Wylie letter: F-35s

The F-35s finally came to Boise. Did they proudly strut their stuff? No. What about a fly-by and a wing tip? No. Instead, they slinked in, mostly unheard. Why? Their proponents don’t want anyone to hear them. Other cities being considered to host the planes get to experience a full week of typical missions. Why doesn’t Boise have this opportunity? Because City Hall and Gowen Strong don’t want people to know how detrimental the planes will be to our quality of life. To date they have rejected all invitations to discuss the negative impacts. Better to tout “Proud To Be An American,” pay big money for one-sided advertising and ram this through in a very un-American way. Many proponents are hopeful the F-35s will position Boise to become an air freight hub. Boise is already growing so fast people can barely afford housing. Do we really want to crank up our economy with 24/7 air traffic and the noise pollution and congestion it will bring? All of us should have the right to hear what these planes actually sound like for a few days before we sign the future of our city away.

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Wylie letter: F-35s."