Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from March 2004

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from March 2004

Ron Yanke, one of Boise's major industrialists, dies at age 68.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Boise industrialist Ron Yanke's death Feb. 3 at age 68 had a major emotional impact at his multiple businesses, and "we're never going to fill that particular void," his son-in-law, Bryan Norby, said last week. ...

Mayor of Kuna in Ada County focuses on way to upgrade town's sewer and water infrastructure.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Boosting Kuna's sewer and water infrastructure leads the priority list for the Ada County town's new mayor, Dean Obray. Fast-growing Kuna - eight miles south of Meridian on recently upgraded Idaho 69 - today is...

Improving economy and weather gives Treasure Valley bike shops optimism about spring sales.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Bike shops expect to pump up sales this spring in a warmer economic climate, but spirited competition in the Treasure Valley can make their path a bumpy one. "Hopefully everybody'll be tired of the snow and have...

Mixed commercial project slated at Ten Mile & Ustick in Meridian.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A new proposal for light industrial, office and service retail development at the northwest quadrant of Ten Mile and Ustick roads has been submitted to the City of Meridian. Falcon Creek LLC, Nampa (Ed McNelis and...

Idaho Youth Ranch buys Orchard St. car-lot site in Boise.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The Idaho Youth Ranch has purchased just over an acre immediately south of its thrift store on Orchard Street in central Boise, where it operates an auto sales lot. IYR will clean the site and install a new fence...

Bank of America begins building new branch in Nampa.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Bank of America has begun construction of a west Nampa branch to replace its longtime bank at 1709 Caldwell Blvd., at Karcher Road. The new, 4,700-square-foot branch will front Caldwell Boulevard on the west side...

Eagle-based Gem Star Properties buys Boise parcel for $790k.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The City of Boise last week auctioned an 18.3-acre parcel in the southwest part of town to Gem Star Properties for $790,000. The Eagle-based company's bid was $10,000 higher than the other bid that the city...

Genesis Building with Karate for Kids anchor planned in Meridian.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Karate for Kids is slated to anchor a building of 10,000 square feet to be built on the southeast corner of Franklin and Linder roads, Meridian, starting this month. Project Manager Angie Grant of Boise general...

Boise-based Lyle Pearson Inc. adds Jaguar dealership.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson When Lyle Pearson launched his auto dealership in Boise 34 years ago, he sold just one car in the first month. "I wondered, 'What have I done?'" the one-time Studebaker Corp. executive said last week. But...

Idaho's international exports bounced back in 2003.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller Idaho's international exports bounced back in 2003, topping $2 billion once again for a 6.5 percent increase over 2002, according to the Idaho Department of Commerce. That report came last week, as the state's four...

Director of Idaho Dept. of Commerce vows to lure more firms to state.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Roger Madsen is at no loss for words in describing what he plans to do as director of the state Department of Commerce. "Business development is going to be the No. 1 priority," the acting Commerce director said...

Boise-area hotels look for rebound in lodging.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Hotels in the Boise area struggled in 2003, but some managers say they're seeing a turnaround. Gwen Lytle, general manager of Courtyard by Marriott on Broadway Avenue and Front Street, said occupancy fell about 3...

Retail plaza planned in Caldwell.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson More building is likely this year at Clearwater Plaza, a service-retail development in front of a Wal-Mart on East Cleveland Boulevard in Caldwell. Developer Renny Wylie of JRW Construction, Eagle, said he was...

Boise-based Idaho Camera offers their loyal customers tradition and service.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Pat Nagel has worked at Idaho Camera since he could push a broom. "I remember my dad giving me a dollar to sweep the basement," he said. "I was just a little boy." It was one of his first jobs in the store "and...

Commentary: Bringing back those files you so disastrously deleted files.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rick Edvalson An employee of a client company called in a panic the other day. Almost whispering, she explained that she had accidentally saved a new file with the same name as an older file. Then she found that the company...

Boise-based Washington Group's net, revenues dip in 4Q.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Washington Group International Inc. last week reported reduced fourth-quarter earnings of $3.4 million, or 13 cents a share, down from $9.3 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenues for the quarter...

Building planned in Meridian to house Treasure Valley's second indoor soccer facility.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A 22,000-square-foot building planned in Meridian will house the Treasure Valley's second indoor soccer facility. Idaho Soccer Center is slated to open in October in the Stonebridge Business Park, off East Franklin...

Retail bldgs. slated on Boulevard in Nampa.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A complex of three commercial buildings, to be called Boulevard Station, is planned on the south side of the Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard between Middleton Road and Moss Lane in west Nampa. Developer Bob Runyan,...

Boise mayor determined to make city processes more efficient.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Boise Tower may yet be viable, in Mayor Dave Bieter's view, but the twice-rejected convention center may be another matter. The mayor, a Democrat elected to the non-partisan mayoral office in a surprise triumph...

Immigrants working hard to fit into America's way of doing business.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Immigrants hoping to make it in America find that some business concepts from their homelands translate better to the U.S. than others. Beyond language barriers and cultural differences, they face a host of issues,...

Women bankers in Treasure Valley express optimism about room to rise up executive ladder.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Banking - one of the first industries to hire women - has a fair number of women in middle and senior management jobs. But do they have the same opportunities as men? Several women bankers in the Treasure Valley...

Idaho women appear to do well in banking.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Women and men "are not on an equal playing field when it comes to pay in the accounting, finance and banking industries," CareerBank.com's Salary Survey Report 2003 said. However, in Idaho, according to a...

Boise-based Women's Business Center starts membership, fund drive.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The Women's Business Center in downtown Boise has launched a membership drive to strengthen its finances amid uncertainty about continued federal funding. The U.S. Small Business Administration funds half of the...

Treasure Valley entrepreneur to open low-carb eatery.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert With pizza places and burger outlets adding low-carb items, and grocery stores setting up Atkins displays, it was probably a matter of time until a Treasure Valley entrepreneur combined the two. Kandy Sealy plans...

Little Caesars to open a pizzeria in Meridian.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Little Caesars aims to open a pizzeria in Cherry Plaza at Fairview Avenue and Main Street, Meridian, by mid-April. Plans call for dividing a space, formerly occupied by another pizzeria, into a 1,500-square foot...

Idaho Business Review names Lora Volkert staff writer.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson The Idaho Business Review is pleased to announce the appointment of Lora Volkert as a staff writer. Volkert, a Nampa native, earned a bachelor's degree in English, with an emphasis in creative writing, from...

5-month Calif. strike slashes into Albertsons' revenues.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The five-month grocery workers' strike in Southern California produced significant declines in sales and earnings for Albertsons Inc. in the fourth quarter. Albertsons reported earnings of $130 million for the...

Citi Cards to boost Boise staff, build new center in Silverstone.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Citi Cards plans to relocate and nearly triple the size of its Treasure Valley customer service operations, and add more than 650 workers, the company announced last week. The unit of Citigroup has been adding...

Coldwater Creek Inc.'s 4Q earnings jump $2.5 M.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin Coldwater Creek Inc. logged a $2.5 million jump in fiscal fourth quarter earnings and a nearly $5 million increase in income for fiscal 2003. The women's apparel retailer last week reported net income for the...

Neenah, Wis.-based Plexus to hire 1,000 at multiple sites; number in Nampa not clear.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Contract manufacturer Plexus Corp. plans to hire 1,000 at multiple company sites - mostly in Asia, but some in Nampa and other sites - during fiscal year 2004, a company spokesman says. Spokesperson Kristian...

Funeral chapel set for Nampa.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A 7,000-square-foot Conner Family Funeral Chapel is planned on the south side of the Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard at Moss Lane, Nampa. The two-story structure will be "an old-fashioned Victorian building with a white,...

Final stage of veterans' cemetery begins in northwest Boise.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller One of the larger non-transportation public works projects under way in Idaho is proving to be as unique as it is sobering for all involved. The 76-acre Idaho State Veterans Cemetery under construction adjacent to...

Idaho landscapers expect good growth in home projects.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller Credit the thawing of the Idaho economy or the coming spring, but either way Idaho landscape contracting is warming up for high-end residential projects as homeowners look to spruce up their yards, or so at least some...

Idaho Associated General Contractors' new president seeks growth in ranks.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller The Idaho Associated General Contractors' new president says he'll use the AGC's growing suite of contractor services to attract new members and keep existing ones. President Mike Greiner says the AGC should command...

Outlook mixed for Treasure Valley home prices.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Annual gains in home values already have cooled in some Boise-area market segments, but the outlook for price appreciation this year remains generally favorable, several Realtors said. The Ada County market...

Boise construction stats sag through February.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Boise construction sagged through February, with only the commercial segment showing some growth from year-earlier levels. The city's February construction report said total construction value fell 21 percent to...

Boise-based WGI seen poised to shine as economy brightens.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The outlook for Washington Group International appears favorable, given its big new contracts and strong balance sheet, and an improving economy, sources say. But the international engineering, construction and...

Nampa's Karcher Mall continues its search for an anchor.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert When Emporium folded last spring, vacating a 77,000-square foot anchor storefront in the Karcher Mall, it exacerbated the mall's already high vacancy rate. There are 172,693 empty square feet in the 466,000-square...

Ketchum-based Java to open its 6th Idaho coffee shop in downtown Boise.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Java, an espresso and food company with two shops in Blaine County and another in Twin Falls, plans to expand to downtown Boise among a plethora of other coffee shops. The new Java outlet at Sixth and Idaho streets...

Postwar apts. in Boise revamped into complex of condos.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A 202-unit apartment community near Boise's North End is in the midst of major renovations and slated for conversion to condominiums. The planned transformation of Somerset Hills Apartments - at Boise Hills Drive...

Boise-based Southers Properties plans 9-building, 44-unit condo project in Eagle.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson David Southers, who is wrapping up construction of the Hyde Park Place condominium project at 12th and Fort streets in north Boise, plans to build 44 condo units in Eagle. Southers Properties plans nine two-story,...

Ex-Hubble engineers staff Boise-based Stanley Consultants.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Stanley Consultants, involved in commercial and residential development planning, recently opened an office northwest of the Eagle Road interchange with Interstate 84, Meridian. The office, temporarily housed next...

Developer submits plans for office building in downtown Boise.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin By Steve Martin IDAHO BUSINESS REVIEW Boise developer Gary Christensen plans this fall to begin construction of a 10- to 12-story office building at the northeast corner of 10th and Bannock streets in downtown...

Boise-based Emerald Tech Center to add three buildings.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert The developer of the Emerald Tech Center expects construction to begin this spring on three more buildings in what eventually could be a 14-building complex. The three one-story, steel-frame, tilt-up concrete...

Mixed project slated for downtown Eagle.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A 22-acre commercial and residential project, to be called Winding Creek, is slated to get under way on the former Trolley Square site in downtown Eagle this summer. Seventeen commercial lots and 58 "garden court"...

Home sales dip in Ada County but prices increase.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A mixed bag of home-sales statistics in Ada and Canyon counties through February showed a decline in new-home sales, an increase in resales, and continued price gains. The number of all listed homes sold in Ada...

Boise commercial leases announced.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Janzen & Associates leased space in the Waterfront Building, on Lakeharbor Lane in Boise. Patrick Shalz and Grove Hummert of Thornton Oliver Keller handled the transaction. Floating Feather Day Spas leased space in...

Commentary: Wireless hotspots pop up, but so do complications ...
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rick Edvalson My friend was obviously disappointed when he called me after his last business trip. "I couldn't connect at a single hotspot!" he complained. "I took my laptop and my new wireless network card, but I couldn't get them...

119-room Spring Hill Suites by Marriott slated at Boise Research Center.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin A four-story, 119-room hotel is planned for the southwest corner of Chinden Boulevard and Cloverdale Road, in Boise Research Center, north of Hewlett-Packard Co's Boise campus. According to plans filed with the...

Nampa-based Home Federal Savings and Loan Association plans to go public.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Home Federal Savings and Loan Association plans to reorganize and become a publicly traded company, albeit a narrowly held one. Nampa-based Home Federal, which has 14 branches in southwest Idaho, said in a...

Nampa labors to craft design review ordinance.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Nampa planners are hammering out compromises on a design review ordinance that has divided local architects, developers and contractors. At a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing early in March, the ordinance was...

Snowpack, economy float river guides' hopes for '04.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Idaho's river guides are encouraged by promising snowpack conditions and the improving economy, but it may be 2005 before the industry bounces back completely from the drought-induced doldrums. "What's yet to be...

Hooters heads for undisclosed Meridian site, franchisee says.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin Hooters, an Atlanta-based restaurant chain known best for its chicken wings and scantily clad waitresses, plans its first Idaho eatery in Meridian by fall. Travis Maxwell, director of operations for Wyoming-based...

University of Phoenix expands to meet demand.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert University of Phoenix, which began its Boise-area presence two and a half years ago with 30 students, numbers 550 students today and recently leased more classroom space in Meridian. The for-profit university...

Micron logs smaller loss of $28 million.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Micron Technology Inc. reported a net loss of $28 million, or 4 cents a share, for its second quarter, ended March 4. That was down from a $619 million loss, or $1.02 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. ...

Workers gain ownership rights at Alexander Clark Printing.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Robert Alexander and Jim Clark, founders of Alexander Clark Printing near Emerald and Five Mile, began transferring ownership of the 32-year-old printing firm to employees earlier this month. Alexander and Clark...

Power Engineers gets Iraq work.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Power Engineers Inc., a Hailey-based electrical and industrial engineering company with significant operations in Boise, is in the process of performing several infrastructure contracts in Iraq. Jack Hand,...

Idaho Associated General Contractors named Chapter of Year.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin Strong membership growth and innovative programs helped the Idaho Associated General Contractors earn 2003 AGC Chapter of the Year distinction at the national group's annual convention in early March. Michael...

Biomass plant proposed on former BCC Emmett site.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A plant that would produce electricity from wood waste and other renewable materials has been proposed for part of the former Boise Cascade Corp. mill site in Emmett. Idaho Power Co. has asked the state Public...

Group gets grants for industrial park.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Gem County and Shadow Butte Economic Development Corp. recently received a $2 million federal grant and $500,000 state grant to fund infrastructure on 60 acres of a planned 120-acre industrial park about two miles west...

TV host Crier and ChevronTexaco official slated at NNU ethics event.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A two-part program slated April 8 at Northwest Nazarene University, titled, "Avoiding Ethical Land Mines" will feature representatives from business, government and the news media. Emmy Award-winning news anchor...

Outfitter groups back bill to achieve permitting consistency.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson River guides need permits to operate on certain rivers that cut through federal lands, and many believe the system contains too many inconsistencies because each agency has its own procedures. Outfitter groups...

St. Luke's plans clinic on Cloverdale.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson St. Luke's Internal Medicine plans to build a fourth Ada County clinic to tap rising demand for primary care medicine, particularly among people covered by Medicare. Construction of a single-story,...