Work begins on senior center

Investor Dave Farrell has broken ground on the Cottonwood Place Senior Living Center in Holladay. The new community, located at 5600 S. Highland Dr., is a 127,733 square foot, two-story assisted living and memory care community with an underground parking garage.

Sahara Construction is the design/build contractor and Beecher Walker Architects is the designer of this upscale senior living community.

Farrell is an independent developer of assisted living and memory care communities in California and Utah. Salt Lake Enterprise

Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund Board Approves Funding for 497 Affordable Housing Units in Utah

The Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund Board approved $6,933,092 in low interest loans for housing projects throughout the state of Utah during a funding meeting held here on January 24.

Salt Lake County will be home to many of the approved projects, other projects will be constructed in Grand and Weber Counties. Department of Workforce Services

Employment Law Seminar in Salt Lake City

What you need to know to comply with Federal and State Employment Laws and Regulations.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Click here for more information: Utah Department of Workforce Services

Free Tax Training Workshops

The Utah Department of Workforce Services has partnered with the Utah State Tax Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Labor Commission to offer a free  All Day Small Business Employer Workshop held on the third Thursday of each month at:

Salt Lake Community College, Larry H. Miller Campus
9750 South 300 West, Sandy, Utah 84070
Directions and map to SBDC

This workshop is designed to help small business owners and self employed persons with employees learn how and when to report Unemployment Insurance Contributions.  They will also learn how to withhold income for federal and state taxes, social security, and how to calculate Workers Compensation Insurance. Participants learn how to complete employment tax  forms and deposit taxes.

Prior registration is not required but is appreciated as it allows the taxpayer education coordinator to ensure seating and handouts.  For questions, call 801-957-4654. To register, call 801-957-5200.

The Utah State Tax Commission also offers workshops and online tutorials on the following:

Sales Business/Employer Withholding
Tax Implications For Business
Choosing a Business Entity

For further information on the above workshops you may go to: http://tax.utah.gov/training/

Sandy Area Chamber Opens Resource Center for Small-business Owners

The Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce has opened a resource center to help small-business owners better run their companies.

The new center, at the chamber’s offices at 9350 S. 150 East, Suite 580 in Sandy, will provide access to mentors with years of experience to assist new business owners. It also will offer loan advisers and high-level contacts at Zions Bank to assist with financing needs.

In addition, the center will offer frequent workshops and talks, as well as accounting and bookkeeping help. And, it will have a computer, resource books and documents with beneficial contacts available. Salt Lake Tribune

Local Business Holiday Gift Expo Friday

Buy Local groups are urging Utahns to just spend a dime on every dollar of holiday spending this season on local businesses. This weekend, you can see exactly what local businesses are doing to help out the local economy at a free holiday gift expo.

Buy Local First Utah says that if Utah shoppers shift just 10 percent of their holiday spending this year to local businesses, it will keep $473 million in the Utah economy. The big-box stores will be there for your last-minute panicked shopping, but for now, why not make a trip or two to some local businesses, or check out this weekend’s great gift expo sponsored by the Salt Lake Community College’s Miller Business Innovation Center.

The event will feature vendors with great local gifts and artisan products to make your shopping stress a little less so, with the added perk of helping out your neighbors in the local business community.

Check it out, for free, Salt Lake Community College Miller Campus, 9750 S. 300 West, Friday Nov. 30, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. City Weekly

Related: Tooele Transcript Bulletin

How Do Utah's Largest Metro Areas Stack Up in Terms of Economic Competitiveness?

When evaluating the 100 most populous metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the U.S., how do Utah's major metros stack up in terms of economic competitiveness? Very well, in fact.

A report out earlier this month on NewGeography.com says the Provo-Orem, Salt Lake City and Ogden-Clearfield metro areas all rank in the upper third of the top 100 metros in terms of competitiveness. Provo-Orem actually ranks fourth, behind San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, and Bakersfield, CA, while the Salt Lake City metro ranks sixth. Ogden-Clearfield ranks 29th.

Of the Provo-Orem metro, NewGeography says: "This metro area just south of Salt Lake City has seen surprisingly large job gains in professional, scientific, and technical services; administrative and support services; specialty trade contractors; state/local government; and computer and electronic product manufacturing.

NewGeography.com says its goal with the rankings was to see which metros are becoming more competitive (gaining a larger share of total job creation) and which are losing their share of the jobs being created. Hence, all 100 metros were ranked based on the overall competitive effect and what percentage of jobs (from 2010-2012) are based on competitive effects.

To determine the competitiveness rankings, the organization analyzed data from Economic Modeling Specialists Intl (EMSI) using a method called "Shift-share." The analysis focused on overall job change from 2010-2012 in the 100 most populous metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the U.S.

As NewGeography.com explains, Shift-share analysis can also be referred to as "regional competitiveness analysis." It helped the organization distinguish between growth that is primarily based on big national forces (a rising tide lifts all boats) and local competitive advantages. The primary components of NewGeography.com's Shift-share analysis are:

• Industrial Mix Effect -- Representing the share of regional industry growth explained by the growth of the specific industry at the national level.
• National Growth Effect -- This explains how much of the regional industry’s growth is explained by the overall growth of the national economy.
• Expected Change -- This is simply the rate of growth of the particular industry at the national level (equals the sum of the industrial mix and national growth effects).
• Regional Competitiveness Effect -- This explains how much of the change in a given industry is due to some unique competitive advantage that the region possesses, because the growth cannot be explained by national trends in that industry or the economy as whole.

"To generate our ranking, we summed the overall competitive effect for each broad 2-digit industry sector (e.g., agriculture, manufacturing, health care, construction, etc.) and added them together to yield a single MSA-wide number that indicates the overall competitiveness of the economy as compared to the total economy. We calculate the competitive effect by subtracting the expected jobs (the number of jobs expected for each MSA based on national economic trends) from the total jobs.

"The difference between the total and expected is the competitive effect. If the competitive effect is positive, then the MSA has exceeded expectations and created more jobs than national trends would have suggested. It is therefore gaining a greater share of the total jobs being created. If the competitive effect is
negative, then the MSA is below what we would expect given national trends. In this case the MSA is losing a greater share of the total jobs being created," NewGeography.com explains. Utah Policy

Tooele County May Outsource Some Engineering Responsibilities

A local engineering firm that employs the former Tooele County engineer, who was laid off last month, is among the companies bidding to provide the county with engineering services.

County commissioners eliminated the position of county engineer as a cost-cutting measure but retained the rest of the nine-member engineering department staff. Now they’re soliciting proposals to outsource some of the department’s functions — a move that would presumably mean more layoffs within the department.

The engineering services the county is looking to outsource include reviewing subdivision maps, site plans, parcel maps and construction plans for conformance with local and state laws; reviewing proposed grading, drainage, and improvement plans for private development; and recommending corrections and conditions of approval.

Building services in the proposal request include reviewing construction plans for conformance with building and safety codes, and conducting building construction inspections. Tooele Transcript Bulletin

UTA changes include some surprises

The Utah Transit Authority unveiled some surprises Wednesday as it finalized schedule changes that take effect on Dec. 9 — including reducing weekend TRAX service because of budget constraints, and shortening how far the TRAX green line will run from West Valley City every day.

Also, FrontRunner riders who travel in the opposite direction than most peak-time commuters soon will find less-frequent service. And one FrontRunner train a day is being restored to the Pleasant View station north of Ogden, service that had been totally cut recently.

UTA projects overall revenue next year to increase by 5 percent — from $290.8 million to $305.6 million
— thanks to greater fare, sales tax and federal grant revenue.

Even amid rail expansions, UTA said budget constraints are forcing it to cut back weekend TRAX service beginning Dec. 9. Saturday TRAX service will begin about an hour later at about 6 a.m. Sunday TRAX service will have an earlier end time, with last trips of the day departing between 8 and 9 p.m.

The new FrontRunner service between Salt Lake City and Provo will end express buses from Utah County to Salt Lake City, and replace it with more local service in Utah County, often designed to connect to FrontRunner. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah County FrontRunner, airport TRAX lines still on track

Commuters heading to Salt Lake City from Utah County may have an alternative form of transportation sooner than expected.

Construction and testing on the FrontRunner South commuter rail line is moving ahead faster than anticipated, according to the Utah Transit Authority.

It promises commuters they will save time when the new FrontRunner South line opens Dec. 10. The agency projects approximately 6,800 passengers will ride the train each day. In addition to four stops in Utah County, FrontRunner South will also have stops in South Jordan and Murray.

According UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter, who said the FrontRunner South line is expected to begin transporting passengers beginning Dec. 10. He added that the project is also under budget thus far.

He said this phase allows the agency to ensure that all track signals are working properly, operators are fully trained and schedules are appropriately aligned. Test trains run at maximum speeds of up to 79 miles per hour, he said, the same top speed allowed when service begins.

As for the Airport TRAX line, the $350 million extension is scheduled to be operational by April 2013.

Under construction since January 2009, the new light rail line is one of five rail projects UTA has had on its construction agenda in the past few years. The others include the $535 million Mid-Jordan TRAX extension and the $370 million West Valley TRAX line — which both began operation in August 2011. Also in the works are the $212 million Draper TRAX extension and the aforementioned $850 million FrontRunner South commuter-rail line that will run from downtown Salt Lake City to Provo. Deseret News

Wasatch Canyons Master Plan

Consider the importance of the Wasatch canyons to the quality of life of Salt Lake County residents.

They provide water to 400,000 people. Nearly a half-million skiers visit the four Cottonwood Canyon resorts annually, with even more enjoying Park City’s megaresorts on the Wasatch Back. Hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, campers, picnickers and anglers use the area. Private cabin owners consider their property a piece of heaven. Simply taking a Sunday drive to enjoy the autumn leaves or grabbing a meal at a canyon restaurant is an annual ritual for hundreds.

Yet these canyons are currently facing some of the biggest changes since the mining boom of the late 1800s greatly altered their natural state.

Jeff Niemeyer, Salt Lake City’s public-utilities director, put together a map of proposed and rumored ski-resort expansion and Interconnect plans, a sobering exercise that prompted concern from his boss, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

The mayor said the map shows that all of the terrain near the top of the Wasatch Canyons not currently within ski areas’ boundaries would be consumed by the resorts.

The Salt Lake City mayor is proposing a grand canyons master plan that may take as long as three years to put together. It would involve Salt Lake and Summit counties, the U.S. Forest Service, the Utah Transit Authority, the state’s congressional delegation, ski-resort owners, private landowners and, of course, the public.

He admits that people might be skeptical that such a grand plan might work or have enough teeth to be effective. But the Salt Lake City mayor said that without such a plan, there will be disjointed proposals for new lifts or expansion such as the SkiLink between The Canyons in Park City and Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon without an idea as to the cumulative effects of these developments. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah’s MGIS sells insurance brokerage unit

The MGIS Companies, a Salt Lake City-based provider of physician insurance products, said it has sold its medical liability insurance brokerage unit, MGIS P&C.

The business unit’s accounts and in-force policies were purchased by two separate buyers, Doctors First Inc. and Hub International Limited.

Betty Mangery, a spokeswoman for Doctors First, an insurance firm that caters specifically to the medical field and specializes in professional liability coverage, said that acquisition will enhance that company’s retail operation and helps grow its product lines. Salt Lake Tribune

Brasher Insurance Is Moving to Salt Lake City

A local Utah insurance company announced today that they are moving locations. CEO, Reed Brasher of Brasher Insurance Group, established his insurance company in 2011 and didn’t know what to expect.

Today he finds himself packing boxes and moving chairs to a new office in Salt Lake City to meet the demands of his growing insurance company.

Most start up insurance companies fail within the first year, so what was the secret that made the difference? He said, “honesty and hard work. People just want to know we care about them and that they are getting the best rates.” Brasher Insurance Group is an independent insurance company who specialize in a broad range of insurance plans. Chron.com

Utah refugees find success in the kitchen

After raising nine children, Muna Ali discovered a new way to keep occupied: the crispness of chicken sambousas, the spice of tabbouleh and the nutty sweetness of baklava. For years, she wanted to start a restaurant, but refugees like her, with limited education and capital, find that dream hard to realize.

Now Salt Lake County is guiding her and two other refugee women toward small business success as their fledgling catering businesses explode. 

"It’s growing so fast I don’t know if I could manage it any longer," said Ze Min Xiao, the county’s refugee services liaison. 

The 2-year-old Ethnic Kitchen Alliance gives the women from the Sudan, Iraq and the Congo a chance to use their well-honed cooking skills to help pay the bills.

"I [don’t] have high education to work like you," Ali said last week as she prepared lunch for a Utah Department of Health retreat.

Refugees, who are legal immigrants, arrive in Utah by the hundreds each year. Employment can sometimes be elusive. Some are illiterate in any language. Their English skills may initially be nonexistent. But the U.S. refugee program is geared toward self-sufficiency, so adults are expected to become wage earners as soon as possible.

About half of the refugees who are resettled in Utah through Catholic Community Services find work within six months. Those jobs are often in housekeeping, janitorial, laundry and similar fields. One of the county’s goals is to help refugees draw on their current skills, which for many women includes cooking delicious food. 

The county takes orders for the women, helps with invoicing, marketing and scheduling while making sure the cooks have the adequate permits and facilities to prepare the food. They have to cook in a commercial grade kitchen such as the Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, not at home, and have a food handler’s permit. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah’s inactive Myrexis launches new growth strategy

Myrexis Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biotechnology research company that idled much of its operations last year, said it is pursing a new long-term strategy.

Part of it will be to explore acquisition opportunities to bring new commercial operations to the company.

To help accomplish that goal, the company said Richard Brewer has been appointed president and CEO, and that David Gryska will be chief operating officer, with both also named to Myrexis’ board of directors.

"The board has been evaluating alternatives to increase shareholder value following our decision in February to suspend development activities on the company’s pre-clinical and clinical programs," Myrexis Chairman Gerald Bell said a statement announcing the executive appointments.

Brewer and Gryska collectively have an extensive track record of commercializing, acquiring and marketing pharmaceutical products, he added. Salt Lake Tribune

Millcreek Community Center will cater to old and young

Millcreek is about to get a community center designed to meet the divergent needs of its varied population.

A senior center, a library and a recreation center will be united under one roof when the new Millcreek Community Center opens at 10 a.m. Wednesday at 2266 E. Evergreen Ave. (3435 South).

A library and a rec center formerly occupied the site of the community center. Old and small, both have been expanded and modernized in this community center. The library’s collection of materials has grown by 50,000 items to 122,000, Cooper said, while workout rooms now have state-of-the-art equipment.

What makes this community center different is its inclusion of a senior center. While Millcreek has plenty of young families, the east-central community also has one of the valley’s highest proportions of seniors, so it was only fitting to have a facility for them, said County Aging Services Director Sarah Brenna.

The three operations are linked by a walking/running track that weaves around the second story of the 64,000-square-foot building, overlooking a gym with six hoops for basketball and curving around a kids’ reading room. The track’s walls feature numerous windows, offering striking views of Mount Olympus and Evergreen Park (still under reconstruction).

Just as the walkway unites all three functions, county officials hope it will produce population mixes in which, for instance, it won’t be unusual for an old-timer to be teaching a kid how to play billiards, while in another room a 12-year-old will be providing seniors with instruction on how to use Facebook, said senior center supervisor Bev Uipi. The Millcreek Center will continue one of the main functions of senior centers — ensuring that seniors receive nutritious lunches. But the format will be different from the others, Brenna said, with food coming from a café open to all.

Technology will abound in the new center, particularly in the library, which will be twice as big as its predecessor. Two dozen computers will be available for the public, a few more have been set up in tutoring rooms, and library branch manager Suzanne Tronier made sure that electrical outlets were installed near seating areas so visitors can use their own laptops.

Because Millcreek residents are so fond of their area’s namesake creek and canyon, architect Kenner Kingston said the building incorporates both elements in its design. A symbolic stream flows through the library, while the café is in its lowest area, the canyon bottom. Two other noteworthy art features: Pieces of the old gym floor decorate some of the internal walls, while another wall is covered with a colorful spiral of gym shoes.  Salt Lake Tribune

Chamber Launches Program to Help Businesses Become Clean Air Champions

The Salt Lake Chamber is launching a program to help Utah businesses enhance their commitment to clean air and benefit their bottom lines. Businesses can become Clean Air Champions by enrolling in the program at www.cleanairchampion.com and indicating practices already in place or by implementing new Clean Air programs.

The Clean Air Champion program is a private sector approach to motivate Utah businesses to make decisions that improve our air quality and strengthen our economy. Poor air quality hinders corporate relocation efforts, places additional regulatory burdens on business, increases health care costs and places Utah’s federal highway funding at risk. The Business community can make a difference. Utah Pulse

Homeowners search for ideas at Home and Garden Show

The Salt Lake Tribune’s annual Spring Home and Garden Festival opened its four-day run Thursday at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy. The show draws an estimated 35,000 people each year. If there is a new trend in the show, it might be "green products." Companies selling everything from organic soil to xeriscaping to solar panels seemed to be on almost every aisle. One thing that always dazzles is the variety of home and garden products, and services, being offered. Salt Lake Tribune

Cottonwood Heights helps its businesses on the Web

The city is offering the companies that operate within city limits the opportunity to have their businesses featured on the community’s website, as well as on its Facebook and Twitter pages. The city started sending out notices about its new program in January, along with its monthly business license renewal mailing. Invitations will continue to go out the rest of this year.

The city also will use the Facebook and Twitter pages to inform residents about available special promotions or discounts. So far about 50 of the 1,400 or so businesses operating in Cottonwood Heights have signed up. Salt Lake Tribune

'This is the worst winter we've had,' snow removal contractor says

As much of Utah copes with one of the mildest and snow-free winters in recent memory, some people who make their living shoveling the "greatest snow on earth" are having a tough time. Russ Kimball, owner of Draper-based Kimball Property Management — the state's largest snow removal contractor says, "We're down at least 80 percent."

Kimball said snow removal accounts for about 40 percent of their overall business, and this dramatically "down year" will cost his company millions. While the larger firms are hit harder by the dry winter, smaller operations may have an easier go of it. Deseret News