Uptown Boutique opening on Cliff Street

The front of Uptown Boutique, on Cliff Street.

You may have noticed a new look to the building at 287 Cliff Street, with big pictures of stylishly dressed women in the windows.

Arun Petrus, who recently moved to Idaho Falls, is planning to open her Uptown Boutique the first week of February. Originally from Phoenix, Petrus has lived all over the country — Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle and, most recently, Las Vegas — but came to Idaho Falls for family reasons. She has been pursuing an aesthetician’s license at Vogue Beauty College, also on Cliff Street. That’s why in addition to selling affordable, eclectic women’s clothing, Petrus plans to offer services such as eyelash extensions.

“This is a new adventure,” she said.

She does not plan to sell any one particular brand, she simply hopes to have something that customers might see themselves wearing. “Women all have different types of personalities,” she said. “My philosophy is if I wouldn’t have something in my closet at home it’s not going to be in my shop.”

Idaho Steel, Conrad & Bischoff receive rebates for energy-saving efforts

Two Idaho Falls companies were recognized Tuesday night for energy-saving measures they recently adopted through Idaho Falls Power’s Commercial Lighting Retrofit Program.

Conrad & Bischoff and Idaho Steel received rebates of $52,998 and $39,172, respectively, for measures that are predicted to save a combined total of 606,169 kilowatt-hours — enough to power nearly 50 homes for a year.

Idaho Steel’s project involved upgrading the lighting at three facilities from fluorescents to LEDs. With the rebate and expected energy savings (280,321 kWh), the project is expected to pay for itself within three years.

“We were at a crossroads with our lighting, where we needed to replace existing out-of-date lights (and) move in a more improved and efficient direction,” said Alan Bradshaw, Idaho Steel’s CEO. “Because of the incentive that was offered, we made the decision to replace the out-of-date lighting in all of our facilities. This has provided us with a much better work environment utilizing efficient instant-on LED lighting.”

Conrad & Bischoff is expected to save 325,848 kWh through its projects, which consisted of installing LEDs at its car wash, retail stores and in the canopies over its gas pumps.

“(We are) very grateful to the city and the power companies for the opportunity we had to cut back on our power consumption,” said Jake Hansen, the company’s chief operating officer.

Idaho Falls Power has offered energy efficiency programs since 1982. Free energy audits, loans, rebates and incentives are among the options available to all customers. In fiscal year 2015, 469 customers participated in the programs, leading to a savings of more than 5.25 million kWh.

The programs are run in conjunction with the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal non-profit agency from which Idaho Falls purchases most of the electricity used in the city.

Bank of Idaho receives Brightest Star award

Idaho Falls-based Bank of Idaho was recently awarded the Idaho’s Brightest Star Award at a ceremony Jan. 21 at the Owyhee in Boise.

The purpose of the Brightest Star Awards program is to recognize and encourage volunteerism by citizens of all ages throughout the state. Bank of Idaho was the winner in the Corporation and Small Business category, based on the efforts put forth by its employees.

The award came in recognition of an internal initiative in which employees committed to “A Year of Service” — 8,760 employee hours (literally, one year’s worth of hours). At the end of 2015 the final tally stood at 9,011 hours of donated time.

“The Year of Service has been a fun undertaking for us, and it was really worth the effort. For the people in our hometowns, and even for our employees, it put some real meaning behind our motto, ‘Committed to Community,’” said Bank of Idaho President and CEO, Jeff Newgard. “The award for our employees’ efforts is just icing on the cake.”

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and the Governor’s Coordinating Council for Families and Children established the Governor’s Brightest Star Awards in 2001 in partnership with the Association of Idaho Cities. Since its inception, more than 500 individuals and groups have been recognized as Brightest Stars.

Roger's Revue this year features music from animated film

Friday and Saturday at the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium

From “When You Wish Upon a Star” to “Let It Go,” music has always been a huge element in animated film. This weekend, Roger Evans and company will be paying tribute at the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium with a live concert featuring top local talent.

This year’s “Roger’s Revue” will feature music from animated films such as “Aladdin,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Frozen,” “Prince of Egypt,” and many more. Performers come from the Idaho Falls Symphony, Teton Chamber Orchestra, Idaho Falls Opera Theatre, Sounds Summer Musical, and Idaho Falls Youth Arts Centre. Proceeds will benefit the performing arts programs at six local high schools: Idaho Falls, Skyline, Bonneville, Hillcrest, Compass Academy and Rigby.

If you think the performing arts are trivial, I beg to differ. Last fall I got to play Captain Hook in the Youth Arts Centre’s production of “Peter Pan,” with Roger as musical director. There were 86 kids in the cast, and although I didn’t get to know each one of them personally I can say I’ve never seen a more energetic and dedicated bunch. For my part, I hope I inspired them with my willingness to get crazy and give all in a part that cannot be played too broadly.

As great as community productions are, though, what takes place in the schools is just as important if not more so. It’s been proven time and again that music, dance, and theater increase students’ productivity. Beyond that, let’s take a look at two people we’ve been mourning recently, David Bowie and Alan Rickman, aka the Goblin King and Professor Snape. Both English and both working class, both benefitted from publicly funded art college, where they were allowed to explore their creativity and develop their ambitions.

When you buy a ticket to the show, you will have the ability to designate which high school you want the money to go to. To purchase tickets online, visit www.rogersrevue.org. Tickets are $12 for Adults, $8 for ages 17 and under. Family passes are available for $40, but it is asked that you limit it to immediate family or people living in the same household.

Curtain on Friday and Saturday evening is at 6:30. The Saturday matinee performance starts at 1:30 p.m. In addition to the Web site, tickets may be purchased at Chesbro Music and at the door. For more information, call Erin Nazario at (206) 794-4350.

Tai-Pan Trading plans March 1 opening in Idaho Falls

One of the more eagerly embraced announcements of 2015 was the news that Tai-Pan Trading would be opening a store in Idaho Falls, on 17th Street in the Hall Park Shopping Center.

To update you, the store will be opening to the public March 1, with a grand opening date to be announced soon. Information about the store can be found on its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/tptidahofalls/?fref=ts.

If you are interested in applying for a job, or know someone who is, visit this link: taipantrading.com/employment.

The actual address is 1568 E. 17th Street. The store will be occupying 22,750 square feet, where $2 Fabric and KC Frame formerly were. This is one of two Tai-Pan stores moving into Idaho, the other one being in Twin Falls. The Salt Lake-based company has five stores in Utah, one in California and one in Idaho, in Boise.

On its Web site, Tai-Pan describes itself as “an importer of quality home décor products at affordable prices.” The company started in 1979 as a wholesale floral supplier, in a small space with two cash registers and very few parking stalls. As the business expanded into home decor, the owners decided to open a showroom and offer merchandise directly to the public.