They central probelm here there is no way to satisfy everyone's needs in the POS terminal. The bartender will have differnet needs than the hostess, waiter, manager, or kitchen staff. It would be nearly impossible for everyone to agree.
Simplicity is the key and I found this restaurants solution to be extremely intuitive. More steps to sit a table simply because the technology is there to acquire more data points, is not always the correct solution.
An interesting debate that I'm not sure there is a "correct" answer for, but if a brilliant mind such as the man discussed here wants to end his life peacefully, after dedicating his life to science, who are we to prevent him?
One aspect the article ignores specific to Boise is the increase in enrollment and reputation of Boise State University.
There have been numerous studies showing how universities in small towns can drive economic growth such as this one from economists from Stanford. https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1381
As higher quality human capital moves to the city, they are more likely to accept jobs and stay in the area, which could be driving the growth of the young adults living and working in the city.