Chip and Alexis Langerak, the Villa Coffeehouse's new owners
The Villa Coffeehouse in downtown Idaho Falls has new owners, Alexis and Chip Langerak, who boiught the property in February but had a ribbon cutting Wednesday morning.
Both were fans of the place -- he likes coffee, she likes tea -- when they learned last fall the business was for sale. Alexis Langerak comes from a background in software training and conversions, while Chip Langerak is a shift manager at the Utah Avenue Wal-Mart.
They plan to carry on with much of what went before -- fresh roasted coffee, more than 100 varieties of tea -- and would like to expand the menuu for baked goods, featuring goodies made from scratch. The Villa has its own house blend of coffee, developed for them by Steve and Harry's, a local roaster, and has begun sellingg Steve and Harry's espresso as well.er
Tutankhamen is perhaps Egypt's best known pharaoh because of the wealth of treasures -- including a solid gold death mask -- found during the surprise discovery of his intact tomb in 1922.
It's been almost 90 years since archaeologist Howard Carter opened the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. On June 15 visitors to the Museum of Idaho will have their chance to find out why story of the boy king continues to fascinate more than 3,000 years after his death.
"King Tut: Treasures of the Tomb" will remain in Idaho Falls through Nov. 24. Unlike the exhibition that came to the Smithsonian in 1977, this exhibit features none of the actual priceless artifacts from the tomb. But the artisans of the Pharaonic Village in Giza, Egypt, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have devoted exquisite care in the reproduction of the legendary treasures from the richest archaeological find of all time.
With an expansive scope of over 131 artifact replicas, this showcase of King Tut’s treasures is larger and more complete than any previous exhibition of the originals (which only included approximately 55 artifacts). Displayed in open glass cases, the exhibition includes replicas of the pharaoh’s sacred
and personal possessions along with associated artifacts from the period surrounding Tutankhamen’s reign.
“The objects are all cast to look like the real thing . . . with the flaws and all,” said Marty Martin, curator from The Origins Museum Institute, where the exhibit originally was put together. “People can really experience them [the pieces] and they can actually breathe and live within the exhibit. While the experience of seeing the original artifacts is unsurpassable, there are enormous benefits to viewing these reproductions. The sheer number of replicas far exceeds the number of original objects which were allowed to leave the Egyptian Museum for view abroad.”
While earlier exhibitions have displayed the artifacts according to how they were removed from the tomb, this exhibit groups the artifacts into five different categories, each according to a different aspect of the pharaoh’s life: an Introductory Hall, the Hall of the Discovery, the Private Pharaoh, the Public Pharaoh, and the Sacred Burial.
The exhibit also features an authentic 18th Dynasty sandstone stela, bearing a superb relief of Akhenaten, and three genuine 26th Dynasty funerary necklaces.
For more information about the exhibit and the Museum of Idaho, visit this link: http://www.museumofidaho.org/
And for those of you who can't hear the name King Tut without thinking of the Steve Martin novelty hit of 1977, here it is, albeit a bluegrass version from 2010.
It has taken a great deal of work, but Shane Murphy of Venture One Properties said he is looking forward to having the Social Security Administration as a long-term tenant in his building in the 2100 block of Channing Way.
Before they were awarded the bid, Venture One worked for three years with the General Services Administration. The remodel will involve 6,100 square feet in the building that also houses the UPS Store and Batteries Plus. The space will be refitted to accommodate about 60 people.
For all the red tape, the upside is 10-year fixed lease with a five-year extension option. Murphy said he expects construction to begin in the fall and to have people moved in by April 2013.
International Isotopes Inc. of Idaho Falls has gotten approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the $125 million plant it is planning to build in New Mexico to handle depleted uranium and fluorine extraction.
The commission has published the final safety evaluation report, online and in the Federal Register. Approval represents a major milestone in the licensing process for the plant, near Hobbs, N.M., said Steve Laflin, the company's president and CEO. Only the final environmental impact statement remains to be completed before the company receives its combined 40-year construction and operating licenses. This is expected to be around September.
The company is taking job applications and proposals, which can be sent to IIFP@intisoid.com.
International Isotopes submitted its license application in December 2009. The report documents the commission's evaluation of safety and what could go wrong for workers and the public under both normal operations and accident conditions. The NRC also considered the management organization, administrative programs and financial qualifications provided by the company to ensure safe design and operation of the facility.
Last year the company applied for a $97 million loan from the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Renewable-Energy Technology Development program, which evaluates whether a technology might reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "Our patented fluorine extraction process uses seven times less energy than conventional industrial processes for making hydrofluoric acid," Laflin told blogger Dan Yurman
of Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes. "This means we can show reductions of six
million pounds of carbon dioxide a year over the life of the plant"
Joni Fleenor, branch manager and senior vice-president of InterWest Mortgage, has been recognized by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association as
its top individual loan originator in eastern Idaho for the first
quarter of 2012. She was also was honored as the region's top lending partner.
Fleenor has more than 30 years' experience in the mortgage business. She also serves
on the board of directors for the Idaho Falls Area Habitat for Humanity.
The Idaho Housing and Finance Association, which provides loans for first-time home buyers, honors the top individual
loan originators and top lending partners in six regions across the state every quarter and also yearly.
InterWest
Mortgage is a division of iBERIABANK Mortgage, and has its offices at 1275
E. 17th St.
