INL researcher takes part in cybersecurity task force

Rita Wells of the Idaho National Laboratory

Rita Wells, a cyber and control systems security researcher at the Idaho National Laboratory, has been appointed to a 15-member cyberskills task force.

The group was formed to help the Department of Homeland Security and the federal government recruit and retain talented cybersecurity professionals. Among the recommendations in a report it presented this month to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the group called for a two-year, community college-based program to identify and train people for critical cybersecurity jobs. It also recommended establishing a cyber-reserve program that would allow cybersecurity professionals from outside government to assist DHS in times of need, and a sustained effort to train and hire veterans for critical cybersecurity positions.

Wells, an INL employee for 22 years, is currently leads the lab’s electric sector security programs. She is the recipient of numerous cybersecurity awards including the SANS Institute’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security leadership award. She often speaks at national cybersecurity conferences and has provided testimony to Congress on the challenges of cybersecurity in the electric utility sector.

For nearly a decade, INL has been internationally recognized for its research in critical infrastructure protection, cyber and control systems security, and electric grid reliability. The laboratory manages several multi-year security programs, including the DHS Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) and the Department of Energy’s National SCADA Test Bed.

Idaho Falls featured in AAA's Via magazine

Idaho Falls is the cover story of the current Northwest edition of Via magazine.

Idaho and Oregon AAA members are getting their November/December 2012 issue of Via magazine, featuring a cover story on Idaho Falls.

The magazine goes to about 440,000 homes and offices in the two states, said Marie Dodds, director of government and public affairs in AAA's Portland office.

Editors in different regions decide what goes in the magazine and on the cover, she said. "What we're trying to do is offer useful travel information to people in the Northwest, so they might decide to drive or take a flight to a place like Idaho Falls," she said. "We do run some features on international travel, but for the most part we're more focused on travel tips and realistic places to go."

As stated on its Web site, www.viamagazine.com, Via's mission is "to excite, to inform, and to entertain Western travelers; to lay bare the secrets of destinations around the globe, across the country, and, most often, just down the road; to satiate and gratify the armchair traveler and, especially, to spark active travelers to pick up the phone, grab a mouse, or trek to the nearest AAA travel agency and begin making plans for their next trip."

Dodds said they decided on a story about Idaho Falls at their 2011 editorial scheduling meeting, and that the copy was turned in earlier this year.

More ruminations on fast food burgers ... Fuddruckers, anyone?

A juicy burger from Fuddruckers, recently rated No. 5 in a Best Burger survey.

Given the insatiable appetite for news about fast food hamburgers, I did a little digging this morning to see whether I might be missing anything.

You see, I've been intrigued by the re-emergence of a post from October 2011 about In-N-Out Burger, one in which I opined that the Irvine, Calif.-based chain would create excitement in Idaho Falls equal to that which preceded Olive Garden.

I still believe that, but it appears In-N-Out is focused on Texas at the moment, and Texas is a big state. So what are the alternatives?

We already have Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and going by customer satisfaction surveys I'd say we are lucky. Last month, Zagat.com released its annual "America's Best Burgers, Fries, Coffee and More" results and Five Guys ranked Number One. Read about it here: http://blog.zagat.com/2012/09/americas-best-burgers-fries-coffee-and.html.

In-N-Out ranked No. 4, followed by Fuddruckers. I can't imagine Fuddruckers' following is as passionate, but I could be wrong.

Going to its Web site, what I did find interesting is that it has two locations in Boise, not to mention stores in Montana (Billings and Bozeman) and Utah. Could this be Idaho Falls' next great fast food hamburger hope? If I were a betting man, this is a chain I'd put money on.

Love at First Bite expands into new, bigger location

Vats of olive oil at Love At First Bite. Samples are available.

Love at First Bite is now open in its new suite at 901 Pier View Drive, Suite 101, across from The Pier at Snake River Landing. The new space, roughly 3,000 square feet, is double the size of the previous location, which opened in the fall of 2010. It has allowed owners Juli Richards and Madeline Luthy to expand product lines, including a new specialty olive oil and vinegar line known as Twig and Vine. The store is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

David's Bridal eyes early December opening in Idaho Falls

Electrical contractors were busy Monday at the Idaho Falls David's Bridal store.

David's Bridal is looking at an opening date on or around Dec. 7, a spokesman for the company said Monday.

The store is in the Sagewood Shopping Center next door to Kiwi Loco, on the Idaho Falls side of Hitt Road.

With a square-footage of 5,470, it is one of the Conshohocken, Pa.-based chain's smaller stores, but Idaho Falls is one of their smaller markets, said Jim Neilland, a real estate executive for the company.

David's Bridal has had a store in Boise for 12 years, and several in Utah. With more than 300 stores in 45 states, plus stores in Canada and Puerto Rico, it is the largest American bridal store chain. It also carrries prom gowns and other formal wear.

For a look at its Web site, go to http://www.davidsbridal.com/HomeView.

Eastern Idaho unemployment outpaces rest of state

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate plunged another three-tenths of a percentage point to 7.1 percent in September, and eastern Idaho's numbers continued to outpace the rest of the state.

The Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area reported an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, down from 7.3 percent in September 2011. The city of Rexburg reported a rate of 5.0 percent , down from 5.7 in September 2011.

While it was the lowest rate since May 2009, it came with a fourth straight month of a shrinking labor force and the first August-September labor force decline since the 1986 recession.

Employers across the state expanded September payrolls from August at a higher rate than the past five years and at a slightly faster pace than they did during the expansion from 2003 through 2007.

Another 1,200 workers were on the job in September, pushing total employment to 720,600 – its highest level in four years – and breaking a two-month employment slide. Total nonfarm jobs were 1.2 percent above September 2011, marking the fifth straight month that jobs have totaled at least a percentage point higher than a year earlier.

Unemployment benefit payments dropped 36 percent in September from September 2011, and the number of claimants averaged 15,000 during the month, down 37 percent from nearly 24,000 a year ago. Benefits for more than a third of those claimants expire at the end of the year.

The combination was a sign of slow but sustainable growth that could persist even in the face of economic setbacks, the Idaho Department of Labor reported.

The drop in Idaho’s jobless rate matched the three-tenths of a point decline in the national rate to 7.8 percent and marked 11 full years that the state rate has been lower than the national rate.

Except for construction and information, all major industrial sectors saw larger payrolls this fall than a year ago. But nonfarm jobs overall remained below the 2005 levels, and construction and manufacturing job totals matched the early 1990s. Total jobs are not expected to recover to pre-recession levels until 2015.

University of Phoenix closing operation in Idaho Falls

The University of Phoenix Learning Center in Idaho Falls will be among the sites across the nation that will be closing in the wake of bad financial news from the school's parent company.

Apollo Group Inc., the largest U.S. for-profit college chain, has seen a 59 percent decline in the value of its stock since the beginning of the year, making it the worst-performing stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

The company announced Wednesday it will be closing 25 campuses and 90 learning centers and cutting about 800 jobs.

“We’re positioning ourselves to be more nimble, more competitive and more successful for all of our stakeholders in Apollo,” Chief Executive Officer Greg Cappelli was quoted as saying in Bloomberg BusinessWeek (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-17/apollo-group-falls-most-in-two-years-on-sales-forecast.html).

After the closings, which are to be completed next year, the University of Phoenix will be left with a nationwide network of 112 locations and a physical presence in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Students affected by the closings will have the option of transferring to the university’s online classes (about three-quarters of its students are online.) Students are now being notified of the changes, and a hot line has been set up at (866) 992-3302 for those with questions.