Congratulations to Britni Storer of Idaho Falls for winning a Travelocity grant

Congratulations to Britni Storer of Idaho Falls, who will be traveling to Capetown, South Africa next month to teach English under Travelocity's Travel for Good program. The grant she has received will fund up to $5,000 for her trip. Above is the video she made that won her the grant.

One grant is awarded each quarter. For more information about the program, here's a link to Travelocity's Web page laying out the rule: http://www.travelocity.com/TravelForGood/travel-grants.html

Idaho Falls Power removes turbines from Old Lower Plant for testing

The city of Idaho Falls' Old Lower Power Plant, with its south wall removed. The venerable turbines are being tested for possible rewinding and refurbishment.

This past week, crews from Idaho Falls Power have torn out the south wall of the city's Lower Power Plant and removed the generators to have them tested. If they can be rewound or refurbished, the city-owned utility would like to keep the site for supplemental power generation.

The plant dates back to 1900, and was Idaho Falls' first big public power generation project. The first water-powered generation came from a canal that produced only enough juice to energize the city's street lights. Between 1900 and 1928, three power plants were constructed in Idaho Falls: the Old Lower Plant in 1900, City Plant in 1912 and the Upper Plant in 1928. The Lower Plant was aggressively updated in 1937.

The plants at the original Upper and City sites were almost completely destroyed by the Teton Dam collapse and flood in 1976. The Old Lower Plant facility received little to no damage. A new bulb turbine facility was constructed adjacent to the Old Lower Plant facility in 1978, and commercial production began at that plant in April 1982. Bulb turbines were also installed at the City and Upper Plants and went commercial in July and September 1982, respectively.

Since then, the Old Lower Plant units have typically been run four to eight weeks a year, to augment power production during peak runoff, when flows exceed the capacity of the city's bulb turbines.

Here is a breakdown of the Idaho Falls Power's generation capacity:

Two Old  Lower Plants     1.5 megawatts each
Three Bulb Turbines          8.3 megawatts each
Gem State Dam                  23.5 megawatts
TOTAL                              51.5 megawatts

Trader Joe's to open in Boise in 2014; who wants to take the lead in getting one here?

The Trader Joe's building site in Boise, at Front and Capitol. Some thought they'd never see one, but an opening is planned for 2014.

There's been a fair bit of excitement directed toward Natural Grocers, the Colorado-based chain that is building a store on 17th Street and plans to open it in November.

What I'm interested in seeing (as I'm sure many of you are), however, is what might follow in this store's wake. After Natural Grocers opened in Boise in February 2012, Whole Foods followed suit with a store that November. Now Trader Joe's is building a store at 300 S. Capitol Blvd., with an opening planned for 2014.

That's right, Trader Joe's, one of those chains that incites a feeding frenzy in BizMojo Idaho readers. Those of you who have followed this blog since its inception nearly two years ago may remember that I got wind of Natural Grocers in a conversation with Assistant City Planner Brad Cramer, who told me about a cryptic phone call he'd received. They were asking about a possible site for a 15,000-square-foot specialty grocery store. It was all he knew.

I suggested in print that maybe it might be worth calling Trader Joe's to ask if they had any plans for Idaho Falls. They didn't, but this was one of my first lessons in building readership. I learned there was an intense interest in having a Trader Joe's here.

Checking today once again, Trader Joe's stuck to its standard line -- they plan 18 months in advance and there are no plans for an Idaho Falls store within that time frame. But starting next year, you won't have to go all the way to Oregon, Washington or California to get your Two-Buck Chuck or specialty pasta. You can go to Boise, and to be fair, there is a TJ's in Salt Lake City as well.

Trader Joe's told a Boise TV reporter in December 2011 that the market wasn't in their two-year plan. But Boise did have one gung-ho TJ's fan, Jared Buff, founder of the Bring Trader Joe's to Boise Facebook page, which had 5,745 likes when I looked today. Buff saw his dream come true in March this year when he received word the chain would be building at Front and Capitol.

Persistence and patience pay off. Don't you forget it.

Here's a link if you want to pitch Idaho Falls to the Trader Joe's people: http://www.traderjoes.com/about/location-requests-form.asp

Here's a link to stores they have planned: http://www.traderjoes.com/stores/coming-soon.asp.

And here again is a link to the best and worst of Trader Joe's, which I found entertaining: http://www.thedailymeal.com/best-and-worst-products-trader-joes/4472/comment/reply/21182?utm_source=Outbrain

Traffic detoured on John Adams Parkway as bridge paving proceeds

The new John Adams Parkway bridge over the Idaho Canal, begun last fall, is nearing completion.

Traffic is being detoured on John Adams Parkway today at the Idaho Canal, between St. Clair Road and Lincoln Drive, so crews can pave the sections of the street that lead up to the new bridge being finished. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Traffic traveling east will turn north (right) on St. Clair, east (left) on First Street and south (left) on Lincoln. Traffic traveling west will turn north (left) on Lincoln, west (right) on First and south (right) on St. Clair. Cambridge Drive will remain closed at John Adams Parkway until the paving work is completed.

Design drawing for Idaho Falls Event Center made public

The architectural rendering from the CRSA firm of the Idaho Falls Event Center at Snake River Landing.

The Idaho Falls Auditorium District unveiled its design Thursday for the 5,000-seat event center at Snake River Landing that it hopes to break ground on this fall or next spring.

The design was the main attraction at a Grow Idaho Falls investors' breakfast, where Cindy Ozaki, who chairs the district board of directors, spoke about the project's progress.

Although they had hoped to break ground this year, Ozaki said the board members want to be sure they have adequate financing in hand. "We're just moving very carefully," she said.

Idaho Falls voters in May 2011 approved formation of an auditorium district that levies a 5 percent tax on guests staying at local hotels. So far, the district has collected more than $1.9 million. The overall cost of the project has been estimated at $30 to $35 million.

In May the Auditorium District filed a plat and request for annexation with the city of Idaho Falls. Those have been reviewed by the Idaho Falls Planning Commission and recommended for approval. The matter goes before the City Council July 26, at its regular meeting. Once a plat is approved and land is annexed, developers can file site and building plans and begin work on the project.

The plat for the 22-acre parcel includes a new road that would connect to Snake River Parkway. There will also be access to the center from Pioneer Road, which now goes under the Pancheri Drive overpass and connects to Utah Avenue just south of Wal-Mart.

Ozaki said they have a commitment for a junior hockey team, with exclusive rights going to Elmore Sports Group, which also owns the Idaho Falls Chukars.

Downtown artisans' gallery sets grand opening for Friday

The interior of ML Ranch Jewelry in downtown Idaho Falls.

ML Ranch Jewelry, 430 Park Avenue, is planning to have its grand opening Friday at 11 a.m.

Located in the Snake River Animal Shelter's old office (they have moved to the O.E. Bell Building, on Ridge Avenue), ML Ranch Jewelry features the work of Linda Heiser as well as other artisans, including Chantal Dunkley, Alan Yonk, Cassie Blust and Wanda Baldwin. Heiser said she hopes to eventually have eight people displaying their work at the shop.

She helped start the Artisans Market 12 years ago, but had to step down for health reasons.  She hopes to recreate some of that flavor in the new store. She also sells her work on such online sites as Etsy.

The jewelry she has been making has a Western feel, but Heiser said it's "not cowboy."

"People have been asking me, 'When are you going to open a store?'" she said. "I have a bigger following than I thought I had."

For more information, call 522-0680, or visit the following links:

http://www.mlranchjewelry.com

www.facebook.com/mlranchjewelry1

www.pinterest/vncowboy

Idaho comes in near bottom of group's Integrity Index

Idaho ranks in the bottom five when it comes to having laws on the books that enable regular citizens to scrutinize government by attending public meetings, reviewing documents and raising questions without fear of retribution, according to a national study released this week by the Better Government Association, a Chicago-based non-partisan watchdog organization.

The good news is that every state in the Union received a mediocre to poor score, so the bar isn't that high. But still ... 

The Integrity Index, a comprehensive report issued by the association and sponsored by Alper Services LLC, analyzes laws from all 50 states in four key categories: open meetings, freedom of information, whistleblower protection and conflict of interest.

"Our findings show that current laws in most states are woefully inadequate, locking citizens out or forcing them to jump through unnecessary hoops as they attempt to exercise their fundamental democratic right to keep an eye on government," said Andy Shaw, president and CEO of the BGA. 

In measuring ethics laws and government conduct in all 50 states, the Integrity Index determined the overall national average is 55 percent, with all states receiving scores categorized as mediocre or poor and not a single state cracking 70 percent. The low marks suggest the states are vastly underperforming at enacting tough transparency, accessibility and accountability laws, and much more needs to be done to inspire public trust and confidence.

The report made note that several of the states receiving higher marks — particularly Rhode Island, New Jersey, Illinois and Louisiana — aren't commonly viewed as paragons of good government. Those states might rank higher today because years of corruption and embarrassing scandals led to the adoption of stricter safeguards and more comprehensive sunshine laws. The report also cautions people not to assume that just because tougher laws are on the books public officials are following them or states are enforcing them.

For more information about the Integrity Index and to find out where your state ranked in each category, visit www.bettergov.org.