Looking for a road trip? Try St. George this Sunday, for a solar eclipse

I wrote about this in January, but now that the moment is at hand I thought it was worth posting again. On the heels of the "Super Moon," we are now within driving distance of a solar eclipse this Sunday.

In fact, St. George seems like the sweet spot. Solar eclipses don’t happen very often, and when they do they’re usually over the ocean or someplace far from home.

While a solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Sun and the Earth and casts a shadow. An annular eclipse is a solar eclipse, but because the moon is at the far part of its eliptical orbit around the Earth it appears smaller in the sky and a ring of light from the sun shines around it.

If you go to northern Nevada, it ought to be in mid-afternoon. By the time it reaches southern Utah, the sun will be low toward the horizon, which ought to produce are remarable effect and some spectacular pictures.

After Sunday, the next solar eclipse in North America will be Aug. 21, 2017,  and guess what? The path will run right over central and eastern Idaho. Looking at the map, I've come to the conclusion that either Redfish Lake or Menan Butte will be the best places to see it. Mark your calendars. You read it here.

This is what an annular eclipse looks like.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47416237/ns/technology_and_science-space/

UI receives $2.56 million in nuclear research grants

The United States Department of Energy has awarded $2.56 million in new research and development projects to the University of Idaho, the largest amount awarded to any single institution. In addition to the three grants, DOE's Nuclear Energy University Programs division also awarded UI a three-year graduate fellowship.  
 
The money comes from $47 million awarded by NEUP nationwide, for scholarships, fellowships, research grants and university research reactor upgrades. The purpose is to support nuclear research and development and train a new generation of nuclear expertise at 46 colleges and universities.
 
“The NEUP research grants awarded to the University of Idaho will support cutting edge research that will ensure the continued generation of safe and reliable nuclear energy," said Robert Smith, associate vice president and CEO for University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Center and associate director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. "(The) awards show a continuing return on Idaho’s investment in the University of Idaho and the Center for Advanced Energy Studies,” .
 
At the University of Idaho-Idaho Falls Center, the projects were awarded to three scientists:

Supathorn Phongikaroon, principal investigator on a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy project that aims to measure and analyze concentrations of dissolved used nuclear fuel in high temperature ionic liquid. This process could help reduce the risk of nuclear material proliferation and develop safeguarding technology. Total award: $820,000
 
Akira Tokuhiro, principal investigator, and Milos Manic and Vivek Utgikar, co-principal investigators on a hybrid energy conversion system that can be applied to next generation nuclear power plants linked to other renewable energy sources. Hybrid energy systems combine baseload power, such as nuclear, with renewable energy sources such as wind or solar, offering efficient and reliable energy sources for energy security. Total award: $877,000.
 
Vivek Utgikar, principal investigator on a project to develop of intelligent control systems for next generation nuclear reactor systems, which will use reactor heat directly in processes such as synthetic fuel production. Utgikar's project is to develop mathematical equations that describe the steady state and transient behavior of the system composed of the nuclear reactor and intermediate heat exchanger transferring the heat to the chemical process. Control strategy based on these equations will be devised to maintain the operation and enhance the safety of the system. Total amount: $869,997.

In addition, Richard Skifton was awarded a $50,000 annual graduate fellowship for the next three years. Skifton, who is currently completing a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering, will use the funds to support his doctoral studies at the University of Idaho.

https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt/community/neup_home/600

The future of air service in Idaho

Many cities Idaho Falls' size would envy the air service the city enjoys. But the trends in regional air travel -- bigger planes and longer flights -- are making it more challenging to maintain regular air service between Idaho Falls and Boise.

The Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce is planning a summit Tuesday on the future of air service in Idaho. The chamber is pushing for the re-establishment of routes that have included Boise in the past, and possibly creating new ones.

The keynote speaker will be aviation futurist Michael Boyd, president of the Evergreen, Colo.-based consulting firm Boyd Group International. Boyd will give "a blunt assessment of Boise's position and tell us what other cities are doing to keep and attract air service," the chamber said in a press release.

Other speakers will include new Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp and state Rep. Wendy Jaquet of the Sun Valley/Ketchum area, who advocates for commercial air service to and from Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.

I'd like to think someone from Idaho Falls going to this meeting. I know there are plenty of people who would like to see the return of regular air service between here and Boise. Until 2010, we had Horizon Air. In 2011, Seaport Air made a stab at the route, but didn't last six months.

The irony is that the trends driving regional air service -- bigger jets and longer routes -- are the same thing that have made the Idaho Falls-Boise route hard to sustain.

Here a digest of an article I wrote for the Idaho Business Review, which ran May 4:

In the early 2000s, the average size of a regional commercial airplane was 37 seats. Today, it's 55, and those seats have to be paid for, said Jack Penning of Portland, Ore., director of market analysis for Sixel Consulting. What is making the flight between Idaho Falls and San Francisco possible is the same thing that is making inland regional routes harder to sustain. "Smaller regional markets have been squeezed out because of a lack of appropriate aircraft," Penning said.

What would be ideal for an Idaho Falls-Boise route would be a plane like the 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 turboprops Silver Airways uses on its routes in Montana. Idaho Falls Regional Airport Manager Len Nelson said Silver is one of three small carriers he is trying to woo. But he and Penning, with whom he works closely, know the challenges.

"Airlines are reluctant to move craft away from established routes," Penning said. "You've got to convince them you've got something that will be viable for them."

In a 20-year projection from 2007, the Idaho Division of Aeronautics estimated that Idaho Falls' total number of emplanements would  rise from 168,503 to 297,400.

Despite the number of people that opt to drive to Salt Lake City or Boise (one reason Seaport cited for abandoning the route) Idaho Falls' isolation still works in its favor. A study by Sixell Consulting estimated there are 294,557 people within 60 minutes of Idaho Falls. Within two hours' drive time, that number expands to 665,359.

And then there is the  number of people traveling on government business, mainly connected to the Idaho National Laboratory.

"We have a lot of government people who fly out of here," Nelson said. "We've never really measured it, but on a 50-seat airplane I would estimate the people who work for the government or government contractors make up 25 or 30 percent."

Without the federal government and the Idaho National Laboratory, airport would be a lot smaller. Likewise, the business travel helps Idaho Falls get what it wants. "If they call up Delta Airlines and say, 'We need this,' Delta is going to pay attention," Nelson said.

A case in point: SkyWest's Delta Connection began sending 76-seat Canadair RJ 700s into Idaho Falls on May 2. The planes have first-class cabins, something Idaho Falls hasn't seen since Delta stopped its 737s in 1997.

SkyWest, which operates both the Delta Connection to Salt Lake City and United Express flights between Idaho Falls, Denver and San Francisco, has brought RJ 900s into service, freeing up the RJ 700s for other routes. Right now, the only RJ 700 that comes to Idaho Falls arrives late at night and leaves early in the morning, but if those flights are full more could be coming, Nelson said.

There are tremendous challenges for airports the size of Idaho Falls Regional. Nelson said the airport hired three new staffers in 2011 to monitor the runway surface. "They want our runways scraped down to the bare pavement all the time. Costs are getting higher and higher. Then you add sercurity. Every week we have a new rule. An airport like Los Angeles can take it in stride, but any increase in cost to us is a real big issue," he said.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/09/2109247/boise-chamber-of-commerce-to-hold.html#storylink=cpy

Stevens-Henager grand opening set for May 24

Stevens-Henager College's campus at Snake River Landing in Idaho Falls.

Stevens-Henager College will be having a ribbon cutting and grand opening May 24 at its Idaho Falls campus, at Snake River Landing.

The ribbon cutting by the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will  be at 11:30 a.m. An open house and lunch, catered by Buffalo Wild Wings and Mi Amor Catering, will follow, lasting until 1:30 p.m.

Stevens-Henager goes all the way back to 1891, when it was founded in Ogden, Utah, as Intermountain Business College by James Ayers Smith, an educator from Nebraska who wanted to teach commercial subjects and place graduates in business positions. It changed owners and names several time, becoming Smithsonian Business School in 1910; Moench University of Business in 1938; and Ogden Business College in 1940.

It became Stevens-Henager in 1959 and established its first branch campus in Provo in 1978. In addition to Provo and Idaho Falls, it now has branch campuses in Murray and Logan, Utah, and Boise.

Survey gives Idaho A+ for small business friendliness

After a two-month survey of more than 6,000 small business owners nationwide, Thumbtack.com has released new data showing that Idaho ranked first for overall small business friendliness.

"Asking entrepreneurs to rank state friendliness to their businesses is a powerful resource for helping policymakers understand the needs of business owners and for helping aspiring founders understand the full dimensions of their business environment," said Dane Stangler, director of research for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a partner in the study.

Two of the survey's findings might be considered surprising:

• Small business owners said licensing requirements were nearly twice as important as tax rates in determining overall business friendliness.
• An important predictor was whether small business owners are aware of the state or local government offering training programs for small businesses.

The Gem State earned an 'A+' overall, edging out Texas for the top spot. This ranking was achieved despite it ranking sixth-worst nationwide for the cost of hiring a new employee.

As I browsed the link, www.thumbtack.com/survey, I saw two comments from Bonneville County business owners. I think they're worth sharing.

“It requires basic licensing and liability insurance, which is fairly easy to comply with. Only in the recent few years have contractors been required to have a state license and be insured. At first, some complained about this requirement, but what it has done is minimize the "fly-by-night" businesses who weren't reputable, and it has given clients more security when hiring a contractor.”

— Home builder, Bonneville

“Anyone with little or no training at all can start a business here. Hell, you don't even have to speak, read or write English. In the retail business, all you have to do is rent a location, and pay the sales tax collected; that's it! Knowledge of what you sell or the service that you perform is non-existent here. It's a right-to-work state. In the service industry or construction industry, just slap a sign on your truck and you are in business. Handymen with no formal training are considered general contractors and can build whatever they want without proper training, guidance, or knowledge of the construction code, if there is one. There is no union, no journeyman and have very little inspections if any. That includes the health department for food service. If you own a restaurant, you will be lucky if the health department inspects you once every two years. Shameful! In my profession, as a tree service, if you have a craftsman, chainsaw, and a pick-up truck with a trailer, you are considered a bonafide tree service. If you can start the saw or a handyman, you are now a certified arborist, no joke! I spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in training and safety for my people to no avail; the only satisfaction I receive is knowing that while they are working for me, the job will be done right, and safely.”

— Arborist, Bonneville