New I.F. Panda Express set to open Jan. 22

There's still a lot of work to be done, but the word Tuesday from Panda Express' corporate headquarters in Rosemead, Calif., is that the new Idaho Falls restaurant, at 720 South Utah, will be opening Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Bullying doesn't stop in school, it's becoming more of an issue in the workplace

Have you ever had that one co-worker or manager who is just a jerk?  He or she is the only person in the workplace who can’t seem to get along with more than a select few and even goes out of his or her way to make your life miserable?  As surprising as it may sound, you may be the subject of workplace bullying.

Over the past few years, bullying has become more and more of an issue with our children. It should come as no surprise that bullying does not stop in our schools or with our kids. In a survey conducted by the Society of Human Resources Management, 51 percent of organizations reported there had been incidents of bullying in their workplace.

Is this a big deal? Maybe the National Football League and the Miami Dolphins can best answer that question with a case that has impacted their organizations and been highly publicized. In 2013, offensive lineman Jonathan Martin left the Dolphins in mid-season, saying he was bullied and harassed by fellow teammates. According to news reports, teammates called Martin a “big weirdo,” pressured him to pay thousands of dollars for a Las Vegas trip he did not go on and had racial slurs directed towards him. All this has resulted in a player suspension, a major NFL investigation and the potential for future legal liabilities for both the team and the league.

Workplace bullying is a big deal and should be taken seriously by businesses and organizations of any size. It is the foundation of workplace discrimination, harassment, and even violence. On a basic level it can decrease employee morale, productivity, and trust between co-workers. It can increase stress levels and mental and emotional distress, absenteeism and turnover rates. On a higher level it can result in cases with the EEOC, lawsuits, and even death in the workplace.

Workplace bullying will continue to be a major issue in the workplace that likely will have an increasingly alarming impact on businesses and employees. Businesses should take the initiative now to protect their workplaces and their employees by implementing policies prohibiting workplace bullying and provide training to management and employees to educate and create awareness. This in turn will encourage employees to report behavior as it occurs and help stop workplace bullying before it goes too far.

A lost decade for real estate investment?

For the really big picture, look at this.

Here's some moderately good news, likely to be of interest to local real estate investors.

If you bought a $150,000 home in Idaho Falls ten years ago, it would have been worth $179,745 in the third quarter of 2013. That represents a gain in value of about 20 percent, or 2 percent annually. Not great, but a day in the park compared to Las Vegas.

Here's the bad news: If you bought a $150,000 home anytime between the spring 2006 and the end of 2010, you're still under what would be called the Mendoza Line in baseball. From then until now, it's been an up and down kind of thing.

I'm getting my numbers from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index Calculator, a site on which I occasionally like to play. You can go there yourself to get more detailed numbers that might apply to you.

Quarter Q3 2013
Bought Value

Q1 2004 $179,745
Q2 2004 $176,410
Q3 2004 $170,310
Q4 2004 $169,274
Q1 2005 $169,180
Q2 2005 $162,540
Q3 2005 $156,332
Q4 2005 $154,324
Q1 2006 $151,306
Q2 2006 $146,195
Q3 2006 $143,170
Q4 2006 $139,966
Q1 2007 $135,232
Q2 2007 $133,875
Q3 2007 $131,120
Q4 2007 $131,541
Q1 2008 $129,634
Q2 2008 $129,830
Q3 2008 $134,277
Q4 2008 $130,892
Q1 2009 $130,482
Q2 2009 $132,997
Q3 2009 $137,535
Q4 2009 $138,328
Q1 2010 $144,454
Q2 2010 $142,679
Q3 2010 $143,076
Q4 2010 $144,731
Q1 2011 $152,002
Q2 2011 $155,027
Q3 2011 $149,823
Q4 2011 $150,975
Q1 2012 $151,306
Q2 2012 $152,965
Q3 2012 $154,511
Q4 2012 $149,591
Q1 2013 $151,032
Q2 2013 $153,763

LaPray joins Mountain America team as adviser

David LaPray

David LaPray has joined Mountain America Credit Union and LPL Financial as a wealth adviser.

LaPray, who will work out of the credit union's Idaho Falls branch, is a Brigham Young University graduate with more than 10 years of experience as a financial adviser.

Investment representatives at Mountain America are jointly employed by the credit union and LPL Financial. Mountain America has 75 branches in five states, and provides access to more than 30,000 ATMs and 5,000 shared branching locations nationwide. It has more than $3.5 billion in assets and serves more than 420,000 members. LPL Financial is an independent broker-dealer with more than 12,000 financial advisers and 750 financial institutions.

For information about LPL Financial, visit www.macu.com/lpl-financial or contact LaPray at 403-9425.

2013 building permit numbers for Idaho Falls down from 2012, but still healthy

These building permit numbers are posted on the city of Idaho Falls' Web page every month, and there's usually a few things that jump out.

In the case of the year-end numbers, 2013 was a down year only by way of comparison with 2012. This is an instance were a big project can skew things in a big way. Say the Watkins Distributing warehouse or the new Smith Chevrolet/Honda had been in Idaho Falls rather than unincorporated Bonneville County. The total for 2013 might have been higher than 2012.

Also interesting, Idaho Falls permits for single family dwellings in 2012 and 2013 -- 279 total -- were not that far below the previous four years' cumulative total, 311. It could be some time before we get back to the boom numbers of 2005-2007, but that's necessarily a bad thing.

Wray joins Sperry Van Ness High Desert office

Greg Wray

Greg Wray has joined the Idaho Falls office of Sperry Van Ness as a commercial real estate adviser. Previously, Wray was a division director at the Idaho National Laboratory responsible for contracting, property management, logistics and supply management. Contractual commitments and acquisitions under his purview approached $400 million annually. He holds a Master of Supply Management degree, is a certified professional contract manager and has 22 years of progressive management experience.

Sperry Van Ness High Desert Commercial is an independently owned and operated office in Idaho Falls. For more information, visit www.svnhd.com.

Idaho Falls readies for 'changing of the guard'

Idaho Falls Mayor-elect Rebecca Casper

A farewell reception will be held in honor of Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman and City Council members Ida Hardcastle, Karen Cornwell and Ken Taylor on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m.

The reception will be held at City Council Chambers in the annex building, at 680 Park Ave. The public is welcome to attend.

Mayor-elect Rebecca Casper, along with incoming City Council members Dee Whittier, Ed Marohn and Barbara Dee Ehardt will be sworn in at the City Council meeting Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will also be held in the City Council chambers in the annex building.

Those unable to attend the City Council meetingcan view the live or archived meeting at www.idahofallsidaho.gov.