Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from December 2003

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from December 2003

New shops and eateries to be added at Boise's airport.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson If Boise's new, $56 million airport terminal strikes you as somewhat cavernous and empty, rest assured that more features are in the pipeline. Phase II of the $108 million airport expansion project, under way...

Garden City-based Stagecoach Inn offers its clientele the personalized family touch.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Most weeks, the Schrier sisters say they don't feel much like managers. That's probably because their Garden City restaurant, the Stagecoach Inn, doesn't operate like most businesses. Started by their father,...

Construction of new $7M medical building set for Caldwell.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Construction of a three-story, $7 million building to be attached to West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell is slated to begin early next year. To be called Family Medical Center, it will replace aging clinics and...

Idaho's ski resorts ready for improved season.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Idaho's largest ski resorts are cranking up chair lifts as the season begins, but looming over bottom lines are the chance of another dry winter and next year's scheduled opening of downhill skiing at Tamarack Resort...

Boise-based Alliance Title & Escrow Corp. centralizes its records function.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Alliance Title & Escrow Corp. has moved back-office functions relating to maintenance of its "title plant" to a central location near Fairview Avenue and Cole Road in west Boise. The Boise-based company late last...

Micron Technology believes its spending approach will pay off as market improves.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson At Micron Technology Inc., a bold approach to capital spending has hurt the company's financial results in the short term, but officials believe it is starting to pay off. "We've done a lot of investment in the...

Boise-based SCP Global Technology wins appeal of patent validity case against FSI International.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson SCP Global Technologies has won an appeal of a patent validity case against FSI International. The judgment issued in early November overturned an earlier lower court ruling that two SCP patents were invalid and...

Owner of Boise computer services firm advises businesses on how to avoid underperforming websites.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Years into the Internet Age, the Net still contains quite a few underperforming business websites, the owner of a Boise computer services firm said in a recent presentation. The best business Internet sites are...

Planned-community developer, Vision First LLC, opens new office in Eagle.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Vision First LLC, which specializes in developing planned communities, planned to open a new office this week in Eagle. The company leased 3,300 square feet of space in the Rivershore South office building, on the...

Idaho Economic Development Association names Jan Rogers as new president.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Jan Rogers, executive director of the Twin Falls-based Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, has been named president of the Idaho Economic Development Association. She replaces Ray Burstedt, of Bannock...

National association names five Treasure Valley businesswomen as nominees for Woman of the Year.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Five Treasure Valley businesswomen have been nominated for Woman of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Nominees include Shauna Wilson of Amazon Consulting, Boise; Karen Falk of...

Industrial warehouse planned for E. Boise.
December 1, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson A spec' commercial warehouse building was given the green light last month by the Boise Design Review Committee. SFP II, an L.A.-based development company, was granted approval to build a 29,370-square-foot,...

Men like pampering, too, Boise 'spa' finds.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Downtown Boise has proved to be a profitable spot for pampering men. That's what Wendy Anderson, owner of Napoleon's for Men, has discovered since opening her day spa for men in the former Purple Sage women's...

Low-carb' diets mean business for some, better prices for others.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Say what you want about the Atkins Diet, there's no denying that beef prices are up, and that some Idaho businesses are trying to tap the popularity of high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating. Satchel's Grill, which...

Downtown parking hike eyed in Boise.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson After a year of debate and study, a task force on parking in downtown Boise has come up with a recommendation its chairman hopes will keep everyone happy and the parking system solvent. The key recommendation in...

Airport parking expansion delayed.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson A $20 million expansion of the parking structure at the Boise Airport has been delayed a couple of months to give new members of the Boise City Council, elected this year, a chance to pass judgment on it. Mike...

Micron Foundation gives $1M to create math, science center.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson The Micron Technology Foundation Inc. last week pledged $1 million over four years to fund the creation of a math and science center. The Treasure Valley Mathematics & Science Center, a partnership between the...

SourceOne takes floor in Boise's Veltex building.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson SourceOne Inc., a Boise-based company that sells and services voice and data products, is buying the third floor of the nearly finished Veltex building at Fifth and Main streets in downtown Boise. The company plans...

Intermountain Gas exec named to CCDC board.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson Chuck Hedemark, chief operating officer of Intermountain Gas Co., has been appointed to a vacancy on the board of directors of the Capital City Development Corp. Hedemark, 61, was appointed by interim Boise...

Commentary: It takes more than pixels to make a good camera.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Rick Edvalson It looks to me like one of the most popular gifts this year is going to be a digital camera. Having been an early adopter of all things digital, I have already made my share of mistakes on these devices. Perhaps my...

Tamarack Resort developers borrow $18M to continue building.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Developers of the planned Tamarack Resort near Cascade have secured an $18 million loan from a New Jersey lender to keep construction moving until anticipated cash from lot sales comes in next year. Tamarack CEO...

Workers compensation rates to rise 7.2 percent.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Workers' compensation insurance premiums are slated to increase by an average of 7.2 percent in Idaho in 2004 - largely because of rising medical costs - following decreases the previous two years. The National...

Idaho's Regence BlueShield chief vows 'personal' service.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson John Stellmon, the new Regence BlueShield of Idaho president, wants to keep reducing the administrative portion of rising health insurance costs, but not at the expense of customer service. "One of the things we...

Small business outlook brightens, surveys indicate.
December 8, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Small businesses in Idaho and the U.S. are increasingly optimistic about the economy, two recent surveys indicate. The Zions Bank Small Business Index for Idaho increased from a revised 95.8 in September to 98.5 in...

Office, residential buildings planned on Bannock Street.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steven Anderson Boise developer Gary Christensen aims to build an office building of at least 80,000 square feet and a residential condominium complex containing around 25 units on the site of the Bannock Street parking garage in...

Call center sited at SilverStone Corporate Center.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson A 77,000-square-foot call center for T-Mobile, which apparently could employ up to 700 people, has been proposed for SilverStone Corporate Center at Eagle and Overland Roads, Meridian. The Meridian Planning and...

Outplacement booms with push to be 'lean'.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Career outplacement firms, which help downsizing companies and displaced employees handle current and anticipated changes, remain busy. Over the last three years there has been "a significant trend toward assisting...

Like other things, signage has become a mass product.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Scott Tunnell has only worked in the sign-making business for seven short years, but the evolution of the industry during his tenure makes him feel like it's been half a lifetime. "Years ago, sign makers were true...

March of Dimes honors Boise's Skip Oppenheimer with real estate award, exceeds goal.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson At its breakfast program for the southwest Idaho real estate community Dec. 9 in Boise , the state's March of Dimes chapter presented Arthur "Skip" Oppenheimer of Boise with its 2003 Boise Valley Real Estate Award -...

Twin Falls shopping center gains five tenants.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Five businesses recently leased approximately 35,000 square feet combined in the Lynwood Shopping Center, on Filer Avenue East in Twin Falls. Cathy Rosera and John Hess of Boise-based Hammack Management - which...

Boise Real Estate Briefs December 15, 2003.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Transnation Title leased 3,291 square feet in the Eagle River Building, 485 E. Riverside Drive, Eagle. Tim Reid and George Iliff of Colliers International represented the property owner. Home Works Inc., a general...

Idaho's governor touts marketing wins.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Phillip Gomez A year into his second term as Idaho's governor, Dirk Kempthorne has been busy enunciating what the state Commerce Department has been preaching about - Idaho's "strategic brand marketing." Raising awareness of...

2nd River Rock eatery slated for Calderwood.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin The owner of River Rock Alehouse in Eagle plans to open a second River Rock restaurant in south Boise by late January. Todd Lancourt said last week that he has leased about 3,100 square feet in the Calderwood Park...

MPC Computers to add in-house support jobs.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson MPC Computers said last week that all of its technical-support work will be executed solely by employees at its Nampa headquarters. Earlier, MPC had augmented its in-house technical support with a third-party call...

Internet Auto Rent & Sales to relocate to Boise facility.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin A used car dealership that sells and rents automobiles utilizing the Internet plans to convert the former Ernst building on Fairview Avenue in Boise into an auto sales and service facility next year. Reno-based...

Canyon County commercial real estate poised to pick up, report says.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson A new report on commercial real estate in Nampa and Caldwell suggests that the market is active, and maturing. Retail and office sectors benefited from continued population growth, and the generally "over-supplied"...

Treasure Valley's Better Business Bureau moves to larger quarters to enhance services.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson The Treasure Valley's Better Business Bureau chapter plans to move a few blocks to new quarters - to enhance its technology in response to growing inquiry volume and to serve a growing membership. The Better...

Writer for Ski Racing magazine rates Sun Valley as a "perfect 10".
December 15, 2003... Byline: Phillip Gomez A columnist for Ski Racing magazine, self-described as a died-in-the-wool Vermonter, has awarded Sun Valley "a perfect 10" rating in a colorful and subjective overview of ski areas in the United States. Bill...

Idaho's chapter of Associated General Contractors lauded as one of the strongest in the U.S.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Idaho's chapter of Associated General Contractors is one of the strongest in the U.S., according to AGC national leaders. With about 900 members, "Idaho is a leading state in AGC membership growth," said Jeff...

Idaho's contractors find ways to beat bad weather.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Idaho's fiercely competitive contracting industry has given builders yet another reason to find creative ways to keep their crews busy during the state's cold and often wet winters. With the exception of road,...

Demand sustains residential building growth in Ada County, Idaho.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Ken Miller Interest rates have risen a bit in the past few months, but have done little to dampen residential construction in Ada County, where sales of new homes for the year through October are up nearly 20 percent from the same...

Idaho Transportation director shares his vision for next 30 years at contractors' convention.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Steve Martin Shaping Idaho's highway system over the next 30 years and finding ways to make the necessary upgrades safely are topics the Idaho Transportation Department considers top priorities. New ITD director David Ekern...

Construction permits fall in Boise during November.
December 15, 2003... Byline: Brad Carlson Commercial and apartment construction activity in Boise fell sharply in November from year-earlier totals, while home starts increased. The city's November Construction Report also showed a drop in total...