Blaine unemployment below State average
Idaho is reporting unadjusted unemployment from July 17 through August 7 at 1.9 percent. This represents 2,083 unemployed workers out of a workforce of 773,288. Blaine County is reported to have fared better, reporting an unadjusted unemployment rate of 1.1 percent. Ada County reported a 1.7 percent unemployment rate.
Intermountain Gas files for price decrease
Intermountain Gas customers could see price decreases of up to $29 per month under a cost adjustment application filed by the company earlier this month with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.
If approved as filed, the new pricing schedule would take effect Oct. 1. A press release from Intermountain Gas says residential customers would see price decreases of $4 to $6 per month while price decreases for commercial customers would average $29 per month.
"The short-term natural gas supply picture is strong," said Intermountain Gas Co. President William C. Glynn. "This decrease reflects the downward pricing pressures on domestic supplies of natural gas. This is due in part to the increased number of drilling rigs searching for new supplies as well as increased production both from new wells and better production techniques."
The price decrease proposal, filed as part of the company's annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment, is subject to public review.
First Bank of Idaho nominated for integrity award
Ketchum-based First Bank of Idaho has been nominated for a 2007 Integrity Counts award from the Better Business Bureau of Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon.
First Bank is one of five nominees in the business category of 50 or more employees. Companies can be nominated for an award by customers, employees, vendors or communities.
Nominees in five different business categories will be recognized at a banquet on Oct. 10 at the Boise Centre on the Grove.
Welcome Home of Sun Valley sets up shop
Welcome Home of Sun Valley, a new furniture and home décor business, has set up shop at 411 Sun Valley Road in Ketchum.
The business, located next to Country Cousin Store, sells accent furniture, art, wall décor, lamps, bedding and accessories.
"If you live here, vacation here or work here, you can afford to shop at Welcome Home of Sun Valley," reads a statement from the business.
Group travel company started
Travel with Salome and Co. is a new group travel company specializing in fine wine and food tours combined with adventure travel elements.
Salome Garau-Taylor has 20 years of wine experience through her family's Retzlaff Vineyards in California, her press release said.
She accompanies groups to venues around the world putting her own personal touch on dining and lodging experience, the release said. For more information go to www.travelwithsalome.com or call (208) 309-0094.
Finance department releases fiscal Highlights
Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance, released numbers showing continued growth in the financial services industry in Idaho during the first half of the fiscal year ending June 30. The department reported more than 152,000 business filings, licenses and registrations.
In addition, the department reports that one industry source has Idaho 40 percent below the national average for the number of home foreclosure filings per household during the first half of 2007.
Sun Valley Dental announces new technology
Sun Valley Dental Group announced the availability of tooth-colored fillings and crowns, formed to exact tooth dimensions in a single office visit. The approach is possible through CEREC technology that mills a custom ceramic restoration in less than 20 minutes. CEREC is comprised of a digital, infrared camera, a medical grade computer and a milling device.
Special massage, scrub offered
TRU boutique day spa at the 511 building on Leadville Avenue in Ketchum is offering "Crystal & Gem Stone Massages" and "Dead Sea Salt Body Scrubs."
With the crystal and stone massages, each stone is unique in shape, color and size and is believed to carry its own energetic vibrations. With the Dead Sea salt scrubs, a gentle mixture of mineral salt and essential oils are massaged into the boty exfoliating and invigorating the skin.
Call the spa at 720-0000 for information.
New business offers structural integration
Jan Williams has just completed her training in the Rolf Method of Structural Integration at the Guild for Structural Integration in Boulder, Colo.
The method aligns and balances the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia. Fascia is the tissue that surrounds muscles.
As a practitioner of structural integration Williams combines hands-on manipulation of the body with movement re-education. Jan brings to her practice 15 years of experience as a nationally certified massage therapist.
For more information call Williams at 720-6178 or 726-2761.
Boise eBay seller gets busted
A Boise eBay seller has agreed to refund $1,493 to 17 customers who purchased items on the Internet auction site but didn't receive their goods.
The Idaho Attorney General's Office announced earlier this month that a settlement was reached with Blake Freer, who sold toy wrestling figures on eBay under the business name of Squared Circle Toys. Attorney General Lawrence Wasden filed a lawsuit in May after his office received complaints through the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The Attorney General's Office reported that Freer agreed to refund the money to the customers and to pay the Attorney General's Office $1,352 for fees and costs.
"Consumers should be cautious when buying on the Internet," Wasden said. "Although Internet shopping has opened up a new world of convenience for many people, the anonymity of these transactions can leave them empty-handed, which is what occurred here."
