DOE names INL's Stacey Francis Small Business Program Manager of the Year

Stacey Francis

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Stacey Francis as the 2015 Facility Management Contractor Small Business Program Manager of the Year.

As Idaho National Laboratory’s Small Business Program manager, Francis has significantly grown the small business portion of INL’s contract portfolio. In Fiscal Year 2015, the program exceeded all six socioeconomic goals for the second time since Francis has been in charge of it, a press release said. Her efforts resulted in exceeding the small disadvantaged business goal by 40 percent and the woman-owned goal by more than 200 percent.

“These accomplishments help ensure the lab and government have access to the best competitive rates while supporting a sufficient small business base to ensure quality delivery of services and products,” said Rick Provencher, DOE-Idaho Operations Office manager.

“She is a great coach, and a great cheerleader for the entire small business team,” said Don Stevens, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Support manager.

Within INL, Francis initiated the Procurement Primer, a presentation that provides training to INL employees interested in the procurement process. She also worked with Information Management to maximize the use of small businesses for a variety of staff augmentation needs.

As part of the INL outreach program, she renewed a local Small Business Workshop to help small business owners understand how to market their businesses to the government and government contractors. More than 30 small business owners attended, half of them newcomers to the government small business market.

Francis was recognized for her dedicated support to INL’s Small Business Program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 15th Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo on May 24 in Atlanta, Ga.

Black Bear Diner coming to old Rusio's space

The Black Bear Diner in Chubbuck, which opened earlier this year.

Black Bear Diner, a Redding, Calif.-based chain, will be moving into 1610 E. 17th Street, in the Hall Park Shopping Center, according to Shane Murphy of Venture One Properties.

There is no firm date for an opening, as there will be remodeling involved. The space was occupied by Rusio’s, which closed in 2015.

The first Black Bear Diner dates back to 1994 in Mount Shasta, Calif., founded by Bob and Laurie Manley with help from Bruce Dean.  The franchise has grown to 76 locations in eight western states, including two in Idaho, in Boise and Chubbuck. Black Bear Diner was recognized in 2015 by Franchise Times as one of the smartest growing brands.

Black Bear features a rustic motif with "over-the-top bear paraphernalia". Every restaurant is decorated with a 12-foot-tall black bear carving by artist Ray Schulz. Additional murals and artwork are created for each restaurant by Steve and Gary Fitzgerald and Colleen Mitchell-Veyna.

The menu format mimics an old newspaper titled, “The Black Bear Gazette,” with articles on the front page. It offers family meals such as breakfast, burgers, salads, and shakes. Pies, bread and cobblers are prepared on site.

For a full menu and additional information, visit blackbeardiner.com.

Discount Tire coming to Ammon

I’ve been getting asked a lot about what’s happening on the northeast corner of Hitt Road and 17th Street, where Soapy’s car wash used to be. Checking in with Gay Leming at the Ammon Building Department, here’s the scoop.

Discount Tire will be building on the site. The buildings where Big Dog and Billman’s were are going to be town down, and Big Dog will be be moving onto the old Billman’s lot.

I suppose you were all hoping for something a lot more exciting, but that’s it right now. Looks like a Vietnamese restaurant is going in where Togo’s used to be, and Aspen Dental is opening next door to Panera Bread. We will be reporting on it all as details emerge.

Idaho Falls council hears Internet expansion options

The city of Idaho Falls is inviting the public to get involved in a conversation this fall about high-speed Internet service to homes.

At a work session Monday afternoon, Mayor Rebecca Casper and the City Council heard about a study done by Finley Engineering Co. and CCG Consulting.

Using Idaho Falls Power’s rights of way, the city began laying a fiber ring in the early 2000’s in order to improve communication between its power plants, offices and recreational facilities. The second advantage was the economic incentive of being able to offer “dark fiber” to business customers.

“Recognizing that home broadband use is experiencing exponential growth – doubling every three years – it was appropriate for us to identify the types of options that exist for promoting high speed broadband connectivity to homes as we contemplate the future of our existing network,” says Idaho Falls Power General Manager Jackie Flowers.

Idaho Falls Power issued a request for qualifications in 2015 to evaluate expansion options for the city’s existing dark fiber network and to identify potential alternatives associated with expanding high speed broadband connectivity to the home. With a winning bid of $56,904, Finley Engineering was hired in August to study the city’s Internet business model and present alternatives.

The feasibility study outlined Monday afternoon at a work session not only looked at the cost of building fiber everywhere in the city. It evaluated the cost of electronics and other assets needed to build and operate a fiber network and what level of penetration rate would be needed to make each option economically viable.

Here are the options:

• Idaho Falls operating as an Internet service provider based on various public finance options. 29 percent penetration rate required.
• Idaho Falls partnering with either an existing or new Internet service provider. 40 percent penetration rate required, and privately financed network expansion.
• Public-private partnership with either an existing or new Internet service provider. 40 percent penetration rate required, and a combination of publicly and privately financed network expansion.
• Internet service provider “cherry picking” areas of town most likely able to afford connectivity (also known as the “Google model”). 35 percent penetration rate required, and a privately financed network expansion.
• Open access network, building off the existing business model where end use customer chooses from multiple providers. Publicly financed network expansion with no break even potential.

A series of public information sessions are planned this fall to present the detailed findings of the consultant’s report.

“If, after reviewing the report, the citizens of Idaho Falls want us to move forward, we will consider next steps. We are excited to engage the public in this conversation,” Flowers said.

NanoSteel receives Platts Global Metals Breakthrough Solution of the Year award

NanoSteel Vice-President Bob Marini accepting the Platts Global Metals Breakthrough Solution of the Year Award in London last Thursday night.

NanoSteel, an Idaho National Laboratory spinoff that still has its research and development in eastern Idaho, received major recognition in London Thursday night when it and its partner, AK Steel Corp., received the Platts Global Metals “Breakthrough Solution of the Year” Award.

The award came in recognition of NanoSteel’s advanced high strength steel, which brings the combination of both high strength and high formability to automotive lightweighting.

In April, the companies announced delivery of their product to General Motors for initial testing. The automaker’s venture arm, GM Ventures, bought equity in NanoSteel in 2012.

AHHS is viewed as a breakthrough in the drive to meet rising global fuel-economy regulations. Production of the material, targeted to the $100 billion-plus automotive steel market, is the result of a multi-year joint development program between NanoSteel and AK Steel.


“We believe this product brings optimal properties to automotive engineers for reducing structural weight without compromising safety and ride-quality requirements,” said NanoSteel president and CEO David Paratore. While significantly lighter, AHHS can be manufactured and fabricated like regular steel, making it more cost-effective than alternative metals and easier to integrate into a supply chain that has produced steel automotive components for more than 100 years.

Although its corporate headquarters are in Providence, R.I., NanoSteel’s research and development is still in Idaho Falls. The company came out of INL in 2002 when Dr. Dan Branagan, now NanoSteel’s chief technical officer, decided he had something that could change the world.

Since 2002, NanoSteel has developed metallic coatings, additive manufacturing powders, and sheet steel protected by over 300 patents. The company is privately held and funded by lead shareholders EnerTech, Fairhaven Capital, and GM Ventures.

The market for advanced high-strength steel is expected to reach $55 billion in 2020 and $77 billion in 2025, according to an article earlier this month in American Metal Market.

For more information, visit www.nanosteelco.com or follow them on Twitter, @NanoSteelCo.