I.F. Advertising Federation awards banquet set for Friday night

The Idaho Falls Advertising Federation is holding its annual Gem Awards Banquet this Friday night at the Idaho Falls Elks Club. Tickets are $40 a person, $70 a couple or $195 for a table of six. To buy tickets online, go to this site: http://ifadfed.wordpress.com/ and then click on the red type that says ‘available here.’ To simply RSVP, contact Lisa Fischbach at (208) 705-7845 and tell her how many you are bringing, then plan on bringing your cash, checkbook or credit card to the door.

Who's afraid of the Smart Grid? Meeting set for Feb. 12 in Idaho Falls

Graphic illustration from www.switched.com

Idaho Falls Power, the Partnership for Science & Technology, the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and the Idaho National Laboratory will be hosting the third of four community meetings Feb. 12 to discuss various aspects of “Smart Grid” technology and what it might mean to eastern Idaho.

Scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies complex, 995 University Boulevard, the meeting is to cover the facts about “Smart Grids” and your health.

The technology, already used in much of the United States, is touted by proponents as the key to energy conservation, reliability and affordability. But if you're prone to suspicion, there are plenty of people on the air and on the Internet with their own ideas.

Was Smart Grid technology responsible for the power outage at the Super Bowl on Sunday? Or could Smart Grid technology have prevented it?

The groups pushing the Smart Grid have been aware of the backlash for some time. "The possible consequences of unfettered access to our personal data concerning energy usage, coupled with the connection of electrical devices to intelligent networks, are a frightening prospect. In short, the future capabilities of the Smart Grid are nothing less than the ability to control and access information from anything that plugs into the electrical grid," wrote Tim Kostyk of Arizona State University in a 2010 article titled, "Smart Meter Paranoia: Could a Simple Toggle Switch or Software Fix Solve It?"

And here's a link to a 2011 story on Switched.com: www.switched.com/2011/02/01/smart-meters-draw-misguided-opposition-from-left-and-right/

Idaho Falls Power has posted pages of information about the Smart Grid, including this section on health concerns: http://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/city/city-departments/idaho-falls-power/smart-grid-main/smart-grid-health-concerns.html.

Webinar on online fraud prevention set for Feb. 12

Don Bush

Online fraud specialist Kount (www.kount.com) is hosting a webinar Feb. 12 from 4 to 5 p.m. on how to boost sales, beat fraud and reduce chargebacks.

Everyone knows fraud hurts online businesses, but stopping fraud can also hurt online businesses.

The rise of card-not-present e-commerce transactions has created a new, sophisticated level of international criminals looking to steal from online companies. Retailers feel forced to impose hard-and-fast rules on which transactions to accept, and from where to accept them. But while this blanket approach stops many fraudulent transactions, but it also blocks many legitimate, honest consumers, hurting sales and damaging your brand.

The webinar, hosted by Don Bush, Kount's marketing vice-president, will review best practices for:

• Increasing Sales Through Better Fraud Detection
• Decreasing Fraud Losses While Maximizing Sales
• Reducing Charge Backs Without Reducing Sales
• Minimizing the Need for Manual Reviews
• Why Too Many Rules Can Be Hurting Sales

A case study will focus on CDBaby, the largest online retailer of independent music on the web, and how it implemented a complete fraud protection platform. Doing this, CDBaby saw sales increase by nearly 5 percent within 60 days. The move reduced charge backs and fraud losses by more than 90 percent and allowed the company to expand to new markets without increasing the risk of fraud.

 

To register, follow this link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/425797129

Fairpoint Communications sells Idaho properties to Missoula group

FairPoint Communications, Inc. announced Thursday that it has completed the sale of the capital stock of its Idaho-based operations to Blackfoot Telecommunications Group of Missoula, Mont., for approximately $30 million in gross cash proceeds.

FairPoint's Idaho properties, which included Fremont Telecom and Fretel Communications, served more than 5,500 residential and business customers in eastern Idaho. With the sale, Blackfoot stands to expand its base by 25 percent and expand its fiber route miles by 25 percent, bringing its total fiber backbone route miles to 8,500. FairPoint also had a minority interest in Syringa Networks, a fiber network owned by several rural Idaho telcos, which is part of the sale to Blackfoot.

Blackfoot Telecommunications Group traces its origins to the founding of the Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative in 1954 and through its various organizations delivers telecommunications services to more than 20,000 customers in western Montana and Idaho. As a result of the sale, 11 FairPoint employees based in Idaho will be joining the Blackfoot organization.

MacKenzie River Pizza to open in Snake River Landing

MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub is planning to open a new restaurant later this year in Snake River Landing, on Milligan Road just south of Buffalo Wild Wings.

The restaurant will be roughly 5,500 square feet and will be located in a new retail building. It is expected to employ 60 people.

Based in Montana, MacKenzie River Pizza has 16 locations in five states. The Idaho Falls location will be its second in Idaho (the Coeur D’Alene restaurant opened in 2009.)

The Idaho Falls location will be owned by franchisee Mark Thompson and operated by Colin Higgins. Under their holding company, Granite Mountain Restaurants LLC, the two own and operate one other MacKenzie River Pizza, in Butte, Mont.

The chain is known for more than 70 different lunch and dinner menu items, including a huge variety of pizzas.

"Snake River Landing is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub. We look forward to their opening later this year,” said Eric Isom, chief development officer of Snake River Landing.

You can learn more about MacKenzie River, Pizza Grill & Pub by visiting their Web site, http://www.mackenzieriverpizza.com/