Liquor-license woes. New name for Taco Bell Arena? 10 business stories to catch up on
The top 10 Idaho business stories of the week:
1. Idaho’s 70-year-old liquor license laws are out of whack, resulting in two unintended consequences: creating a profitable market in liquor licensing speculation and impeding business growth. State Sens. Jim Rice and Patti Anne Lodge, both Republicans in Canyon County, want to let cities and counties issue liquor licenses. They would provide discounts on state liquor sales and other incentives to state license holders to offset the expected loss in value of licenses traded on the costly secondary market.
2. A new citizens group’s proposal to let Boise voters decide whether to build a new West End stadium and Downtown library violates the Idaho Constitution and state law, a lawyer for the city of Boise says. Boise residents in December drafted initiatives to require voters’ approval on the two controversial projects.
3. Boise State University is preparing to renovate part of Albertsons Stadium. And it may rename Taco Bell Arena, too, since the arena’s current naming rights expire July 31. Meanwhile, the university is still talking to Atlanta developer Chris Schoen’s Greenstone Properties, which wants Boise State to be part of the proposed West End stadium.
4. A property investor may demolish an 82-year-old Art Deco apartment building he owns on the west side of Downtown Boise to make way for a five-story building with condominiums and offices. Creed Herbold and his wife, Ann Swindell, hope to replace the 1937 building at 1620 W. Bannock St.
5. Boise ranked near the top of the best-performing economies in the nation, according to a report by the Milken Institute, a California think tank. Boise climbed 14 spots from last year to No. 12. Provo-Orem, Utah, topped the rankings of 200 large metros. Seattle ranked eighth and Salt Lake City 10th.
6. Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center operations in Ada County have a new leader: Andrew Cosentino, former vice president of the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle. He succeeds Odette Bolano, who is now CEO of the parent Saint Alphonsus Health System.
7. The owners of The STIL, a Downtown ice cream shop, have opened a mini-location inside Chow Public Market & Eatery, a public market at the Boise Spectrum. By summer, they hope to open a full-size ice cream parlor at 3724 Eckert Road, next door to Lucky 13 pizza at Harris Ranch.
8. YouTube TV is expanding its live streaming service to cover 98 percent of households in the United States — including Boise and the Treasure Valley. Its package, available now, includes 67 channels for $40 per month. It’s one of multiple cord-cutting competitors such as DirecTV Now and Sling TV.
9. Gov. Brad Little is seeking someone to fill a spot on the five-member Idaho Oil and Gas Conservation Commission created when chairman Kevin Dickey resigned this month after buying stock in a sister company of Alta Mesa Idaho, which the commission regulates.
10. A bill in the Legislature sought by the state would require private forest owners pay more to the state to make sure logging is done properly. The yearly assessment could be doubled to 20 cents per acre, though the department plans to recommend raising it only to 13 cents this year.
This story was originally published January 30, 2019 at 4:37 PM.
