Bill Gates makes quick tour of INL's Materials and Fuels Complex

Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates made a two-hour visit Wednesday afternoon to Idaho Falls to tour the Idaho National Laboratory's Materials and Fuels Complex.

In addition to everything else he does, Gates is the chairman of TerraPower LLC, a nuclear reactor startup company that has engaged INL to support certain design aspects of its traveling wave reactor. The visit Wednesday was arranged to demonstrate the lab's expertise and capabilities.

The Web page for TerraPower LLC, which has engaged the Idaho National Laboratory in a cooperative research agreement.

“Getting to visit INL was really enlightening," Gates told INL employees after his tour. "It was amazing to see reactor fuel characterization and how it can be conducted safely in a hot cell environment.”

INL has signed several Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with TerraPower over the past few years. These agreements allow TerraPower to receive technical insight and use the lab's capabilities.

At MFC, Gates toured the Fuel Conditioning Facility and the Hot Fuel Examination Facility, met with some of the researchers involved with TerraPower-related projects, and learned about some of the other nuclear-related research and capabilities available at INL.

Gates also spent nearly an hour talking with 250 INL researchers and scientists. He shared some background on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was established in 2000, about the time he stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft. He said now he works full-time on the Gates Foundation and part-time at Microsoft.

“TerraPower has many cooperative projects, and there are lots of partnerships, but our work with INL is singularly important,” he said.

TerraPower has gained attention for both its traveling wave reactor design and the financial backing of clean technology investors. Several CRADAs established over the past few years enable the company to receive technical insight from the nation’s nuclear energy laboratories.

"We enjoyed showing off our experienced researchers and one-of-a-kind capabilities for Mr. Gates," said INL Director John Grossenbacher. "His interest in nuclear energy and INL's contributions helps the industry's future and reinforces the value of DOE's national laboratory complex."

"As the lead national laboratory for nuclear energy, INL focuses on challenging technologies that require long-term investigations by multi-disciplinary teams," said Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, INL's associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science and Technology. "When private companies such as TerraPower show interest in what we do and are willing to use our assistance in their efforts, we know that we are doing our job and making a meaningful impact on nuclear energy development."

TerraPower is a privately funded company headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. Since it was founded in 2007, it has grown to nearly 70 full-time professionals who engage diverse technical consultants and partners to responsibly improve options for global access to clean, secure and affordable electricity.

For more information, visit TerraPower at www.terrapower.com.

A list of links for those interested in the city of Idaho Falls election

A few of you probably know I'm running for a seat on the Idaho Falls City Council. I've refrained from posting anything about this on BizMojo Idaho because I don't want to be seen to be using this site to promote my political aspirations.

Before I decided to run, which was around Labor Day, I'd written two stories about the city races, the first in February, when Mayor Jared Fuhriman's announced he was not seeking a third term. That story also reported Councilwoman Sharon Parry's announcement that she was seeking the office. The second was in June, when Rebecca Casper announced she was running for mayor and I covered her press conference.

In light of my decision to run and the interest of fairness, I've taken both those stories down and instead am posting links to all the mayoral and council candidates' Web pages. Here you can read about them in their own words:

Mayor
Sharon Parry: www.sharonparry.org
Rebecca Casper: casperformayor.com
Brian LaPray: www.brianlapray.org
Tim Downs: timdowns4mayor.com

Idaho Falls City Council Seat 2
Dee Whittier: www.deewhittier.org
Jill Peterson: www.facebook.com/vote4jill2013
Paul Menser: www.facebook.com/menserforcitycouncil

Idaho Falls City Council Seat 4
Ed Marohn: http://edmarohn.com
Evan Bastow: sites.google.com/site/evanbastowforcitycouncil

Idaho Falls City Council Seat 6
Barbara Ehardt: www.barbaraehardt.com
Karen Cornwell: karencornwell.net

As far as I can tell, City Council candidates Alfred Higley (Seat 2), and Jillene Burger (Seat 4) haven't done anything online to promote their candidacies, Facebook or otherwise.

The election is Nov. 5, by the way. If you live in the city of Idaho Falls and are over the age of 18, you can vote for one candidate for mayor and one candidate in each of the council races. The city is not divided into districts. I have probably been asked that more than any other question.

Saving Center to be torn down, parking lot closed

Saving Center in downtown Idaho Falls is going to be town down and about 40 paid parking spaces will no longer be available after the end of the month.

Saving Center, on Memorial Drive between Broadway and A Street, is going to be demolished this winter.

The Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp. sent an e-mail this morning to downtown businesses informing them that the parking lot at the old grocery store will be closed at the end of October.

About 40 people pay $15 a month to use the lot, said Bob Everhart, Downtown Development's executive director.

The building is owned by Vern Kelsch, who operated the independent grocery store for years. Everhart said work is scheduled to begin inside the building next week. He said the property ought to be more appealing without the building on it. "People can look at an open lot and get a better idea of what they might want to do with it," he said.

Meanwhile, the challenge is to find new parking places for the people who've been using the Saving Center lot.

There is free, all-day parking at the following locations:

• E Street and North Capital Avenue
• D Street and North Park Avenue
• Constitution Way between Yellowstone and Shoup Avenue
• Between Shoup and Park south of Chesbro Music
• North Eastern Avenue between Birch Street and Broadway

"We appreciate the opportunity we have had to provide parking for you at such a reasonable price for several years, knowing this day would come sooner or later," said Mala Lyon, Downtown Development's parking administrator.

Tacoma Screw erecting walls to Idaho Falls store

It's been a busy week at the North Yellowstone site where Tacoma Screw Products is building its new 10,000-square-foot store. Sixteen of these concrete panels, the heaviest weighing 36.5 tons, are due to be erected before the roof goes on. John Wolfe, the company's former CEO and current executive adviser, said the store will be much like the ones the 66-year-old company built in Boise and Twin Falls. The company typically employs three or four people to work in a store and three or four people to handle outside sales.

Home sales, prices up in Bonneville County

Looking at the Snake River Multiple Listing Service's numbers through the end of September, one would surmise that the comeback in the Bonneville County real estate market is not only carrying on, it is picking up steam.

Sales in the first three quarters of 2013 were up 16.5 percent over 2012. Homes were on the market an average of 16 fewer days.

More strikingly, the median price jumped up by 19.1 percent while the number of new listings jumped by 13.5 percent.