Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from October 2004

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from October 2004

Selling of small, medium-sized businesses picks up.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The market for selling businesses has recovered in the past year or so, recovering from a lull that began when the economy sagged in 2001, several Boise business brokers say. Art Berry said Arthur Berry & Co....

Boise may set limits on permit turnaround.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Streamlining Boise's permitting process, a perennial topic championed most recently by Mayor Dave Bieter, is the aim of pilot programs the city may launch this month. A Development Services Advisory Committee,...

R.C. Bigelow increasing production at Boise plant.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert One of the nation's biggest tea companies, R.C. Bigelow Inc., has increased production at its Boise plant in response to rising demand for tea, due partly to favorable medical findings. Bigelow's Boise plant, on...

Micron notches profit in 4th but doesn't meet Wall Street's hopes.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Micron Technology Inc. last week reported fourth-quarter net income of $94 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, on net sales of $1.19 billion. That compares to a net loss of $123 million, or 20 cents per...

Sixth Annual Intermountain Venture Forum slated Oct. 6-7.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from around the region are slated to speak at the Sixth Annual Intermountain Venture Forum, slated at 8 a.m. Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 at Boise Centre on the Grove. Carl Ledbetter,...

Author to speak at Idaho Business League seminar.
October 4, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Author and business consultant Terry Cole-Whittaker is slated to present two seminars at Boise Centre on the Grove on Oct. 9. "Generating Wealth and Prosperity" is slated at 9:30 a.m. She is scheduled to...

Startup company offers 'smart' sprinkler controller.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Managing sprinkler systems according to need rather than by a clock - that's the pitch from Meridian firm Acclima, Inc., which offers irrigation systems keyed to moisture sensors. Businesses that replace...

Better Business Bureau honors 5 firms with 'Integrity' award.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert The Better Business Bureau has chosen five Treasure Valley companies for this year's Integrity Counts awards. Seidl Home Co., Strite Design + Remodel, Zamzows, Willow Park Assisted Living and St. Luke's Idaho Elks...

Cookie lady Fields to speak at NW Nazarene Univ.
October 4, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report "Practical Strategies to Increase Bottom-Line Success" is the theme of Northwest Nazarene University's third Business Enrichment Series event, set Oct. 7 at the NNU campus, east of 12th Avenue Road in Nampa. ...

Commentary: Some tips for keeping your PC in tip-top, virus-free trim.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rick Edvalson Our son bought a brand new laptop at the start of the school year. He had a computer before, but it didn't fare too well. In a few months, it was full of viruses and spyware. The hard drive was fragmented, and the...

Vicki Lawrence to keynote women's financial event.
October 4, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Vicki Lawrence, TV comedienne and singer, is scheduled to keynote the fifth annual Idaho Everywoman's Financial Conference, set from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Oct. 21 at Boise Centre on the Grove. Idaho State...

Four Boise lawyers partner up in business, real estate law firm.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Boise got a new law firm recently when Bolinder Tanner Dunn, a business and real estate law firm, opened in the Cornerstone Building at Ninth and River streets. The firm's partners include Clint Bolinder, Erik...

Work starts on the new mixed-use development in Elkhorn Springs, Sun Valley.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Construction has begun on the initial phase of Elkhorn Springs, a residential and commercial project slated on the 11-acre site of the former Elkhorn Hotel in Sun Valley When completed, the project will include 136...

Glazed Over Donut in downtown Boise closes.
October 11, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A 4,000-square-foot building on the west side of downtown Boise is on the market after Glazed Over Donut Co. closed Oct. 1. "We think it's a great opportunity for a restaurant with drive-through, any type of...

Site of closed Black Angus Restaurant up for re-lease at Boise Spectrum building.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A new tenant is sought for the Boise Spectrum building that housed Stuart Anderson's Black Angus Restaurant, which closed a month ago. Steve Humphries of Northwest Properties LLC, who represents the building owner...

CEO of St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise finds her life's mission in meeting needs.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Sandra Bennett Bruce recalls an all-too frequent scenario from the start of her career in the health-care industry, when Medicaid was being introduced. "I found myself in a position having to advise couples who'd...

Idaho Athletic Club plans to open center in Eagle, 2 in Meridian.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Idaho Athletic Club aims to open three fitness centers - two in Meridian and one in Eagle - within a year. The chain plans 11,000-square-foot centers in the SilverStone Corporate Center in southeast Meridian and...

Downtown Boise restaurants await economic boost from 11-screen theater planned for area.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Though construction of the 8th Street Marketplace project has been delayed a year, restaurateurs near the project are already anticipating its effects - after what one called a "crummy" summer season. TableRock...

Creators of Eco 100 Sprinkler Optimizer believe it will revolutionize lawn-watering.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Steve Martin Editor's note: This is the first story in a monthly IBR series, featuring Idaho innovators and their products. Larry Haley has always considered himself an idea man. The retired Hewlett-Packard employee has...

Boise-based Rampant Restaurants sells Saffron eatery.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Saffron, the last restaurant in the dining firm Rampant Restaurants, has been sold to new owners, said Alan Head, Rampant's former principal. Head, who couldn't reveal the name of the new owner, said the...

Wells Fargo Bank economist to keynote Boise Metro Chamber forum.
October 11, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The chief economist for Wells Fargo Bank, Sung Won Sohn, is slated to keynote the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Forum from 7 to 9 a.m. Nov. 9 at Boise Centre on the Grove. Sohn will speak...

Meridian-based inTouch Solutions and Spokane-based B&C Telephone complete merger.
October 11, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Meridian-based inTouch Solutions and Spokane-based B&C Telephone have merged, but the Boise headquarters office of inTouch will remain intact, a company official says. Paul Unger, president of inTouch parent...

Boise Cascade announces debt buy-back.
October 11, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Boise Cascade Corp. said last week that it would pay as much as $800 million to repurchase the outstanding issues of some debt securities, and pay as much as $177 million for its senior floating-rate debentures....

Northwest Nazarene University professor offers tips on keeping businesses fresh.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Businesses are benefiting from a pick-up in the economy, but there's always room for internal improvement. That's the message from Dick VanSchyndel, a Northwest Nazarene University business professor and former...

NBC Today Show financial editor to discuss health savings accounts.
October 11, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report NBC Today Show Financial Editor Jean Chatzky is slated to deliver the keynote address at a conference on health savings accounts slated from 7 to 9:40 a.m. Oct. 12 at Boise Centre on the Grove. The breakfast...

Nampa Floors & Interiors plans second Boise store.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Expansion and fine-tuning continue at Nampa Floors & Interiors - a Valley firm that dates back half a century. Roger Wilson, who owns Nampa Floors with his wife, Linda, plans to open a showroom in northwest Boise...

New restaurant slated to open in Boise.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Pair, a restaurant whose menu is to include European and Mediterranean cuisine, is slated to open late this month or early in November in the old Statesman building. Christine Reid and Gill Hellmund, who own the...

Ski resorts view Tamarack debut mildly.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller The opening of a new player may shift some skiers' habits in central and southern Idaho this winter, but existing resorts say the advent of Tamarack Resort on the downhill scene won't affect their business strategies and...

Overhead Door Co., back on track in '04, eyes potential expansion.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson It has been an up-and-down couple of years for Overhead Door Co. of Southwestern Idaho Inc., which has been growing recently. The owners - nine shareholders - bought out four other shareholders starting two years...

Gym Outfitters to construct new building in SW Boise.
October 18, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Gym Outfitters, a Boise firm that supplies exercise equipment to fitness centers and consumers, plans a new building next year on Century Way, near Cole and Overland roads in southwest Boise. Dan Spindler, who...

Crane Creek Market plans Tamarack store.
October 18, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Crane Creek Market, which opened on Bogus Basin Road in March 2003, will expand to a specialty grocery store at Tamarack Resort in Valley County in mid-December, an owner says. Rod Meyer said he expects the...

Front Street revamp aims for 'green' building certification.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A large red brick structure under renovation on Front Street west of Fifth downtown is said to be Boise's first officially "green" office building. For conversion of the former warehouse into Front 5 Office,...

Commentary: Web players race to boost desktop Search capabilities.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rick Edvalson As we all scrambled to help my son find his car keys the other day, we had a vivid reminder that Search matters. It would have been so useful at that moment to have special goggles that could filter our view of all...

Banner Bank plans offices in Christensen bldg. & Meridian.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Washington-based Banner Bank has announced plans for new offices in downtown Boise and Meridian, having entered southern Idaho early this year. Banner, based in Walla Walla, is set to occupy the first floor of the...

Sterling Savings to open business-banking center.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank plans to open a Boise business-banking center early next year. Sterling recently leased 3,500 square feet on the first floor of the Veltex building at Fifth and Main streets. The...

Health savings accounts show early promise, speaker says.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Better-than-expected demand for health savings accounts in their debut year indicates that there's hope for consumer-driven health care, a network TV journalist said in Boise recently. "Health savings accounts,...

DBSI finishes ofc. in Northgate Emporium building.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert DBSI Group of Companies has finished remodeling the former Emporium store in the Northgate Shopping Center on State Street and has based 50 employees in new offices there. The real estate investment firm, which...

Walgreen slated in '05 near State, Glenwood Streets.
October 18, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Walgreen Co. plans to open 14,560-square-foot store at the southwest corner of Glenwood Street and Strawberry Glen, south of State Street, next year. "We would like to open in September or October of '05,"...

Electrical contractors find '04 worrisome.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller The beginning of 2004 brought a welcome boost for Idaho's electrical contractors, but uncertain supplies and stalled construction projects are once again giving them heartburn in a super-competitive market. Firms...

Idaho Statehouse restoration still on hold.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller Grand plans to restore the Idaho Statehouse remain on hold due to Idaho's budget problems, but the state is spending $2.1 million to finish badly needed exterior work in order to prevent further deterioration. ...

Idaho Transportation Dept. to bid Karcher Interchange.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller The Idaho Transportation Department is on track to put its $26 million Interstate-84 Karcher interchange out for bid early next year with an eye toward completion by the end of 2006 - and none too soon for the city of...

Commercial values jump in Boise, Meridian.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Commercial construction value increased in Boise and Meridian during their recently completed fiscal years, though Boise trailed Meridian significantly in single-family home starts. Boise reported a 14 percent jump...

Ace Hardwares slated for W. Boise, Meridian.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson An Idaho franchisee for Ace Hardware plans to challenge the big-box home stores by adding a hardware store in west Boise late this year and another in Meridian in the first quarter of next year. Ted Werner, who...

Poulet Rouge to return to same Old Boise space it vacated in 2001.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert A former owner of Poulet Rouge, a downtown eatery that closed three years ago, plans to relaunch it by January in the same Old Boise space it vacated in 2001. Tim Holley, who owned the semi-buffet-style restaurant...

Nampa-based Zamzows Inc. plans store on Chinden.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Nampa-based Zamzows Inc. recently acquired Petal Pusher, a Meridian nursery that closed earlier this fall, and plans to reopen it as the ninth Zamzows store in the Treasure Valley. Zamzows, which deals in pet...

Former Wave drive-in in Boise to be torn down to make room for retail.
October 25, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A building that formerly housed The Wave drive-in on Broadway Avenue near University Drive is to be torn down to make room for a multi-tenant building. The owners of the property, Lori Wright and Lori Ambur,...

Boise entrepreneur combines geography, marketing and statistics to increase customer bases.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson "As a kid, I loved to look at maps," Beau Webber says from his desk that's within easy reach of maps, globes and a large-format printer. Webber has turned that yen into an educational and professional career. He...

More commercial development slated at Meadow Lake Village.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Soon after a five-story medical office building in Meadow Lake Village is completed this winter, work on at least two small office buildings will begin, representatives of the 140-acre senior mixed-use community said....

Inc. 500 magazine ranks three Boise companies among 500 fastest-growing companies in US.
October 25, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Inc. 500 magazine has ranked three Boise companies - Treetop Technologies Inc., The Works Corp. and ProClarity - among the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Treetop, ranked 130th, was listed as the...

D.A. Davidson terms Washington Group International stock a 'buy' in waning market.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson D.A. Davidson & Co. has upgraded Washington Group International Inc. stock from "neutral" to "buy," citing an attractive share price given recent strong performance. "The recent decline in stock prices, which has...

Boise-based IBF Group to process state worker W-2s in Arizona.
October 25, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The IBF Group, a Boise company that also does business as Idaho Business Forms Inc., has signed a contract with the State of Arizona to print and deliver W-2 income-tax reporting forms. IBF "will be responsible...

Peter Schott-owned restaurant in Boise's Idanha Hotel goes up for sale.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Peter Schott's downtown restaurant and lounge is up for sale, former Director of Operations Jim Borton, Jr. having declined his option to buy the establishment. The restaurant in the Idanha Hotel building had...

Boise Cascade Corp. doubles earnings, helped by price gains.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Boise Cascade Corp. reported third-quarter net income of $61.1 million, or 63 cents per share, down from $30 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter, which ended before the company acquired OfficeMax....

Lowe's Cos. plans Twin Falls store.
October 25, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Lowe's Cos. Inc. plans to open a Twin Falls store in the third quarter of next year. The home-center chain based in Mooresville, N.C., said construction would start soon at Blue Lakes Boulevard and North...

Financial experts: Don't postpone estate planning.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller When it comes to personal finances, one of the most serious and needlessly postponed chores is planning for the future of your estate after you're no longer around. Financial planners say estate planning is a...

Idaho promotes "financial literacy" in its public schools.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller Time was, a glancing home economics lesson in balancing a checkbook or how a bank works was the extent of many students' exposure to grown-up finances. No more. In a world where teenagers are showered with...

'Laddering' - one answer to fluctuating rates.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Significant interest-rate movements, up or down, can put fixed-income investors on the sidelines as they figure strategies to earn the most without taking undue risk tying up their money for very long periods. ...

Commentary: Google restructures its PageRank methodology.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Brad Chase A recent change by Google (in early 2004) has knocked a few companies out of their top spots. Companies are noticing that their No. 1 placements for certain keywords on Google are gone overnight. What happened? ...