How to stay out of e-mail trouble

It's early January, and thanks to some folks in the great state of New Jersey we've been hearing and reading a lot about e-mail and the trouble it can cause. Heads have rolled in the governor's office over e-mail messages sent months before.

It amazes me that anyone could think an e-mail with explosive contents could remain "personal and confidential." But the immediacy of e-mail, texts and social media messages make it hard to lay off the "send" button once you've put it in writing.

It's a good thing President Harry S Truman didn't have these things at his fingertips. Anytime he got hot under the collar about something (which was often), he would bang a letter out on his typewriter. He would then read it, fold it up and leave it in his desk overnight. If he felt the same way the next day he'd send it, but that usually didn't happen.

The interesting thing is that for all we've heard about social media and texting, e-mail is still the preferred means of communication in the business world. With that in mind, here are ten tips I've sifted from various sources as well as my own experience about e-mail etiquette and effective communication.

1. State what you have to say in the opening sentence. They taught you about topic sentences in grade school. I certainly learned about the "lede" in 25 years of daily journalism, and the best summation I've ever heard on that subject came from Richard Aregood, editorial writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. "If a train has crashed, you don't start the story with 'Engineer Jones was having a really bad day.'"

2. Always make the subject line something that will mean something to the recipient. Stay away from "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE," "URGENT" and "IMPORTANT."

3. DON'T OVERDO IT WITH THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON. It doesn't make what you're saying any more urgent, it's just annoying.

4. Stay away from exclamation points! Everything I post on Facebook tempts me to use exclamation points, and I hate myself for it. With e-mail, it ought to be easier to keep a more dispassionate tone.

5. Don't write an e-mail like ur writing a txt. Avoid such acronyms as PLZ, OMG and ROFL. Your recipient will wonder WUWT (what's up with that).

6. Be brief. Mark Twain once said, "I'd have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time." Most e-mails don't need to be more than three or four paragraphs long. If you have more to say, write a letter and make it an attachment.

7. Be courteous. If you're old enough, remember Captain Kangaroo's magic words. "Please" and "Thank you" still matter.

8. Give good contact information, e.g., name, business address and phone number. Your recipient might want to call you. He or she might even want to take you to lunch.

9. Edit and proofread your work. I know we live in an age where fewer and fewer people can spell, and don't even get me started on apostrophes, but do your best. If you have a grammar and spelling fanatic for a friend, ask for a consultation.

10. Respond to serious messages within 24 hours. I have been served notice by several people on this, including my priest, so it is my new year's resolution.

Snake River Landing awards $1k to Woodland Hills Elementary for food drive effort

Snake River Landing will be presenting a $1,000 check to Woodland Hills Elementary School at 10 a.m. Thursday for winning the Holiday Food Drive challenge.

In November, each school in the Idaho Falls area was asked to participate in the effort to collect food for the Community Food Bank. The school that brought in the greatest amount of food, by weight, would win $1,000 to benefit that school's educational efforts.

"Many of the schools in the area already were working on similar programs, but we had overwhelming support from a handful of our area schools, including Woodland Hills Elementary, Ucon Elementary and Discovery Elementary," said Liza Leonard, Snake River Landing's marketing director.

Overall, the drive brought in over 5,390 pounds of food, roughly equalling 4,300 meals for  families that would otherwise go without. This was 20 percent more than was collected the first time, in 2012. Donations collected per school: Woodland Hills Elementary (2,480 lbs.), Discovery Elementary (1,820 lbs.), and Ucon Elementary (1,090 lbs.)

For more information, please contact Liza Leonard, Marketing Manager for Snake River Landing, at 557-5300.

Woodland Hills Elementary is located at 4700 Sweetwater Way.

Idaho Falls declines to file motion on North Loop eminent domain decision

The city of Idaho Falls has no plans to abandon its North Loop electrical expansion project, but it will not be using powers of eminent domain to acquire land and rights of way.

Mayor Rebecca Casper announced late Monday that she and the City Council had decided not to file a motion for reconsideration with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 31, the court released a decision authored by Judge N. Randy Smith saying municipalities in Idaho do not have the power to exercise eminent domain outside city limits for the purpose of constructing electric transmission lines.

That ruling came after Idaho Falls appealed a decision by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in a case involving a group of landowners called the Alliance for Property Rights. Although Idaho Falls has not sought to acquire land outside city limits using eminent domain, the Alliance filed suit against the city seeking a decision that would limit the city's powers.

Eminent domain is a power given to governments that allows them to acquire property for a public purpose at a fair price. The deadline for filing the motion to reconsider was today.

“I believe that we have concluded appropriate legal action with regards to the use of eminent domain to obtain property outside city limits for the North Loop project. We respect the court’s ruling and look forward to continuing to negotiate with property owners,” Casper said in a news release.

Idaho Falls has been planning the North Loop expansion for more than 40 years, to meet the City’s continually growing electric needs and customers' expectation of reliable service.

New I.F. Panda Express set to open Jan. 22

There's still a lot of work to be done, but the word Tuesday from Panda Express' corporate headquarters in Rosemead, Calif., is that the new Idaho Falls restaurant, at 720 South Utah, will be opening Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Bullying doesn't stop in school, it's becoming more of an issue in the workplace

Have you ever had that one co-worker or manager who is just a jerk?  He or she is the only person in the workplace who can’t seem to get along with more than a select few and even goes out of his or her way to make your life miserable?  As surprising as it may sound, you may be the subject of workplace bullying.

Over the past few years, bullying has become more and more of an issue with our children. It should come as no surprise that bullying does not stop in our schools or with our kids. In a survey conducted by the Society of Human Resources Management, 51 percent of organizations reported there had been incidents of bullying in their workplace.

Is this a big deal? Maybe the National Football League and the Miami Dolphins can best answer that question with a case that has impacted their organizations and been highly publicized. In 2013, offensive lineman Jonathan Martin left the Dolphins in mid-season, saying he was bullied and harassed by fellow teammates. According to news reports, teammates called Martin a “big weirdo,” pressured him to pay thousands of dollars for a Las Vegas trip he did not go on and had racial slurs directed towards him. All this has resulted in a player suspension, a major NFL investigation and the potential for future legal liabilities for both the team and the league.

Workplace bullying is a big deal and should be taken seriously by businesses and organizations of any size. It is the foundation of workplace discrimination, harassment, and even violence. On a basic level it can decrease employee morale, productivity, and trust between co-workers. It can increase stress levels and mental and emotional distress, absenteeism and turnover rates. On a higher level it can result in cases with the EEOC, lawsuits, and even death in the workplace.

Workplace bullying will continue to be a major issue in the workplace that likely will have an increasingly alarming impact on businesses and employees. Businesses should take the initiative now to protect their workplaces and their employees by implementing policies prohibiting workplace bullying and provide training to management and employees to educate and create awareness. This in turn will encourage employees to report behavior as it occurs and help stop workplace bullying before it goes too far.