Beaver Dick the Fifth Beatle?

Went out to take a picture this morning of the excavation work on Memorial Drive and what did we see? OMG! Yes, the work is proceeding, and traffic between Broadway and E Street is limited to two lanes. No, we didn't see John, Paul, George and Ringo crossing the road except in our fevered imagination, because the picture we came away with made us think of the iconic Abbey Road album cover, albeit with Beaver Dick in the background. With Adobe Photoshop at our disposal, we couldn't resist.

Tautphaus Park Zoo closes early July 19

The city of Idaho Falls' Tautphaus Park Zoo will close early on July 19 so the Tautphaus Park Zoological Society can prepare the grounds for a fund-raising event. The last admission will be at 3 p.m. and the zoo will close at 4 p.m.

“We wanted to get the word out that the zoo will be closing early so guests can plan their visit accordingly,” said zoo superintendent Beth Rich. The staff realizes this early closing could be disappointing to guests, so to help ease any frustration the zoo is going to discount admission that day, $1 for adults and 50 cents for children and seniors. The group admission rate and ciity admission rate will stay the same.

For more information, visit www.idahofallszoo.org or call 612-8552.

Three townhouse developments started in Idaho Falls

This is the first building going up on ground at the corner of John Adams Parkway and St. Clair Road. When the development is finished, there will be four four-plexes and two three-unit townhouses. The developers are Lance Mortensen and Dennis Hourany of Freedom, Wyo., going by the name of Parkway Partners. This year is looking to be a big one for townhouse development. Kent Wood is building three four-unit townhouses at the corner of St. Clair and First Street, and another 22-unit development called Lakewood Aspens is going in between Meppen Drive and 12th Street east of Hoopes Avenue.

Melaleuca gets its Freedom Celebration ready

We took a run around the Greenbelt Sunday (training for the Firecracker 5k), but paused long enough to snap this picture of the cannonade that will go into action Wednesday night for the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration fireworks display. As in the past, Melaleuca is out to top itself. Over 31 minutes, this year's  display will involve 17,153 shells, 571 more than 2011. Narration and music will be on KLCE Classy 97. Exit question: What's your favorite spot to watch the show?

Idaho Falls issues 'boil order' following water pressure drop

The city of Idaho Falls issued a “boil order” Monday afternoon for a large section of the city following the failure of a piece of equipment and a drop in water pressure over the weekend.

Residents on the city's northeast side are being instructed to boil any tap water before they drink it, brush their teeth or wash their dishes. Or they can use bottled water in the 24 hours the order is expected to be in effect. The order affects residents in the following areas:
• North of Anderson and Higham Streets between the Snake River and North Holmes Avenue
• North of 1st Street between Holmes Avenue and Woodruff Avenue
• North of East 17th Street between Woodruff Avenue and 25th East (Hitt Road), including the Woodbridge and Ivan's Acres Subdivisions

Here is a link to the map on the city's Web site: http://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/wwwroot/userfiles/files/pw/boil_water_advisory.pdf

City spokesman Brad Huerta said they don't know whether water quality was affected following the mechanical failure of a component responsible for water system communication and control. The boil order is precautionary because a drop in pressure could allow contamination to enter the system through backflow, backpressure or back-siphonage, he said.

Idaho Falls' water supply is chlorinated to help protect against contamination. City personnel were taking samples Monday to test the quality of the drinking water.

For more information about the order or to ask if it is in effect in your area, please contact the
Idaho Falls Water Department at 208-612-8471or visit www. http://www.idahofallsidaho.gov.

Local agency seeks donations for school supplies

This is a time of year when school supplies are least expensive, which is why F.I.S.H., an Idaho Falls non-profit, is putting out a call for donations so it can help outfit underprivileged kids with backpacks, pencils, rulers, paper, et. al.

The program has been a great success in past years, but right now the agency's school supply funds are at a low ebb. This past year they helped 157 more children than they did the previous year.

A basic setup for school is easily $40 without a backpack, and 90 percent of the people who approach the F.I.S.H. say they need a backpack. "We are requesting financial donations now so items can be purchased  at the best sale price," said Liz Herrmann, who coordinates the program. All donated items are appreciated, but be advised that they have a surplus of spiral notebooks.

If you want to contribute, give a check to your church or mail it directly to the Regional Council for Christian Ministries, P.O. Box 2236, Idaho Falls, ID 83403. Stipulate on the check, "FISH school supply program."  Herrmann said they expect to help 600 students before school starts in September, and that they will also need help packing and delivering the supplies. Call 522-0493 to volunteer or for more details.

More Fourth of July photos, because you seem to like them so much

Source: akbarlow.blogspot.com

Source: lifeonpoppylane.blogspot.com

OK, maybe this is a shameless attempt to get new eyeballs onto BizMojo Idaho, but I want to do an experiment based on something that's happened in the last 10 days.

On June 20, I posted the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce's press release on everything that's happening this Fourth of July. Boilerplate, right? I thought so, but because I like to illustrate everything I post with a photo or an illustration I went to Google Images and found a nice picture from 2011 of a bunch of kids on the curb, ready for the parade. In the caption I gave credit where it came from, a family blog, and I identified the kids as best I could.

I figured that was that. I immediately posted it to Facebook, because I've learned it's imperative to share everything I post to the big social media sites. Let the readers have a part in deciding what the news is.

Today, that post, "Here's a happy family at last year's Idaho Falls Fourth of July parade ..." (http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1127161227049840947#editor/target=post;postID=1810990410246958060) is No. 3 on the BizMojo Hit Parade and rising fast. All I can surmise is that people saw the photo and shared it with friends and family members. My numbers exploded. Social Media 101.

On reflection, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Thirty-two years ago, when I was editor of the Jeffrey City News, I learned that if I wanted a connection with the community the best thing I could do was shoot lots of pictures of kids and run them in the paper. This was good for sales, too, because mom and dad would buy copies for grandma, grandpa, Uncle Bob, Aunt Sally, etc. Today is really no different, except for the fact that you can't clip a Web page and put it in a scrapbook (unless you print it, but how many of us do that?)

So, in the spirit of summer, here are a few more Idaho Falls Fourth of July photos from the past few years. Do you see anyone you know? Feel free to share. And remember the ideals that make us the United States, one of which is the free, unfettered exchange of knowledge and information.

Source: hkagcontreras.blogspot.com