IDAHO

"While I don’t want to minimize the impact of getting a pink slip, there are ramifications that can actually strengthen our local economy. As seasoned executives such as Kriss leave the larger companies, they tend to stay in the Treasure Valley and enter a growing pool of entrepreneurial activity. People like Jason have played a significant role in fostering this environment."

The company has abandoned BPL after seeing that electric utilities were not immediately embracing the technology.

The state was ranked sixth in the nation for the number of jobs produced, but among the lowest in the nation in the criteria used to identify quality jobs, including average pay (46th), annual pay growth (48th), number of working poor (41st), and the number of people who have to accept part-time work because full-time jobs are not available (33rd).

" Today’s changing work force demands employees with strong math and science skills. Approving standards to increase required math and science classes will go a long way toward ensuring a strong economic future for Idaho’s next generation."
— Roger B. Madsen, Idaho Commerce & Labor Director

Idaho Commerce & Labor said there were 12,578 unfilled job listings statewide as of last Friday, including 6,221 in the Treasure Valley.

Governor Kempthorne had an opportunity in his final State of the State address on Monday to leave a well-funded education system as his legacy. But he chose a different legacy, proposing to spend $33 million on the state park system.

Since AMI moved from California to Pocatello in 2001, the company’s revenues have more than doubled and its payroll has increased 40 percent, King said.

"We have the great opportunity to enjoy Idaho, ride in pickup trucks, ride horses and chase cows, and there’s not a lot of places you can do that," King said.

"I think the interaction between the agencies, university and industry is superior in Idaho," Maki said. "Within the university, there is an attitude of working together and building things instead of fighting."

In this issue: # Transgenic Animal Web Site Launched # BSU Focuses on Wind Energy Research # MotivePower Receives $93 Million Locomotive Contract # Center for Advanced Energy Studies Design Contract Approved # UI Professor…

"This is really due to the success we’re having due to our diversification efforts," Micron spokesman Dan Francisco said