Ferndale Refinery Hits Upgrade Milestone

The Phillips 66 Co. Ferndale Refinery reached a major milestone in its $220 million upgrade project with the recent placement of a 560-ton converter.

The converter is the key component of the refinery’s new fluidized catalytic cracking unit, which will reduce emissions during the refining process and allow to refinery to increase the amount of products it makes from every barrel of crude oil it refines.

Fabricated in Europe, the converter was brought to Seattle via ship, then barged to Ferndale. Two large cranes, with load capacities of 1,100 tons and 500 tons, were used in the lifting process. It took seven weeks just to get the cranes assembled.

It will take approximately one year to install all the piping and instrumentation required to make the unit operational.

Lynden Supermarket Becomes Food Pavilion

Brown & Cole Stores is changing the name of The Fair Market in Lynden to Food Pavilion and Pharmacy, effective this month.

The Bellingham-based company operates many of its supermarkets under the Food Pavilion brand. It also runs some stores, including another one in Lynden, under the Cost Cutter Foods & Pharmacy brand.

The Food Pavilion in Lynden Towne Plaza has completed renovations, adding and expanding departments, including a new pharmacy headed by pharmacist Jim Weinert. The pharmacy is open seven days a week. The store’s new Tortilleria La Autentica, expected to open in late May, offers fresh, made-from-scratch tortillas.

The store, managed by Dave Rasmusson, also has expanded its seafood, produce, wine and floral and garden departments.

MB Design Wins International Awards

MB Design, a graphic-design firm based in Bellingham, recently won 19 design awards as judged by Creativity, Inc., an international design and advertising organization.

Nearly 600 design firms throughout the world submitted work for The 3rd Big Book of Logos, published by Creativity. It received more than 7,000 entries from 37 states and 20 countries. The book will be published early this summer.

“It’s extraordinary for a firm the size of MB Design to win 19 awards,” says David Carter, president and editor of Creativity. “We might expect this amount of quality output from a major agency in Los Angeles or New York. This is impressive.”

MB Design provides logo design and other services related to sales and marketing to businesses throughout the United States. For more information, call 733-1692 or visit www.mb-design.com.

Les Schwab Tires Opens Irongate Store

A Les Schwab Tire Center, owned by Bud Wallgren, opened March 1 at 3805 Irongate Road, Bellingham.

The store, located in a light-industrial sector of the city, specializes in commercial and industrial accounts and also services passengers cars and pickups. Fleet service can be performed at the store or at the location of business accounts. Four trucks are available to provide on-road service.

Business hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

This is Wallgren’s seventh Les Schwab store. The 10,000-square-foot building formerly was occupied by Whatcom Tire.

The staff of six is headed by manager Scott Davis and assistant manager Rob James.

For more information, call 752-0799.

Businesses Sought for Internship Program

Businesses are being sought to participate in a Northwest Indian College internship program for high school students.

NWIC, an accredited tribal college on the Lummi Reservation in Bellingham, again is presenting the EntrePrep program, which is sponsored by the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. After a review of applicants, 24 high school juniors were selected by NWIC to learn more about business development and ownership.

The college is seeking entrepreneurial businesses within a 60-mile radius of Bellingham that have five or more employees. Participating businesses will provide 150 hours of internship experience (paid or unpaid) over a six-month period, beginning in mid-July or later. The objective is to provide students with an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in the areas of accounting, marketing, customer service/development and general business operations.

For more information, businesses should contact Liz Christener at the NWIC Lummi Campus, (866) 676-2772, ext. 4268, or lchristener@nwic.edu by April 15.

Bikram’s Yoga College Opens in Bellingham

Troy and Karis McFadden have opened a Bellingham branch of Bikram’s Yoga College of India.

The Bikram Yoga studio opened March 15 in temporary quarters at 1213 Cornwall Ave., between Holly and Magnolia streets. It will move this summer to its permanent location at 1321 Railroad Ave. after renovations and remodeling are completed there.

Bikram Yoga also is known as “hot yoga” because it is performed in a heated studio (90-105 degrees) to promote detoxification and increase flexibility. Yoga beginners and advanced students are welcome.

The studio also offers massage therapy and other forms of bodywork, as well as a retail line of specialty yoga clothing, mats, books and supplements.

Class times are 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays, with additional 4 p.m. classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. classes Saturdays and Sundays. Each class lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Karis McFadden, the head instructor, attended Bikram Yoga training in Los Angeles several years ago and graduated at the top of her class. Husband Troy, the business manager and massage therapist, previously established a health retreat, The Sanctuary Spa and Wellness Center, on an island in Thailand.

For more information, call 671-YOGA (9642) or visit www.bikramyoga.com.

Brochure Features Art Events, Venues

The March-August 2002 “Live!” brochure, featuring a calendar of visual and performing arts events, is available from the Bellingham/Whatcom County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The biennial guide, produced by the CVB, is filled with concerts, musicals, plays, gallery openings and book readings. It also contains a list of local galleries, museums, theaters and venues for music, dance and literature.

The brochure is free and can be obtained at the CVB office at 904 Potter St. or its visitor centers at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal and Bellis Fair mall, all in Bellingham. For more information or a brochure, call 671-3990 or visit www.bellingham.org.

WPN Presentation Focuses on Marketing

A presentation on marketing by Silvana Clark will highlight the April 25 meeting in Bellingham of the Women’s Professional Network.

Clark will present more than 35 ways to motivate employees. Her topics include special interest awards, what motivates a staff, how to creative a positive work environment, how to create unified goals and ideas that increase productivity.

WPN breakfast meetings are scheduled from 7 to 9 a.m. the last Thursday of each month at Sapphire Cove. The cost for members is $12 but first-time guests with reservations made by April 19 receive a complimentary breakfast.

The WPN’s mission is to encourage educational and leadership training, strengthen business relationships, encourage mentoring and provide exposure to community issues and business trends. To make reservations or obtain more information, call 650-0426, send e-mail to wpn@mail.com or visit wpn.freeservers.com.

Cordata Center Gains Unique Resort Wear

Unique Resort Wear moved in December to Cordata Center in Bellingham.

Unique Resort Wear, owned by Al and Beona Oakley, began 20 years ago on the Hawaiian island of Maui and continues to operate a store in the Maui Marriott Hotel. A Whatcom County store was launched about eight years ago and operated at Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham and Peace Arch Factory Outlets in Custer before the move to Cordata Center, between the Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond stores.

Unique Resort Wear offers swimwear for men, women and children of all ages, plus cruisewear, sportswear, shoes and accessories for men and women. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 738-0300.

Royal Valet Picks Up, Delivers Laundry

Andrea Sabo has launched Royal Valet Cleaners, offering laundry and dry-cleaning services to businesses and residences.

Royal Valet Cleaners picks up and deliver items in Whatcom County twice each week.

For more information, call 734-1899.

Businesses Donate Red Cross Playhouses

Two Bellingham businesses, The Cascade Joinery and ANDA Construction, and students from Mount Baker High School combined to build playhouses for the Whatcom County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The playhouses were given away in drawings March 28 to highlight the chapter’s “Together … We Have Promises to Keep” campaign during the month. During the month, the playhouses were displayed in the Bon Marché wing of Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham. The Bon Marché, Bellis Fair and The Bellingham Herald were sponsors of the playhouse drawings.

The Cascade Joinery donated a teahouse, the second year it has contributed a playhouse to the Red Cross.

A firehouse playhouse was built with materials donated by ANDA Construction, owned by Len Andrews, and labor provided by students in the Mount Baker High School construction program. Students worked on the playhouse as a community-service project and received support from local firefighters, who donated some of the playhouse décor. The red firehouse has a loft, a ladder, a garage area and a pegboard for “tools.” Mount Baker students also built a playhouse for the Red Cross last year.

Roundtables Planned for Service Businesses

Roundtable discussions for service-based businesses will be offered later this month by the BusinessLINC Roundtable program, implemented by Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center.

One series of roundtables will be aimed toward service-based businesses that deal directly with the end consumer. This series, starting April 23, will be facilitated by Alice Rowe, a local trainer, educator, speaker and author. Owners of these businesses may want more information about hiring, training and keeping good employees, productivity, insurance options, cost control and marketing.

A second roundtable series, geared toward business-to-business service providers, begins April 25. It will be professionally facilitated by Pat Foley of the Moss Adams LLP office in Bellingham.

BusinessLINC roundtables are offered to local business owners and managers as a source of expert information on specific topics, as well as a means of gaining from the experience of others in similar business situations. Each roundtable will be limited to 12 participants and is offered at no cost to business owners and managers.

For more information or to request a roundtable application form, contact Kate Clark at the SBDC, 733-4014, or send e-mail to Kate.Clark@wwu.edu. Applications may be downloaded from the SBDC Web site, www.dbe.wwu.edu/sbdc. Applications returned by mail should be sent by April 8.

The SBDC is a nonprofit organization that offers free confidential counseling, conferences and seminars for small businesses.

Bombadil’s Garden Bakery & Book Opens Downtown

Vegetarian and Celtic cuisine, live music, used books, jewelry are being offered by Bombadil’s Garden Bakery & Book, opened Jan. 7 in downtown Bellingham by Peggy and Russell Boggs. The couple sold organic grain breads and cakes at farmers markets around the state since 1995 before launching this business.

Bombadil’s is located at 1309 Cornwall in a space formerly occupied by the Cookie Café, between Holly and Magnolia streets. Peggy Boggs and two sons, Ryan and Derrick Ott, prepare all-organic and chemical-free dishes that emphasize local products whenever possible. Soups, salads, pasties (pastries filled with meat and vegetables) and lasagna are among the menu choices. Also, Bombadil’s offers “incredible desserts,” Boggs says, including rhubarb custard pie and an Irish whiskey cake that she describes as gluten-free and made with chocolate, nuts and raisins.

The business also has about 6,000 used books, crystal balls, mineral specimens and customized jewelry for sale.

Business hours are 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (when live Celtic, blues and acoustic guitar music is offered) and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 671-3548.

CVB Producing Show, Travel Coupon Book

A travel show and a travel discount coupon book are being produced by the Bellingham/Whatcom County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Great Northwest Travel Show will be presented from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 27 at Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham. More than 35,000 people each day visit Bellis Fair, which is a co-sponsor of the show. The show is open to any tourism-related business, destination or attraction throughout Washington and British Columbia. For more information, call the CVB at 671-3990 or send e-mail to tourism@bellingham.org.

Only businesses in Whatcom County are eligible to offer discount coupons in the booklet, which will be promoted through an advertising campaign in Seattle and British Columbia. Offers will be valid from May 27 through Feb. 28, 2003, unless otherwise specified.

The cost of $149 includes design, typesetting, printing and distribution of up to 5,000 coupon books, resulting in a rate of less than 3 cents a copy. The deadline for space reservation in the coupon book is April 19. For more information, contact Christine Root at the CVB, 671-3990 or christine@bellingham.org.

Sound Eco Systems Purchased by Rose

Sound Eco Systems in operating in Bellingham’s Haskell Business Park after being purchased late last year by Stefan and Lella Rose.

The company provides products and consulting services to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants in Washington, Oregon, California and Western Canada. Its primary product stimulates bacteria growth that enhances the treatment of biosolids. Sound Eco Systems is close to distributing a new product for owners of septic tanks in boats and recreation vehicles that will break down material and minimize odors.

Founded in 1990, Sound Eco Systems operated in Anacortes before Rose moved it to Bellingham in November. It has five employees.

Rose founded Layfield Plastics, which operated a plant in Bellingham, in 1995 and sold that company in 1999.

For more information about Sound Eco Systems, call 676-0822.

Technology Group Links with Statewide Association

The Bellingham/Whatcom County Technology Alliance Group (TAG) has become the fifth chapter of WSA (formerly Washington Software Alliance), the state’s oldest and largest technology trade association.

The local chapter’s official name now is TAG, the NW Washington Chapter of the WSA.

WSA, based in Seattle, supports software, Internet and technology-based businesses statewide. It offers affordable business resources such as insurance programs, educational and networking opportunities and leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the industry. Founded in 1984, it has more than 1,600 business members representing 100,000 individuals.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better partner,” says John Gargett, president of TAG. “We’ve spent the last three years growing and marketing our group in the Bellingham/Whatcom County area but needed an organization like the WSA to take us to the next level. The programs and services they’ve developed will go a long way in supporting our local tech industry, which continues to expand.”

“Expanding our presence outside the Puget Sound region has been a priority for the WSA since our inception 18 years ago,” states Kathy Wilcox, president and chief executive officer of WSA. “Innovation in technology is happening all over this state and these companies need the valuable resources the WSA provides to stay competitive and expand their business.”

A reception to mark the partnership will be conducted from 5 to 7 p.m. April 11 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven.

For more information about TAG, call Gargett at 920-5645 or visit www.bwtag.net. For more information about WSA, visit www.wsa.org.

Harris Launches Mad Monkey Media

Ken Harris II opened Mad Monkey Media: Advertising, Design and Creative Services at the start of this year.

Harris is an award-winning graphic designer and illustrator with more than 12 years of experience in the design and production processes of graphic design. He says Mad Monkey Media specializes in helping clients reach customers more effectively through visual communication. Its services can be used in logo and identity work, brochures, newsletters, advertising and packaging.

For more information, call 671-1897 or visit www.madmonkeymedia.net.

Restaurants Join “Dine Out” Fundraiser

More than 20 Bellingham restaurants will donates a percentage of their sales May 1 during the second annual “Dine Out” fundraiser to help feed homeless and disabled people locally.

“Dine Out” will benefit Maple Alley Inn, an Opportunity Council program in Bellingham that prepares hot, nutritious meals for homeless, elderly, working poor and mentally ill people. The Maple Alley Inn, with the help of 25 volunteers, serves more than 11,000 meals last year.

In addition to all of last year’s restaurants participating again, six more businesses have joined the event. “Dine Out” restaurants include Bit of New Orleans Café, Busara, Café Akroteri, The Calumet, Cascade Pizza, China Gourmet, D’Anna’s Café Italiano, Dos Padres, The Fairhaven Pub and Martini Bar, Gloria’s Mexican Restaurants, Hizzoner’s, La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza, Lucci’s Bayshore Pizzeria, Orchard Street Brewery, Oriento Grill & B.B.Q., Pastazza, Pepper Sisters, Stanello’s Italian Restaurant, Stuart Anderson’s Black Angus Restaurant, Taco Lobo, TJ’s Place and Wild Garlic.

Sponsors include radio station KGMI, Haggen, Cost Cutter, Group Health Cooperative, Bellingham Cold Storage and Whatcom Educational Credit Union.

The Opportunity Council is a nonprofit, community-action agency serving Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties. For more information, call 734-5121 or visit www.oppco.org.

Barkley Village Gains Wavelengths Salon

Wavelengths Salon, owned by Rochelle and Richard Klinnert, opened March 9 in Bellingham’s Barkley Village.

The salon at 2925 Newmarket St., suite 104, contains five hair stations and two nail stations. Rochelle Klinnert heads an experienced staff of four hair stylists, all with at least 10 years of experience, and two nail technicians, each with a minimum of seven years experience.

Wavelengths Salon offers haircuts for men, women and children, plus hair treatments that include foils, perms, color corrections and waxings. Nail technicians provide manicures, pedicures and full sets of nails.

Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except for a 9 p.m. closing Fridays. Other evening times are available by appointment. For more information, call 734-1511.

Local Funeral Homes Changing Names

A local company specializing in funeral and burial services has changed its name and that of two of its funeral homes.

The company formerly known as Whatcom Memorial, Inc., has become Moles Family Services. John W. Moles purchased it at the end of 2000 from his father, Robert M. Moles. Previously, it was owned by his grandfather, Robert L. Moles, and his great-grandfather, John H. Moles.

Moles Funeral Home in Ferndale now is Ferndale/Moles Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Established in 1890, it has been in the Moles family for four generations.

Greenacres Funeral Home and Memorial Park, located at the intersection of Northwest and West Smith roads, has been renamed Greenacres/Moles Funeral Home and Memorial Park. It is the only facility in Whatcom County that offers a funeral home, cemetery and on-site crematory.

Moles Family Services also includes Jones/Moles Funeral Home and Cremation Service, adjacent to Bayview Cemetery in Bellingham, and Whatcom Cremation and Burial.

Walkers Carpet One Sponsors Literacy Tour

Walkers Carpet One of Bellingham sponsored two stops at local schools of a national literacy program.

The Carpet One Magic Carpet Time Tour made hour-long presentations March 7 at Roosevelt and Lowell elementary schools, both in Bellingham. The events, developed for children in pre-kindergarten through second-grade classes, combined storytelling, humor and education-based theater. Each child in the audiences received an age-appropriate Disney book.

Copy Source Expands Offset Printing Division

Copy Source in Bellingham has expanded its offset printing division by purchasing the assets of Perfect Printing and City Press & Graphics, also in Bellingham.

The additional equipment enables Copy Source to handle offset printing jobs at its location at 1122 N. State St., according to owner and operator Nadeem Israr. Previously, Copy Source, founded in 1990, sent some offset jobs to other sites and subcontracted others. The business now can produce better quality in less time and at a lower cost, Israr says.

For more information, call 738-1280 or visit www.copysource.com.

Club’s Program Focuses On Downtown Success

The revitalization of downtown Tacoma will be discussed at the April 24 meeting of the City Club of Bellingham.

David G. Allen, founding director of the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, will address members and guests and answer questions. From 1987 to 1997, the Executive Council initiated several urban projects in Tacoma’s central business district. Allen credits the leadership of people from all walks of life and believes Tacoma’s success can be duplicated elsewhere.

“Tacoma in the 1990s was the unexpected story of a city getting its act together, casting aside clichés of confrontation and deadlock, not buying the notion that every great undertaking must be cooked in a stew of controversy,” Allen says.

The public is welcome to attend the meeting, scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Northwood Hall, 3240 Northwest Ave. A luncheon buffet is available for $9.50. Reservations aren’t necessary. For more information, about this program or City Club, call Chase Van Gorder, 671-7900, or visit www.cityclubonline.com.

The City Club of Bellingham promotes informed discussion of issues important to Bellingham and Whatcom County. Membership is open to the public and guests are welcome at its monthly luncheon meetings.

Scrivanich Natural Stone Moves

Scrivanich Natural Stone moved its Bellingham store late last year to 4107 Strider Loop.

The new location at the East Bakerview Road intersection, a block west of Hannegan Road, is larger than the previous site. Scrivanich, which also has a store in Woodinville, now carries bulk sand and gravel and landscape stones as well as natural stones for countertops and other uses. Rob Cloquet is the Bellingham store manager.

For more information, call 715-0274 or visit www.scrivanich.com.

Granmapa Creations, Wal-Mart Help Hospital

Granmapa Creations, owned by Tina Miller of Lynden, and the Bellingham Wal-Mart store have joined forces to raise funds for Children’s Hospital in Seattle.

Miller produces the 24-page Grandma’s Coupon Book, developed to create closer bonds between grandchildren and grandparents. Profits from sales of the books at Wal-Mart, 4420 Guide Meridian, will be given to Children’s Hospital.

For more information, call Miller, (800) 558-3970 or visit www.granmapacreations.com.

Homax Products Honored by Retailer

Homax Products of Bellingham has received the Partner of the Year Award for 2001 from national retailer Sherwin Williams.

Sherwin Williams added a new Homax product, Popcorn Ceiling Patch, and Homax’s Easy Touch Spray Texture, to its shelves in the last quarter of 2001, leading to an increase of Homax sales at the stores of 21 percent over the prior year.

Homax Products, a privately held company in business since 1982, offers more than 200 products for do-it-yourselfers and small contractors worldwide. The Bellingham plant, with approximately 70 employees, is located at 840 W. Horton Road. For more information, visit www.homaxproducts.com.

Brown & Cole Stores Assist Food Banks

Whatcom County customers of Brown & Cole Stores donated $1,400 in the Food For All campaign.

Proceeds of the program, part of the Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger, benefited food banks in the county, as well as hunger programs throughout the United States and abroad.

Bellingham-based Brown & Cole Stores owns five Cost Cutter stores in the county, plus Food Pavilion (formerly The Fair Market) in Lynden and Everson Red Apple. The company’s 35 stores in Washington, Oregon and Montana raised more than $17,000 for Food For All, a drive that followed donations of more than $31,000 to local American Red Cross chapters from customers and employees following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

La Fiamma Places High in Pizza Competition

A pizza created by La Fiamma Wood-Fire Pizza in Bellingham placed second in the Pizza of the Year competition conducted during the International Pizza Expo in February.

La Fiamma owner Dan Bothman entered the restaurant’s Moo Shoo Pork Pizza. It features Chinese roast pork, bamboo shoots and fresh bean sprouts, plus other ingredients. The entry won the competition’s exotic pizza category to qualify for the award finals in Las Vegas, Nev., with six other pizzas from throughout the country.

“We try to make all of our pizzas a little different and try to incorporate foods from different cuisines,” Bothman says. “We like to make things a little more interesting.”

The competition, sponsored by Pizza Today magazine and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, drew more than 100 entries.

La Fiamma Wood-Fire Pizza is located at 200 E. Chesnut Street, on the corner of the Railroad Avenue intersection. For more information, call La Fiamma, 647-0060.

JCPenney Program Helps Boys & Girls Club

The Boys & Girls Club of Whatcom County recently received $10,000 from the JCPenney Afterschool program to implement Project Learn, a comprehensive educational strategy with proven results.

The idea is to integrate learning into every program offered at the Boys & Girls Club, helping youngsters find academic success they can share with friends and family. Project Learn provides opportunities for the entire club staff to work together in supporting the education goals of young people.

JCPenney operates a store in Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham. For more information about JCPenney Afterschool and an online education newsletter with tips for parents, visit www.bgca.org or www.jcpenney.com/afterschool.

Passage of WTA Issue
Increases Sales Tax

Whatcom County voters approved on March 12 a funding measure for the Whatcom Transportation Authority.

The measure, which will enable WTA to maintain its current level of bus services, will increase local sales taxes by 0.3 percent to 8.2 percent on Jan. 1.

Telecommunication Firm Expands

Westel Consulting Services recently announced the opening in January 2001 of its Bellingham office.

Westel offers telecommunications solutions through its partnerships with leading companies such as AT&T, Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks. It started in March 1997 in Snohomish as a telecommunication consulting company, providing services and products for commercial, education and government clients. President Jan Schroeder says one of its specialties is providing high-speed Internet digital access for hotels and motels.

The Bellingham office, located in Cornwall Plaza at 1201 Cornwall St., Suite 201, has six employees. For more information, call 733-6062.

State Farm Offers Banking Services

State Farm Bank, a subsidiary of the State Farm insurance company, began early this year offering banking products through its agents in Washington.

State Farm Bank was formed in 1998 but its services became available in Washington only this year. The bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, car loans and leases, mortgages, a credit card and an automated-teller-machine card.

State Farm says 251 of its agents in the state are certified to offer banking products by providing information and answering questions. The number of agents certified in Whatcom County wasn’t available. Customers may conduct transactions by mail, telephone and the Internet.

Safeway Opening Lynden Supermarket

A 58,000-square-foot Safeway supermarket is opening April 10 at the intersection of the Guide Meridian and Birch Bay-Lynden Road in Lynden.

The store’s features include a Peoples Bank branch and a pharmacy. Safeway bought the assets of Brink’s Pharmacy in Lynden and will employ its owner and pharmacist, Wayne Brink.

A Safeway gasoline station in front of the supermarket is expected to open in May or June. It will be manned from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and offer 24-hour access to customers with debit or credit cards.

Derry Blankers, a Lynden native who worked at a Safeway store in the city before it closed in the 1980s, is the store manager.

G-P Donates Computers to Mother Baby Center

Georgia-Pacific West has donated seven complete computer workstations and a server to the Mother Baby Center in Bellingham.

The Mother Baby Center is a local, nonprofit organization providing knowledge, support and skills to pregnant women, newborns and new families during the transition into parenting. Its offices are at 2183 Alpine Way. For more information, call 647-1544.

Alvord-Richardson Construction Moving

Alvord Richardson Construction Co., Inc., will move this summer into a new building at 2700 Meridian St., the former Bellingham site of Barter’s Restaurant.

The 4,000-square-foot building, being constructed by Alvord-Richardson, will be called Barter’s Center. It will have two or three spaces available for office or retail tenants. Occupants will have a shared parking lot with Northwest Denture Center, which also has a building under construction.

Kum Yuska and Jeff Alvord are owners of Alvord-Richardson, which has been located for the past 38 years at 1414 Broadway, Bellingham.

Silhouettes Salon Helps Opportunity Council

Silhouettes Salon in Bellingham raised $1,722 for the Opportunity Council during its fourth-annual Labor of Love event on Feb. 24.

During Labor of Love, clients donated $25 per ticket to receive beauty treatments and salon products from the staff of Silhouettes while enjoying champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Staff members donated their time and all proceeds went to benefit the Opportunity Council’s homeless housing programs. Also, 26 local businesses donated raffle prizes and food for the event. Raffle tickets for donated prizes also helped raise money.

The Opportunity Council is a private, nonprofit community-action agency serving Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties.

Delta Stops Paying Travel Agents

Delta Air Lines announced March 14 that, effective immediately, it would no longer pay base commissions to travel agents for tickets sold in the United States and Canada.

In response, the American Society of Travel Agents advised members to stop handling refunds and cancellations for Delta, the country’s third-largest carrier by revenue passenger miles

It wasn’t known by late March whether other airlines, including No. 1 American Airlines and No. 2 United Airlines, would follow Delta’s lead.

Travel agencies sell about 80 percent of airline tickets, according to ASTA. But airlines increasingly have been steering consumers to their Web sites and more consumers are using travel Web sites such as Orbitz, owned by a group of carriers, Priceline and Expedia.

Airlines also have been cutting back commissions for travel agents since 1995. In October 1999, most airlines dropped commissions to 5 percent and capped commissions on international tickets at $100 apiece. Last August, they capped commissions for domestic tickets at $20 apiece. Many travel agencies responded by charging transaction fees to consumers who book through them.

In announcing the elimination of base commissions, Delta cited its loss of $486 million for the fourth quarter of 2001 and a loss of $1 billion for the year.

“I couldn’t care less about Delta, American or United because they couldn’t care less about me,” says Frank Zurline, owner of Bellingham Travel & Cruise Service. “They’re selling seats so low they can’t make any money.”

Zurline notes that airlines received large relief payments from the federal government after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (Delta received $392 million last year) but travel agencies weren’t given anything. Travel agencies still are suffering from less passenger traffic because of those attacks and last year’s decline in the stock market, he adds.

Forum Scheduled on ‘Living’ Economies

The first in a series of public forums on “local living economies”— including the requirements for and benefits to local businesses — is scheduled April 9 at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Ave.

The forum is being presented by Sustainable Connections, a membership network of community-focused businesses, farms and citizens in northwest Washington. Its goal is to increase prosperity while strengthening community and maintaining a healthy environment.

Speakers will be Judy Wicks, a business owner and co-chair of the National Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, and David Korten, author of When Corporations Rules the World. A period for questions and discussion will follow.

Coffee will be available in the meeting room at 6:30 p.m. The program is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. The admission cost is $5 for members and students and $15 for others.

For more information, contact Rick Dubrow, owner of A-1 Builders in Bellingham and a members of the Sustainable Conections leadership team, at 734-5249, or visit www.SustainableConnections.com.

WWU Event Features Mariners CEO

Howard Lincoln, chairman and chief executive officer of the Seattle Mariners, will speak April 22 at the fifth-annual Seattle Business Forum luncheon.

The event, co-sponsored by the Western Washington University Foundation and Moss Adams LLP, will be presented at the Westin Hotel.

Lincoln became the team’s chairman and CEO in 1999 and watched the Mariners tie an American League record with 116 wins last season. It also was the most profitable team in baseball, netting $14.8 million, just five years after losing $13.2 million in a year.

Invididual reservations for the luncheon cost $35 and table sponsorships range from $500 to $1,500. For information, reservations and disability accommodations, contact Western’s special events office at 650-6825 or special.events@wwu.edu. Information also is available at the foundation’s Web site, www.wwu.edu/`foundatn/sbf.

Lakeview Products Adds Warehouse Space

Lakeview Products N.W., a Bellingham-based wholesale distributor for outdoor power-equipment dealers throughout the Pacific Northwest, has expanded its warehouse space.

The company moved to its Carolina Street facility two years ago, leasing 2,000 square feet, after expanding its product lines. The company recently leased 600 more square feet at the same location.

Lakeview Products N.W. serves 300 retailers, primarily lawn mower and hardware stores, in the Pacific Northwest.

“As we begin our 10th year in business, we see a very good rate of growth and a productive future for our business in 2002 and beyond,” says Pat Verd, company president.

Firm Keeps Contract to Publish Tourist Guide

Washington state’s Business and Tourism Development unit has retained Visitors Guide Publications of Bellingham to publish the 2003 edition of Experience Washington, the state’s official travel publication.

Visitors Guide Publications also published 250,000 copies of this year’s 150-page edition, which is distributed to potential in-state, national and international visitors.

“Visitors Guide Publications undertook a tremendous challenge to totally redesign and rewrite our official state travel publication for 2002,” says Peter McMillin, managing director of Business and Tourism Development. “Their professional approach and creativity have resulted in a product that is an essential asset to our ongoing marketing efforts.”

The state pays only for distribution costs of the publication. Visitors Guide Publications retains proceeds from the advertisements it sells.

Free copies of the 2002 edition of Experience Washington are available at most Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce and visitor information centers throughout the state or by calling the Washington State Tourism distribution center, (360) 725-5052. It also can be ordered or downloaded online at www.experiencewashington.com.

Visitors Guide Publications, with corporate offices in Bellingham, is in its 15th year of business. It also produces regional visitors guides for Bellingham/Whatcom County, Snohomish County, Grays Harbor County, Kitsap County and the north Olympic Peninsula. For more information about the company, call 676-8625, ext. 101, or visit www.visitorsguide.com.