Tag Archives: blad

Idaho

Pocatello Arts Council is not taxpayer funded, but helps bring free public events!

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14 July 2022  (10:08-UTC-07 Tango 06) 23 Tir 1401/14 Dhu l-Hijja 1443/16 Ding-Wei 4720

Recently in the U.S. state of Idaho, apparently (supposedly) a City of Pocatello council person inquired about the funding for the Pocatello Arts Council.  It sounded very much like she was ‘fishing’ for ways to appropriate some of that funding for local government use, not unusual for a city council that has a history of non-transparent, and even non-existent, financial record keeping.  There is one major problem; the Pocatello Arts Council is not a government operation, it is a non-governmental organization (NGO) created and funded totally by donations!

For Summer 2022, the Pocatello Arts Council has teamed-up with many other organizations to bring free-to-the-public Shakespeare performances at the Idaho State University (ISU), in Pocatello.

Idaho State University’s The Quad.

On July 21st, Twelfth Night will be performed on The Quad, starting at 18:30 (6:30PM). Then King Lear makes an appearance on July 23rd, same location.  Food trucks will be staged, but they are not free, bring money or bring your own food.

On this map The Quad is the area marked as #9.

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes conduct sunrise prayer on ISU’s Quad.

For those wanting more academic information about some guy named Shakespeare, on the 20th of July there is a free lecture (with live sample performances) at the Marshall Public Library, in the Old Town part of Pocatello.

The lecture is held before the theatrical plays take place so you’ll get a better understanding of the mind-set of The Bard.

In October 1991, the Pocatello Arts Council was created by a generous grant from an individual.  The council members are not paid a dime, they are volunteering their own time and efforts.  While Pocatello Arts Council is a non-taxpayer funded NGO, they do serve as an ‘advisory council’ to the Mayor of Pocatello.

Pocatello Arts Council also offers very small grants to local people feeling creative, there are deadlines, apply here.

Scandals involving Pocatello & Chubbuck:

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, July 2019.

Bridge to Nowhere, and a list of other local taxpayer rip-offs

 

Idaho

Idaho’s Bridge to Nowhere?

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“…already aware that our property taxes are among the highest in Idaho, I am increasingly wary of the wisdom of Northgate.”

27 July 2019 (02:51 UTC-07 Tango 06) 05 Mordad 1398/24 Dhu l-Qa’da 1440/25 Xin-Wei 4717

Bannock County-City of Chubbuck-City of Pocatello, Idaho, are home to numerous taxpayer sapping ‘white elephant’ projects, from Hoku to the latest Siphon Road-Interstate 15 connector (bridge to nowhere)/Northgate District.

Realize that Siphon Road only exists in Chubbuck, and doesn’t extend to Interstate 15, which means Chubbuck tax-fee payers are paying for the road’s extension to I-15.  (Massive taxpayer funded development in Chubbuck involves construction of up to 1,200 homes)

(Chubbuck plans to create an additional three taxpayer funded parks)

The tax-fee payers of Pocatello are paying for the annexation of farmland to the north of the northeast side of the city, and will also be paying for the creation of a Northgate District, as well as a road that will connect to the Pocatello side of I-15.  (Pocatello imposes  Northgate Tax Incremental Financing district on cash strapped residents)

(Pocatello taxpayers extorted for $750-thousand for Northgate roads project)

(Pocatello councilman partnering with developer to build Northgate retirement community)

State tax-fee payers are funding the I-15 to Siphon Road connection bridge (to nowhere?).

(State investigators says Pocatello’s water plan for Northgate falls short)

The following pics were taken 14JUL2019:

“Hoku and now Northgate are ample evidence for the proposition that few elected local officials have any facility for investigation, professional planning or even seeing the future for what it is.”

Storm clouds forming over yet another White Elephant for taxpayers?

All that farmland going to be torn up to build homes for…nobody?

Looking south along I-15, from the Pocatello side of where the Siphon Road-I-15 connector bridge is being built.

Looking towards Chubbuck, the Sun is already setting on the Bridge to Nowhere.

Chubbuck spent tax dollars putting in an intersection where Siphon Road ended, it’s now overgrown with weeds and you can hear the pedestrian crossing signals beeping in the wind.

This is the new part of Siphon Road, in Chubbuck, which still doesn’t go anywhere. The Road Closed sign has been run-over numerous times.

“He’s as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see….

…….Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody”-The Beatles, Nowhere Man

Bannock County scams: 609 hearings later, Bannock County is left with 2,188 unheard property assessment appeals on morning of deadline

State Attorney General’s Office investigating work of former Bannock County contracted property appraiser

Local appraiser files breach of contract lawsuit against Bannock County

Water-gate, 2019: The city of Pocatello has reached a $4.5 million settlement to a class-action lawsuit for assessing illegal fees on its water, sewer and sanitation services from 2005 into Fiscal Year 2014.

Chubbuck 2017: NO MORE XMAS LIGHTS? THE TRUTH ABOUT GENTRIFICATION

Bannock County, Chubbuck & Pocatello shenanigans, June 2016: Governor declares economy has “RISEN FROM THE ASHES”

School District 25 also screws over local taxpayers: Pocatello High renovations Raises Questions About Public Input from taxpayers

yet again school district embroiled in a controversy involving a hungry student seeking food

school cafeteria worker who says she was fired for giving a hungry student a free lunch was previously convicted of theft charges in 2013.

In March of 1969 Chris Murphy was called to the office of Mr. Evans, the vice-principal of Highland High School in Pocatello, and told to get his hair cut; Murphy refused and was suspended. The district was sued.

PaveGate 2015: POCATELLO TAXPAYERS ASKED TO CLEAN UP THEIR OWN STREETS, WHILE PAYING MORE TAXES!

Promises of jobs, July 2015:  Pocatello administrators have revealed their hyped up deal to bring a major employer to Pocatello Regional Airport is dead.

Main stream news reports on the never ending taxpayer sucking White Elephant called Hoku;

East Idaho News, 2018: “There was no action taken on the Hoku property. They entered into an executive session where they discussed a number of different things and unfortunately as much as I wish I could, I cannot speak about or respond to anything, disclose anything that happened in the executive session.”-Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad

Idaho State Journal, 2018: Two years later, lease with Indian company amounts to nothing for abandoned Hoku 

New York Times, 2013: “So what if the company wanted breaks and concessions? The decision by the city [Pocatello] to buy the land and lease it back almost free seemed like a bargain at $1.4 million…”

Read the history of the Hoku saga starting with this report (the Blind Bat News reports go back to 2010):

 IDAHO’S FAILED HOKU LEADS TO 1ST CHINESE COMPANY TO DEFAULT ON LOAN PAYMENTS

In this report, which chronicles the destruction of iconic Green T, the mayor of Chubbuck boasts it’s “…the beginning of some real good things coming in.”: POPEYES QUIETLY SHUTS DOWN FOUR IDAHO RESTAURANTS!

IDAHO’S DOCUMENTED ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION FOR 2017: “CLOSED INDEFINITELY”

Hoku-Gate, PaveGate now Amy’s-Gate!  It’s been revealed that Bannock County administrators were under investigation by the Idaho Tax Commission over massive local tax breaks given to California based frozen veggie food maker Amy’s Kitchen.

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: EAST IDAHOANS OBLIVIOUS TO SHUTDOWN OF THEIR ONLY POSTAL PROCESSING CENTER!

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: IDAHO POLITICIANS GIVE AWAY MORE THAN $1-MILLION IN IDAHO TAXES, TO FRANCE!

EXCEPTIONAL FAILED STATE: IDAHO POLITICIANS GIVE AWAY TENS OF MILLIONS TO COMPANIES THAT SHUT DOWN!

Business/Economics, Idaho

The lies of economic decline: Pocatello Staples shutdown blamed on the internet!

22 JUL 2017 / 18:56 UTC-07 Tango 06 (01 Mordad 1396/28 Shawwal 1438/01 Bing Wu 4715)

“As customers shift online, we are taking aggressive action to right-size our retail footprint.”-official Staples statement

There are two main lies being propagated by unAmerican corporate America (and the government that supports those corporations): Not enough ‘qualified’ U.S. citizens to fill vacant positions, and internet competition.

Staples on Hurley Drive in Pocatello, Idaho, shutting down in August.

Staples on Hurley Drive in Pocatello, Idaho, shutting down in August.

On 20 July 2017, Mitt Romney co-founded wunderkind Staples announced they will shutdown their Pocatello, Idaho, location in August.  They blame “customers” for shopping online.

Remember, Staples sells online as well as in brick-n-mortar stores.

I’ve pointed out before that online sales aren’t that big.  Just this year Karen Edwards, instructor at University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality Retailing and Sport Management, stated to local news media that internet sales make up only 10%-15% of all U.S. retail sales!  This is really part of a conspiracy by the retail industry to shift to internet only operations, mainly because the cost of operating a brick-n-mortar store (especially rent and utilities) now outweighs sales at those stores.

Don’t blame the Internet: Idaho internet sales tax collections flat-line!

U.S. RETAIL DEATH SPIRAL: 218% SPIKE IN SHUTDOWNS SINCE LAST YEAR!

U.S. HI-TECH/COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWN, MAY 2017: “TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT”

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: VANITY DIES IN IDAHO

IDAHO’S ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION 2016: “WE PLAN TO SELL IT DOWN TO THE BONES.” “…IT’S CRAPPY…!” 

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: ONE FINAL LOOK AT THE IDAHO POSTAL PROCESSING CENTER MOST EAST IDAHOANS DIDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT!

SEARS & KMART CLOSING UPDATE 29 SEPTEMBER 2014: CANADIANS CLAIM STORE SHUTDOWNS PART OF CONSPIRACY!

2012, WHAT ECONOMIC RECOVERY? ALL PART OF REIT PLAN TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU SHOP, AND THEY BLAME YOU THE SHOPPER!

Idaho

Amy’s-Gate: Mormon leaders of Idaho keep screwing over taxpayers!

13 August 2015 (08:30 UTC-07 Tango 01)/22 Mordad 1394/27 Shawwal 1436/29 Jia-Shen 4713

Hoku-Gate, PaveGate now Amy’s-Gate!  It’s been revealed that the Mormon dominated Bannock County administrators were under investigation by the Idaho Tax Commission over massive local tax breaks given to California based frozen veggie food maker Amy’s Kitchen.

At the end of 2014 Amy’s Kitchen took over the abandoned Heinz frozen food factory in Pocatello, but it came at a price to individual taxpayers.

Amy’s Kitchen is already getting a big state tax break called the Tax Reimbursement Incentive, but the county of Bannock also threw in their own local tax incentives, which could have violated state Law 63-602NN.

According to the Idaho State Journal “All four Idaho Tax Commissioners were at the Bannock County Courthouse Tuesday to get answers about the county commissioners granting of a 5-year tax break to Amy’s Kitchen as an incentive to the company last year that cut its county tax liability by about 75 percent.”   Apparently the issue was settled between state administrators, Bannock County and the cities of Chubbuck and Pocatello behind closed doors, so all us happy taxpayers will never know what went down.

No wonder the family owners of Amy’s Kitchen were so happy to take over the old Heinz factory.  With all the massive taxpayer funded tax breaks our exalted leaders give away to foreign companies (both outside Idaho and outside the United States), they could have used that money to create programs to help unemployed Idahoans start their own Idaho based corporations!  Or how about a much needed medical university in Pocatello?  A study done years ago said the state university system could make money hand over fist if that happened, and Idaho State University’s enrollment would explode, but for some reason Mormon dominated state Department of Edumacation (Education) administrators put the kibosh on that real fast (for some unjustified reason).

Pokey Pavegate fallout: Taxpayers asked to clean up their own streets, while paying more taxes! 

Conservative Idaho jacks up taxes!

Idaho Falls to submit to Obama regime Courts! Under the False Flag of “saving taxes”! 

the unemployed are leaving the Gem State!

Idaho politicians give away more than $18-million in Idaho taxes, to out-o-state lawyers!

Idaho politicians give away more than $1-million in Idaho taxes, to France! 

One Idaho city wants to give itself a raise, taxpayers say Bull Crap! City does it anyway! 

Bannock County, Idaho, jacks up property taxes on farmers by 90%!

Related:  NSA paying Mormons big bucks to guard data centers!

Sears & Kmart closings: Catholics, Mormons & Jews conspiring or is it just about the money? 

Mormon security company Vivint is facing sanctions by 11 states, as well as a class action lawsuit, for fraudulent and deceptive practices! 

Utah militiamen spreading Mormonism in Afghanistan?

Mormon takeover attempt and federal investigation causing newspaper layoffs? 

Mormon Mitt Romney co-founded Bain Capital destroying jobs since 1984! Destroyed jobs in Idaho! 

Idaho

Pokey Pavegate fallout: Taxpayers asked to clean up their own streets, while paying more taxes!

03 August 2015 (12:45 UTC-07 Tango 01)/11 Mordad 1394/16 Shawwal 1436/19 Jia-Shen 4713

For the past few weeks the Mormon dominated (74.5%) Gem State city of Pocatello has been running TV PSAs asking taxpaying residents to voluntarily clean out storm drains in their neighborhood streets.  This comes after revelations of “abuse of authority” at the hands of the city’s Mormon mayor (“Blad is clearly conservative, something his Mormon, southern Idaho upbringing certainly influenced…”-Tara A. Rowe, commenting on Blad’s suprise 2009 election win), and a new investigation by the state Attorney General for a trend that’s hitting cities across the U.S.: Pavegate.

Pocatello’s storm clean up campaign (led by mascots Drip and Drop) is also part of a growing trend across the country, as cities supposedly don’t have the tax funding to pay their own road crews to do the clean-up, but in Pocatello’s case Pavegate makes the public service campaign questionable.

Pocatello’s (aka Pokey) Pavegate started back in June 2014, when residents  noticed Pocatello road crews doing road work in other cities.  This pissed off Pokey taxpayers because for years they’ve been told there wasn’t enough funding to tackle all the road work needed in Pocatello.

When the city council was first questioned about it, they denied it was happening.  In July 2014, local TV station KPVI even questioned Pokey mayor Brian Blad about it, he actually denied knowing anything: “I don’t know if our crews were up there or not. I know our equipment was up there. We may have had crews up there. If we did, then there will be a swap where the County is doing the work for the City of Pocatello for us as well.” 

In that instance KPVI was asking about Pokey road crews doing work for the city of McCammon.  McCammon administrators indicated that Pokey administrators offered to save McCammon taxpayer money by doing needed road repairs for the cost of materials only, the labor was free (meaning Pokey taxpayers paid for the labor)!

By August 2014, city council members (who are part timers only) were concerned enough to pay for an independent investigation: “We’ve got to have the facts. We just don’t know at this point.”-Craig Cooper, council president

In September 2014, KPVI was basically told that what was to be called Pokey Pavegate was nothing more than semantics: “I’m confident that what they are looking at is not an invoice. What they are looking at is a work order……No we haven’t reimbursed the City of Pocatello for these costs.”-Kurk Bybee, attorney for the city

It is not uncommon for one city to hire-out its road crews to another city, and get paid for it.  But in this case it seemed that the full time mayor indeed knew about the farming out of Pokey road crews to other cities (after denying it on local TV news) but did not charge for the labor, and the part time city council members continued to claim they knew nothing.  Industrious taxpaying residents found out otherwise: “A large volume of documents secured by Pocatello resident Steven Medellin under a Freedom of Information request show numerous paving projects were done in Driggs and Teton County dating back to 2013 with no documentation showing payments to the city of Pocatello for the work.”–Out-of-town Pocatello paving projects spur audit (even at this point the mayor feigned no knowledge of the Pavegate)

These Pavegate lies by Mormon dominated city administration are just the tip of the iceberg, as residents have publicly questioned the jacking up of property taxes, the hiring-on of 30 new city employees, “secretive” projects and the seemingly sudden disappearance of millions of taxpayer funds.

In January 2015, Deanton & Company made public the results of their Pavegate investigation:  “Although there appears to be an abuse of authority, because of the nature of fraud, no assurances can be given that fraud does not exist……..it became clear that various levels of management within the city of Pocatello do not fully understand their level of authority…….There was also a lack of supporting evidence of communication between management and….City Council.”

The quickly done investigation said Pokey taxpayers paid for at least $15,773 USD worth of labor costs, and in response the mayor adamantly stated that he would not seek reimbursement from the cities that benefitted from that labor: “…we’re going to move on and be done with it.”  

In February 2015, the city’s own Chief Financial Officer, Joyce Stroschein, revealed that they’re basically missing $1.5-million!  She blamed it on three ongoing projects in which there was no accountability in how the money was spent: “It’s all about cleaning house….. Cleaning up the project resolution because the projects have ended at this point.”

By April 2015, the Idaho Attorney General announced an investigation of his own.  The investigation was pushed for by a Pocatello grass roots committee Taxpayers for Honest Government: “Taxpayers for Honest Government has methodically investigated and reviewed public information…and found that the city of Pocatello is in serious trouble, both financially and ethically….most of the problems facing the city of Pocatello are because of the abuse of power created by Mayor Blad’s secretive, closed-door governing style.”– Helen Delahunt-Avila

The disappearance of millions of taxpayer dollars, confirmed by the city’s own treasurer in February, should be noted because the mayor continually stated the city wasn’t hurting for money.  Now Pokey tax payers are being asked to clean out the storm drains in their neighborhood streets.

In June 2015, despite missing millions in funding Pocatello created a new Public Information Officer job, hiring a former KPVI reporter as their new Public Information Officer.  The first order of business for that PIO was reporting that Pokey administrators suddenly ordered road crews to put fresh blacktop on dozens of city streets, and then claim it was done in a way that saved taxpayers money.  City administrators say they are now conducting an almost year long review of finances as “…a kind of review of how we look at ourselves.”

In July 2015,  CFO Joyce Stroschein proposed jacking up taxes and fees for Pokey residents, in order to fund the city’s 2016 fiscal year.

Pokey’s Martin Luther King Way project, despite no money

Pocatello considers fines for false fire alarms

Pocatello Fire Department responds to record number of calls

Pocatello considers moving money to fund connector project

Despite being broke, Pocatello Sanitation Department loans $2 million to Federal Aid Project

Pocatello Regional Transit gets free busses?

Massive Wellness Complex no cost to taxpayers?

Pokey’s South Valley Connector project 

Pocatello & Chubbuck consider merging Fire Departments

City Council OKs $1.04 million for vehicles

City Must Cut $2.2 Million from Budget

LDS leader arranged outside attorney on LGBT ordinance

NSA paying Mormons big bucks to guard data centers! 

Business/Economics, Idaho

More Economic Decline: New owner of Pocatello’s Polysilicon factory gives up, starts chopping up the former Hoku Materials factory!

17 April 2015 (15:57 UTC-07 Tango 01)/27 Farvardin 1394/28 Jumada t-Tania 1436/29 Geng Chen 4713

“We did a worldwide marketing effort to sell the plant. We obviously wanted to find a user.  It’s a damn shame!”-Mark Fleischauer,  JH Kelly senior vice president, Idaho State Journal interview

After a little more than a year, the winning bidder for the failed Hoku Polysilicon Materials factory has given up trying to find an operator, and is now chopping up and selling off the factory bit by bit.

JH Kelly is the contractor hired by Hoku to build the factory in Pocatello, Idaho.  Hawaii based Hoku failed to pay JH Kelly about $25-million USD for the work, and then JH Kelly spent their own $8.3-million buying the failed factory (which was valued at $700-million).

The entire Hoku Materials story is an example of optimistic thinking run wild, involving local and state administrators basically giving away the land for the factory, to company administrators failing to understand the polysilicon market and becoming financially dependent on Chinese sources of money, which was finally ended when the president of the United States imposed heavy tariffs on products tied to Chinese solar power companies.

Read More about the Hoku Materials saga, beginning with: Unpaid contractor is winning bidder for abandoned Hoku….again! 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

More Economic Decline: Major announcement confirming shutdown of east Idaho’s only Postal Processing Center?

11 April 2015 (16:42 UTC-07 Tango 01)/22 Farvardin 1394/21 Jumada t-Tania 1436/23 Geng Chen 4713

In the past week employees at the doomed Gateway Processing Center in Pocatello, Idaho, were given news confirming the pending shutdown.

As of 17 April 2015 all remaining Mail Handlers will become unemployed, with no severance (told to apply for unemployment).  All parcel mail (packages) are supposedly to be shipped down to Salt Lake City for processing after that date.

Salt Lake Postal District administrators decided to save 16 Gateway Clerk jobs (on top of the original 13), but only temporarily.  The Salt Lake Letter Processing Center is, admittedly, unable to handle all of east Idaho’s letter mail, so, two of Gateway’s letter sorting machines will remain operational for at least six more months (apparently until Salt Lake gets another machine of their own).

This is more proof of how ineffectual your local ‘elected’ officials are.

East Idaho’s Gateway Processing Center is one of 82, across the United States, that are being shutdown before summer.

Zero Hour approaches fast for east Idaho’s only Postal Processing Center! 

Business/Economics, Idaho

U.S. Job Losses & Store Closings, 18 – 21 January 2015: “…like ripping off a band aid…” More than 17-thousand jobs lost! Increased use of credit cards results in massive layoffs! Proof you’re worth more dead than alive; corporate America even sells your impending death to investors!

Incomplete list of publicly announced layoffs & shutdowns:

Alabama: In Huntsville, Colorado based Sports Authority announced they will shutdown their Bridge Street Town Centre store in February.  JCPenney announced they will shutdown their Cullman Shopping Center store in April, 25 jobs lost.

California: In Los Angeles, old style clothing store Revival Vintage shutdown, the owner did not want to renew the lease.  San Jose news sources report that ebay administrators have confirmed they will sell off their PayPal ops, resulting in at least 2-thousand 4-hundred people becoming jobless! The sale of PayPal is being pushed by ‘activist’ (more like vulture capitalist) investors who now control most of ebay’s stock.  DreamWorks Animation announced they will eliminate 400 to 500 jobs and shutdown their Redwood City studio in 2015!  DreamWorks laid off 350 people in 2014!  Company administrators say their revenues have fallen by tens of millions of dollars. In Moreno Valley, G2 Secure Staff issued a WARN saying they will layoff 39 people in March.  In Willows, Johns Manville issued a WARN saying they will layoff 40 people by March. In Vista, Zodiac Pool Systems issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in October, at least 97 jobs lost.  In Vandenberg AFB, taxsucker InDyne issued a WARN saying they will layoff 541 people in March!   In San Ramon, California oil company Chevron finally issued a WARN revealing they laid off 100 people back in December!   I doubt it’s really about oil prices, Chevron is at least the second oil company operating in California to issue a WARN about massive layoffs after the fact (a violation of WARN regulations)!

Colorado: After 25 years Pismo Fine Art Glass shutdown, the owner wants to retire.  Renewable bio-fuel maker Gevo laid off 23 HQ employees and the CEO claims he’s cutting his base pay by 25%: “Gevo has determined this to be an opportune time to scale down the team to focus primarily on technology optimizations…”

Connecticut: The Milford Board of Education is planning to layoff 18 teachers for the 2015-16 school year, “primarily stemming from continued enrollment decline”.  The University of Connecticut admitted they laid off employees, but refused to say how many.

Florida: 289 employees of rail company CSX have accepted early retirement buyouts! CSX was hoping for 300, which means the other 11 employes will probably be forced out.

Idaho: An independent investigation revealed that recently re-‘elected’ Pocatello mayor Brian Blad farmed out city road crews to other cities, for free and without permission of the city council (as required by law).  The cost to Pocatello taxpayers is at least $15,773 in labor!  To add insult to injury the city council said they aren’t going to pursue the matter, even though Idaho laws allows them to call in the Attorney General!  The investigation was done by Deaton and Company, who submitted a seven page report to the city.  Local news media refer to the scandal as ‘PaveGate’.

Illinois: Chicago based United Continental joins other airlines in contracting out thousands of in-house jobs, as many as 2-thousand jobs now going to cheap-o contractors!

Massachusetts: Kickass Cupcakes now chapter 7 bankrupt busted. The cupcake company has been shutting down stores since 2013. The owner refused to talk to local news media.

Michigan: God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ Christian bookstore, Kregel Parable.  The owners of Restaurant Mediteran announced it will shutdown in March.  Two of the co-owners want to retire and the third owner says he can’t handle more than one restaurant at a time.  In Dearborn, The Mediterranean Chef shutdown and being liqudated.

Montana: Washington based Revett Mining shutting down their copper and silver Troy Mine, blaming low prices.  70 jobs lost.

Nebraska: In Scottsbluff, after six years female clothing store T & Company shutdown.

New Hampshire: In Nashua, the owners of Silverlight Candle & Gift Shoppe announced they will shutdown in February.  They blame the unexpected shutdown of next door Aubuchon Hardware for the final nail in their coffin.

New Jersey: Belgium-Brazil owned Anheuser-Busch laying off 60 people and cutting beer production in Newark. It’s probably because this year’s malt barley crops in three states has been killed off by mother nature. 

New York: In Valley Stream, after 30 years Sunrise Multiplex Cinemas shutdown, they sold out to a shopping mall developer.  Despite reporting “substantial” quarterly gains (due to increased credit card use) NYC based American Express announced it will kill off 4-thousand jobs by the end of 2015!  Company administrators also credited their better than expected quarterly results on past job cutting, so they are ramping up job cuts as part of their plan to “reinvent” the credit card company!  Grocery store 173 Food issued a WARN saying they will shutdown in April, at least 30 jobs lost.  Another NYC based company, AOL (formerly America OnLine) announced they will kill off 150 advertising jobs! Business Insider is also reporting that their sources say dozens of AOL employees have been voluntarily quitting since December: “Media and technology are drastically evolving to keep up with today’s consumer. The lines are becoming blurred, and as you well know, our industry is converging at a faster pace than anyone predicted.”-Bob Lord, president AOL

North Carolina: Mitt Romney’s wunderkind Staples shutdown their Greensboro store on Golden Gate Drive.  After 30 years family owned Prime Sirloin buffet shutdown: “The building is old and the money to keep up the 30-year old property, which we leased, was simply going to be too much for us to keep on operating. We decided it was time to make the decision and like ripping off a band aid, there wasn’t any good way to do this.”-Lisa Martin, general manager

Ohio: ShurTech laid off 20 people at its Avon HQ: “The company needed to make these employment adjustments due to retail changes and the high cost of doing business in areas such as freight.”-Patti Sack, media manager

Oregon: What automotive industry recovery?  Commercial Vehicle Group issued a WARN saying they are shutting down their interior parts factory, 117 jobs lost!

Pennsylvania: In Philipsburg, bowling alley Moshannon Valley Super Bowl shutdown after seven years, they were evicted for failure to pay their mortgage.

Puerto Rico: Sears Holdings announced they will shutdown their 25 years old Vega Baja Kmart in March, 206 jobs lost!  Switzerland based legal drugs pusher Novartis announced they will shutdown operations in Humacao over the next three years, 270 jobs lost!  The Federal Bank of New York blames it on the expiration of tax incentives.

Texas: In Garland, Valspar issued a WARN saying they will shutdown subsidiary Engineered Polymer Solutions between March and May, 54 jobs lost.   In Austin, video game maker Lightbox Interactive laid off an undisclosed number of people, and might even shutdown.  Evil Waco based Life Partners Holdings now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  They buy the rights to life insurance policies and then sell them to investors, that’s evil.  In other words, unAmerican corporate America, and their investors, love to bet on your death!  Oklahoma based Laredo Petroleum shutdown their Dallas office without warning, 75 jobs lost. Company administrators also claim $60 per barrel oil prices forced them to cut their operating budget in half, from $1-billion USD to about $525-million!  In Houston two mega oil service companies announced massive layoffs; Halliburton (already reported in one of my previous reports) and Baker Hughes.  Dumb-ass news media blames low oil prices but it’s really because Halliburton is taking over Baker Hughes!  At least 7-thousand Baker Hughes employees will be let go because of the $35-billion Halliburton takeover, not the oil prices!  Another Houston based oil company, Apache, announced it will kill off 250 jobs, after it hired on the former Baker Hughes CFO!

Virginia: In Old Town, after 64 years the Giant Food grocery store will shutdown. Company administrators say it’s because the town is too small to continue supporting it, and it’s not worth it to spend money on expanding it. News reports implied that there are too many Giant Food stores in the area around Old Town anyway.

Washington: A chapter 11 bankrupt busted company that loves to hit your smartphone with advertisements, Bellvue based Hipcricket, has been taken over by competitor SITO Mobile for $4.5 million.  As in all such cases you should expect layoffs, despite the fact that Hipcricket administrators said their sale to SITO would “protect human capital”, corporate weenies always say things like that.

Wisconsin: In Racine, two Vanity clothing stores shutdown, despite increased revenues for the North Dakota based company.

16-17-January-2015: U.S. oil company kills 9-thousand jobs, then pumps $1.7-billion into Russian oil! 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shutdown. It doesn’t count people who get a severance for being laid off.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho

More Economic Decline: New Pocatello furniture store shuts down after less than 3 months!

25 June 2014 (00:46 UTC-07 Tango)/26 Sha’ban 1435/04 Tir 1393/28 Geng Wu 4712

After less than three months Timberline Home Furnishings-3G Used Car Sales is already busted!  The location used to be the Ashley Furniture Liquidation store, which went away in March.

Timberline already up for auction! Note that their Grand Opening sign is still up!

Timberline already up for auction! Note that their Grand Re-Opening sign (indicating they used to be Ashley Furniture Liquidation) is still up!

Timberline Home Furnishings is now going under the auction gavel on 28 June 2014.  “Everything must go!”