Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from May 2009

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from May 2009

Gov. Otter signs transportation bills that will create 4,000 construction jobs.
May 1, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin Gov. C.L. Butch Otter announced today that he will sign bills that will unleash more than $230 million in spending on highway projects and create more than 4,000 jobs in the beleaguered construction industry. He...

Idaho officials say economic decline appears to be leveling off.
May 1, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin State officials say a preliminary look at April tax receipts suggests that Idaho's economic decline appears to be slowing. Payroll taxes withheld from employee wages - a key indicator of how healthy the current...

Banner Bank parent posts loss.(Financial report)
May 1, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Banner Corp. on April 29 reported a $9.3 million net loss in the first quarter, compared to net income of $3.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. Results in the most recent quarter reflect a $22 million provision for...

Boise Metro Chamber selects leader of national travel association as CEO.
May 1, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce has picked a new CEO who has led a national travel association, a New York school district and the crew of a 500-passenger cruise ship. The chamber announced today that Bill...

Idaho Independent Bank reports loss.(Financial report)
May 1, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Idaho Independent Bank on April 29 reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.9 million, or 47 cents per share, compared to net income of $2.1 million, or 32 cents a share a year earlier. An increase in the bank's...

Avoid the credit card trap: Changes in law seek to crack down on plastic malpractices.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin Mike Madison was fed up with the late fees, the short billing cycles, the poor customer service and the statements that would arrive just before the due date. So last month Madison, owner of Boise-based Madison...

Tough times stress Idaho workers; lighter mood saves money.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone I'll be out of work, I'll be out of my house, I'll be sleeping under the bridge." Susan Reuling Furness calls it sleeping under the bridge syndrome and she hears it all the time from clients who come into...

All present but work not accounted for: "Presenteeism" a big threat to workplace productivity.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone What do you call it when you've got a sick, fatigued or down-right depressed worker sitting at their desk and staring into space? In past years some managers may have called that lazy, but HR and health care...

In a crisis, speed and honesty are key to communications.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Dani Grigg In 1992, the Las Vegas Hilton installed the world's largest sign. Their newly hired public relations director, Joanne Taylor, now of Boise-based Drake Cooper, was engaged in an elaborate song and dance to draw...

PR lessons from the Larry Craig crisis.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Dani Grigg When a public relations team learned their boss, a senior U.S. senator, had pleaded guilty to a charge related to soliciting gay sex in a public restroom, it was time to shift into crisis communications mode. Will...

Idaho statewide research committee selects Bohach as new director.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Bill Loftus Greg Bohach, a biomedical and agricultural researcher, will lead a statewide organization initiated by the National Science Foundation to help the state's scientists increase their access to competitive grants. ...

Idaho-based Pacific Steel weathers downturn - again.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Brad Carlson We're still here, said Larry Stokoe, who manages Pacific Steel's plant on 20th Street North in Nampa. Pacific Steel began reinvesting in the Nampa plant back when the market was still hot. Now that the steel market...

Boise's local preference ordinance generates concern, interest.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin Mayors, contractors and small business owners across the state are scrutinizing a proposed Boise ordinance that would allow the City Council to award large contracts to local companies even if they're not the lowest...

Wage growth strongest in rural areas of Idaho.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Brad Carlson Wages in rural Idaho grew to a larger degree than wage growth in the state's urban areas in the most recent reporting period. The economic slowdown that eventually grew into a national recession in late 2007 hit...

Longstanding 'local' retail centers in Idaho draw new interest.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Brad Carlson Laura and Bruce DeLaney work hard to keep customers coming through the door at Rediscovered Bookshop, which they own in central Boise. They put in additional time developing events and promotions designed to draw...

Commentary: First 100 days: Deficit shock - and change.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Robb Hicken When you take a look at what's taken place in the past 100 days, it's shocking to conservatives. We reel when we look at the deficit. But, to those supporters of President Barack Obama, it's been a hundred days of...

Boise chamber selects Connors as new CEO.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce has picked a new CEO who has led a national travel association, a New York school district and the crew of a 500-passenger cruise ship. The chamber announced May 1 that Bill...

Hispanic economic power keeps growing in Idaho.
May 4, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The buying power of Idaho's largest minority grew faster in 2008 than the buying power of Hispanics nationwide and faster than the state's non-Hispanic population. The Idaho Department of Labor said in a...

Big Horn Collectibles: Eagle foundry casts unique pewter tiles.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Ken Levy From Las Vegas casinos to Costco.com, Big Horn Collectibles is meeting all levels of market demand for unique and beautiful decorative metal tiles. Operated by Byron Barker and his wife, Lonni Leavitt-Barker, Big Horn...

Boise startup's high-tech lighting has bright future.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone There are about 35 million of them in the United States and their numbers grow every year. You drive past hundreds - maybe thousands - each day without noticing, and probably take them for granted even at night. But...

Idahoans in the News: May 4, 2009.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Idaho Business Review Staff Report Promotions/Appointments Merkle named chairman at Stoel Rives law firm Stoel Rives, a full-service U.S. business law firm with offices in Boise, recently announced that Alan Merkle has been...

Contracts.
May 4, 2009... H&B Crushing is the apparent low bidder for an aggregate crushing project in Mackey. Bid: $13,950. Reiber Construction Company is the apparent low bidder for clerestory modifications and re-roofing of the J.W. Martin Lab at University of...

Building Permits.
May 4, 2009... BUILDING PERMITS CITY OF BOISE PERMIT/TYPE    OWNER    BUILDER    LOCATION    VALUE 00245-alteration    Winco Foods LLC    ESI  ...

Boise Real Estate Briefs: May 4, 2009.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Idaho Business Review Staff Report Alpine Village, to include residential, retail and office space, is under way in downtown McCall. An Idaho state liquor store on April 23 opened at 616 N. 3rd St. (Idaho Highway 55), Suite 110 in...

Bid Briefs.
May 4, 2009... Sewer line rehabilitation, Idaho Falls. Bids 9:30 a.m. May 5 to City of Idaho Falls. Sewer line bursting work, Idaho Falls. Bids 11 a.m. May 5 to City of Idaho Falls. Broulim’s addition, Rigby. Bids 11 a.m. May 5 to builder...

Segway tours come to downtown Boise.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Dani Grigg Get ready to start seeing tribes of people zip around downtown Boise standing on two-wheeled, self-balancing, electric personal transporters. A new business opened May 1 in the Grove Hotel building, in the space...

Idaho Export Council President Kirk Adams talks trade, will honor Idaho companies for export achievement.
May 4, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Exports are big business for small and midsized Idaho companies, according to Idaho Export Council President Kirk Adams. Most jobs in America are created by small companies. Small and midsized companies...

The Aspen Lofts in Boise looks to summer months for better sales.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Dani Grigg Downtown Boise's The Aspen Lofts now host four condos of residents, with more to come as crews put the finishing touches on additional floors this summer. Aspen Lofts spokeswoman Beth Gregg said the 70-unit,...

Regence BlueShield of Idaho announces board changes.
May 4, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Officials with Regence BlueShield of Idaho announced several changes to the firm's board of directors on May 4, including the election of Nancy Vannorsdel, former president and CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of...

Eastern Idaho-based Bank of Idaho's products illustrate trend.
May 4, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Eastern Idaho-based Bank of Idaho has rolled out checking accounts that it says offer high interest rates and other features to customers who receive an electronic statement, access online banking, use a debit card...

Idaho's Dworshak Dam on Army Corps of Engineers' improvement list.
May 4, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Walla Walla District of the Army Corps of Engineers has earmarked $17 million for work on Idaho's Dworshak Dam at Ahsahka. According to LTC Michael Farrell, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,...

Stalemate continues in Idaho on gas tax hike.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin House Republican leaders dug in again today against Gov. C.L. Butch Otter's call for a gas tax hike, rejecting his latest compromise of delaying an increase until 2011. The GOP leadership called a press conference...

Idaho universities celebrate record $16.5M biomed grant.
May 5, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Top administrators from 10 of the state's higher ed and research centers came together at the Boise VA Medical Center today to announce the receipt of a $16.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. ...

Boise starts building fee deferral program.
May 5, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Developers building commercial projects in Boise will not have to pay city fees until much later in the building process. Mayor David Bieter today announced the launch of a pilot program to defer city-related...

Commentary: The stalemate that is not.
May 5, 2009... Byline: Michael Tomlin While ballyhooed by the media, the 2009 so-called stalemate between Governor Otter and Idaho's House is our representative form of government at its best. It is the Governor properly leading and pointing the way, and...

Boise Airport's Economy Parking Lot to close during construction.
May 5, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Boise Airport's Economy Parking Lot at Orchard and Victory roads will be closed indefinitely beginning May 15 due to the realignment of Orchard overpass at I-84 and the planned Economy Lot expansion. The...

New home prices climb year-over-year in Idaho in March.
May 5, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The average cost for a new home started in Idaho rose above year-previous prices in March. According to numbers from Wells Fargo's Idaho Construction Report, the valuation climbed from an average of $176,309 in...

Boise council approves local preference ordinance.
May 6, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin The Boise City Council approved an ordinance May 5 that will allow the city to award contracts to local companies even if they're not the lowest bidders. The council voted 5-1 to approve the law, which would apply...

CEO of Boise-based Supervalu to keynote community foundation event.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Supervalu Inc. CEO Jeff Noddle is scheduled to give the keynote address at The Idaho Community Foundation annual luncheon on May 12 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Boise Centre on the Grove. The Idaho-based, statewide...

Sustainable Community Connections of Idaho invites businesses to explore 'Think Nampa First' concept.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Sustainable Community Connections of Idaho invites Nampa-owned businesses to meet and explore forming a Think Nampa First campaign. The nonprofit Sustainable Community Connections sparked creation of the Think...

Denver-based Honnen Equipment acquires John Deere Construction dealerships in Idaho Falls.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Honnen Equipment Co. has bought four John Deere dealerships from Scott Machinery Co., which it will add to its current six locations in Colorado and Wyoming. The acquisition includes dealerships in Salt Lake...

Wells Fargo to close Mountain Home Air Force Base location.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Wells Fargo's Mountain Home Air Force Base branch will close Sept. 30, Debbie Westmoreland, southwest Idaho community banking president, said in a release. The bank's lease with the base expires later this year and...

PacificSource to offer individual and family plans in Idaho.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report PacificSource Health Plans has received approval to offer individual and family health insurance plans in Idaho. Initially available in the Boise/Treasure Valley and Twin Falls/Magic Valley areas, the plans will...

City of Boise plans to lay off 9.
May 6, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The City of Boise has a budget shortfall of approximately $9 million for fiscal years 2010-2011, and they're dealing with it by laying off nine employees, accepting early retirements, keeping vacant positions open,...

Proponents file affidavits to restart J.R. Simplot Co.'s mining project along Idaho/Wyoming border.
May 7, 2009... Byline: Mark Mendiola Intervenors and proponents have filed affidavits in support of expanding the J.R. Simplot Co.'s Smoky Canyon Mine along the Idaho/Wyoming border, arguing failure to do so could lead to the shutdown of Simplot's...

Boise-based A10 Capital launches lending group.
May 7, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report A10 Capital on May 7 announced that it established its Lending Group. The group originates first-mortgage commercial real estate loans and provides financing to investors for distressed debt purchases secured by...

Treasure Valley foreclosures drop in April.
May 7, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report After three months of constant record-breaking in foreclosure starts, April finally bucked the trend. April's 712 foreclosure starts made for a 10.4 percent decrease from March in Ada and Canyon counties, according...

Idaho Power offers voluntary severance to 30-40 workers.
May 7, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Suffering slowed growth and sagging revenues, Idaho Power Co. is offering voluntary severance packages to between 30 and 40 employees, the utility announced on May 6. Company spokeswoman Stephanie McCurdy said the...

EPA settles with scrap equipment facility in Kamiah, Idaho.
May 7, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report LeRoy Howell of Kamiah will pay $32,882 to settle alleged oil disposal and cleanup violations according to a consent agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA said in a release that it documented...

April jobless rate in Idaho holds steady at 7 percent.
May 8, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Possibly showing an early sign of better economic times to come, Idaho's job market appeared to stabilize in April even as the national unemployment rate rose to a quarter-century high. The seasonally adjusted...

Caldwell native new managing partner of Hawley Troxell.
May 8, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Attorney Steven Berenter has been named as managing partner for one of the state's largest business law firms. Berenter joined Hawley Troxell in 1984, and after 25 years has been elected as new managing partner of one...

Idaho lawmakers head home after transportation compromise.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin With hugs, handshakes and sighs of relief, Idaho lawmakers adjourned today, wrapping up the second-longest legislative session in state history. Both the House and Senate finished their work this afternoon - on the...

V. Dale Babbitt new Idaho Bancorp chairman.
May 8, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff The boards of directors for Idaho Bancorp and its subsidiary, Idaho Banking Co., have elected V. Dale Babbitt as the new chairman of both boards. Babbitt is currently president & CEO of N.L. Terteling Family...

Agreement could make Idaho a nuclear pharmacy.
May 8, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Tens of millions of people rely on radioactive isotopes every year for medical scans, cancer treatment and other procedures, but the United States' supply comes mainly from aging nuclear reactors in Canada that will...

U.S. Reps. Simpson, Minnick question shut down of Idaho bank.
May 9, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick expressed concern about the closure of the First Bank of Idaho last month and asked federal regulators if it was possible to reverse the decision in a letter May 7. The Federal...

Two Idaho counties get brownfield project funds.
May 11, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson on May 8 announced today the availability of an estimated $850,000 in grants bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of...

National studies show recession's impact on Idaho high-tech.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone The recession's ongoing toll on Idaho high-tech businesses is being revealed in two studies released in recent months, charting employment, wages and other factors from 2007 and 2008. The 12th annual Cyberstates...

Idaho Power announces reorganization on down growth, revenue.(Financial report)
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Suffering slowed growth and sagging revenues, Idaho Power Company is offering voluntary severance packages to between 30 and 40 employees, the utility announced on May 6. Company spokeswoman Stephanie McCurdy said...

Idaho Transportation Department's Web site reports on efficiency.(Website overview)
May 11, 2009... Byline: Idaho Business Review Staff Report Debate over transportation funding in the 2009 Legislature may be over, but Idahoans can still keep tabs on Idaho Transportation Department spending through its new Web site, Tracking Our Progress,...

Nampa seeks contractors for housing rehab.
May 11, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Nampa, and nonprofit housing organizations in the city, plan to tap federal funds to upgrade foreclosed homes in need of repair. The city is soliciting qualification documents from experienced contractors to...

Idaho-based McCall Aviation buys Salmon Air.
May 11, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report McCall Air parent McCall Aviation on May 1 acquired Salmon-based Salmon Air. The acquisition creates the largest backcountry and scheduled commuter air service provider in Idaho, McCall Aviation said in a release...

Times spawn pawns: Down economy drives changing clientele in 'hock' shops.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Dani Grigg Take a drive around the corner from World's Largest Pawn Shop in Fruitland, and you'll stumble across World's Smallest Pawn, about a mile away. It's not a particularly small shop, and lately, it's stocked with even...

Who says no 'treasure' in Idaho's Treasure Valley?
May 11, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin One story has it that Pete Oleson coined the term Treasure Valley in 1959 as president of the local association of chambers of commerce to evoke the treasure chest of resources and opportunities in the area. The...

End of road for Idaho legislators: Debate over highway funding appears to have ended.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin The debate over highway funding that threatened to make the 2009 Idaho legislative session the longest in state history appeared to finally roll to a halt last week. A compromise between tax-wary House members and...

Idaho universities celebrate record $16.5M biomed grant.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Top administrators from 10 of the state's higher ed and research centers came together at the Boise VA Medical Center last week to announce the receipt of a $16.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health....

46 Idaho undergrads win NIH-funded biomedical summer research fellowships.
May 11, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report Forty-six undergraduates from eight Idaho colleges and universities will conduct independent research and study this summer in laboratories across the state through the Idaho IDeA Network of Biomedical Research...

Electric vehicle dealer in Post Falls files for bankruptcy.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Simon Shifrin Go Green Electric Cars, an electric car and scooter dealership in Post Falls, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 29. The company, which received widespread media coverage as the Inland Northwest's first...

Ground broken on Boise State University research center.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone Boise State University broke ground May 6 on its new Center for Environmental Science and Economic Development, a five-story, 90,000-square-foot building that will house the university's geosciences, civil...

Argument continues over J.R. Simplot Co.'s mine expansion along Idaho/Wyoming border.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Mark Mendiola Intervenors and proponents have filed affidavits in support of expanding the J.R. Simplot Co.'s Smoky Canyon Mine along the Idaho/Wyoming border, arguing failure to do so could lead to the shutdown of Simplot's...

Idaho bankers at roundtable express cautious optimism.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Brad Carlson Idaho lenders, regulators and other finance-industry participants expressed cautious optimism during a May 6 roundtable discussion in Boise. The Holland & Hart law firm hosted the event, which the Idaho Business Review...

Study on airport in Hailey, Idaho, moves into second phase.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone The decades-long effort to build a replacement for the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey is moving forward with the second phase of an environmental impact statement that will study in depth three potential sites...

Commentary: Little to show for long legislative session in Idaho.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Steve Ahrens As this interminable legislative session staggered into its final stages last week, newspaper photos showed glum legislative faces, drawn and haggard, with more lines than L'Oreal could erase. No wonder they're...

ISU, BYU-Idaho collaborate on "Entrepreneurial Center" project.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Mark Mendiola Idaho State University and Brigham Young University-Idaho are collaborating on an ambitious project to tap the skills of their top students for the benefit of eastern Idaho's economy and the region's top employers....

Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello taps new chief executive.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Zach Hagadone When Norm Stephens takes over as CEO of Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello next month he'll inherit management of more than 1,000 employees, 250 beds and a $220 million expansion project that will combine the...

Northwest Christian Credit Union in Nampa, a financial institution for the faithful.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Gaye Bunderson Brad Swartzentruber, president and CEO of Northwest Christian Credit Union in Nampa, said that while his firm feels the squeeze of the economic malaise, it remains on solid footing. That advantage may be attributed...

Credit unions across Idaho surviving recession.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Robb Hicken Sitting behind his desk in his office on Vista Avenue in Boise, Alan Cameron took a deep breath and wrung his hands slowly before offering a comment. Not wanting to point any fingers, he weighed the words he was about...

Bid Briefs.
May 11, 2009... Army Reserve Center and organizational maintenance shop construction, Hayden. Bids 10 a.m. May 11 to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky. Division Street reconstruction, Cashmere. Bids 11 a.m. May 11 to City of Cashmere. Includes...

Building Permits.
May 11, 2009... BUILDING PERMITS CITY OF BOISE PERMIT/TYPE    OWNER    BUILDER    LOCATION    VALUE 00267-addition    Winco Foods LLC    ESI    8200...

Idahoans in the News: May 11, 2009.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Idaho Business Review Staff Report Promotions/Appointments Ben Harris promoted at Banner Bank in Nampa Banner Bank has promoted Ben Harris to the position of Nampa branch manager. He was formerly customer service supervisor...

Boise Real Estate Briefs: May 11, 2009.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Idaho Business Review Staff Report WinCo Foods LLC subleased 39,040 square feet of industrial space at 2925 S. Cole Road, in South Cole Annex, Boise. Chris Pearson of Thornton Oliver Keller represented the tenant. Steve Foster and...

Contracts.
May 11, 2009... Earthworks NW is the apparent low bidder for 2009 open trench replacement, Sandpoint. Bid not listed. Cook & Sons Quality Construction has been awarded a contract for Deadwood Creek culvert replacement, Idaho County. Bid: $117,122. ...

Get tech assurance from Idaho-based Geek Insurance.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Gaye Bunderson The three careers of Paul Brundage include a sniper, a fitness guru, and a geek. It's all served to make him anything but boring. Brundage, who was born and raised in Oregon and calls himself a duck at heart,...

Web searches suggest strong interest in hybrid cars in Boise.
May 12, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The online car-shopping Web site, Cars.com, says Boise car buyers are showing a strong interest in fuel efficient cars, with the region ranking 11th out of 210 markets nationally in web searches for hybrid cars....

Meridian sets first Business Day for May 27.
May 12, 2009... Byline: IBR Staff Report The first Meridian Business Day is slated from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 27 at Meridian City Hall. More than a dozen business professionals are expected to discuss the outlook for the local economy and to provide...