Idaho Statewide Development, News and Miscellaneous Thread

[Sawtooth]

Thanks, i might have to check that area out next summer now that there is snow.

Here is another pano from the saddle below Trinity looking over the Boise Mountains. I think the saddle is around 8500' give or take, so I was up there pretty high.

[Cottonwood]

Idaho on the rebound.




ON Semiconductor to invest $15.7 million in Idaho


Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/1...#ixzz14huZQA6h

POCATELLO, Idaho — ON Semiconductor will buy $15.7 million in new production equipment for a manufacturing plant in Pocatello, the manager of the eastern Idaho plant said.

Manager John Spicer said the new equipment should be installed by the end of the year and be operational by June.

He said the equipment will be used to make 8-inch silicon wafers, and that it will increase production by 35 percent. The company makes chips used in cars and cell phones.

The equipment purchase announced on Thursday is in addition to $11 million in production equipment for the Pocatello plant the Phoenix-based company announced last summer.

The company is hiring additional workers for Pocatello but how many will be needed is unclear.

"We are actually working on that right now," Spicer told the Idaho State Journal. "It certainly will add some jobs to the plant. It will secure jobs that are here now. We are hiring engineers. We're hiring technicians. We're hiring facility engineers, industrial engineers. It's the whole gamut."



Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/1...#ixzz14huiVQir




http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/1...nvest-157.html



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And Twin Falls
http://idahobusinessreview.com/2010/...-expects-more/

[Cottonwood]

Those beautiful mountains are going to get pounded with snow this weekend and next week.

[Sawtooth]

OMG a Sawtooth Earthquake is predicted



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101118/..._idaho_seismic

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – Scientists at Idaho State University have mapped a previously unknown and active seismic fault in the northern Rockies capable of unleashing an earthquake with a magnitude as high as 7.5.

The newly discovered fault in central Idaho does not lie in a densely populated area.

But Glenn Thackray, chairman of the university's geosciences department, said the 40-mile-long fracture in the Earth's crust at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains near the tiny mountain town of Stanley is cause for some concern.

"There's a chance in the next few decades there will be an earthquake on this fault, and if it does happen it will be a rather large earthquake," he said.

A 7.5 tremor is considered a major earthquake, capable of widespread heavy damage.

Such a temblor would be most keenly felt at an epicenter near Stanley, home to about 100 year-round residents, with moderate shaking expected to extend from the resort community of Sun Valley to the capital city of Boise, Thackray said.

Scientists located the fault with a remote sensing technique that relies on laser-equipped airplanes. They were able to gather data about its history by analyzing sediment cores lifted from Redfish Lake, a mountain lake on the fault line famous for its historic sockeye salmon runs.

Thackray said researchers believe the fault triggered two earthquakes over the past 10,000 years, one some 7,000 years ago and another 4,000 years ago, suggesting significant seismic activity occurs at the site every several thousand years.

"Predicting when a fault might rupture is a real uncertainty of science," he said. "The problems with earthquakes and faults are they don't follow reliable patterns."

Given the findings, it may be prudent for towns like Stanley to revamp building codes and emergency preparedness plans, Thackray said.

A fault at Idaho's tallest mountain caused a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 1983. The Borah Peak earthquake killed two children when a storefront collapsed in the central Idaho town of Challis and damaged buildings within a 50-mile radius. Other active faults in central Idaho lie in the Beaverhead, Lemhi and Lost River mountain ranges.

[Cottonwood]

That could trigger Yellowstone and then we would all be fryed meat.

[Sawtooth]

[boisecynic]

Ketchum hopping on the traffic circle bandwagon:

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005135090

[202_Cyclist]

Traffic circles and roundabouts are actually much safer and can handle a higher volume of vehicles than signalized four-way intersections. Here's a recent NY Times article on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/us/19roundabouts.html

The Transportation Research Board, which has their annual meetings the past couple of days in Washington, DC, actually has a session today on roundabouts.

[Visualize]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Traffic circles and roundabouts are actually much safer and can handle a higher volume of vehicles than signalized four-way intersections. Here's a recent NY Times article on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/us/19roundabouts.html

The Transportation Research Board, which has their annual meetings the past couple of days in Washington, DC, actually has a session today on roundabouts.

Yeah, this one looks very safe and efficient...

• Video Link

[boisecynic]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Traffic circles and roundabouts are actually much safer and can handle a higher volume of vehicles than signalized four-way intersections. Here's a recent NY Times article on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/us/19roundabouts.html

The Transportation Research Board, which has their annual meetings the past couple of days in Washington, DC, actually has a session today on roundabouts.

Hey, I like traffic circles. The one Ketchum proposes is a good idea, that intersection sucks as it is. But there's a lot of other road and bridge work we need to get caught up on before we go retrofitting intersections everywhere.

[Sawtooth]

A round-about will work perfectly at Warm Springs Road. That intersection is a mess during peak tourist season.

[Cottonwood]

Arnold has a home in Sun Valley, but looks like he hangs in Lewiston too?

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Schwarzeneg...116410484.html

Schwarzenegger critiques flexing statue in Idaho by Associated Press
KTVB.COM
Posted on February 17, 2011 at 10:50 AM

LEWISTON, Idaho -- A 9-foot-tall clay sculpture of Arnold Schwarzenegger depicting him at the height of his bodybuilding career has received a final critique by the former Mr. Universe before being sent for bronzing.

The former California Governor who recently announced his return to acting visited northern Idaho Wednesday to suggest a few modifications to the sculpture that is destined to stand in a rippling, full-flex pose outside his childhood home that is now a museum in Thal, Austria.

Schwarzenegger tells the Lewiston Tribune that he chose Lewiston artist Ralph Crawford to create the statue because of Crawford's passion and ability to produce a dramatic sculpture.

Crawford says he has already started work on a new sculpture of Schwarzenegger showing him from his time as governor.

[Cottonwood]

http://www.ktvb.com/news/One-Idaho-c...116703549.html
One Idaho city ranked tops among death defying cities





by KTVB
KTVB.COM
Posted on February 22, 2011 at 6:19 PM

Updated yesterday at 8:23 PM

It you like to live to the extreme, one Idaho city is the best place to do it.

Livability.com ranked the top 10 death defying cities in the U.S., and Twin Falls came in first.

Over the years many daredevils have tried different stunts at the Snake River Canyon.

Back in 2005, a BASE jumper attempted to set a new world record of 50 jumps in one day.

One of the most famous stunts was back in 1974 when Evil Knievel tried to jump across the Snake River Canyon in his "skycycle."

The 486-foot tall Perrine Bridge is the only bridge in America where you can legally BASE jump anytime with no permit.

Bend, Oregon, was ranked second




http://livability.com/top-10/top-10-cities-defy-death





It doesn't get more death-defying than Evel Knievel – and in Twin Falls, ID, the stuntmaster extraordinaire nearly met his match. Knievel attempted to jump Southern Idaho's 500-foot-deep, quarter-mile-wide Snake River Canyon on a steam-powered “skycycle” in 1974, but crashed when his parachute malfunctioned. “I was nervous,” Knievel admitted in an interview before his death in 2007. “I don’t know anyone else who would jump that canyon.” Maybe not, but plenty of people would – and do – jump into that canyon. Twin Falls' 486-foot-tall Perrine Bridge spanning Snake River Canyon is the only bridge in America one can legally parachute from anytime, no permit required. Thousands gather to watch thrillseekers make the jump each September at the Perrine Bridge Festival.

[IFguy]

http://www2.counton2.com/business/20...nt-ar-1514879/

I'm pretty much to the point right now where any new jobs in any part of the state is great news!!! Tax revenue is down and we all know about cuts for schools and highways...ect. I usually celebrate things in E Idaho more than any part of the state but this may be a sign of an economy on the right track. There are alot of companies I believe looking to invest in this state and its people. Lets just hope we can get the infrastructure and schools needed to support them!

[Cottonwood]

That is good news. Last year a few sources predicted Idaho would be one of the first states to come out of the national recession and it appears Idaho slowly is achieving this. Idaho is very attractive to invest in.

[Cottonwood]

The entire article at the link----

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/ida...nt?oid=2105195


Idaho Caviar Industry is in the Black
Top notch sturgeon caviar from Hagerman
by Guy Hand

........And yet, just to the south of the highway, often hidden below the rim of the Snake River Canyon, flows its namesake river, home to one of the world's oldest living species of vertebrates and one of America's newest forms of aquaculture: sturgeon. With fossil records dating back 150 million years, these giant fish are native to the Snake River, but sturgeon farming along its shores is only about 10 years old. In that short time, though, Idaho has become one of America's major caviar producers.



........The largest sturgeon ever recorded being pulled from the Snake River was a 1,500-pound mammoth caught in 1911 not far from Ray's place, just below Upper Salmon Falls. Early Idaho settlers often caught sturgeon on thick rope lines. Some of those fish were more than 12 feet long, their tails were said to drag on the ground as they were hauled away in horse-drawn wagons. But dam construction, beginning in the 1950s, quickly cut the range and food sources available to sturgeon. Today the fish still swim the Snake River but in much smaller numbers.

[Cottonwood]

http://www.skilookout.com/new/




http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...-weekly-chart/
Lookout Pass snowfall tops weekly chart ‘on the planet’
Alison Boggs
The Spokesman-Review


Phil Edholm knew the ski area he runs on the Montana/Idaho border had received a lot of snow over the past week. On Monday alone, Lookout Pass was reporting more than 2 feet of new snow.

But the most snow on the planet?

An e-mail Edholm received Tuesday morning informed him that according to record-keeping by Great Britain-based Skiinfo, Lookout Pass had received more snow in the past seven days than any other ski area “on the planet.” The news came complete with a certificate for the greatest weekly snowfall, with 6.5 feet.
“I went, ‘Holy cow,’ ” Edholm said. “You look at some resorts like Mammoth (in California), and you think they’re king of the world. But we do get our share up here.”

Skiinfo collects snowfall data from all ski areas in Europe and North America, more than 2,000 in total, said spokesman Patrick Thorne via e-mail. Thorne conceded that resorts in Japan can stack up the snow but said a friend of his skiing there now was “moaning to me this morning that they need fresh snow there.”

“In Lookout Pass’ case … I’m confident they are definitely top in the world at the moment,” Thorne wrote.

Skiinfo has been collecting snow data since the mid-1990s for Europe but only started adding North America information in 2009. About five weeks ago, the company began issuing certificates to resorts that recorded the greatest weekly snowfall. The certificates so far have gone to resorts in Utah, Colorado and British Columbia, in addition to one tiny resort in Norway that “topped the table during a lull in the big falls in Western North America. … They were very excited!” Thorne wrote.

Data from the National Weather Service backs up Skiinfo’s report; two precipitation records were set this week on Mullan Pass, near Lookout.

The Skiinfo charts for the past week’s snowfall showed Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint at No. 6, with 155 centimeters (about 5 feet), and Silver Mountain at No. 37, with 93 centimeters, or about 3 feet.

John Williams, a Silver Mountain spokesman, disputed the data, saying the resort does not report its snowfall on days it is closed, which would have skewed the results. He said Silver received closer to 4  1/2 feet over the past seven days.

Sean Briggs, Schweitzer’s marketing coordinator, called it “awesome” that Inland Northwest resorts are topping the charts and said he planned to alert Schweitzer’s followers on Facebook and Twitter.

“It’s rad to think that on the entire planet, we’re No. 6,” he said, adding, “There’s no end in sight. Looking at the seven-day forecast, it’s continuing to come.”








http://www.schweitzer.com/



http://www.silvermt.com/

[Cottonwood]

Cool fact for the day...Idaho has the furthest inland seaport on the West Coast. But, can you catch crabs in Lewiston?

http://idahobusinessreview.com/2011/...barge-traffic/

Port of Lewiston to reopen to barge traffic
by Brad Carlson
Published: March 23,2011
Time posted: 8:41 am




www.portoflewiston.com

[jimthemanincda]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

But, can you catch crabs in Lewiston?

My friend did. Oh, wait...

[IFguy]

[QUOTE=Cottonwood;5212226]Cool fact for the day...Idaho has the furthest inland seaport on the West Coast. But, can you catch crabs in Lewiston? QUOTE]

I'm sure you can catch crabs anywhere in Idaho! Sorry, couldn't resist.