PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
Unit Receives Grant from Federal Transportation Administration
Parking and Transportation Services has been awarded a $558,113 grant from the Federal Transportation Administration plus an additional local matching grant of $138,528 to develop a community park and ride lot and bus storage facility. The grants support Boise State’s emphasis on using mass and alternative transportation while reducing the need for on-campus parking.
The project helps develop low-cost parking options that connect with mass transit routes or are located within a reasonable biking distance. “As the university continues to fulfill the campus master plan, there will be less interior surface parking and more exterior parking in the form of structures which are more costly to build, operate and maintain,” said Jared Everett, executive director of parking and transportation services.
Mass Transit Use by Faculty, Staff, Students Increases 45 Percent
The
use of free bus rides by Boise State faculty, staff and students has increased
by 45 percent from the fall semester of 2006 to 2007, according to
Parking and Transportation Services. Riding the bus not only is an
environmentally friendly commute, it also saves money for users and the university.
Anyone in the campus community can pick up a free bus sticker in the parking and
transportation offices. Bus route maps can be viewed at http://www.valleyride.org/.
Portion of Cesar Chavez Lane Closes for Improvements
A part of Cesar Chavez Lane in front of the Morrison Center is closing May 7 through August to allow for Boise Greenbelt and roadway improvements. Vehicular traffic will be detoured through the parking lot south of the Morrison Center, but Greenbelt pedestrian and bike traffic will be maintained through this area.
The work is a joint construction project with the City of Boise Parks and Recreation Department from the Education Building to the Capitol Boulevard Bridge. This project is being funded with ITD Federal Transportation grant monies, State of Idaho Permanent Building Funds and in-kind donations from the City of Boise. The scope of work includes the installation of a new 12-foot wide concrete sidewalk from the Education Building west to the bridge, the installation of new steps at the bridge, realignment of Cesar Chavez Lane at the Morrison Center and the reworking of the Greenbelt grades to allow for fully accessible ramps and below the bridge.
IDAHO PRESS CLUB
Update Wins First-Place Award from Idaho Press Club
The Office of Communications and Marketing won three awards at the Idaho Press
Club’s Best of 2007 Annual Awards.
Jeremy Speer and Bob Evancho took home first place in the internal newsletter category for Update, while Frank Zang and Drew Roberts received third place for their work on the "Destination Distinction" campaign brochure. Members of the writing and photo staff — Zang, Evancho, Speer, Kathleen Craven, Julie Hahn, Janelle Brown, John Kelly and Carrie Quinney — received third place for the public relations package that was distributed before the Fiesta Bowl.
The Idaho Press Club has more than 200 members and chapters throughout Idaho. The annual awards ceremony recognizes the best in Idaho journalism and media relations.
Boise State Radio News Team Garners Statewide Awards
Boise State Radio’s news team also took home several awards from the Idaho Press Club.
“These awards symbolize Boise State Radio’s ongoing journey to be the No. 1 source for in-depth radio news and information,” said news director Sadie Babits.
The news team of Samantha Wright, Babits, Don Wimberly, Krisi Packer and Adam Cotterell placed first in the General News Report category for its report on Sen. Larry Craig’s legal troubles titled “A Senator in Trouble.”
Additional awards include:
Public Affairs Program
First place, Babits, Boise State Radio — “The Power of the B-17”
Spot News Report
First place, Packer, NPR News 91/KBSX — “What Do You Think Boise?”
Second place, Wright, NPR News 91/KBSX — “Crash!” and “Space Rock”
Third place, Cotterell, NPR News 91/KBSX – “PETA Protest”
Serious Feature Report
First place, Wright and Packer, NPR News 91/KBSX — “Summer Feeding Program”
Light Feature Report
First place, Wright and Packer, NPR News 91/KBSX — “On the Road — Construction”
Second place, Cotterell, NPR News 91/KBSX — “Tamales Not Turkey”
Use of Sound
First place, Packer, NPR News 91/KBSX — “Corn Maize”
Third place, Babits, Boise State Radio — “On the Red Carpet”
MORRISON CENTER
Employee Discount Offered for Michael Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know?”
The
Morrison Center is offering Boise State faculty and staff a $5 discount
for tickets to Michael Feldman’s “Whad’Ya Know? at 8 p.m. May 23. Employees must
show a Boise State identification. The offer is only available at the Morrison
Center box office from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Michael Feldman's “Whad'Ya Know?” is live radio at its best. From humorous commentary on the news and current events, interviews with local notables and regular folks, to a lively general knowledge quiz featuring an unsuspecting audience member, Michael Feldman’s wit and insight delight. Jazz interludes with John Thulin and the “Whad’Ya Know?” Trio and banter with announcer Jim Packard round out the show. The show is produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and broadcast each week on 280 Public Radio International stations, reaching more than 1 million listeners. For additional show information visit: http://www.notmuch.com
OIT/Help Desk
OIT Announces Microsoft Office Home Use License
Boise State’s Microsoft Site License agreement has been finalized. As part of this agreement full-time faculty and staff, including adjunct professors, are eligible to obtain a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 (or Office Mac 2004/8) for home use. Microsoft makes this software available for $19.95, plus tax, to cover the costs of duplication, shipping and handling.
Check BroncoBytes for the full story
BOISE VALLEY ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP
Marketing Researcher Identifies Retention and Expansion Factors
Marketing research by Boise State professor Trina Sego for the Boise Valley Economic Partnership (BVEP) has indicated an overall optimism among large and small business owners, but growing concern for the quality of roads and interstate highways in the Treasure Valley.
Sego conducted the survey in November 2007 for BVEP, which is the regional economic development organization for the Boise metro area. The survey of local business owners and senior managers was conducted to measure which factors affect whether a local business will stay or expand in the Treasure Valley.
Her research identified the following factors that positively affect retention and expansion efforts:
- 87.6 percent cited “local economic growth over the last several years”
- 84.6 percent cited “quality of life”
- 82.6 percent cited “expectations about the future of local economic growth”
- 80 percent citied “local demand for the products/services that your company provides”
The following factors were identified by the largest number of respondents as factors that have a negative affect on their company’s retention and expansion plans:
- 38.8 percent cited “condition of local road system”
- 38.2 percent cited “condition of the interstate highway system”
- 37.4 percent cited “condition of the local public transportation system”
Model United Nations
Boise State Students Attend National Event
Sixteen Boise State students attended the national Model United Nations in New
York April 22-26. The students — Jun Hwang, Bryan Ricker, Ernest Dunlap, Hanako
Wakatsuki, Anjuli Waybright, Dustin Lane, Lauren Pfeifer, Josue Gomez, Alex Dorofeev,
Adam LaBarbera, Larina Crapo, Ruby Valdez, Geneva Roman, Rebecca Ames, Betsy Zenard
and Trevor Jack — participated in the world’s largest Model United Nations, sponsored
by the National Collegiate Conference Association.
The conference provides a forum for learning about the United Nations through role-playing including opening and closing sessions held in the U.N. General Assembly Hall.
The Boise State students, who represented the Kingdom of Jordan, also met with the Jordanian Ambassador to the United Nations, who discussed Jordan’s role in the United Nations and answered students’ questions.
Prior to the trip, the students completed a workshop on the United Nations with faculty adviser Garry Wenske, executive director of the Frank Church Institute. The Model U.N. Club has also been awarded this year’s “Outstanding Student Organization” award by ASBSU.
Kinesiology
Researchers Say Triathlon Time-Out Penalty May Not Deter Drafting
Geese long ago learned the benefit of flying in the wake, or draft, of another goose — thus the ubiquitous “V” formation seen in the skies each fall and spring. When triathlon bike racers employ the same tactic, it’s known as drafting and incurs a penalty. At the most elite levels of competition, the infraction earns a four-minute penalty — one minute added to the racer’s final time, and three minutes of forced rest between the bike and run legs.
This long-standing penalty is based on the assumption that the shortest transition from biking to running is the most beneficial to the athlete. That assumption, however, failed to stand up to scrutiny by two Boise State researchers. Kinesiology professor Werner Hoeger and former graduate student Michelle StanWiens found instead that athletes appeared to benefit from the rest and actually improved their performance in the subsequent run.
Special Topics Class
Education Scholar Donaldo Macedo to Teach Class
University of Massachusetts professor Donaldo Macedo will teach a special topics class July 21-25 in the Boise State Student Union Lookout Room. The class will be held from 5-8 p.m. each day.
Macedo is the graduate program director of the applied linguistics master of arts program at UMass and is a distinguished professor of liberal arts and education. Macedo worked extensively with Paulo Freire, one of the most influential educational thinkers of the 20th century.
He has published extensively in the areas of linguistics, critical literacy and bilingual and multicultural education. His publications include “Literacy: Reading the Word and the World,” “Literacies of Power: What Americans Are Not Allowed to Know,” “Dancing with Bigotry,” “Critical Education in the New Information Age,” “Chomsky on Miseducation” and “Ideology Matters,” among many others.
Music
Gene Harris Jazz Festival Extends Deadline for New Jazz Competition
The Boise State University Gene Harris Jazz Festival is extending the deadline for its new jazz competition to May 15.
In cooperation with Origin Records, the festival is offering new or unknown jazz combos a chance to be a hit at the Jazz in June concerts. Entries have been coming in from all around the country and beyond, including New York, Kansas, California and as far away as Russia.
Ensembles can submit performances of their original works — videos, DVDs, CDs, or YouTube videos — by May 15. The submissions will be judged by Michael Deeds of the Idaho Statesman, Dee Sarton of KTVB, John Bishop of Origin Records and Rob Walker, a trumpeter, composer/arranger and jazz educator.
Idaho Center for the Book
New Advisory Board Member from Northern Idaho
The Idaho Center for the Book, housed at the Hemingway Center at Boise State, will appoint Claire Davis to its advisory board.
Davis is a creative writing instructor at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston and a novelist. Her books include “Season of the Snake” and “Winter Range,” which received the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for Fiction and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Her work has appeared in the Pushcart Prize Anthology and the Best American Short Stories.
The Idaho Center for the Book was established to encourage and promote an interest in reading, writing, making, disseminating and collecting books. The ICB also seeks to preserve and publicize the bibliophilic heritage of the Gem State.
ICB publishes a semi-annual newsletter, as well as books and videos relating to Idaho and book history, book arts and related book topics. It sponsors, with the assistance of the Idaho Commission on the Arts, “Booker’s Dozen,” a biennial statewide traveling exhibition of books by 14 Idaho artists. The ICB also coordinates with, and supports the efforts of, a variety of state and national organizations that share Center interests and goals.
CRIME LOG
Weekly
Crime Log
Boise City Police and Campus Security present the weekly crime report.
