Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from April 2003

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from April 2003

Antiques 'fever' persists, dealers, shops discover.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin While the business of buying and selling antiques and collectibles is not always predictable, Boise antique shop owners consider it a labor of love that still has a place in today's competitive retail world. Even...

Boise Tower default looms.(Capital City Development Corp. tells developer Rick Peterson he needs to make Boise Tower project viable)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson The Capital City Development Corp., which has backed the Boise Tower project since the mid-'90s, last week moved reluctantly to declare it in default, telling developer Rick Peterson his time to make the project...

Telecom provider, ELI, shifts focus to smaller businesses.(Electric Lightwave Inc.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Ken Levy For telecommunications provider Electric Lightwave Inc., growing in the market means thinking smaller. Gabe Gomez, ELI sales engineer, said that when ELI first entered the Boise market in 1997, "we were targeting the...

62-acre subdivision proposed for northwest Meridian.(Verona Subdivision proposed by Frank Varriale of Primeland Development L.L.P. and engineer Becky McKay)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson A 62-acre, mixed-use development with 168 housing units and around 100,000 square feet of commercial building space has been proposed for the northeast quadrant of Ten Mile and McMillan roads in northwest Meridian. ...

Nampa computer-skills trainers find demand.(Impact Training Center L.L.C.)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Impact Training Center LLC, which brought computer-skills training to Nampa four months ago, has attracted a considerable number of clients interested in bolstering their resumr[umlaut]s, its owners say. Dawn...

Boise-based MotoSports relocates to Overland Road.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin MotoSports, a Boise-based retailer of off-road motorcycles, has relocated and expanded to Overland Road between Curtis and Cole roads. Owner Bob Bosserman re-opened the store April 1 in an 8,000-square-foot former...

Eddy's Bakery to close Boise production plant.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Eddy's Bakery will close its Boise production plant on North Five Mile Road on May 24, eliminating all 129 jobs. Parent company Interstate Bakeries Corp. said it plans to shift production to plants in Salt Lake...

Paul's Market may build anew in Hailey.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Paul's Market, which must vacate its downtown Hailey store because the building is slated for redevelopment as shops, is among businesses considering sites in the Woodside section of Hailey. The Homedale-based...

Idaho Elks Rehab Hospital forms fund-raising group.(Friends of Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Financial strains in the health-care industry and a down economy have prompted the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital to form an entity devoted solely to seeking and tracking charitable contributions. After about a...

Title firms bask in continued low rates.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson For Boise-based Alliance Title & Escrow Corp., revenues are up by 25 to 35 percent statewide from a year ago depending on location, and mortgage refinances account for 60 to 70 percent of transactions. "We would...

Area banks' results reflect weakened U.S. economy.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson It's a mixed bag for banks now. "There are some soft spots, but it's not like business is bad or down. There is still plenty of business out there," said Gary Gribben, vice president and manager of Wells Fargo...

CreativeArts fashions success producing 'whimsical' napkins.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Rosemarie Casper and Mike Silva have turned a fondness for art and cocktail napkins into a profitable wholesale and online retail business that did $1.2 million in sales last year. Since the early '90s, the Boise...

Sel-Equity plans office addition.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Sel-Equity plans to start an addition this spring to its northwest Boise residential and commercial real estate business. According to planning documents filed with the City of Boise, Kristen Van Engelen of...

Big Lots targets Meridian.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Big Lots, a Columbus, Ohio-based discount retailer, plans to open its fifth Idaho store in Meridian by early May. Company spokesman Pat Zeigler said remodeling has started on a 20,000-square-foot space in Cherry...

Idaho Athletic Club plans Blackeagle facility.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Idaho Athletic Club plans to open a fourth Treasure Valley fitness club in Boise early next year on a nearly 2.5-acre in the Blackeagle Center at Blackeagle Drive and Maple Grove Road. According to planning...

Ex-developer Durkin moves on as head of food firm B&D.(Larry Durking heads B&D Foods)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Larry Durkin, who closed commercial real estate development and consulting firm Dakota Co. last fall after a court decision, now focuses full-time on heading a southeast Boise food company he's owned for nine years....

Old Boise buys ex-Joe's All-American Grill building.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson One of Boise's most striking historic structures, the Turnverein Building at Sixth and Main streets, has been sold to Old Boise and is to house two entertainment venues plus a private club. The Germanic-style...

Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho pension plan performing well.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Could it be that one of the better-performing investment funds around is the ostensibly conservative state pension plan? The Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho isn't setting the investment world on fire,...

MotoSports relocates to Overland Road.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin MotoSports, a Boise-based retailer of off-road motorcycles, has relocated and expanded to Overland Road between Curtis and Cole roads. Owner Bob Bosserman re-opened the store April 1 in an 8,000-square-foot former...

Horizon sells off 3 stations in Boise, Twin Falls, cuts staff.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Three southern Idaho radio stations have a new management team and a smaller staff as part of a planned change of ownership. AGM Broadcasting of Idaho LLC is buying the stations from Horizon Broadcasting Group. A...

Telemarketing firm to expand in Boise.(Harris Marketing Group)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Harris Marketing Group plans to add 15 employees in Boise on April 7, and to occupy an additional 1,700 square feet of space on State Street near 16th Street. The company offers telemarketing and business mailing...

Boise Tower permit reinstated by city council.(Boise, Idaho)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin The Boise City Council voted last week to reinstate the Boise Tower's building permit, possibly giving the long-delayed downtown Boise project at Eighth and Main streets new life. In a 4-1 vote, the council decided...

Commentary: New AT&T product to help protect privacy on the Internet.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Rick Edvalson What would it be like if every unethical or immoral act was associated with a particular smell? Imagine, for example, that you could identify thieves by their odor, or that a lie could be detected by catching its...

J.R. Simplot adapts to slump, taste trends.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson If you're expecting the end of the war in Iraq to unleash an immediate economic rebound, don't hold your breath. That's the view of the chief executive of Idaho's largest privately held corporation, Larry...

35-acre mixed-use project planned in southeast Boise.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin A 35-acre mixed-use development consisting of retail, office, and residential components is to be built between ParkCenter Boulevard and Boise Avenue, north of the latter's intersection with Holcomb Road, in southeast...

Caterer plans relocation of 8th St. eatery to Broadway.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Boise caterer John Berryhill plans to move his downtown Boise wine bar and cafe by early June to the Broadway Park Plaza on Broadway Avenue near Iowa Street, adjacent to his catering business. Berryhill leases...

Apartments, retail planned at 12th and Greenhurst in Nampa.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Construction of two retail buildings is nearing completion, and an apartment complex and more commercial buildings are planned, north of Wal-Mart in Nampa. Wal-Mart is at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and...

Meadow Lake senior project draws medical-office interest.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Meadow Lake Village owners plan to start building commercial structures this year in the 140-acre development taking shape north of Interstate 84 and east of St. Luke's Meridian Medical Center. Office buildings of...

InTouch Solutions to build in Meridian's SilverStone center.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Teleconn Inc., a telecommunications equipment company that does business as inTouch Solutions, plans a new building for its Boise-area headquarters. The company acquired a site on South Titanium Place in...

New property 'takings' law takes effect July 1.(eminent domain legislation)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Whether a government action on a property amounts to an improper "taking" will be determined differently in Idaho starting July 1. House Bill 256, signed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, requires a local or state agency...

Idaho bankruptcies rise slightly in first quarter.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson After increasing by about 8 percent from 2001 to 2002, Idaho bankruptcy filings grew at a slower rate in the first quarter of this year. There were 2,115 bankruptcy cases filed in Idaho in the first quarter, up...

St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center parking structure well under way.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Ken Levy The first phase of new parking construction is well underway at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. The east parking deck, which is east of the Saint Al's emergency department along Curtis Road, is...

Oppenheimer Development proposes building next to Eagle Post Office.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Developers of the complex that includes the Eagle Post Office and City Library want to construct a professional office building there. Oppenheimer Development Corp., Boise, has applied for Design Review approval of...

Commentary: Instant messaging - the next techie time-waster?
April 21, 2003... Byline: Tim Rhodes Instant messaging (IM) is on the verge of becoming a key business communications tool to rival email and the telephone. With a rash of corporate IM products having hit or getting ready to hit the market, Ferris Research...

Two Idaho hospitals say they're weathering revenue crunch.(Saint Alphonsus, St. Luke's)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Idaho's two biggest hospitals have so far dodged the fiscal crises that are plunging a third of U.S. hospitals into the red, but the chiefs of Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke's medical centers say their biggest challenges...

Economist expects modest gains in Idaho.(Jeff Thredgold)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson A regional economist expects modest growth in Idaho this year. "Sluggish Idaho economic performance during 2001 and mild recession throughout much of 2002 have now given way to modest growth," Jeff Thredgold,...

Boise-based Synergy Engineers off to promising start.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Ken Levy Boise-based Synergy Engineers is off to a promising start. The company was launched in June 2001 by managing partner Wes Smith, with one employee. Less than two years later Synergy has a staff of 14, including added...

'Right to cure' law takes effect July 1.(for homebuilders)
April 21, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Idaho will have a homebuilders' "notice and opportunity to repair" law -- also known as a "right to cure" law -- starting July 1. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne recently signed House Bill 133, which gives builders an...

Diversion Dam Power Plant revamp poses challenges.
April 21, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Adding 3 megawatts to Idaho's huge power grid may seem like a drop in the bucket, but with the state using more electricity than its federal dams can crank out, power managers are eager for the startup of the Boise...

Leaping from Burley to Boise, Evans Bank grows.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson When Burley-based D.L. Evans Bank opened its first Boise branch in May 2000, the idea was to tap opportunities in the growing Treasure Valley and diversify a historically agriculture-heavy loan portfolio In 2002,...

Nyssa-based ag group plans to add value to produce.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson With potato prices improving after "five very bad years" and onion prices "up and down," agriculture veteran Bob Doughty is launching an ambitious plan to add value. Four separate companies, at least three...

Sanitary Services, Meridian's trash collector, to build new quarters.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson The company that picks up Meridian's solid waste and recyclable materials plans to build larger quarters in response to significant population gains. Sanitary Services Co. recently purchased 14 acres on West...

Meridian restaurant scene includes closures, chains.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin If there's one thing many Meridian restaurateurs can agree on, it's that the city's dining scene is in a state of flux. Meridian, with a population of nearly 40,000 according to current estimates, has about 40...

Nampa couple to open Kat's House of Blues.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Nampa may not be known as a funky town, but it's getting the blues. A Nampa couple plans to open Kat's House of Blues in a former carpet store on 13th Avenue South, between First and Second Street South roads, in...

Capital City Development Corp. districts may be combined.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson It's been nearly three years since the Capital City Development Corp. began examining the idea of an urban renewal district covering Old Boise and the eastern fringe of downtown. Last week the agency moved to...

Extended Systems Inc.'s declining losses buoy stock.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Stock in Extended Systems Inc. rose significantly last week after the Boise-based software company reported quarterly results. The company's net loss of $648,000 or 5 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31...

Commentary: Tips for keeping your personal files private.(Column)
April 28, 2003... Byline: Rick Edvalson A fellow called me in a panic the other day. His employment had been terminated abruptly the day before, and he wanted us to remove certain things from his work computer. He couldn't do it because he obviously no...

The Winder Co. moves to west side of downtown Boise.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson The Winder Co., a commercial real estate brokerage, recently renovated and occupied a building on the west side of downtown Boise. The firm moved April 1 from the Wells Fargo Center at Ninth and Main streets to a...

Boise Chamber of Commerce trade show, awards slated May 28.
April 28, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin More than 60 exhibitors are expected to participate in the Boise Chamber of Commerce's annual Metro Expo spring show, slated May 28 at the DoubleTree Hotel Riverside. For the second year, the Chamber is combining...