Permits revoked for oversized shipments through Idaho

LEWISTON - A judge on Aug. 24 revoked special permits allowing a company to truck four oversized loads of oil refinery equipment through a federally protected river corridor, saying the state failed to address public concerns.
Second District Judge John Bradbury ordered the Idaho Transportation Department to review the request from ConocoPhillips again and to take [...]

Nampa cheese maker reaches settlement 

Sorrento Lactalis Inc. paid $315,000 to settle with the U.S. government, and voluntarily invested more than $100,000 on facility improvements, in response to effluent discharge and monitoring problems at its cheese factory in Nampa.
The discharges happened at a post-production wastewater treatment plant that was built in 2005 and is separate from the manufacturing plant.
General Counsel [...]

Sugar supply less certain following beet-seed ruling 

In the Dry Lake area south of Nampa, Paul Rasgorshek of Rasgorshek Farms is growing 310 acres of sugar beets for harvest in mid-October. He also is preparing some ground, where wheat was just harvested, to receive part of next year’s beet crop.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” he said. For next year, “we are planning [...]

GBAD chair agrees to mediation with Boise visitors bureau 

The Greater Boise Auditorium District’s board chairman says he’d sit down with leaders of the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau under the guidance of a professional mediator, though he doesn’t really see the point.
After a meeting called by Boise Mayor Dave Bieter on Aug. 12, Mike Wilson agreed to hash out the dispute in the [...]

Judge orders fine for Seattle mortgage broker

An Idaho judge has ordered a Seattle-based mortgage broker to pay more than $1 million in penalties and restitution for fraud and violations in state laws.
A judge in Ada County ruled that Access Mortgage engaged in numerous violations, including submitting a false mortgage loan application to a lender.
Other violations include ignoring a Department of Finance [...]

Former employee charged in forgery case

A Texas woman has been charged with stealing about $125,000 from an Ada County business during a period that lasted more than a year.
Aimee Scarisbrick, 41, is facing 24 counts of felony forgery and one count of grand theft. She is scheduled to make an appearance in Fourth District Court Aug. 16.
Scarisbrick was hired about [...]

New BVEP director won’t only target big employers 

The Boise Valley Economic Partnership doesn’t focus solely on bringing big companies to southwest Idaho in its efforts to add well-paying jobs and to boost investment, small and midsized employers also are important, the group’s chairman said.

“We frequently zero in on the larger companies, but clearly if you look at the employment base of [...]

BP cases will be heard in New Orleans federal court 

A New Orleans federal judge will manage the 300 lawsuits filed in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judicial panel has ordered.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which met in Boise on July 29 to hear arguments about how to handle the wide-ranging lawsuits, settled on U.S. District Judge [...]

Idaho Falls, Bonneville County to team up on fueling facility

Bonneville County and the City of Idaho Falls are working together to eliminate duplication and save taxpayer money.
 
The city and county have fleet vehicle shops located adjacent to each other on Hemmert Drive with separate contracts for local gas suppliers. By operating a joint dispensing facility, they estimate a savings by forgoing dispensing fees [...]

­Wildfire comes with no profit guarantees for contractors

Fighting wildfires is big business even in years that see fewer and less intense fires. Federal land management agencies have many multi-year contracts and must be prepared for the worst.
Even in a year when millions are spent on firefighting, there is no guarantee that a wildfire contractor will make money.
“Last year, we lost probably $400,000,” [...]