurant in a suburb of Boise, announced the event in April as an alternative and a response to LGBTQ Pride Month, which is recognized annually in June. He said at the time that the event would be a celebration of 'traditional family values' and was inspired by the restaurant's inaugural 'Heterosexual Awesomeness Month ' held last year. The two-day event took place over the weekend in Cecil D. Andrus Park, directly across the street from the Capitol, and featured live music, conservative and far-right speakers and local food and drink vendors. The event's budget was about $85,000 and a few dozen people attended, according to KTVB, an NBC affiliate in Boise. Hamrick said he reached out to the event's organizers shortly after it was announced and coordinated with them over the last two months so he could perform. He said he never lied about who he was or what his intentions were in any of his phone calls or emails. 'I never straight up said, 'I want to play music in support of your message,' but I was like, 'Oh, I'm so excited. I'm so enthusiastic about doing this,' which I was,' Hamrick said, adding that at one point, there was a long silence from the organizers, and he assumed they had Googled him and found his social media, where he posts about politics and has a profile dedicated to his Renaissance festival persona. But then one day, he received an email with administrative information for musicians, 'And I was like, 'Oh, great, I'm in.'' Hamrick arrived at the festival Saturday wearing a short-sleeved button-up shirt and a baseball hat. Once on stage, he asked if there were any veterans in the crowd and put on his tan beret because he said, 'it was important that I opened with, 'I am a veteran. I fought for this country.' I believe in the country that America claims to be, even if it isn't that.'' Then he removed his button-up shirt to reveal a Canyon County Pride cropped T-shirt. He put on his 'battle jacket' and began to play the song, which is called 'Boy.' 'They put him in dresses to keep him in line; they say it's a phase and it's all in his mind. They put him in ballet; he wants to play ball. What matters to him doesn't matter at all. The boy that everyone thought was a girl,' Hamrick sang. Other lyrics in the song included, 'It's not just aesthetics; it's down to his heart. They're breaking his will, and he's breaking apart,' and later in the song, 'Let teacher take a glance, what's in your underpants,' a reference to the surge in state laws that regulate which sports teams trans youth can play on at school and which bathrooms they are allowed to use. Nearly three minutes into the song, one of the festival organizers pulled Hamrick's mic off the stage, and then security escorted him off as he continued to play his guitar and finished the song without a mic, according to a video posted by the Boise Blackbirds Instagram account, which is run by a local independent journalist and activist. Hamrick said he wrote the song last year. He is bisexual and not transgender, but he said he has many loved ones who are trans. 'The song is for everyone who listens to it and feels heard and seen and maybe just a little less alone,' he said, adding that it's for people who might be in conservative, religious communities who don't have a community they can trust. 'Know that your pastor or your parents or your Boy Scout troop leader isn't this insurmountable, unquestionable force of nature, but that if you have to hide right now, then that's what you have to do,' Hamrick said. 'You have to survive. But once you are out of that, there is a community that is ready to take you in and love you and support you.' Fitzpatrick, the festival's organizer, described Hamrick's actions as a 'pathetic and evil act' in an email to NBC News. 'Our festival is a fortress for traditional family values: faith, freedom, truth, and the sanctity of what makes us human,' Fitzpatrick said. 'He lied to us to get a chance to play on stage in front of our guests, children included, stating his act would honor that. When he got on stage, he threw on part of a military uniform dishonoring the Army, and unleashed a song glorifying transgender ideology. It was a vile anthem pushing the lie that boys can be girls and girls can be boys. So I yanked his mic and told him to leave.' He said the festival was still a 'bigger success than I ever dreamed.' He said he spent about $40,000 personally and is 'getting millions in publicity against the Left wing PRIDE nutjobs.' As for Hamrick, he said Buzzbomb 7 Eleven is working on recording 'Boy' and another song so that they can release it publicly. Some of his supporters have called him a 'hero,' but Hamrick said he's very uncomfortable with that. 'If it inspired a lot of people to get involved, that's a wonderful role for me to have,' he said. 'I'm so happy that I get to play that part, but it is just a small part. If you want to send love, send it to your organizers. Send it to the people who are putting together protests, who are doing food drives for unhoused people. There are people who are on the ground, working every day to try to make life more livable for queer people in this country.'
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Were Boise homeowners illegally taxed? Idaho Supreme Court to weigh in
The curtains are closing on a long-running legal battle over Boise's Harris Ranch neighborhood. Since 2021, residents have gathered and fought the area's Boise-based developer and the city of Boise over a special taxing district they say is unlawful and unfair. Both sides presented oral arguments June 9 to the Idaho Supreme Court and now await a decision that could come in weeks. Or, more likely, months. The homeowners say the special taxing district, called a community infrastructure district, forced them to unfairly foot the bill for $22 million in payments to the developer of Harris Ranch in October 2021. Barber Valley Development, which is building the Boise neighborhood on behalf of the Harris Family Limited Partnership, rejected the claims that the payments were illegal and argued that they have followed the rules outlined by the Idaho Legislature. The Legislature permitted community infrastructure districts in 2008 with the hope that they could help make growth pay for itself. In such a district, homeowners pay extra taxes for local public improvements like roads and roundabouts. In theory, this means that a resident of the Boise Bench or North End wouldn't be forced to pay higher taxes for things they wouldn't need or use such as sewer lines. Led by residents Larry Crowley and Bill Doyle, the homeowners with the Harris Ranch CID Taxpayers Association say the district made them pay up to 40% higher taxes than those outside the district — including homes across their street that were intentionally cut out of the district boundaries. An Ada County judge threw out all 16 of the homeowners' arguments in April 2023. The homeowners appealed to the state's highest court almost five months later. 'It's been a lengthy effort,' Crowley said by phone after Monday's oral arguments. 'We've done our part, now it's in their court.' Crowley said that they were hopeful that there could be some relief coming for homeowners, but that he was proud of the work the community had done. 'It's been in many ways a very humbling experience,' Crowley said. 'We're just really thankful for the opportunity to get to this point.' Doug Fowler, the president of Barber Valley Development, said that he was looking forward to putting the legal issues behind him and continuing to build out the neighborhood, some of which has been paused amid the court battle. After chiding both sides for using confidential information from an accidental email in their arguments, the Supreme Court justices grilled lawyers representing the homeowners, the city and Barber Valley Development. They poked holes in arguments, seemed to cast doubt on both sides and tested the boundaries of an issue that has never been litigated before. Though the lawyers and justices touched on several topics on the sprawling lawsuit's one-hour oral argument, possibly the most poignant was whether the district was formed correctly in 2010 and whether that issue could be used in arguments. Nicholas Warden, the attorney for the neighbors, argued that the district was created by the vote of a single resident on land outside the district who would never need to pay the extra taxes. No one who would eventually pay the taxes took part in the vote. This, Warden said, should invalidate the $22 million payment in 2021 because the creation of the bonds required approval by a supermajority of residents. 'Our position is that an assent of a supermajority requires at least one person, in other words more than none, of the people who are going to pay the tax to vote on it,' Warden said. 'That could easily have occurred in this place.' Justice Greg Moeller said there are plenty of cases where people may buy a house, move in and need to pay into something like a school bond or mosquito abatement district even if they hadn't voted for it. The homeowners, he said, bought their homes knowing of the district. 'I understand why they're unhappy with this,' Moeller said. 'But it's not unusual for people to buy land in a district with restrictions that they're helpless to change by the time they move in.' Melodie McQuade, an attorney with Boise's Givens Pursley law firm representing the infrastructure district, said there was no evidence that the vote was illegal, and the creation of the district wasn't up for debate in the case. 'The plaintiffs want to challenge the formation of the district and then multiple decisions that have been made over the past several years,' McQuade said. 'You can't reach back that far.' A key moment came when Moeller asked McQuade if the infrastructure district could be considered a legal form of taxation without representation — an argument that Crowley and Doyle have made since they first sued. 'I don't believe so,' McQuade said. 'I believe this is a mechanism for infrastructure to be paid for in perhaps a slightly different way than if the developer baked it into the lot costs.' Moeller said that it seemed as if it could be a way to hide who voted for tax increases and would prevent them from being able to hold anybody accountable. 'My best answer to that, conceptually, is that it shouldn't be disqualifying that a small group of people would vote to create the district,' McQuade said. 'It's not surprising that these big pieces of land would have very few voters, because they're all owned by maybe even one family.' A new law was supposed to help emergency services handle growth. It isn't working As Boise builds up, Eagle tees up density restrictions with little public input Boise to welcome 'crown jewel' of hotels on Grove Street. What's coming? A Christian college wants to build apartments in Garden City. Neighbors are mad
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Special investigation apparently requested over evidence leaks in Kohberger case
The defense for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students, appears to have requested a 'special investigation' into alleged leaks in the case in an episode of NBC's 'Dateline' last month. The prosecution in the case filed a response Wednesday to the defense's motion regarding the appointment of a special prosecutor, according to a public case summary. Judge Steven Hippler, who presides over the case, ordered that filing sealed Thursday, the record showed. The case summary also indicated the defense filed a motion for 'Access and Fair Investigation' and an 'Objection to Release of Privileged and Confidential Work Product' on Wednesday, which Hippler also sealed Thursday. Sealed records are not released publicly, though the judge's sealing orders eventually will post to the state courts website, Idaho courts spokesperson Nate Poppino told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday. At a public hearing last month, Hippler stated he held a closed-door portion earlier that same morning, and the Ada County judge said he was open to bringing on a special prosecutor. That person would be tasked with investigating potential violations of the court's gag order by law enforcement or the prosecution through disclosure of previously unreleased information about Kohberger and the investigation revealed in the episode of 'Dateline.' 'As I indicated, I would be open to a request for appointment of a special prosecutor,' Hippler told the defense at that hearing, 'and that special prosecutor to ask for a magistrate inquiry so they have the power of subpoena and the power to question witnesses under oath, as well as the power to grant immunity. So I will be looking for that from you.' 'Dateline' representatives have not responded to prior requests for comment from the Statesman. The gag order, which took effect four days after Kohberger's arrest in late December 2022, restricts attorneys from both sides — and anyone affiliated with them, including members of law enforcement — from making public statements about the case outside of court. The episode of 'Dateline' aired May 9 — just days before a pretrial hearing in the case. Edwina Elcox, a Boise-based criminal defense attorney, told the Statesman that the filing appears to be about the appointment of a special prosecutor. 'That's exactly what I think that is,' Elcox said in a phone interview Thursday. 'Because obviously Judge Hippler invited it, and that's the way the formal request would be made. They do everything through motion practice, so the way you get that done is ask for a formal inquiry and the court would appoint a special prosecutor.' Hippler earlier issued orders to the prosecution and defense to retain all records and correspondence related to the likely violations within seven days. Each side filed a related 'notice of compliance' to the court on May 22, with the prosecution also submitting a supplemental filing on the matter the next day. Kohberger, 30, faces four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four students at an off-campus home in Moscow. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if a jury finds Kohberger guilty. The victims were U of I seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20. The three woman lived in the Moscow home with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack, while Chapin was Kernodle's boyfriend and stayed over for the night. Kohberger's capital murder trial in Boise is scheduled to start with jury selection at the end of July. Defense attorneys last month sought to delay Kohberger's trial, citing an overwhelming amount of evidence they've yet to review, as well as the prejudicial information released about their client on the NBC news program. Prosecutors objected to that request to postpone, and a public court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, to argue the issue before Hippler.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Boise housing organization seeks donations for people experiencing homelessness in summer heat
CATCH is a Boise-based nonprofit housing organization that seeks to end homelessness in the Treasure Valley. (File photo courtesy of CATCH) With the onset of summer heat, a Boise-based housing organization is asking the public to donate emergency summer supplies to be distributed to people experiencing homelessness in Ada County. The Boise nonprofit CATCH is seeking donations of sports drinks, reusable water bottles, socks, sleeping bags, sunblock, bug spray, bicycle lights, underwear and hygiene items for its 'Beat the summer heat' campaign, CATCH Outreach Team Lead Connor O'Hora said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX CATCH's outreach team spends three days a week traveling through Ada County by bicycle and van delivering supplies to people experiencing homelessness. 'We've already broken the record and hit 100 degrees in May in Idaho, so we can expect a hot summer where people will be struggling with heat-related illnesses,' O'Hora said in a phone interview Tuesday. 'As we make contact, we want to be able to offer people something to keep cool and safe while they get started in the direction they feel is appropriate.' CONTACT US O'Hora said many of the items CATCH is seeking for donations can help people and families endure short-term hardships as they work with CATCH team members to get connected to additional support services like shelters, health care facilities and food banks. With summer coming, O'Hora said the need is great and the population of people experiencing homelessness in the Treasure Valley is on the rise. More than 1,800 households are experiencing homelessness in the Treasure Valley, CATCH estimates. The group defines households as any of the nonprofit's clients who are seeking to live together, including traditional families, single parents, individuals and couples. Last year, CATCH ended homelessness for a record 486 people, including 223 children and 114 families, he said. 'There is a great need, and we are seeing our population growing in key demographics,' O'Hora said. 'We see our population is aging and many folks who are living in their vehicles or are staying outside had been renting for five, 10 or even 15 years and then they got priced out of their housing or it was sold to a different property management company.' To donate, people may: Drop off donations at the CATCH office at 503. S. Americana Blvd., in Boise from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Purchase items online through CATCH's Amazon wish list. Visit to make a financial donation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tech billionaire tapped for head of Forest Service cleared national land to make room for private airstrip: 'Illegally operating an airport'
The man in line to lead the U.S. Forest Service has "clashed" with the agency for years over private use of public lands, the New York Times reported. On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a confirmation hearing to discuss the appointment of Michael Boren, per ABC News. Boren is an Idaho ranch owner and founder of a billion-dollar tech company — and he's had more than one run-in with the Forest Service in recent years as well as confrontations with residents who have objected to his activities. In 2015, Boren purchased his Hell Roaring Ranch, located in the Forest Service-managed Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Boren's run-ins with the Forest Service and locals typically revolved around claims of his "diverting a stream, disputes over how Boren manages land within and around the national forest, and disagreements about the precise locations of mining claims made by Boren's corporation," ABC explained. However, the Times focused on a controversy involving Boren's installation of a "private air strip" in what the outlet described as "a national recreation area." Boren allegedly operated a helicopter "dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail" in 2020 — earning him a caution from the agency and leading officials to obtain a restraining order. Dave Coyner was one of the workers on the crew during the helicopter incident. "We saw this helicopter less than 100 feet off the ground, and it started coming toward us. They were definitely trying to intimidate us," he recalled. "To hear that he's being nominated to be undersecretary of the Forest Service, that just blows me away," Coyner said. The Times linked to a 2021 editorial in the Post Register written by a retired search and rescue operative Gary Gadwa. "Michael Boren, a multimillionaire from Boise, is illegally operating an airport in the Sawtooth Valley without permits," Gadwa wrote. He called on Idaho residents to "halt this dangerous precedent, which threatens one of the most beloved wilderness areas in our state." Boren sued Boise-based Jon Conti for discussing the controversy on YouTube, and Conti was largely reluctant to comment on the broader controversy. "The Sawtooths are the last wild frontier, really untouched, and I think that most Idahoans would like to see it stay that way," Conti remarked, per the Times. Should the government ban gas stoves? Yes Only in new buildings Only in restaurants No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
