Home2 Suites by Hilton coming to Snake River Landing

A picture of a Home2 Suites by Hilton layout, from the company's Web site.

Home2 Suites by Hilton will break ground this month at Snake River Landing directly south of Stockman's Restaurant, with an opening projected for next summer.

The extended-stay hotel will feature 91 suites for the business or leisure traveler. In Home2 hotels, each suite  features kitchen space with appliances and a flexible working area to allow travelers to get business done in a comfortable setting.

The brand also puts an emphasis sustainability, with recycling containers in every suite, Energy Star rated appliances and interiors created from pre-recycles and post-recycled materials. The bath fixtures are selected to reduce water waste, and the saline-based pool utilizes natural minerals rather than chemicals.

The Idaho Falls Home2 Suites will be owned by B&T Hospitality, a hospitality company based in Idaho Falls that also has the local Hilton Garden Inn in its portfolio. B&T selected Snake River Landing believing the development's "live, work, shop, play" credo complements the Home2 brand.

“Our guests will be staying several nights and are looking for an experience of a home away from home. Snake River Landing’s many walking trails, scenery and easy access to restaurants make it an ideal location for Home2 Suites. We know our guests will love it,” said B&T President and CEO Rusty Townsend in a press statement released today.

Hoopes receives distinguished lawyer award

D. Fredrick Hoopes

Longtime Idaho Falls attorney D. Fredrick Hoopes, an eastern Idaho native who has spent his entire career defending those who faced serious criminal charges, was honored July 16 with the Idaho State Bar’s highest honor, the Distinguished Lawyer Award. A partner in Hopkins Roden Crockett Hansen & Hoopes PLLC, he previously earned the ACLU’s Thurgood Marshall Liberty Award.

“With his common sense and country wisdom he was a very successful advocate for truth and justice,” the state bar news release said.

Hoopes represented Charles Fain, who spent almost 19 years in prison, 18 of them on death row, for a murder he didn't commit. Fain was sentenced to death in February 1984 for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a 9-year-old Nampa girl. The most critical evidence against him at trial was provided by an FBI specialist, who testified that pubic hair found on the dead girl's clothes was similar to Fain's, based on a microscopic comparison.

In late June 2001, after a protracted legal battle, sophisticated new DNA testing proved conclusively that the hairs -- one found in the victim's sock, the other two in her underwear -- did not come from Fain, who was freed that August.

On a personal note, having known Fred since the days reporters, lawyers and judges all had lunch every day in the Bonneville Restaurant and Lounge, I can say I have never met an attorney who believed more fervently in every person's right to the best defense available.

Square One organization begins recruiting

Being an American man in his 50s isn't what it used to be. My grandfather worked for Delaware Power & Light from 1932 to 1966. My father was a teacher for the State of Delaware from 1956 to 1988. My father-in-law worked for Westinghouse from 1948 to 1990. And yes, while I worked for the Post Register from 1981 to 2010, I am now putting a living together the 21st century way: freelance writing, a band, substitute teaching and now a business opportunity called Square One, a business networking program that I have started with Michelle Ziel-Dingman and Monica Bitrick.

If I seem to be backing into this story, it's because the old newsman in me still recoils at the idea running a press release in which I am quoted. The press release is out, the Facebook page is set up. BizMojo Idaho is part of the value equation.

OK, so what is Square One? It is a membership-based organization for networking and education, but not your typical pass-a-lead group. We are looking for owners of small- to mid-sized businesses and mid- to high-level decision makers from larger companies. Membership will be limited in each category, e.g., HVAC, telecommunications, office supplies, real estate, etc.

"We are the only networking group that offers integrated marketing opportunities for all of our members," said Ziel-Dingman. "All members will have regular promotion online via social media and our partnering Web sites at no additional cost."

Meetings will be held twice-a-month at The Grape Van Gogh, 2289 E. 17th Street. Every meeting will feature an educational segment. "We want to teach our members how to develop their leadership skills and improve their communication, no matter what their position is within the company," Bitrick said.

There will be preliminary kickoff meeting Aug. 20 at the Idaho Falls Country Club, with the first regular meeting Sept. 9.

On a personal note, I've known Michelle and Monica for four years and know how effective they are in the business community. I look forward to learning a lot from them, also from the people who join this group. And I think I have some good things to share myself. So if you want to find out more, check out the Square One Facebook page here.

Preliminary site plan for Sand Creek Commons shopping area

Click on this for a larger version.

While making the rounds today to see what might be going on, I found the preliminary site plan for the Sand Creek Commons development, on the southeast corner of Sunnyside Road and 25th East, otherwise known as Hitt Road.

Everyone who follows BizMojo Idaho even casually knows this development, by Ball Ventures and Woodbury Corp., will be home to Cabela's and a new D.L. Evans bank branch. There is a lot of dirt being moved there, and the cities of Idaho Falls and Ammon are on the same page over sharing the costs of widening Hitt Road south of Sunnyside. Credit for that should go to the respective City Council presidents, Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper said. That would be Bryan Powell for Ammon and Mike Lehto for Idaho Falls.

Click on the photo for a bigger version of the plan, which I laid on the floor and shot with my phone (feeling a lot like the Man From U.N.C.L.E.) If you find it hard to read, let me run down what's on it:

• 4 anchor tenant stores (of which Cabela's is one) and a retail strip on the north side
• Pads A through L
• Acres of parking

Please be aware that preliminary site plans are exactly that, preliminary. Things need to be reviewed at every level and signed off on. But this is where it is right now.

Keep calm and work on: Tips for reducing workplace stress

Have you ever visited Portland, Oregon? Portland is a city full of beautiful scenery, with a laid back and fun downtown scene, and its own independent feeling.

Sadly, I can claim only one visit to this beautiful city. I can also sadly say that on that trip I almost missed experiencing this beautiful city because of work – and I wasn’t even on a business trip.

It’s quite simple to explain, to be honest. I was on a vacation with my entire family, but all it took was one phone call and text from a client to make me teleport mentally back to my office in Idaho Falls and become engulfed in their issue instead of enjoying my vacation with family and friends.

Luckily, my husband sternly reminded me we were on vacation and my fully staffed office was capable of assisting my client. I pleaded with him for a few minutes to just “take care of things,” but he refused. So away went my phone and my lifeline to work and workplace stress for five days ... and am I glad he interceded!

Looking back, I can say present work self would be pretty ticked off at my previous work self for letting workplace stress rob me of family vacation memories just to appease one client in their moment of need. I won’t lie, however, by saying I didn't check my web mail a few times to make sure everything in the office was fine.

My situation is not unique. In fact, work life and personal life intertwine so much nowadays that workplace stress has become a major issue in today’s society. There is not one person I can think of that can say they are exempt from workplace stress – and more than likely the same amount of professionals could probably attest to not being able to effectively deal with workplace stress.

In a 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association, 36 percent of respondents said their organizations provide sufficient resources to help the manage stress. This means there are a lot of stressed-out professionals working in the same office as you for a company that doesn’t offer any assistance for managing workplace stress.

To play devil’s advocate for businesses, identifying successful stress management programs can be difficult to cater towards everyone’s individual needs, and often times most management professionals may not be able to identify the stress levels of those reporting to them. That means it’s up to us on the individual level to take a stand against workplace stress. But where do we even start?

Like any other problem – identifying the issues to resolve is the first step. Identifying your stressors is pretty important in step in reducing workplace stress and no different from any other problem resolution.

Keep in mind this step by itself takes some time and soul searching. If A causes B and I get upset/stressed out at point C, maybe the stressors are A or B or both. Stressor identification is crucial to eliminating workplace stress.

Next, it’s important to create healthy responses to your stressors. This can be a million things, from delegating workloads, talking to friends, exercising, quality rest and relaxation time.

Responses are based on personal preferences and recognition of what works from person to person. I personally have a date with a treadmill and weights once a day (schedule permitting, of course) to keep calm and working on.

We weren’t born to work – therefore it’s ludicrous to think we should live to work. Work and careers are an important part of each of our lives. However, it’s even more important to have work-life balance by establishing boundaries for work in your personal life. Life is short and so is our personal time.

It’s important to get some rest and relaxation every once in a while. You are not a machine. Our bodies are designed to take a break every once and a while to recharge. It’s important to take whatever time you can to recharge both mentally and physically. Trust me when I say that not sending that last email off at 2:30 a.m. won’t demolish your career (and this comes from a frequent late night emailer).

Lastly, it’s important to rally the support troops to help reduce those stress loads. Whether it be sharing with your manager some issues or struggles you are having in the workplace – or having a “venting”

session with your significant other after work – it’s is important to have a support system that helps you through stressful times. You would probably be surprised on how advice from a support system can help bring things into a new perspective or even help to see options you may have not considered.

So take it easy, why don’t you, and enjoy the rest of the summer stress free! Your boss and your friends will thank you!

Monica Bitrick is the CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, a human relations company in Idaho Falls.