CEI names Lori Barber dean of general education

Lori Barber

Lori Barber has been named the dean of general education for College of Eastern Idaho (CEI). The college’s hiring committee chose Barber for the position, the first to be announced by CEI, after an extensive search and interview process that consisted of two interviews and a forum.

Barber comes to the job with more than 20 years in curriculum development. She earned her bachelor's degree in history from ISU in 2013, and while pursuing her master’s in history and anthropology at ISU, she worked as managing editor for the journal Peace & Change: A Journal of Peace Research. Upon graduating, she accepted a lectureship and taught the history and culture of food, the history of food and agriculture, and women in U.S. history.

She joined the CEI staff in June 2017, developing the Associate of Arts Degree program. In August, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed her to the State General Education Committee of Idaho. Barber will begin working on her doctorate at ISU this fall. She is also a freelance writer, yoga instructor, health and wellness coach, and blogger.

“I have a passion for education, social justice, health and wellness, and encouraging others to live life abundantly,” she said on her LinkedIn profile.

EIRMC names new chief operations officer

David Hoffenberg

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center has added David Hoffenberg to its administrative team as chief operations officer. Hoffenberg comes to EIRMC from Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, in Las Vegas, Nev., where he served as the vice president of operations and ethics and compliance officer.

While at Sunrise, a two-hospital 690-bed medical center, Hoffenberg led capital improvement projects totaling more than $25 million and had responsibility for several service lines including oncology, bariatric surgery, telemedicine, imaging, laboratory, environmental services, food and nutrition, and communications.

Prior to his experience at Sunrise, Hoffenberg was the associate administrator at Wesley Medical Center, an 800-bed multi-campus health system  in Wichita, Kan. He has also held administrative roles at Skyridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colo., and at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond, Va. Hoffenberg holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from University of Oregon and a Master of Health Administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. A native of Colorado, he is looking forward to getting back to the mountains and enjoying skiing at Grand Targhee and some of the other resorts in our region.

Goodwill Industries plans store in old Hastings location

It looks like there is going to be no shortage of second-hand stores on 17th Street. In addition to the new Deseret Industries in Ammon, due to hold its grand opening March 22, Goodwill Industries has filed with the city of Idaho Falls Building Department to remodel the old Hastings store in the Albertson’s shopping center.

The March 8 permit application was filed by Wind River Construction, which was already at work on the site Thursday, according to our faithful BizMojo scouts, Andy and Aubree Fox.

Goodwill has four stores in the Boise-Nampa area, one in Twin Falls and one in Pocatello, but this marks its entry into the Idaho Falls area. The non-profit organization dates back to 1902, when it was founded in Boston by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms. Since then, it has expanded into 17 countries, and in 2012 it posted $3.53 billion in revenue. In addition to second-hand goods, Goodwill provides vocational rehabilitation for disabled persons.

Broadway underground parking garage being capped this week

An artist's rendition of what the Broadway project in Idaho Falls will look like.

Sometimes, the direction of progress is down.

This morning around 6:30, construction crews began capping first underground public parking garage in Idaho Falls. When completed, the work will mark completion of the underpinnings of The Broadway, the development project currently under way at the corner of Broadway and Memorial. With a scheduled October opening, the facility will be home to 49 below-ground parking spaces.

“We’re really excited to get this first phase completed,” said Oppenheimer Development Corp. Vice President Jeremy Malone. “It won’t look like much from the surface, but to the people who use it, this parking garage will be a huge step forward in downtown parking.”

During the excavation phase more than 25 million pounds of rock were removed. They were replaced with 150 mixer-truck loads of concrete and 18 miles of steel rebar and reinforcement cable.

The Broadway will also offer 24 above-ground public spaces.

This is the Boise-based Oppenheimer Development’s first project in Idaho Falls. The project incorporates nearly 40,000 square feet of retail and commercial business space; a public plaza featuring a fountain in the summer and planned skating rink in the winter.

Approximately two-thirds of the rental space in The Broadway has already been leased. The list of tenants includes Bank of Idaho, Lucy’s Pizzeria, Smokin Fins, and Parsons Behle & Latimer.

Sweeto Burrito files for permit to remodel old Dickey's Barbecue store

I’ve been asked a number of times what’s happening where Dickey’s Barbecue Pit used to be, 2090 East 17th St., and can now answer that a building permit has been filed by Sweeto Burrito, a chain with locations in Washington, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota and Virginia. It also operates food trucks, one of which has been in Idaho Falls.

The company dates back to November 2011, when it opened its first food truck in the Bakken Oil Fields of western North Dakota. That winter was rough, but they survived and on a whim the summer that followed they took the truck to Sturgis, S.D., where they were able to serve their fare to motorcyclists there for the annual rally. It announced franchising plans in 2013, an opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Fargo, N.D.

The Idaho Falls remodel is being done by Construction Solutions.