Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from August 2008

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from August 2008

Where's the incentive? Commercial property developers try to draw tenants without tricky inducements.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg Incentives are all over the place in a slow economy - you can get a dollar off a gallon of milk for buying cookies or three years of cheap(er) gas for buying a Chrysler. A San Diego developer is offering...

Building Permits.
August 4, 2008... BUILDING PERMITS CITY OF BOISE PERMIT/TYPE    OWNER    BUILDER    LOCATION    VALUE 01573-sign    not listed    Yesco    7790 W...

Tamarack's $670 million cure - Real estate trouble lingers at Idaho ski resort.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson A $670 million bond issue proposed as a way to help re-start major construction at the financially and legally challenged Tamarack Resort in central Idaho would not cure all ills but would provide some breathing room....

State of Idaho lays out rules for underinsured motorist coverage.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Simon Shifrin The state Department of Insurance has started to instruct Idaho insurers about a new state law that will require them to offer bodily injury coverage to protect motorists hurt by drivers that don't carry enough...

Rural Idaho: Behind the green curve or ahead?
August 4, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg Years ago, when a city slicker clad in a three-piece suit strolled into a Challis board room, members of the Salmon River Electric Cooperative board were far from impressed. The visitor was there to talk green with the...

Conventional financing squeeze sparks growth at Boise-based Hawkins Capital.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Alternative financing specialist Hawkins Capital Partners is on track to double its total loan volume from 2007 to 2008 as the availability of conventional funding stays tight, Business Development Officer Tom Nist...

Lot demand holds up at Englefield Green n Boise.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Lot sales and construction are progressing at the 38-acre Englefield Green mixed-use project on the south side of Franklin Road at Allumbaugh Street east of Bishop Kelly High School. All commercial lots are spoken...

Nampa-based Gunstream affiliates with Coldwell Banker.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Nampa-based Gunstream Commercial Real Estate plans to join the Coldwell Banker Commercial organization as an affiliate. The firm announced in a July 31 news conference that it is changing the name to Coldwell Banker...

Idaho Falls-based TxtWire: Governments, schools sign on for text system.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone An Idaho Falls company is quickly becoming a major provider of text message-based communications for businesses, school districts and local governments across the region. TxtWire offers several products designed...

Boise developer seeks 'green' status for hospital project.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson An entity of Boise developer Cameron Investments began work on the three-story, 70,000-square-foot Mulvaney Medical Office Building on the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center campus in west Boise. Developers plan...

E-health system in Idaho connects docs, hospitals, insurers.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone After two years of discussion, study and work in the legislature, Idaho is poised to institute its first health information exchange. Using Elysium Exchange technology from San Jose-based HIE solutions provider...

Boise corridor gets Gateway.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Construction of the two-story, 30,000-square-foot Gateway East building concluded recently on 1.4 acres on Federal Way south of Micron Technology Inc. Owners Art Berry and Steve Bledsoe said they like the long-term...

Effort to build Palo Alto fiber optic network may come from Boise.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone One of the nation's largest installers of services and systems for the home entertainment, communications, enterprise data and home integration industries may be connecting about 80,000 Palo Alto residents to a...

Jerome scientist receives 2008 Food Safety Innovation Award.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone After a long, hard slog, a Jerome scientist and businessman's revolutionary food safety system has been recognized as a world-class innovation. Dr. Bruce Bradley received the International Association for Food...

Bank of Cascades delays two branches, nears completion of new branch in Kuna.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Bank of the Cascades is finishing one new branch in the Treasure Valley and delaying construction of two others, Idaho Region President Mike Mooney said. With the economy the way it is and some of the other...

Two Boise business-service companies: Electronic document management not just for the tech at heart.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Two Boise business-service companies - one high-tech and cutting-edge, the other old-school - are embracing electronic document management. Neither imaging equipment dealer Fisher's Document Systems CEO Chris...

Bend-based Cascade Bancorp earnings fall in 2Q.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Bank of the Cascades parent Cascade Bancorp on July 24 reported second-quarter net income of $181,000, or 1 cent per share, compared to $10,181,000, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier. Loans grew by 5.5 percent and...

Boise Real Estate Briefs: August 4, 2008.
August 4, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Mercy Medical Center plans a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Aug. 18 at its expanded Emergency Department, at the northwest side of the main entrance, 1512 13th Avenue Road, Nampa. Three B's on Broadway / Boise...

Bid Briefs.
August 4, 2008... A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Third and Fifth wards church roof renovation and seismic upgrade is planned in Montpelier. Project details are available from Lystrup / Jensen Architects, Hal Jensen, 1133 Call Creek Place, Suite C,...

Contracts Awarded.
August 4, 2008... Hoffman Construction Co., Portland, is construction manager/general contractor for demolition and hazardous materials abatement for a renovation of the Simplot Hall dormitory at the College of Idaho, 2112 Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell. Cost...

Nampa-based MedNow Inc. pens joint agreement with Walgreens-OptionCare.
August 4, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Nampa-based MedNow Inc., a home infusion, respiratory and medical equipment services company, has entered a joint venture with Walgreens-OptionCare. Bill Beck, president and chief executive officer of MedNow, said...

Boise Valley Economic Partnership plans a meeting on nonattainment.
August 4, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff The Boise Valley Economic Partnership has planned a meeting this month to discuss the impact and likelihood of federal regulations to address high ozone levels in the Treasure Valley. BVEP says it will be the first of...

Boise Cascade Holdings reports loss.(Financial report)
August 8, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Report Boise Cascade Holdings LLC announced Thursday it had a net loss of $15.4 million for the quarter ended June 30. The privately held, Boise-based company said in a release that while its core wood products and...

North Idaho College deploys emergency text system.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene has joined a growing number of schools around the country using mass notification systems that broadcast emergency information to students over their cell phones. Called the...

Boise Mayor David Bieter names new public works director.
August 8, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Report On Wednesday, Boise Mayor David Bieter appointed Neal Oldemeyer, a 16-year City of Boise employee, to fill the public works director position left vacant by Chuck Mickelson's January retirement. He beat out 41...

Karcher Village begins construction next week in Nampa.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg As Macy's leaves behind Karcher Mall for the shiny new Nampa Gateway Center, developers of 10,000 square feet of retail space approach groundbreaking at Karcher Village, just a mile away from the mall. The people behind...

Boise-based Syringa Bancorp posts 2Q loss.(Financial report)
August 8, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Boise-based Syringa Bancorp recently reported losses for the second quarter and for the first half of 2008. The Syringa Bank parent posted a first-half loss of $217,873 as net charge-offs of $1,147,387 and...

Idaho's energy policy: Energy woes out West.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone The end of July capped off a big month in mapping out potential paths for Idaho's energy policy, as a number of officials statements, publications and briefings were held. Mid-month saw the publication of Securing...

Mortgage defaults rise again in Ada and Canyon counties.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Default filings in Ada and Canyon counties set another record high in July. IdahoDataProviders.com reported that loans on 478 homes in the two-county area entered into default in July. The first seven months of...

Idaho Parks and Recreation's Dave Ricks Harriman facelift will add to 'booming' local economy.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg Idaho Parks and Recreation's Dave Ricks has been to Harriman State Park a dozen times and has never failed to see a moose. Along with the park's legendary fly fishing, what more reason do people need to head on over...

Views differ on how to solve Idaho's doctor shortage.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Experts in healthcare, education and government all agree: Idaho is facing a shortage of physicians, but there's disagreement over what to do about it. Idaho ranks last or near the bottom of per capita...

New Idaho State University research V.P. to focus on biomed, nuclear sciences.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone The word around Idaho's largest universities these days is research. With Boise State's emergence as a Metropolitan Research University of Distinction, and the University of Idaho in Moscow reporting more than $80...

Press reports possible HP cuts in Oregon; no word on Boise.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone As rumors spread that Hewlett-Packard plans a wave of job cuts in the wake of its printer division reorganization, the company is being characteristically tight-lipped. Spokesman Scott Stalla wouldn't comment on...

Analysts say Boise-based Micron looks good compared to its competition.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Analysts at Florida-based Raymond James & Associates weren't too surprised by what they heard at Micron's Summer Analyst Day on Aug. 5, but did say they were struck by how good the memory chip giant looks against its...

Work begins on westbound I-84 sound-walls in Boise.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Crews with Meridian construction firm RSCI began work Aug. 1 installing the first of 1,500 panels used to build a concrete sound-wall on the westbound side of I-84. The panels, which range from 14 to 16 feet in...

Commentary: Solving new problems with old information.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Steve Ahrens Trying to solve today's developing problems with only yesterday's knowledge - that perplexing, paradoxical conundrum has challenged Man down through the ages. Think of the thousands of Civil War soldiers whose...

New University of Idaho president looks at goals, future.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Robb Hicken By the end of June, the Idaho State Board of Education had named Steven Daley-Laursen as Interim President of the University of Idaho. Board President Milford Terrell said, in comments to the press, Steve, as a...

Transit officials approve plan to serve union-contested route in Boise.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Valley Regional Transit officials opted not to eliminate service on a heavily-used bus route Monday, Aug. 4, instead approving a plan to extend an existing route to cover a one-mile stretch of Overland Road whose...

Healing Forest: McCall's herbalist takes 'wildcraft' up a notch.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Roxanne Gail Beach Through her small business From the Forest, McCall herbalist Darcy Williamson passes on her knowledge of herbs growing in the Rocky Mountains. She is Idaho's leading expert on native plants and their...

Play at work no joke for Post Falls technology group.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Joni Kirk Folk wisdom has it that all work and no play makes for dull boys. Ednetics, Inc., an 11-year-old company based in the University of Idaho Research Park in Post Falls, has built a corporate culture that embraces play...

Boise Real Estate Briefs: August 11, 2008.
August 11, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Telco Electronics purchased a 4,500-square-foot retail/warehouse condo in the Steelwood Condominium project at 1813 Wildwood St., Boise. Gary Bates of Michener Investments handled the transaction. The City of Nampa...

Bid Briefs.
August 11, 2008... University of Idaho, Moscow, plans demolition of four fire escape towers and improvements at Alumni Residence Center. Project details are available from Castellaw Kom Architects, 850 Main Street, Lewiston, Idaho 83501. A bid opening is...

Contracts Awarded.
August 11, 2008... ESI (Engineered Structures Inc.), Boise, is the general contractor for a remodel of a WinCo Foods store at 7500 Dartmouth Road, Boise. Cost not listed. Kreizenbeck Constructors Inc., Boise, is the general contractor for the Ten Mile...

Going Organic: Pioneering spirit alive and well in Hidden Springs Community Farm.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Paul Hosefros & Roxanne Gail Beach The pioneer spirit of the Oregon Trail across Idaho seems well and alive in the organic farming efforts of Treasure Valley. I wouldn't call us pioneers, said Doreen Guenther, a partner in...

Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho creates synergy for alternative energy.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Mark Wilcox Hoping that great minds think alike, Idaho State University, Boise State University, the University of Idaho and the Idaho National Laboratory have teamed up to create the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, or CAES....

Building Permits.
August 11, 2008... BUILDING PERMITS CITY OF BOISE PERMIT/TYPE    OWNER    BUILDER    LOCATION    VALUE 01066-paring lot    LDS Church    Warren Stewart  ...

Pushing Idaho State University School of Nursing as new building goes up.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Mark Mendiola As Baby Boomers turn gray with age, their health care needs are intensifying pressure on the Idaho State University School of Nursing in Pocatello as it copes with a shortage of nurses and nursing faculty, strives to...

Idaho State University's College of Pharmacy to celebrate 90th anniversary.
August 11, 2008... Byline: April Robinson Idaho State University's College of Pharmacy will celebrate its 90th anniversary this August. More than 3,500 alumni and their families are invited back to this all-class reunion for a weekend packed with special...

Final list of sites creates questions for Ketchum airport.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Steve Bunk When the latest short list of replacement sites for Friedman Memorial Airport, located between Hailey and Bellevue, has been announced, it will mark an important step along a path that Sun Valley and the rest of Blaine...

Boise-based-Ladd Family Pharmacy offers services meant to prevent illness and educate the patient.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Gaye Bunderson Elaine Ladd is trained and experienced in the pharmaceutical trade; her husband Kip has sharp business management skills. Working as a team, the couple launched Ladd Family Pharmacy at 1109 S. Broadway Ave. next to...

Affinity Mortgage affiliates with Freedom Foreclosure Prevention.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Affinity Mortgage Corp. recently affiliated with Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services LLC to offer loan-modification assistance to mortgage borrowers. Nampa-based Affinity Mortgage and Phoenix-based Freedom...

LP issues advisory about some products made in Meridian bc web 0811.
August 11, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Louisiana-Pacific Corp. on Aug. 7 issued a product advisory for composite decking materials purchased after January 1, 2005, and made by LP at its Meridian, Idaho facility. Some of the product can prematurely...

Idaho Public Utilities Commission allows Avista disconnect-reconnect pilot program.
August 11, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff The Idaho Public Utilities Commission gave Avista Utilities the go-ahead to implement a pilot program that will allow it to disconnect and reconnect customers from a remote location. The company serves northern Idaho and...

Greater Boise Auditorium District pays off existing convention center.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson The Greater Boise Auditorium District board in June paid off the approximately $1.9 million in debt that remained on the 87,000-square-foot Boise Centre on the Grove convention facility at Ninth and Front streets...

Boise State University gets funds to beef up grade school tech ed,.
August 13, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Boise State University is hoping a grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help bolster Idaho students' math and science abilities. The award comes at a time when educators, policy makers and business leaders...

Horizon Air only airline to serve Idaho Falls during runway construction.
August 13, 2008... Byline: Robb Hicken Horizon will be the only airline providing service to and from Idaho Falls while the airport's main runway is closed for repairs Sept. 2 through Oct. 1. We will be the only provider while they are closed for the...

Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise grows despite rising food costs.
August 13, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg This week Flying Pie Pizzaria had its best week ever - its two stores sold more than $50,000-worth of pizza. If every week were that good, the local restaurant would have a $2.5 million sales volume in a year. And...

Idaho National Laboratory debuts solar skins at engineering conference.(Conference news)
August 13, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Report Some of the biggest problems with solar energy, according to many energy experts, are that most solar panels are expensive to build, often unwieldy to install and produce energy intermittently and inefficiently....

U of Idaho, Washington State to merge food science departments, create new school.
August 14, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Food science departments at the University of Idaho and Washington State University plan to merge. The schools, seven miles apart, seek to hire a director for the new School of Food Science. The director will work for...

Idaho utilities commission OKs sale of power from digester plant.
August 14, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Report Idaho public utility regulators approved an application from Idaho Power Co. to purchase power from the proposed anaerobic digester plant at the Big Sky Dairy outside Gooding. Owned and operated by...

Boise's 8th Street Wine Co. closes doors.
August 14, 2008... Byline: Rick Carpenter The 8th Street Wine Company has closed. A sign on the door thanks customers for their service. Erik McLaughlin, owner of the popular restaurant and wine store, said he couldn't identify one specific reason for...

Idaho ranks 15th in foreclosure rate.
August 14, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson U.S. foreclosure filings in July increased 7.85 percent from June and 55 percent from July 2007, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.com reported Aug. 14. One of every 464 U.S. homes was in some stage of foreclosure in...

Supervalu to cut 24 Boise jobs.
August 14, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Report Supervalu, which owns Albertsons food and drug stores in Idaho, on Aug. 14 announced plans to reduce its information-technology staff, a move that will cut 24 Boise-based positions among 100 companywide. The...

CSHQA Architects co-founder Glen Cline dies in Boise.
August 15, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Glen Cline, co-founder and past president of CSHQA Architects, died Aug. 14 at a Boise care center. He was 88. His funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 17 at Alden Waggoner Funeral Chapel, 5400 Fairview Ave.,...

Former Boise-based WGI exec seeks $2M in severance pay, benefits from URS.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Simon Shifrin A former Washington Group International executive filed a lawsuit this month against URS Corp. seeking close to $2 million in compensation he says he's owed in severance pay and other benefits as a result of the...

Intermountain Gas requests rate increase in Idaho.
August 18, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff If Intermountain Gas Company's annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment application is approved by public utilities commissioners, the company's 300,000 or so customers in southern Idaho may see increases of between 15 and 18...

New home sales prices still falling in Idaho.
August 18, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff New numbers from Wells Fargo's Idaho Construction Report show prices for single-family homes in the first half of 2008 are down 9 percent from the first half of 2007. Cost-per-unit in 2008 corresponds more closely...

Nampa-based PC-maker MPC Computers unveils grade-school sized laptop.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Nampa-based PC-maker MPC Computers unveiled its new TXTbook computer today, a light-weight, low-cost notebook geared toward the K-6 education market. Picking up where the Intel-powered classmate PC left off, the...

Two new restaurants slated for Meridian.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson National-chain restaurants On The Border and Chili's plan mid-2009 openings at the southeast corner of Eagle and Ustick roads, Meridian. Both are brands of Dallas-based Brinker International Inc. General contractor...

Economic impact changes work: Professionals recreate the office in home atmosphere.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg Erik Goodlan's office in Boise has two computers. It has blue walls and black ceilings. Strong Bad and Nintendo paraphernalia serve as decor, and it's pretty messy, he said. Every now and then, one of his small children...

Idaho National Laboratory engineers unroll golden 'solar skins'.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Some of the biggest problems with solar energy, according to many energy experts, are that most solar panels are expensive to build, often unwieldy to install and produce energy intermittently and inefficiently. ...

Auto industry faces hurdles in the use of flex-fuel vehicles.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone The auto industry says it's committed to expanding the use of flex-fuel vehicles - which can run on gasoline and any blend of ethanol up to 85 percent - but two major hurdles have yet to be overcome: a limited number...

College of Idaho in Caldwell hosts seminar: CEOs, consultants say it's leadership tune-up time.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Is your leadership attracting fewer followers? Are you marketing a non-brand? Is your organization organized? Even experienced business leaders must fine-tune their approaches, and a sluggish economy presents a...

Greater Boise Auditorium District pays off existing center.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson The Greater Boise Auditorium District board in June paid off the approximately $1.9 million in debt that remained on the 87,000-square-foot Boise Centre on the Grove convention facility at Ninth and Front streets...

Boise Cascade Holdings reports loss.(Financial report)
August 18, 2008... Byline: IBR Staff Boise Cascade Holdings LLC had a net loss of $15.4 million for the quarter ended June 30. The privately held, Boise-based company said in a release that while its core wood products and building materials business was...

Idaho utilities commission OKs power sale from digester.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Idaho public utility regulators approved an application from Idaho Power Co. Aug. 8 to purchase power from the proposed anaerobic digester plant at the Big Sky Dairy outside Gooding. Owned and operated by...

Horizon Air only airline to serve Idaho Falls during repairs.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Robb Hicken Horizon will be the only airline providing service to and from Idaho Falls while the airport's main runway is closed for repairs Sept. 2 through Oct. 1. We will be the only provider while they are closed for the...

Sandpoint-based Quest Aircraft meets demand through lean manufacturing.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone When Quest Aircraft Co. approached TechHelp for coaching on its manufacturing model it had a problem a lot of industries would envy: Demand for its product - the Kodiak backcountry airplane - had grown so rapidly it...

Nampa-based Affinity Mortgage Corp. affiliates with Freedom Foreclosure Prevention.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Affinity Mortgage Corp. recently affiliated with Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services LLC to offer loan-modification assistance to mortgage borrowers. Nampa-based Affinity Mortgage and Phoenix-based Freedom...

Commentary: The fine's only $10, that's all.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Robb Hicken The lights were flashing with the lights of emergency vehicles. Ambulances, fire trucks and police officers scurried about anxiously awaiting their moments to do their duty at the accident scene. The officer...

Boise State gets funds for grade school tech ed.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Zach Hagadone Boise State University is hoping a grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help bolster Idaho students' math and science abilities. The award comes at a time when educators, policy makers and business leaders...

Glut of unanchored retail space in the Treasure Valley remains on market.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Brad Carlson Cory Coltrin timed his Coltrin Central Plaza project in west Boise well given the current oversupply of unanchored retail space in the Treasure Valley. I'm thrilled I bought the land when I did and got the tenants...

Karcher Village in Nampa nears groundbreaking.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg As Macy's leaves behind Karcher Mall for the shiny new Nampa Gateway Center, developers of 10,000 square feet of retail space approach groundbreaking at Karcher Village, just a mile away from the mall. The people behind...

Bargain grocer to open on Broadway in Boise.
August 18, 2008... Byline: Dani Grigg The first of three planned grocery stores in the Treasure Valley opened Aug. 15 in the Pinon Square shopping center in Boise. Three B's on Broadway (Boise Bargain Basket) will offer a unique variety of goods it buys...