Business Briefs | Idaho Business Review

by The Associated Press
Published: June 3,2012
Time posted: 9:59 pm

Regulators approve slight rate hike for Idaho Power

The Public Utilities Commission has signed off on a series of rate adjustments that altogether will result in a slight increase in the cost of energy provided by Idaho Power Co.

Regulators approved the cost adjustment June 1 for rates in seven separate cases.

Overall, the PUC calculates the adjustment represents a 0.9 percent increase for all customer classes, though residential customers will see a reduction of about 0.34 percent.

Idaho Power is allowed to adjust its rates up or down to reflect its annual cost of providing electricity. The utility?s power costs vary each year depending on river flows through its series of hydropower dams and costs of buying power from wind farms or on the wholesale market.

The company sought the increase to offset $70 million in extra costs.

The Associated Press

Police investigate E. Idaho hospital

Police are investigating allegations of misconduct at Bingham Memorial Hospital in eastern Idaho, Blackfoot Police Chief Dave Moore said.

Moore told the Idaho State Journal the allegations come from past and current employees at the hospital. Moore declined to say exactly what is being investigated.

However, a probe by Bingham County Commissioners found several instances of possible wrongdoing. Lee Hammett, a retired business consultant who helped with the probe, said a former employee might have profited by selling computer equipment purchased by the hospital. Hammett also said an employees was allegedly told to hide drugs in cars during an audit of narcotic prescription drugs because the hospital didn?t have the required storage cabinets that could be locked.

?We look at all the allegations,? Moore said. ?I?ve received phone calls at my office, as well with people giving me information.?

Bingham County Commissioners have requested a forensic audit of the nonprofit and for-profit entities that provide services and management at the hospital.

The hospital board expressed confidence in the hospital?s chief executive officer, Louis Kraml.

The Associated Press

E. Idaho tribe plans to distribute $60M to members

A Shoshone-Bannock Tribes official in eastern Idaho says $60 million in settlement money the tribe expects to receive as part of a class-action lawsuit will be distributed to about 5,700 tribal members.

Public Affairs Manager Randy?L Teton tells KIFI-TV that the tribe is planning financial workshops once the distribution begins.

It?s unclear exactly how much each tribal member will receive, and the tribe itself hasn?t received the money.

The settlement money is expected following the decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia who last month upheld a $3.4 billion settlement between the U.S. government and hundreds of thousands of Native American plaintiffs whose land trust royalties were mismanaged by the Interior Department.

The Associated Press

Report: Idaho State booster prompts NCAA probe

An NCAA investigation at Idaho State reportedly was prompted in part by a letter written by a former interim men?s basketball coach warning of a booster willing to pay quality players.

The Idaho State Journal reports former interim coach Deane Martin sent the letter on March 6 to athletic director Jeff Tingey a day after Martin didn?t get picked as the full-time coach.

The newspaper reports Tingey responded by telling Martin the letter contained potentially slanderous statements, and that Martin then sent the letter to the NCAA.

The newspaper obtained the letter from a university employee.

Martin, Tingey and the NCAA declined comment.

The Associated Press

Moscow federal building likely headed for auction

The U.S. General Services Administration has passed on a $300,000 offer from Latah County to purchase a Federal Building in north-central Idaho?s Moscow.

The county?s offer expired May 31, with the next step being an online auction.

GSA says the building needs more than $3 million in renovations and it?s better off selling it. The GSA wants $1.9 million.

The Lewiston Tribune reports that the online auction would require up-front money, possibly as high as $50,000, to register as a bidder.

The county rents office space in the 53,000-square-foot building constructed in 1973. It houses the U.S. Post Office, U.S. Attorney?s Office, U.S. Marshal?s Office and other entities.

The Associated Press

Former N. Idaho deputy prosecutor sues for employment discrimination

A former deputy prosecutor in northern Idaho who says he was fired because of his age after refusing to take a psycho-sexual examination has filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination.

The Spokesman-Review reports that Kenneth Stone filed the complaint in May in U.S. District Court against Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh, the prosecutor?s office and the county seeking unspecified damages.

Stone says he was fired on March 25, 2011, after refusing to take the exam he describes as being reserved for sexual predators.

An attorney representing the county says Stone was fired because he violated the county?s harassment policies and the county has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.

The Associated Press

Survey shows where lawyers spend their marketing dollars

Most lawyers plan to increase their marketing efforts in 2012, according to a new legal marketing survey released by Avvo and LexBlog.

The 2012 Legal Marketing Survey Report also discusses how lawyers plan to spend their marketing dollars. The report is a result of querying 1,300 attorneys and legal marketers at law firms. Eighty-five percent of respondents were from solo and small firms.

According to the survey, 61 percent of respondents plan to spend more time, and 50 percent plan to spend more money, on marketing in 2012 than they did in 2011, while only 3 percent plan to spend less time and less money.

The survey also found a continued emphasis on offline marketing for many lawyers even as online marketing increases. One quarter of respondents will be spending less than 25 percent of their marketing budget online, while 24 percent will be spending 75 percent or more of their marketing budget online.

Even though lawyers still place a high value on offline interaction, they are finding the Internet environment increasingly crucial to the marketing of their practices.

Respondents most frequently attributed new business, aside from referrals, to ?lawyer directories, rating and review sites (56 percent), other free sources on the Internet (55 percent) and other social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube (21 percent).?

The survey also said that many attorneys credit new business to their website and blogs.

?Offline and paid online channels are not driving as much new business for lawyers. Seventeen percent is a result of print advertisements, and another 17 percent is from paid online advertisements, including search marketing,? according to the survey. Three percent of new business is generated by TV advertisements.

When asked what has changed legal marketing the most in the past five years, ?most people responded with just two words: social media,? the survey found.

Dolan Media Newswires

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