Idaho Business Review, Boise articles from September 2004

Idaho Business Review, Boise archives from September 2004

Three quick-serve Mexican restaurants to join Boise market.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert It's taco time in the Treasure Valley. Three Mexican quick-serve restaurants are building or planning new eateries in the Boise area, with dozens to come in the next few years. Del Taco proposes to build a...

Wind power- Has its time finally come?
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson It looks like smooth sailing for wind power in Idaho, thanks to new turbines that perform better in low-wind conditions, and new interest from Idaho Power Co. and some legislators. Idaho hasn't been a power in the...

Boise firm aids developers of drugs.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert A rapidly growing Boise company that manufactures testing equipment for the pharmaceutical industry plans to build its own headquarters, with room for expansion. Sapidyne Instruments Inc. three weeks ago bought the...

Idaho Power eyes wind generation options.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Idaho Power's biennial plan for energy sourcing includes wind power for the first time. But wind's lack of predictability, and scant transmission facilities where winds blow the strongest, make large-scale...

Warm Springs Ranch revamp to include new eatery, condos.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The restaurant would stay, and most of the golf course would go, under a plan to redevelop the half-century-old Warm Springs Ranch property in Ketchum. Owners of the 77-acre site, on Warm Springs Road northwest of...

Outlet mall lands Vanity Fair, seeks women's clothier.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert VF Outlet - which retails Vanity Fair lingerie, Wrangler and Lee jeans, JanSport backpacks and other brands plans a store in the Boise Factory Outlets mall. VF plans to occupy 26,000 square feet of outlet mall...

BBB names finalists for Integrity awards.
September 6, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon Chapter of the Better Business Bureau has named 33 finalists for its 2004 Integrity Counts business awards, to be presented at a banquet at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at Boise Centre on...

State unveils online business tools.
September 6, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A database of available land and buildings, and tools for employee hiring, are among new Internet-based services that the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor has announced for businesses. They are available at...

Albertsons' net sags on strike wounds, health costs.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Albertsons Inc., hit by labor and health-care costs, reported second-quarter net earnings of $104 million, or 28 cents per share, down nearly 36 percent from $162 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. ...

Maple Grove commercial bldg. slated.
September 6, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A retail and office building with room for up to five tenants is planned for a 3-acre site at Maple Grove Road and Whitehaven Court, south of Overland Road. Plans for the 5,310-square-foot building are slated...

Syringa Bank plans branch in Eagle Promenade ctr.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Syringa Bank plans a branch in the developing Eagle Promenade shopping center, which has announced plans for two retail buildings. The Boise bank recently signed a letter of intent to buy a site in the 40-acre...

Wal-Mart, Sam's Club slated near Idaho Center.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to build a Wal-Mart SuperCenter - plus the Treasure Valley's first Sam's Club warehouse store - northeast of the Garrity Boulevard interchange with Interstate 84, Nampa. The world's...

Washington Group International CEO juggles global tasks, 'commitment to people'.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Just after law school, Steve Hanks came to a fork in the road that decided his career. Should he work for Morrison Knudsen Corp. in Boise, or join a law firm in his hometown of Rexburg, as he had planned? ...

Boise-based Nutri-Vet Nutritionals offers vitamin-fortified, bottled water for pets.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Gatorade gave us bottled water flavored with lemon, peach and kiwi strawberry. Now Boise-based Nutri-Vet Nutritionals has done the same with beef, chicken and bacon for our canine friends. K9 Plus water, introduced...

Developer touts 'Cedar Pointe' as link between old, new Meridian.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Developer Dennis Baker plans retail and office buildings, apartments, and public open space on 120 acres on the south side of Fairview Avenue east of Locust Grove, Meridian. The project, Cedar Pointe, will serve as...

Wells Fargo Bank plans new branch by Caldwell Wal-Mart.
September 13, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Wells Fargo Bank plans to close one of its two downtown Caldwell offices and build a new branch on the east side of town, near a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Construction of a 5,000-square-foot building is slated east...

San Francisco-based language firm Enlaso opens office in Boise.
September 13, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Enlaso Corp. recently opened a Boise administrative-services office at 9543 W. Emerald St. San Francisco-based Enlaso markets "enterprise language solutions" to businesses that work with clients in foreign...

Boisean finds niche in handbags.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert "It makes a really ugly chair or couch, but a really pretty handbag," Jeanette Zimmer said of the vintage upholstery fabric she uses in the totes and flap purses she manufactures. Thanks in large part to the...

Women in Business to share practices and philosophies.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Six women entrepreneurs are scheduled to discuss business strategies at the Celebrating Women in Business and Leadership forum Sept. 21 at the Boise Centre on the Grove. The forum is slated for 6 to 8 p.m., with...

Simplot AgriBusiness HQ in Boise goes to One Capital Center.
September 13, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The J.R. Simplot Co. AgriBusiness Group plans to relocate its downtown Boise headquarters from 8th Street Marketplace to One Capital Center, which houses Simplot corporate headquarters. The Simplot group, which...

Commentary: Metadata may lurk in those documents.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Rick Edvalson The lawyers of SCO Group must have been embarrassed. When they filed their lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler for copyright infringement, they released an electronic copy of the documents created in Microsoft Word....

Boise firms to manage Web-based, statewide student recordkeeping system.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Two Boise-based technology companies have been tapped to help start a Web-based statewide recordkeeping system for student information. The Network Group, an information technology service and support company, and...

Water bottler Trinity Springs to move head office to Boise.
September 13, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Trinity Springs, a mineral water bottling company, plans to move its headquarters from Ketchum to Boise this month after tenant improvements in leased space are complete. Trinity Springs leased a 2,270-square...

Washington Group International Inc. gets $228 million Nevada mining contract.
September 13, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Washington Group International Inc. has received a five-year, $228 million contract to mine about 67 million tons of ore and waste annually at Ely, Nev., for a Canadian mining company. Under the contract with...

Commentary: Another 'Pointe' pops up - What's the point?
September 13, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Elsewhere in this issue we report on a mixed-use development planned for Fairview near Locust Grove in Meridian, to be called Cedar Pointe. There may be certain aspects of this project that are praiseworthy, as its...

Bucket O' Brew to make, sell and deliver gift baskets of beer.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Kris Query hopes to make beer deliveries the male equivalent of flowers. Query and her brother Andy Query, both of Boise, plan to open Bucket O' Brew in the 8th Street Marketplace Sept. 27. The business, to be...

More of Micron's silicon pie devoted to non-PC markets.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Micron Technology Inc., slated to announce fiscal-year financial results the week of Sept. 27, plans to keep diversifying its mix of electronic memory products amid stiff competition. Memory chipmakers' main...

Coldwater Creek broadens its shareholder base.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Twenty months and three stock splits later, Coldwater Creek Inc. has broadened its shareholder base significantly, which should increase the appeal of its stock. The broader float is the latest chapter in a story...

Memory-chip demand remains strong - for now, analysts say.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson Demand for computer memory chips will be strong through this year and into 2005, but longer-term prospects hinge on factors including another potential round of oversupply. The Semiconductor Industry Association...

Washington Group International to start work on large commuter rail project.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Washington Group International will participate in a large commuter rail project in northern Virginia, according to a company announcement. Boise-based WGI said a joint venture with Bechtel Infrastructure...

Nomination deadline for BetterBricks extended to Sept. 21.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Developers, architects and engineers in Idaho take note: BetterBricks is seeking nominees for its first awards program in Idaho. The nomination deadline for the program has been extended to 5 p.m. Sept. 21 and...

Psychological Assoc. to honor 'healthy' workplaces.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Idaho Psychological Association is set to recognize four Idaho businesses with its "Psychologically Healthy Workplace Practices" award. Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Carlson Leisure Travel...

Liquidation World leases Overland Park space.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Liquidation World has leased the long-vacant former Pedersen's space of more than 40,000 square feet in the Overland Park Shopping Center in west Boise. Calgary, Alberta-based Liquidation World last week...

City of Nampa may acquire subdivision's water system.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report United Water is seeking to remove a Nampa subdivision from its service territory and sell the subdivision's water system to the City of Nampa. United Water proposes to sell the water system for the...

3 buildings planned for Mahogany Business Park.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Three professional office buildings are to be added to Mahogany Business Park at McMillan Road and Persimmon Lane, east of Eagle Road near Pioneer Elementary School in northwest Boise. Preliminary plans for the...

$2 million-plus condo project planned for Sun Valley area.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The Sun Valley area will get more upscale condos next year with construction of Sawtooth Lodge, a three-story Ketchum project containing 21 $2 million-plus condos, plus four apartments offered at below-market rents....

Meridian passes office-related plan amendment.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson The City of Meridian has acted to simplify the process by which property owners on busy streets can obtain zoning for business uses. Earlier this month, the Meridian City Council approved a Comprehensive Plan...

Environmental awards honor business, govt.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Four Idaho businesses and government agencies were slated to receive EnviroGuard Pollution Prevention Awards earlier this month for their efforts at environmental stewardship. The City of Boise gives the awards to...

Business League schedules 'Wealth & Prosperity' event.
September 20, 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. Cole-Whittaker is...

Major condo, office buildings slated at Pioneer Plaza.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A third multi-tenant office building and a five-story residential condo structure are planned in the Pioneer Plaza complex near 13th and Myrtle streets on the south side of downtown Boise. Boise-based developer...

Small Business Index up in Aug.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Zions Bank Small Business Index for Idaho rose to 104.6 in August versus a revised 102.3 in July. U.S. economic growth "is expected to strengthen during the next 12 months, contributing to more solid Idaho...

Micron Technology unveils RLDRAM II.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Micron Technology Inc. finished testing its first RLDRAM II product and has started volume production of it in Italy, the company announced last week. "The architecture of the technology is in its infancy," said...

Eagle Big O Tires store planned.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Construction of a Big O Tires store is planned in the development that The Home Depot anchors on State Street in Eagle. The 5,400-square-foot Eagle store would be built north of State Street (Idaho 44) in the...

Zions Bank's new retail banking area president plans expansion.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Allison Casper sets high goals for herself, and makes a habit of reaching them. The new retail banking area president of Zions Bank said she plans to vigorously grow the company's presence in the Valley. The Salt...

Property-line resolution paves way for BoDo start.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert The developer of 8th Street Marketplace says he's ready to start construction "in earnest" now that a minor misunderstanding regarding a property line has been resolved. Construction of the Capitol Gateway and...

Valley builders struggle to find framers.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller The building boom under way at Tamarack Resort has attracted some of southern Idaho's prized skill construction workers - so much so that some builders in Ada and Canyon counties are struggling to find framers for their...

Boise-area architects see gradual pickup of work.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Ken Miller After two sluggish years that forced layoffs and other downsizing at some firms, Idaho architectural firms say business is slowly picking up - and they're optimistic the coming quarter will send them back to the drawing...

Commercial construction gains with big projects.
September 20, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson A number of sizeable projects permitted during August boosted year-to-date building-permit statistics for Boise, Meridian and Nampa. Boise's commercial construction valuation in August was $29 million, compared to...

Boise-based association lands Fresno airport expansion project.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The City of Fresno, Calif., Department of Airports has contracted with Boise-based CSHQA, Inc., an association of architects, engineers and planners, for a terminal expansion and rehabilitation project at the...

Power Engineers helps commission Iraqi plant.
September 20, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Power Engineers, a nationwide consulting engineering firm headquartered in Idaho, helped bring relief to Iraq in August when a new power plant was completed in the city of Buzurgan and connected to the Iraqi...

Locomotive builder MotivePower to boost Boise workforce.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Brad Carlson MotivePower, Boise's locomotive manufacturer and rebuilder, plans to add about 100 employees by the end of this year. The company - a subsidiary of Wabtec Corp. that began life as MK Rail - employs 330 in Boise,...

Cincinnati-based Federated to change name of its regional chain Bon-Macy's to Macy's.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Bon-Macy's, formerly the Bon Marche, will change its name to Macy's by the end of January, parent company Federated Department Stores Inc. has announced. Cincinnati-based Federated said it was dropping the historic...

Mixed-use project proposed on Boise River in Garden City.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A former meatpacking plant site on the Boise River in Garden City would become a large mixed-use project under a plan developed by Jim Neill, a lawyer who moved to Boise two years ago. Neill, who has a contract...

'The Shops at Karcher' due in Nampa.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report A 40,000-square-foot building at the northeast corner of Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard and Karcher Road is slated to become "The Shops at Karcher" after a renovation. Built for Waremart (now WinCo Foods), the...

Retail bldg. planned for McMillan shopping complex in Boise.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert An additional pad retail building is planned for the Albertsons-anchored shopping center at McMillan and Eagle roads in northwest Boise. Retail West Properties LLC, Boise, plans to build a multi-tenant,...

Nampa-based Dedicated Devices develops electronic products that "talk" to each other.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Lora Volkert Nampa-based Dedicated Devices Inc. has developed a product to get consumer gadgets on speaking terms. The company's first product, a "digital distribution center" to be launched in November, allows TV sets,...

Boise Police offer training to curb underage drinking.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report The Boise Police Department is offering training for bar and restaurant employees on how to spot underage drinkers. The training sessions are designed to cover techniques to read forms of identification,...

Boise-based Idaho Banking Co. to form holding company.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Idaho Banking Co., formed in Boise in 1996, plans to form a holding company, bank directors announced last week. Idaho Banking Co. will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the new company, Idaho Bancorp, and...

Boise-based Albertsons acquires Southern California-based food retailer.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Albertson's, Inc. has acquired Bristol Farms, a Southern California gourmet and specialty food retailer, the Boise-based food and drug chain announced last week. The acquisition, terms of which were not...

Neenah, Wis.-based Plexus shuts down Washington plant.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Plexus Corp. last week announced a $10 to $13 million restructuring program that includes the closing of its Bothell, Wash., facility, the impairment of certain fixed assets and additional costs for previously...

Commentary: Eyeing office condo? - Be aware of drawbacks.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Quentin Knipe Purchasing an office condo may be an attractive alternative to leasing office space. Proponents speak of historically low interest rates, deductible interest payments, depreciation and the potential for the condo's...

Boise-based Post Services Insurance moves to larger quarters.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Post Services Insurance Inc. has expanded from its office at 14th and Franklin streets to new offices at 27th and Bannock streets. The company's owner, Bill Post, bought the Bannock building and is leasing...

Laska Co. plans move to larger downtown Boise quarters.
September 27, 2004... Byline: IBR Staff Report Laska Co., a business brokerage, plans to move to larger downtown Boise quarters and add staff. Bill Laska, company principal, said he plans to move the business to 1,200 square feet on the sixth floor of the...

Boise State's economic impact seen near $330 million.
September 27, 2004... Byline: Steven Anderson Boise State University has released a study, primarily for internal use, of BSU's annual economic impact that points to a total of almost $330 million for the state as a whole. According to BSU's new PR chief,...