Reflecting on '12, looking ahead to the new year

I hope everybody is ready for a fulfilling and profitable new year. As BizMojo Idaho has finished its first full calendar cycle, I thought it might be a good time to look at the numbers and reflect on where this all might be going. There have been a lot of highs and lows and lessons learned.

Here's a snapshot from our Google Analytics page, with some numbers and statistics that still mystify me.

Click on graphic to view larger size

All I can say in the end is that 15,393 people is more than the population of Blackfoot (Note: I have nothing against Blackfoot. There are lots of things I love about Blackfoot and I'd be glad to tell you what they are if you want me to post them.)

Marissa Bodnar

In terms of eyeballs, the biggest bump I got all year was in mid-August when I was interviewed as an "expert" by Marissa Bodnar of Local News 8. It was a revelation the way the line graph shot up after that segment aired on the 10 p.m. news. I hardly had time to thank Marissa before she moved to take a job in Portland, Maine, so I'd like to now.

One question I get asked a lot (usually by my mother) is "Are you making any money doing this?" I would like to call your attention to the advertisers on the page, especially Snake River Landing, who has been with us the whole year. I hope to monetize the site more. You might notice the Amazon.com link on the page. Just yesterday I began looking into affiliate marketing after reading a column in the New York Times by David Carr. The story is not about affiliate fees, but about Brian Lam, who found great success on the Web, burned out, left and then came back on his own terms. Worth a read: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/business/media/buffeted-by-the-web-but-now-riding-it.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Content is always going to be the heart of any blog, but I am convinced that in the age of social media the conversation that goes on between the storyteller and the listener is the most important aspect. I sort of knew this when I was writing my weekly column for the newspaper (BizMojo Idaho is basically its online reanimation). People sometimes told me, "When I read your column I feel like you're talking to me," which I considered the highest praise I could receive.

So stay tuned, folks. I predict something will happen this year with the old T.G.I.Friday's on Hitt Road, which now has been vacant for more than a year. Don't ask me to make any predictions about Costco, though.

Deadline for comments on INL, nuclear energy, is Jan. 4

Spent fuel in wet storage

When it comes to the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Commerce Department Director Jeff Sayer sees a big disconnect between people on either side of the state.

In Idaho Falls, the chief concern is mainly the effect the lab has on the local economy. That's understandable. INL is one of Idaho's biggest payrolls, and it's hard to imagine what this part of the state would look like had the Atomic Energy Commission decided in 1949 to build its test reactors somewhere else.

Ask people in Boise, however, at least seven of 10 would say they wonder about having nuclear materials sitting atop the Snake River Aquifer, he said. The INL's economic benefits? More a matter of, "What has it done for me lately?"

Sayer was in eastern Idaho Thursday to invite anyone with a special insight or opinion about the INL to send their comments to the Leadership in Nuclear Energy Commission, which he chairs. The deadline for comments is Jan. 4, and the commission will be giving its final report to Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter on Jan. 25.

The biggest issue is whether more nuclear waste from other parts of the country will be allowed into Idaho. A 1995 agreement between Idaho, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy curtailed shipments of spent fuel from government and commercial reactors and set a 2035 deadline for cleanup and the removal of high-level radioactive materials.

But a lot has changed since 1995, Sayer said. When the agreement went into place, the understanding was that Yucca Mountain in Nevada would be open and ready to receive waste from the lab. But now Yucca Mountain has been ruled out and there is currently no permanent repository designated for high-level waste.

Battelle Energy Alliance, whose president, John Grossenbacher, sits on the LINE Commission, has indicated that allowing greater amounts of spent fuel into Idaho would allow it to do expanded research work. In fact, in January 2011 the DOE and the state of Idaho signed a memorandum of agreement setting out conditions under which the INL may receive limited research quantities of used commercial fuels for examination and testing.

This has prompted the Snake River Alliance to invoke the 1995 Settlement Agreement as inviolable. "A consent-based interim storage facility might become a lifelong dump, invitation or not," it said in comments released Dec. 21. "The LINE Commission must not encourage the risk."

Sayer said the commission has no intention of recommending that INL become an interim storage facility. But there are challenges that have to be addressed. For example, the 1995 agreement says calcined waste at the lab -- liquid waste that was incinerated into a salt-like form, then put in double-lined stainless steel tanks -- must be re-characterized, put in new containers and shipped out of state. The cost of doing this has been estimated at around $400 million, and at the moment there is no place for it to go.

Idahoans must also consider that leaders in South Carolina and New Mexico are indicating a willingness to allow waste into their states. "If they agree to let waste in, they're going to want the research, too," he said.

Sayer said he believes, "There are ways to find solutions that will bring Idaho benefit and protect the environment. What we are seeking right now is a conversation in the spirit of respect and not of fear."



LINKS:
A summary of the 1995 Settlement Agreement: http://www.deq.idaho.gov/inl-oversight/oversight-agreements/1995-settlement-agreement.aspx
The Line Commission's Web page: http://line.idaho.gov/
The Snake River Alliance's press released in response to the LINE Commission's Dec. 3 progress report: http://snakeriveralliance.org/snake-river-alliance-responds-to-governors-nuclear-commission/
Web site of the Partnership for Science and Technology (leading eastern Idaho nuclear issues organization): http://www.p-s-t.org/index.php?section=23
A blog posting from Idaho Samzidat Nuke Notes on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future and its January 2012 report to Energy Secretary Steven Chu:
http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2012_01_22_archive.html

Longtime Bill's Cycle Shop mechanic starts own business

Ben Hawker of Ben's Quality Cycle LLC

A downtown mainstay for decades, Bill's Cycle Shop is no more, but the business carries on with Ben Hawker, who runs Ben's Quality Cycle around the corner, at 152 Park Avenue.

Hawker came to work as a mechanic for Bill's in 1981, at the age of 19. As owner Mike Murdock moved into retirement this fall, Hawker bought the service department and kept the loyal customers. The shop offers service and repair for most major bands, including Honda, KTM, Yamaha, Suzuki, Polaris and Kawasaki.

The showroom on Park Avenue is taking shape and should be open sometime in January, he said. It represents a homecoming of sorts. He still has three Honda minibikes, including his 1970 Z-50, all of which came out of the original Bill's showroom when he was a kid.

Things have changed a lot in three decades, Hawker said. "Agriculture used to be a huge part of our business, bit with center pivots there's less equipment and less people."

To have a look at his Web site, visit this link: http://www.bensqualitycycle.com/index.html. And of course you can "like" him on Facebook by going here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bens-Quality-Cycle/377558579001399.

Participants sought for Asian trade mission

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter

Idaho businesses are invited to join Gov. Butch Otter's spring trade mission to South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam this spring.

The trade delegation will visit Seoul, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City from April 19 to 27. Locations were chosen from a survey of Idaho companies' top export destinations, according to a press release from the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Taiwan is Idaho’s third largest trade partner, and Korea is a top-five export destination for Idaho companies. Vietnam is an emerging market for Idaho companies, with strong potential for a variety of Idaho’s key exports.

This will be Otter’s second visit to Vietnam since 2008. The goal of trade mission is to open international markets to Idaho businesses by helping them gain high-level access to private sector business leaders and government decision makers. Ideally, the result is expanded sales, distribution network growth, new strategic alliances and stronger customer relationships.

Participating companies will receive pre-qualified appointments, market briefings in each country,logistical arrangements for the trip, and business networking receptions in Seoul and Taipei.
Space is limited and will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration deadline is Feb. 1, 2013. More detailed information is available at http://www.commerce.idaho.gov.

Idaho Falls, South Fork Archers announce plans for public archery range

Erroll Flynn with bow and arrow in 'Robin Hood'

The Idaho Falls Division of Parks and Recreation is partnering with the non-profit South Fork Archers Club to develop the first public archery range in the city of Idaho Falls, open to archers, bow hunters, youth groups and others interested in perfecting their target skills.

The range will be on approximately 30 acres of city-owned property on the eastern edge of Sandy Downs. Plans call for a static range where archers can shoot into large targets secured onto freestanding target sheds. In addition, a second trail range, about half-a-mile long, will be built with 14 static targets set up at ranges up to 80 yards.

The club hopes to build an indoor range in the future.

“Public archery ranges are popular with hunters and recreational shooting sports enthusiasts,” said Greg A. Weitzel, Idaho Falls' Parks and Recreation director. “We’re looking forward to working with the South Fork Archers, and thanks to their cooperative effort, we’ll be able to build the range at a minimal cost”.

Funds to develop the site will be raised through grants, membership dues and individual donations. The South Fork Archers Club was established in 1982 and has more than 100 members. Club members have volunteered to manage and maintain the range for the city through a lease agreement.