Boiseans petition for Trader Joe's; store coming to SLC

It's been months since we last touched on the subject of Trader Joe's, one of those things that gets Idahoans salivating both here and in apparently in Boise, as evidenced by this piece in the Idaho Business Review by Anne Wallace Allen: http://idahobusinessreview.com/2012/09/11/an-action-plan-on-trader-joes/

If you were an early reader of this blog, you will remember that last year Brad Cramer of the city of Idaho Falls Planning Department told me he'd received a phone call from someone interested in possibly acquiring land for a specialty grocery store. The mere hint that it might be Trader Joe's set off a buzz.

We spoke to Trader Joe's at the time and they told us they planned 18 months in advance. There were no plans for a store in Idaho Falls in that window. Or Boise, even with a Facebook petition pleading for one.
Check out this link I found. If you really care, bookmark it: http://www.traderjoes.com/stores/coming-soon.asp. And note that Salt Lake City is on the list.

A Room With a View

We realize not all BizMojo Idaho readers have had the opportunity to check into the new Marriott Residence Inn, which only opened this weekend. So, to satisfy your curiosity, here is a picture of downtown Idaho Falls from the fifth floor, taken Saturday by Photographer Melissa Bristol.

INL project named finalist for Idaho Innovation Award

The INL's Wireless Spectrum Communications team (l to r): Jose A. Loera, Daryl L. Wasden, David K. Couch, Hussein Moradi, Carl A. Kutsche, Idaho National Laboratory; and Behrouz Farhang, University of Utah.

The Wireless Spectrum Communications project at the Idaho National Laboratory has been named a finalist in the seventh annual Idaho Innovation Awards.

To put it simply, INL researchers are working an algorithm that makes more efficient use of the radio frequencies that serve all the world's cellphones, tablets and routers. With more than 6 billion cellphones in the world, there's only so much room on the spectrum, which is why we lose our signals or wait for what seems an eternity for our downloads.


In the Idaho Innovation Award competition,WSComm was named a finalist in the Early-Stage Innovation of the Year category. Earlier this summer, it was named a winner of the R&D 100 Award. (Link: http://www.rdmag.com/Awards/Rd-100-Awards/2012/08/Breaking-The-Wireless-Jam/)

Award winners and finalists will be recognized Oct. 2 at a presentation during the Idaho Technology Council’s third annual Hall of Fame Celebration, at the Boise Centre on the Grove. Registration is available online at www.idahotechcouncil.org through Sept. 25.

'Up 'n' Atom'' breakfast scheduled for Sept. 18

The Partnership for Science and Technology has scheduled an "Up 'n' Atom" breakfast membership meeting for Sept. 18 at 7:30 a.m. at the Hotel on the Falls (formerly the Red Lion on River Parkway).

This meeting is intended to provide information to members in preparation for the upcoming Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission meeting, which is Sept. 21 in Idaho Falls.

Executive Director Lane Allgood and Board President Jackie Flowers will talk about the recommendations they made to the LINE Commission at its Aug. 24 meeting. A discussion period will follow the presentation.

The LINE Commission meeting is scheduled for September 21 in Idaho Falls and will include an opportunity for public comment. This will be the last time to provide comments before the commission begins drafting its final report to the Governor. And we want to ensure a strong PST turnout at the commission meeting and during the public comment period.

The LINE Commission was created by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and is charged with making recommendations on what the state can do to support and enhance the long-term viability of the Idaho National Laboratory and the broader nuclear industry in the state. The meeting in Idaho Falls will be the last opportunity for the public to comment before the commission writes a report and presents it to Otter.

Reservations to the breakfast are being taken through Sept. 14 and can be made by e-mailing Allgood at lallgood@P-S-T.org

No Idaho Falls Albertsons stores slated for closing

The Albertsons store in the Ammon Town Square.

The three Albertsons stores in the Idaho Falls area are not among 27 of the retail grocery outlets being closed by parent company Supervalu Inc.

Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas told the Twin Falls Times News that 19 of the Albertsons to be shuttered are in Southern California. The other eight are in Oregon and Washington, he said.

Supervalu announced Wednesday it will close about 60 “underperforming or non-strategic” stores to save $35 million in the next year and an estimated $80-$90 million over the next three years. Most closures will occur by Dec. 1, although a few stores will remain open until February 2013, according to a company news release.

Several Save-A-Lot stores along with four ACME stores and one previously announced Jewel-Osco location are being closed in addition to the Albertsons outlets.

Besides the stores named for closure Wednesday, eight more Supervalu stores also are slated for closure. However, the company cannot release details about those outlets at this time due to ongoing contractual discussions, Siemienas said.

Supervalu Inc. has annual sales of approximately $35 billion, the news release said. The network includes 4,400 stores.