Morning News: Gas Exploration OK’d In 4 Idaho Counties, Avista Boosts Entrepreneurship Program, Retail Sales Drop

Gas exploration comes to Gem County – “Geophysical seismic survey in five area counties. A Louisiana-based company, Cajun Exploration, has won approval from the Gem County Commission to conduct geophysical operations on a small piece of property in the county. Other landowners have been contacted to do the same. “ Messenger-Index

New entrepreneurs get their power from Avista – ““One of the best strategies for pulling out of the longest, deepest recession of our time is to enable broad-based innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Roger Woodworth, vice president and chief strategy officer for Avista. “That’s why we’re partnering with SCC to extend their unique entrepreneurship program to other colleges throughout the region we serve.”” North Idaho Business Journal

Idaho workers allege unpaid overtime – “Rising numbers of Idaho workers are slapping employers with lawsuits that claim they were made to work overtime without being paid for it. The pace of such lawsuits has picked up nationally, too, in concert with recession-era job shedding. About 7,000 lawsuits were filed alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act in the year that ended in spring 2011, up from about 5,300 three years earlier. Lawsuits have more than doubled in the past 10 years.” Idaho Statesman

Retail Sales Dip For Third Straight Month, But Are Still Up From Year Earlier – “The bad news: Retail sales fell 0.5 percent in June from May, the Census Bureau says. It’s the third straight month that sales have been down from the month before.” NPR