Rumination on drought and my utility bill

While I was paying my utility bill this morning (late as usual), I was amazed once again by how little we pay for water in Idaho Falls: $21 for an unlimited amount.

Given all that we have been hearing about the drought in California and the fines that are being proposed for overwatering lawns there, I did some research and learned that in San Diego, $21 will by you roughly 8.4 hours in the shower, 16.8 hours if you are using a low-flow shower head.

The typical single-family domestic customer has a 3/4-inch meter (some larger homes may have a 1-inch meter) and the total bill is a combination of the monthly meter base fee (which is based on the size of the meter) and the amount of water used.

For billing purposes, the Public Utilities Department measures water used by hundred cubic feet or HCF. Each HCF equals 748.05 gallons.

The bi-monthly charges for a typical single-family domestic customer are:
Base fee: $40.62
0 - 8 HCF used are billed at $3.896 per HCF.
9 - 24 HCF used are billed at $4.364 per HCF.
25 - 36 HCF used are billed at $6.234 per HCF.
Each HCF used after the initial 36 HCF is billed at $8.766 per HCF.

This is where it saves you money to have a low flow shower. If your house was built before 1980, the average flow per minute is 5 to 7 gallons per minute. Between 1981 and 1991 it’s 3.5 and after 1992 it’s 2.5 gpm.

Replacing old shower heads with new ones can save you as much as 750 gallons per month.
Do we care here in Idaho Falls? I could water my lawn all night, take half-hour showers three times a day and still pay $21 a month. Not that I would, or that many other people do.

Even though we live in a desert, our forebears had the presence of mind to build our city on top of an aquifer. The first well was dug in 1924, and there are more than two dozen now.

City plans meeting Wednesday to discuss new downtown fire station

The Idaho Falls Fire Department will hold an open house Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 680 Park Avenue, to discuss plans for a new downtown fire station.

The main purpose of the open house is to invite contractors to learn about the new process and to help them make sure they have the proper licensing before the project goes out for bid at the end of June, Fire Chief Dave Hanneman said.

The project's timeline will be discussed. Fire department staff and the architects will be available for questions.

In April 2015, Idaho Falls City Council unanimously approved a $163,000 contract with the CRSA architectural firm to design a new fire station to replace downtown Fire Station 1, which is on the lower level of Idaho Falls' 85-year old City Building.

The new station is to be located on existing city-owned property on E Street between Shoup and Park Avenues.

The State of Idaho requires  construction managers be licensed. This is to assure the public they have the level of education and experience required for successful management of public construction projects.

Cabela's opening draws huge crowd

Here's the line this morning at the new Cabela's store in Ammon.  This was shot by David Snell, not me, and shared on Facebook. We will be checking later to find out what the attendance actually turned out to be.

EIRMC, Madison Memorial receive top scores in safety survey

Eastern Idaho Regional first opened in 1986.

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls and Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg have received “A” ratings in the bi-annual Hospital Safety Score published by The Leapfrog Group. The designation recognizes exceptional performance in consistently meeting evidence-based patient safety guidelines. Overall, three hospitals in Idaho received the top rating.

The Hospital Safety Score compiles 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data into a single “grade.” That score represents any hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections and injuries as well as medical and medication errors.

To see the hospitals’ scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving safety, quality and affordability of health care. It was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.

Cool Beanz holds grand opening at Snake River Landing

Shane Murphy, owner of Cool Beanz and Java Express

Cool Beanz had its official opening today at Snake River Landing, but owner Shane Murphy is no stranger to serving coffee.

As owner of Java Express for 23 years, Murphy has had a lot of time to think about a sit-down coffee shop. Over the past five years, he has talked with Eric Isom, Snake River Landing's chief operating officer, about locating there.

Two things brought about the coming of Cool Beanz. One was the closing of Bella Vita, the shop where Cool Beanz now is. The other was the lease that McAfee Security Systems signed, bringing 120 people into the building across Pier View Drive.

"I thought if we could service them it might so real well," Murphy said.

He was tempted to name the shop Java Express, but didn't want to create confusion among the coffee kiosk's devoted following.

Once the deal was in place, Murphy set to remodeling. "We pretty much took it down to scratch and rebuilt it," he said.

With the look there is a new menu, featuring Java Express coffee and tea, smoothies, desserts, panninis, bagel breakfast sandwiches, craft beers and wines.

Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Murphy said he is bullish on Snake River Landing's prospects, especially with the Home2 By Hilton hotel due to open in late summer.

Gasoline prices rise, but still near five-year low

You undoubtedly noticed that gasoline prices have rebounded  from their lows of late winter, a time I actually gassed up my Subaru for less than $20 and the first time it happened since I can't remember who was president.

According to an AAA report released Monday, the national average price of gas has increased for 26 of the previous 27 days to $2.66 per gallon, which is the highest average of the year. Drivers are paying about four cents more per gallon than one week ago and 27 cents more per gallon than one month ago.

Today’s national average is about a dollar less than a year ago and is at the cheapest level for this date since 2009.

AAA predicts that automotive travel this Memorial Day holiday will be up 5.3 percent (33 million travelers) compared to last year’s holiday weekend, which would be the highest volume in ten years. Gas prices may not change all that much by the holiday weekend, which would result in the cheapest Memorial Day gas prices in at least five years.

Regional refinery issues on the West Coast continue to push prices higher in a handful of states, with the majority of the nation’s most expensive markets located in the region. California ($3.72) is the nation’s most expensive retail gasoline market, and is joined by four other states posting averages of $3 or more per gallon: Hawaii ($3.23), Nevada ($3.22), Alaska ($3.15) and Oregon ($3.00). The price at the pump is above $2.50 per gallon in 36 states and Washington, D.C. On the other end of the spectrum, motorists in South Carolina ($2.37), Missouri ($2.39) and Mississippi ($2.40) are the paying the lowest averages at the pump, although they too have seen prices inch upward since last week’s report.

Drivers in 49 states and Washington, D.C. are paying more to refuel their vehicles versus one week ago. Twenty-two states are paying a nickel or more per gallon, led by Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota with week-over-week increases of nine cents per gallon. The only state to buck this trend is Michigan, where the average price fell by six cents per gallon over this same period.

Month-over-month, the price has moved higher in every state and Washington, D.C. by a dime or more per gallon.  Pump prices are up by a quarter or more in 22 states, with the largest monthly increases taking place in the western United States. Consumers in California (+61 cents), Nevada (+44 cents), Utah (+39 cents) and Arizona (+39 cents) have seen the largest increases over this period, due largely to the refinery issues in the region.

Although motorists nationwide continue to pay significantly lower gas prices, rising averages are beginning to erode savings in a number of states.  Prices are lower by a dollar or more in 30 states and Washington, D.C. year-over-year, which is 11 states fewer than one week ago. Consumers in Ohio (-$1.23), Michigan (-$1.18) and Kentucky (-$1.15) are saving the most per gallon compared to this same date last year.

The price of crude has moved higher since the middle of March due to slowing U.S. production, a weakening U.S. dollar and speculation of demand growth from China. Despite the price increase, many market watchers believe that the recent rally may be nearing an end due to oversupply continuing to characterize the global market, effectively putting a ceiling on how high the price can go. The global oil cartel OPEC appears to be maintaining its strategy of high production levels and is scheduled to convene in June to reassess supply quotas, but in the meantime all eyes remain on U.S. production levels based on its new position as swing producer.

The domestic benchmark WTI posted a weekly gain for the seventh consecutive week but remains significantly below the 2014 high of $107.95 per barrel. At the close of formal trading on the NYMEX, WTI settled 45 cents higher at $59.39 per barrel.

VanderSloot represents Idaho on list of nation's wealthiest

Every year, Wealth-X, a Web site that reports on the rich, releases a list of the wealthiest person in every state.

The list is mostly made up of multi-billionaires, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Larry Ellison. Idaho’s own Frank VanderSloot, the Melaleuca magnate, comes in at No. 40, with an estimated worth of $1.2 billion.

There are nine states with no billionaire residents, including Utah, New Mexico, Mississippi, South Dakota, Maine, Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming and my home state of Delaware. This last one I find surprising, as it is the home of the DuPonts, one of the nation’s oldest and richest families. The only explanation I can think of is that the story is focused on individual wealth.

You can read more at this link: Read more: The Richest Person in Every State.