Bannock County Development names new director

John Regetz

John Regetz has been hired as the new Bannock County Development Corp. director in Pocatello.

Regetz has spent nearly his entire career in economic development in the Midwest and South Dakota. His last stop, at the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation in Indiana, lasted about six and a half years.

The Bannock County Development Corp. lost its director when Gynii Gilliam went to work for the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Regetz said that he has experience working with industries that would fit in well with Pocatello’s economy, including the high-tech and national computing sectors in Urbana, Ill.; and “advanced manufacturing” in Michigan City.

“The whole scope of my career seems to have been preparing me for this position,” Regetz said.

The Bannock County Development Corp. works with companies, governments and other organizations to coordinate economic development efforts within the county.

Regetz will start on March 19.

DeMarco's in Grand Teton Mall closing

DeMarco's going out of business sale starts Thursday.

After 26 years in the Grand Teton Mall -- almost as long as the mall has been standing -- DeMarco's is quitting business.

In a letter sent out to preferred customers, store owners Dave and Rob Marcovitz said the decision comes "after years of battling such a tormented economy." Given the retail comings and goings since the mall opened in the mid-'80s, I've wondered more than once how a smaller clothing store with such high-quality merchandise could stay in business for any length of time at all.

In an interview with Local News 8, Rob Marcowitz said Americans are looking more to alternative retailers. "The U.S. people are getting to be a little more like Internet shopping-type people," he said.

Starting Thursday they'll be selling their stock off at prices up to 60 percent off. Brands include such designer names as True Religion, Tommy Bahama, Robert Graham and For All Mankind. If you're halfway interested in stylish clothes, this is something you might want to check out.

Copp named head of Missouri cleanup project

Robert D. Copp, until recently the chief executive officer of Nitrocision LLC of Idaho Falls, has been named project director of the Hematite Decommissioning Project in Festus, Mo.

Copp will be responsible for all project operations at the site. For years the facility manufactured uranium fuel for the U.S. Government (including the Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy) and commercial electric power utilities. Westinghouse Electric Co. took over the site after buying the nuclear operations of ABB in April 2000. The Hematite facility was the oldest nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in the United States when Westinghouse stopped fuel manufacturing operations in June 2001.

The NRC approved the site's decommissioning plan in November 2011. The work under way now includes excavating waste burial areas, removing contaminated soil and shipping the material for off-site disposal. This phase of site operations is expected to be completed in 2013.

Second Idaho Falls Carl's Jr. opening set for April 16

Enough calories to feed a village in India for a week?

It's been almost seven weeks since Carl's Jr. opened on 17th Street, and we're reasonably certain that anyone who cares about a juicy burger has been there at least once.

This morning, in a moment of idle musing, it occured to me that the L.A.-based chain might have finally scheduled an opening for the second restaurant, at 1115 Northgate Mile, well under construction. I could not reach my usual source, Kelly Grieve, who was in a meeting, but her assistant, Cindy, confirmed to me that a tentative date of April 16 has been set.

She said the date could change due to any number of reasons, that it could be sooner or later. But at least those of you who care now have a pretty good idea of when to start salivating. We'll keep you posted.

Labor Department report indicates more benefits offered in 2011

There's good news in the first report of 2012 from the Idaho Department of Labor, a survey of fringe benefits offered by employers in 2011.

More employers reported providing medical and dental benefits to their full-time employees, ending a decline that began in 2005 and returning the state estimates to pre-recession levels.

There's plenty to look at in the 49-page report, which can be viewed at http://lmi.idaho.gov/ResearchProjects.aspx

Here are some key points from the executive summary:

• Employers indicated they were more likely to offer full‐time employees fringe benefits compared with part‐time employees.
• Bigger companies offer better and more extensive benefit packages.
• Industry sectors requiring more experience and education continued to offer more benefits than their counterparts in natural resources and mining, leisure and hospitality.
• Region continued to be a non-factor in determining whether a firm offered any form of fringe benefits to employees.

Young Professionals to hold first mixer of '12

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network will have its first mixer of the year today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Teton Toyota.

The group was started in 2008 as a way for future business leaders to network with each other, socially and professionally. YPN is an official committee of the chamber and has a board of directors made up of eight people.

Events like today's mixer are free and open to anyone in the 21-to-40 age range. They often feature guest speakers.

Food and drink will be provided, and there will be live music by Happyville (which, incidentally, got its start two years ago at a chamber event like this. Michelle Ziel and I started singing together when a man appeared on a flaming pie and said to us, "You shall form a band.")

For more information on YPN, visit the Web site, http://www.idahofallsypn.com/

Open houses, fly-tying demo set for I.F. downtown

Downtown Idaho Falls has some fun coming up, and since it’s not 10 below (remember folks, it’s February and very well could be) it might not be a bad idea to head down that way.

On Saturday morning, Jimmy’s All Season Angler, 275 A St., will be hosting a free fly-tying demo. These go through March 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A complete list of tiers can be found at http://www.jimmysflyshop.com/ 

In the afternoon, five downtown restaurants and one bar will be having an open house from 3 to 6 p.m.:

• 3’s Co., 368 A St.
• Il Castello, 445 A St.
• Snakebite, 401 Park Ave.
• Pachanga's, 501 Park Ave.
• That One Place, 552 N. Capital Ave.

Also, Vino Rosso, 439 A St., will be open with a no-host bar and appetizers. Start at anyone of these restaurants, and go back and forth as much as you please.

On Saturday morning, Jimmy’s All Season Angler, 275 A St., will be hosting a free fly-tying demo. These go through March 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A complete list of tiers can be found at http://www.jimmysflyshop.com/