Bowling in Vegas

It's true that - with the exception of two bad quarters in Reno on November 26 - our Boise State Broncos played a season worthy of going to the Rose Bowl. TCU was just a little better than us, and they're going instead.

But this BSU fan is pleased with the Broncos' consolation prize - and when the "must-see bowl game" lists come out in the next day or two and the final story of this season is written, I'm betting that the Las Vegas Bowl will rank above the Fiesta Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. Forget the BCS and its forced qualifiers. (8-4 UConn in the Fiesta Bowl? Really?!?) Update: Indeed, ESPN ranks the Vegas Bowl #7 out of 35 games, higher than the Fiesta Bowl.

The biggest plus is probably the date. BSU fans hated just about everything about the idea of playing in San Francisco: the goofy name of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, the idea of driving over Donner Pass to get there (Las Vegas is a mere 15 miles closer, but a bit less of a white-knuckle trip), and especially the prospect of playing 7-5 Boston College.

But the date was the worst aspect: At this point, our guys deserve to have a short break for finals and play their bowl game. By January 9, most fans are going to be bowled out, ready for the Oregon-Auburn BCS title game. (Go Ducks!) People will have been back on the job and students will have been back in school for a week. The Idaho Legislature starts January 10. Aside from being the final holiday buzz kill, that fact alone means many Boiseans would've had a hard time making a bowl trip to the Bay Area.

But on December 22? It's just the fifth day and the fifth game of bowl season, and the Vegas Bowl will be the first Top 20 match-up. Fans nationwide will watch this game, and Boise State fans - even those disappointed by the pick - ought to consider making the drive. There is no cheaper week to visit Vegas, and you can be home in time for Christmas.

My family usually plans trips months ahead, but we made a snap decision Sunday to go to this game. My husband and daughter were already off of work and school, and I can get away from my job, too. My family - all but me - loves Las Vegas. ("This is the only time you'll catch me voluntarily saying, 'Let's go to Vegas,'"I told them.) We nabbed a rental car for under $90 for four days and we see plenty of name-brand Strip hotel rooms in the $50-60 range (with even-cheaper rooms abundantly available). Game tickets are $62 with all fees included; not a bargain, but not much more than a BSU home game. Most of all, we'll be there for the Broncos.

Zipping around Boise

Hooray! Zipcar is coming to Boise! I thought it would take far longer for the car-sharing service to arrive here, but through a partnership with Boise State, it's here now. Zipcar has citywide programs in only 14 cities, but it turns out that it's also on more than 100 campuses nationwide, now including BSU.

Zipcar is starting small in the City of Trees, which is probably a good idea. There are only four Zipcars parked on campus, but I'm sure that if demand is high, they'll add more. Membership is available for $35 for BSU students, faculty, and staff; community members can join for $50 a year.

For those who don't know, Zipcar is perfect for people who do not own a car, or who need an extra vehicle from time to time. Say you only need a car once a week to run some errands, or for a day trip or overnight to McCall. At $8 an hour ($9 on weekends) or $66/day - including insurance, gas, and 180 free miles per 24 hours - it sure beats owning a car for people who only need or want to drive occasionally. Since gas is included, it's probably cheaper than traditional car rental for close-by overnight trips - plus these are sweet rides, like a roomy Scion xB or Toyota Prius.

I'm not sure how often I'll use Zipcar, but as a BSU-area resident with an 11-year old car that I share with my daughter, I plan to become a community member and check it out for some road trips. I predict they're going to need to add more cars before too long!

The facts might set us free

The Idaho Statesman's Kevin Richert penned a column in today's paper about new research from a Brookings Mountain West report showing that the Treasure Valley faces a highly uncertain path to economic recovery. Kevin does a good job outlining the study's findings, which included the sobering statistics that the Boise Metropolitan Statistical Area has seen some of the nation's steepest declines in housing prices and employment levels. (In both areas, we rank among the worst six of the nation's Top 100 metros.)

The Brookings report also was the topic of yesterday's Urban Lunch at the Boise Watercooler, featuring talks by Dean Melissa Lavitt of Boise State's College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs and Boise City Councilman David Eberle. My main take-away from the session was that - for the first time ever - the Boise metro area has extensive, fact-based research with which we can compare ourselves to other metro areas in the Intermountain West.

For as long as I've lived in Idaho (21 years this spring, including six years in Boise and 15 in Twin Falls), we've considered ourselves too small and too remote to be included in serious public policy research, and outsiders have certainly seen us that way too. But Lavitt and Eberle both made the point that BSU's participation in the five-school Brookings West consortium - coupled with the Boise metro area's population growth - make that serious research possible for the first time.

Unfortunately, the results may not please us as much as the myriad (albeit subjective) Top Places to Live-type lists that Boise has deservedly found itself on over the past decade. But facts are facts, and Boise's abysmal placement in employment and housing value metrics - together with Idaho's long-term lack of support for higher education and blurry economic development vision - should make us all take notice. We know what a great place Boise is to live, but it won't stay that way if we don't realize that this is the first recession that we can neither build our way out of nor solve through outdated economic development policy.

Update: The Idaho Business Review's Robb Hicken has a report on the study, too.

Mark Rivers, talking sense

Mark Rivers, one of the smartest guys in Boise, did a two-part interview with BSU Radio this week. In Part One, he says that while Boise city administration has good intentions and integrity, it lacks vision when it comes to economic development. Is the state any better? "Don't get me started," he tells reporter Elzabeth Duncan, noting that Butch Otter's signature Project 60 is "asinine."

In Part Two, Rivers suggests a better streetcar route, calls Boise State University our city's biggest remaining "factory," and says downtown Boise is still in pretty good shape. Listen here.

And no, he doesn't want to run for office. Of course, I can't blame him, and I agree that people like Rivers can probably do more good outside the political process than within it.

Interesting side note: I just got the save-the-date postcard today for an intriguing City Club program on April 15. BSU's Nancy Napier and Bob Lokken of White Cloud Analytics will discuss whether Boise is living up to its promise of a creative economy.

Are we (happy) yet?

I recently finished reading a book I got for Christmas, The Geography of Bliss by NPR correspondent Eric Weiner. The subtitle is "One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World."

Weiner may be a congenital grump, but I smiled - and even laughed out loud - many times while reading this "philosophical self-help humorous travel memoir." That's why I'll be listening in at 5:30 p.m. Friday (January 15) or 11 a.m. Sunday (January 17) - or via podcast - when Weiner talks with Boise State University President Bob Kustra on his New Horizons show.

On his website, Weiner is asking readers to share their happiest places. I just looked at that page and saw this on top of the list:

The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. Many natural hot springs, quiet mountain passes, clear creeks. Camping is private and secluded in September. But it wouldn’t be a happy place without my husband. It’s all about the sharing. - Melissa

How about that?

Reading Weiner's book, I felt most intrigued by Iceland and Bhutan and least attracted to Qatar and Moldova. But I think it's possible to be happy pretty much anywhere, as long as you're willing to take responsibility for creating the sort of life you want. In fact, Iceland seems to be a perfect example of that.

Filling the Macy's hole

Many of us are disappointed to hear that Macy's will be closing its downtown Boise store. I haven't been here long enough to remember the earlier retail incarnations that Tim Woodward described in his Idaho Statesman article today. I just know that, whenever I was lured by Macy's One-Day Sales or holiday blow-outs, I always tried the downtown store first to see what they had before even considering a trip to Mallville. Sure, the selection was never as good, but the vibe was friendlier.

Now the big question turns to whether and how downtown Boise can fill the void at 10th & Idaho. In Cynthia Sewell's main Statesman story today, key players including Capital City Development Corporation director Phil Kushlan and downtown revivalist Mark Rivers were fairly downbeat about the possibilities, though they said that this does give Boise an opportunity to re-imagine future uses for the space,since it's unlikely any national retailers will want it. Here are a few possibilities I'd propose:

Make it multi-use. It's unlikely that one tenant will need the 118,000 square feet Macy's occupies. Besides, some of the most compelling spaces in our downtown and those of other cities feature a mix of retail, offices, cultural attractions, and even residential space.

Boise State will continue to grow, and its campus boundaries become more porous every year. Could BSU claim part of the Macy's real estate for a downtown campus, perhaps for its political science or community and regional planning classes?

Central downtown really needs a grocery store and/or a public market. Winco's flagship behemoth is too far east to serve people living and working in the downtown core, especially people who'd like to quickly hit a store on foot at lunchtime or before heading home. Whole Foods' plans for a Boise store have been on the back burner during the downturn - but if it does move forward, perhaps it would consider taking over part of Macy's. (The first Whole Foods I ever visited, while researching for Lonely Planet in the chain's hometown of Austin, Texas, was a multi-level store.)

Perhaps the Boise Co-Op, crammed into its current Fort Street location, might take a look. Or how about a year-round, indoor public market a la Seattle's Pike Place or Vancouver's Granville Island? Yes, parking will always be an issue, but not an insurmountable one, especially for the thousands of people who will be living downtown in another decade or so.

Bowling! Say no more. Macy's basement would be a rocking spot for a bowling alley/nightclub/performance space.

What are your ideas?