The construction industry is slowly rising from the ashes of the Great Recession, and contractors are breaking out the big guns. Or rather, the big cranes. Builders requested 92.4 percent more commercial building permits in 2012 than in 2011, according ...
Read More »Downtown Boise construction projects bring in the heavy equipment
Idaho’s small farmers may benefit from new USDA microloans program 
When Karen Evans and her husband started their farm 25 years ago, Rollingstone Chevre, it was a do-it-yourself enterprise. “It was kind of like inventing the wheel,” Evans said. Goat cheese was a nascent industry in the United States. “We ...
Read More »New landscape for estate planning attorneys 
The new law that averted the “fiscal cliff” contains major changes for estate and gift tax rules that will affect not only the advice lawyers give to their clients, but the future landscape of estate planning law for years to ...
Read More »Idaho universities look for ways to recruit and retain engineers and software developers 
Educators throughout the nation are looking for ways to help students succeed in computer science and engineering programs. Despite efforts in Idaho, it will likely take years to produce a marked increase in the number of graduates. Idaho companies have ...
Read More »Diversification is key to architects’ survival 
In the wake of the recession, many architectural firms have had to expand the scope of their services to find new avenues of business in a shrinking marketplace. As the economy begins to recover, those efforts appear to be paying ...
Read More »Incentives help increase employee wellness 
To engage employees in a company wellness program, wellness experts say it pays to hit employees where it hurts: right in the pocketbook. “Everybody wants to be healthy … but we need the tools and the resources and the support ...
Read More »Idaho real estate seeing short sale benefits
When KaLinn Dishion’s real estate agents started working on short sales a few years ago, the sales were an arduous, cumbersome process fraught with unpleasant surprises. “It was truly a nightmare,” said Dishion, a real estate broker and chief operating ...
Read More »A glitch in subdivision documentation 
Stephen DuMerton is running into headaches developing lots he’s purchased in a Treasure Valley subdivision. The lots were mothballed by the previous developer during the economic downturn, and DuMerton, senior vice president of construction for Building Resources, Inc., hopes to ...
Read More »Calculating coverage: What insurance does a business need? 
Every business has different insurance needs. Whether it’s an office where employees work eight hours a day, or a contracting firm where workers are out on projects or an at-home operation, insurance agents can help business owners decide what coverage ...
Read More »Idaho insurance rates cheaper than elsewhere 
Insurance is one of the inescapable costs of doing business. But business owners can save money on their insurance rates by doing business in Idaho. Insurance agents say rates in Idaho are lower than in other states, though hard numbers ...
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