BOULDER - Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder will develop and build an antenna system that will be used in an early warning system for nuclear detonations worldwide.

Ball Aerospace was selected as the prime contractor by Sandia National Laboratories to develop and build the phased array antenna system for the United States' Ground Nuclear Detection Terminal Integrated Correlation and Display System.

The amount of the contract was not disclosed.

The antenna system is part of the nation's early warning system to detect, locate and characterize ground-based nuclear detonations worldwide. The ICADS will relay multiple satellite signals to ground-based command and control sites. The Ball Aerospace antenna system also will be used on a transportable version of the system.

The phased array system will build on previous antenna programs Ball Aerospace has undertaken for Sandia.

Sandia is operated by Albuquerque, N.M.-based Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

DENVER- The Colorado Department of Transportation with support from the U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioner's Coalition is applying for a federal grant to help remedy traffic congestion along a stretch of U.S. 36 between I-25 and Foothills Parkway in Boulder.

The grant could bring up to $188 million in new federal funding to the corridor.

The proposal, dependent upon federal environmental clearance, would add a buffer-separated, multimodal express lane in each direction along the 18-mile stretch of U.S. 36 between I-25 and Boulder. Similar to existing I-25 express lanes, the new managed lanes would provide free access to buses, high occupancy vehicles, or HOVs, and motorcycles. Solo drivers would be charged a fluctuating fee depending upon traffic congestion. Higher tolls would be charged to solo drivers during rush hour and lesser amounts during off-peak hours in order to encourage drivers to carpool.

Designated access points would allow vehicles to merge to and from these express lanes safely and easily with consideration for community and business needs.

"This is once again another opportunity for the US 36 Corridor to jump start funding for vital transportation improvements along US 36," said Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk. "This is another collaborative effort on the part of the US 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition and partner agencies to manage congestion and provide further consumer choice."

Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally added, "If approved, grant funds would help achieve the long-term goal of providing those who live and work in the US 36 Corridor with multiple transportation options. The funds would be used to increase the capacity of US 36 by extending the high occupancy vehicle/ bus /toll lanes that currently terminate in Westminster. This proposal is clearly in sync with the current Administration's efforts to encourage projects that reduce congestion in major metropolitan areas."

LAFAYETTE - The city of Lafayette has struck a rent guarantee deal with the owner of the building at the corner of North Public and Baseline roads to ensure that the space continues to house a restaurant. As a result, Italian eatery Sweet Tomato is scheduled to open in the space later this month.

The red brick building, which is home to Mojo Coffeehouse and second-floor office space, has been leased to three failed Italian restaurants in the last 11 years. When the most recent tenant, 7 West, was seized by the state for unpaid taxes in September, a little over a year after it opened, building owner Axel Bishop of Bishop-Layton Holdings decided to convert the restaurant space into offices.

But the city wanted the first floor of the building, which serves as one of the gateways to downtown, to remain retail, Bishop said. Bishop and the city forged a guaranty of lease economic development agreement. Under the terms of the deal, during the three years after the Sweet Tomato lease is signed and approved by the city, the city will give Bishop a rent guarantee of $4,833 a month for six months if the restaurant fails and the space sits empty while he searches for a replacement tenant.

"I just wanted some assurance I wouldn't be stuck again if another restaurant leaves," Bishop said.

Lafayette Economic Development Director Bonnie Star said the city made the agreement with Bishop because "it was in our best interest to retain a more active user in this visible location," rather than an office tenant. Star said she couldn't speculate as to whether other owners of empty retail spaces in downtown Lafayette will ask for similar agreements, or whether the city would approve other rent guarantees. "Our economic incentives are determined on a case-by-case basis," she said.

Ironically, Sweet Tomato was one of the failed tenants Bishop is trying to guard against. The restaurant, which was located in Bishop's building from 1996 to 2003, closed because of a "relationship issue" between owners Eric and Annie Lee, Bishop said. Annie Lee went on to launch Pinocchio's restaurant in Longmont and Greeley, and is a "very professional restaurateur," said Bishop, who asked her to reopen Sweet Tomato because of requests from past customers.

Lee said the new incarnation of Sweet Tomato will be much the same as the previous one, serving moderately priced Italian fare. She expects the restaurant to open shortly before Christmas.

BOULDER - Sunflower Farmers Markets, the Boulder-based grocery chain founded and led by Wild Oats founder Mike Gilliland, has raised $30 million in equity financing.

La Jolla, Calif.-based private equity firm PCG Capital Partners made the investment in advance of a plan to double the number of Sunflower groceries in new and existing markets by 2009.

"Sunflower will launch new locations at a rate of up to eight stores per year, creating a company portfolio of 50 stores throughout the West within five years," officials said in a press release.  It plans to open its first Boulder location at The Village shopping center early next year.

Founded in 2002, Sunflower operates 13 stores in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. The company's format offers consumers a full-service farmers' market-style grocery store featuring natural and organic products at the lowest possible prices.

"There is tremendous demand for an alternative to the high price format that has predominated in natural foods for so many years," Gilliland said in a press release. "PCG Capital Partners' investment will enable us to make this differentiated retailing approach available to millions of consumers throughout the Western United States, including new markets in Utah and Texas."

BOULDER - BI Inc. in Boulder has developed new technology to include voice capabilities for its global positioning system tracking devices.

The ExacuTrack AT is an active tracking system for agencies monitoring community-based offenders. Its voice capabilities allows officers to call offenders on the GPS tracking unit from anywhere at anytime.

BI supports community corrections agencies with a national call center staffed by specialists who supervise offenders. BI has contracts with 1,000 governmental agencies nationwide.

APICS Northern Colorado chapter hosts a discussion, The Impact of Corporate Culture on Supply Chain Management, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at Foolish Craig's Café, 1611 Pear St. in Boulder. Supply Chain Manager from Germany, Mitchell Rodehaver, will discuss the various impacts corporate acquisition activities have on the supply chain. Admission is $25. Contact Nicole Gallego at 303-449-6444 ext. 1361 or visit stay.connected@apicsnoco.org for more information.

Fiske Planetarium hosts the Astronomical Star of Bethlehem, a presentation by amateur astronomer Gil Buller from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Dec. 20 and 27, on Regent Drive on the CU-Boulder campus. This program explores the sky at the time of Christ's birth to gauge which astronomical phenomenon may have been the Star of Bethlehem. Call 303-492-5002 for more information.