Work planned this summer for Pancheri overpass, Memorial Drive

It's not too early start looking forward to summer, and one thing we can expect is a couple of big road and bridge projects in Idaho Falls.

Downtown, the remodeling of Memorial Drive is due to start July 5. "We didn't want to tear it up before the Fourth of July celebration, but we'll be getting to it the day after," said Bob Everhart, executive director of the Downtown Development Corp.

The remodeling will reduce Memorial to one lane between A and D Streets and moving parking for the Bonneville County Courthouse to other spots. If all goes as intended, there will be a much more appealing area along the river, with downtown and the Greenbelt fully integrated.

The other big project within city limits will be the replacement of the 50-year-old Pancheri Overpass. That two-lane bridge, especially exciting in icy weather, was built in 1962, the same I-15 reached Idaho Falls, and has long since reached what transportation types euphemistically call its "design life."

The replacement will be a wide structure, featuring two lanes of traffic and a bike/pedestrian path in each direction of travel. The old bridge won't go down until two lanes of the new bridge are open. The replacement bridge will improve traffic safety and flow, reducing congestion between Utah Avenue and Blue Sky Drive, a distance of just under a mile. The transportation department expects to complete the bulk of the work by year end.

The project will also include improving Pancheri Drive through its intersection with Blue Sky Drive and installing storm-water treatment and control systems.

Participants in the federally funded project are the Idaho Transportation Department, Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization, Bonneville County and City of Idaho Falls. The project is part of a plan by BMPO, Bonneville County and Idaho Falls to upgrade the corridor between Yellowstone Highway and Bellin Road in Idaho Falls.

And now for a word on gasoline prices ...

This week the Dow Jones Industrial Average nosed above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008. Are happy days are here again?

You may recall where gasoline prices were in May 2008: They were approaching $4 a gallon, which is where they appear to be headed now. Yes, by the beginning of summer you may need a second mortgage to gas up the old SUV, pickup or minivan, not to mention your ATV, JetSki or lawnmower.

I don't think there's anything that gets Americans more riled up than high gasoline prices, and I'm speaking as someone who remembers when it cost less than $10 to put 20 gallons in a 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS. Supply and demand and speculator nervousness always get cited as the root causes of rising prices, and that may be true. But there's always a general suspicion among folks at the pump that somehow the fix is in. Of course if Iran's mullahs decide to sink a tanker in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, all bets will be off.

For your convenience, I've added a gas price widget to the right side of the page so you can keep up. For the next week, e-mail me what you think the price of unleaded regular will be the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. The address is bizmojoidaho@gmail.com. Entries will be accepted through 5 p.m. Feb. 29. The winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to Carl's Jr.

By the way, I noticed that Stinker has begun selling gas with an octane rating of 85, when the lowest they used to sell was 87. All by itself, this is a sign of the world in decline.

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.