Fledgling air service grounded
Western Air, a charter service based in Bellingham, was forced to fold up its wings, at least temporarily, only two weeks after beginning service.
Western began flights to Mesa, Ariz., and Ontario and San Diego, Calif., Jan. 18, but stopped service after a cash flow problem caused Western to be in arrears to its major vendors, including Xtra Airways, which operates the aircraft. Western says a credit card glitch caused the cash flow problem.
While flights are currently suspended, Western is hopeful it can iron out its financial difficulties and resume flights in the near future.
If it can get back in the air, the air service will continue its quest for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration as a full-fledged airline.
Western Air co-founder Curt Tronsdal resigned as CEO Feb. 22. President and co-founder Jerry Welch will assume the role of CEO.

DBC receives state safety award
Diamond B Constructors was selected by the Evergreen Safety Council as the private sector recipient of the 2007 Governor John D. Spellman Safety Award. The award was presented by Governor Spellman at the Evergreen Safety Council’s annual meeting in January.
DBC was selected to receive this award based on its 2006 Safety Performance that included completion of over 2 million man hours and six years without a lost workday accident, a Washington state workers’ compensation experience factor of 0.53 and an OSHA Recordable Incidence rate of 1.77 (75 percent below the industry average of 7.3). The awards committee also noted that DBC’s fabrication plants have worked more than three years with zero injuries.
Accepting the award was DBC Corporate Safety Director Paul Herbold, who gave credit for DBC’s excellent safety performance to “top-quality employees and supervisors, and strong management support and encouragement.”
DBC is a Bellingham-based mechanical contractor specializing in petrochemical and power generation plants, commercial and municipal buildings and hospitals. DBC employs up to 350 people and currently has major projects underway in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

WWU helps small businesses
The Western Washington University College of Business and Economics’ Small Business Development Center (SBDC) assisted local businesses in saving or creating 510 jobs and helped clients obtain more than $27 million in loans and new investments in 2006.
Many of the owners and managers of businesses who took advantage of the free and low-cost technical assistance available through the SBDC were appreciative.
“I am so thankful that I contacted the SBDC. My company was losing money, employees were quitting, and the banks were losing patience – I was lost,” said Don Hale, owner of Industrial Supply Inc. “With the guidance of Tom Dorr and the SBDC staff, we have tripled sales, saved and even added jobs, and increased our sales volume consistently over the past five years.”
In 2006, the SBDC grew from three to five certified business advisers and counseled 376 clients, including clients seen through its eight satellite offices throughout Whatcom County. The SBDC staff provided more than 3,300 hours of in-depth counseling and research – approximately nine hours per client.
Last year, the SBDC outreach impacted more than 5,000 businesses with counseling, roundtables, seminars and information transfers, including the annual Whatcom Business Conference.

2006 record year for tourism
2006 was a year of success for Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism.
The organization reports that its efforts in 2006 resulted in $7.34 million in visitor spending and media exposure through conventions, groups and visitors attracted and served.
“I am pleased with the efforts of this organization to bring visitors to town,” stated John Cooper, president and CEO of the organization. “Tourism is an important part of the economy and culture of our region.”
Tourism is a $396 million industry for Whatcom County, creating 6,650 jobs for its residents. The county ranks fifth in the state in terms of visitor spending.

Hexcel reports 2006 fourth quarter, year-end results
Hexcel Corp. reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2006. Net sales for the quarter were $299.2 million, 7.5 percent higher than the $278.2 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2005. Operating income for the fourth quarter was $19.1 million compared with $25.4 million for the same quarter last year. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2006 includes $9.3 million of business consolidation and restructuring expenses and $1.1 million of transaction costs associated with Hexcel’s divestiture activities. Net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $18.8 million, or $0.20 per diluted common share compared with $136.2 million or $1.44 per diluted common share in 2005.
For the full year of 2006, net sales were $1,193.1 million as compared with $1,139.5 million in 2005, an increase of 4.7 percent. Operating income of $106.4 million in 2006 was $4.5 million higher than the $101.9 million reported in 2005. Net income from continuing operations was $65.0 million for 2006 or $0.68 per diluted common share compared with $139.8 million or $1.49 per diluted common share in 2005.
Hexcel has a plant located in Burlington.

Location, space makes difference for local retailer
After just one year at its new Bellingham location on Cordata, east of Meridian, Launching Success Learning Store is finding that larger display space and proximity to a major retail neighborhood helps boost sales. The store celebrated its first year in the new location on Valentine’s Day, and reported a 31 percent annual sales increase over the previous year.
Biggest growth months for the store were during the back-to-school period from August through October, which increased 40 percent from the same period in 2005. December retail figures were 46 percent higher than register totals at the store’s old Northwest Avenue location just before the move last year.
“Customers say we are right on the way for their errand destinations,” store co-owner Dan Sanford said. “They also like the fact that so many products such as classroom decorations, can be seen more easily now that they are spread out over a larger floor area.”
Launching Success was started in 2003 by a group of retired schoolteachers. In 2005 it was named one of the top three best small companies by the Bellingham Whatcom Chamber of Commerce.

Camano Marine offers kayak tours
Camano Marine now offers Hobie Peddle Kayak guided tours and rentals. The tours will be limited to no more than five people per tour for a very up close and personal experience.
Camano Marine will be offering four specialty tours beginning in March: A Naturalist Tour in which marine plants and animals will be the focus; an Historical Tour where you will lean about the tragedies and triumphs of our community; a Sunset Tour; and a Birding Tour that will focus on the thousands of local Snow Geese and other birds of prey.
Each tour will be guided by an experienced professional and will last 1 to 1- 1/2 hours. Tours and rentals also include paddles, life vests and safety equipment.

La Tene Tile releases Flash site
La Tene Tile of Bellingham launched its new Flash Web site on Jan. 1. Designed by Matt McDaniel with Awaken Creative Group, the new Web site reflects La Tene Tile’s design paradigm of refined elegance.
“We’ve entered the new age of Web design. The ability to educate and energize the clientele is limited only by the imagination,” said Amanda Timmins, owner and principal artist at La Tene.
In the dealer section of the site, there are pictures of La Tene’s display boards, various PDF forms, care and installation instructions, and the first video, a brief installation tutorial.


Multop Financial recognized by Goldline Research
Goldline Research selected Multop Financial as “One of the Top 10 Most Dependable Wealth Managers of the West.”
Founder of Multop Financial, Phillip Multop, heads the Pacific Northwest firm with 10 employees and 750 clients.
“What sets us apart is our ability to integrate high-level tax planning with innovative portfolio strategies,” says Multop.
Multop Financial has experience in several financial areas, such as: tax preparation and planning for estates, trusts, corporations, partnerships, individuals, real estate, small business structuring for tax savings, investment and retirement programs, financial portfolio analysis, fixed and equity asset analysis, buying techniques and more.

Nonexpiring IDs for seniors
Bellingham notary Laura Vestanen spearheaded a movement to get state ID cards for seniors that will last them their lifetimes.
When seniors become homebound, it is very hard for them to renew their ID cards. Possessing only expired ID means they cannot make changes to their wills, powers of attorney, and many other legal documents because their signatures cannot be notarized.
“It is heartbreaking to be unable to notarize for seniors just because the signer is medically unable to travel to the licensing office to get an ID card,” Vestanen said.
Current state ID cards expire five years after date of issue, the same as driver’s licenses. When seniors stop driving, they rarely think to keep their ID cards current and some seniors become frail, which makes it difficult for them to travel to get a new ID card.

MLS brokers report $35.4 billion in home sales
Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service fell short of matching the 2005 record for number of transactions in a calendar a year, but the dollar volume of sales they reported during 2006 was about 5 percent higher than the previous year.
In its year-end summary report, Northwest MLS, which serves 19 counties covering about 80 percent of the state’s population, logged more than 96,000 closed sales during 2006. Those transactions, which included sales of single-family homes and condominiums, totaled more than $35.4 billion.
Last year’s volume, measured by number of units, amounted to a drop of approximately 6.7 percent from 2005.

Peoples Bank launches new Web site
Peoples Bank redesigned its Web site and launched the new site for the public in January.
This is the first major update to the Web site since it was first launched in 2000, and reflects the bank’s current advertising, marketing and brand identity in a more consistent fashion.
Baron and Company of Bellingham was hired to conduct the redesign, which features a custom Content Management System (CMS) that will allow the bank to make changes to the site and update content without knowledge of HTML or programming.
This should allow the bank to keep site content fresh and to expand online resources so that the Web site will be increasingly useful to customers and prospects.

Crocs invade Oak Harbor
There’s a new shoe in town and it’s Crocs. Kim Welch, owner of Hair Happenings in Oak Harbor is a new authorized dealer offering three styles of the popular Crocs shoes to choose from. The lightweight shoes have non-marking soles, are slip resistant and come in several colors.

Alpha Energy is Energy Star partner
Alpha Energy announced it is now an Energy Star partner, helping companies maximize savings in energy and operating costs while earning the Energy Star label for buildings. Energy Star is the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) national symbol for superior energy performance.
“Becoming an Energy Star partner helps us communicate our commitment to developing financially and economically sound powering solutions,” said Matt Donnelly, vice president of Alpha Energy.

City ready to issue Cordata building permits
City of Bellingham officials lifted a building permit moratorium within the Cordata Planned Unit Development (PUD) area Jan. 16 and prepared to issue 66 permits, after receiving payment from Trillium Corp. for its share of road construction.
Last fall, city officials imposed the moratorium after confirming that 3.25 million square feet of construction had occurred in the Cordata PUD, which prompted a condition in the zoning requiring a moratorium on building permits until an agreement was reached on further road construction. The agreement entered into with Trillium outlines the construction and financing for four roads (Eliza, Stuart, June and Thomas/Horton). The Cordata zoning condition required that the city and Trillium determine their proportionate share of the costs of these roads, which was accomplished using traffic-study data. The dollar amounts in the agreement reflect the proportionate shares of the cost estimates for each road.
The city received a check in the amount of $961,975, allowing Planning and Community Development Director Tim Stewart to lift the building permit moratorium and direct staff to start issuing completed permits. D.R. Horton, a major property owner and developer in Cordata, will pick up 36 permits for single, duplex and triplex residential projects and another 30 permits are ready for issuance. Permits for the new Community Food Co-op are still under review.
“By allowing property owners to file for their building permits and conduct our staff review during the moratorium, we now have 66 permits ready to issue,” said Stewart. “We are pleased that the agreement was reached in a timely manner allowing construction to commence and homebuyers to get back on track.”

Web site launches for Garys’ Men’s and Women’s Wear
Baron & Company, announced the launch of a new Web site for Garys’, Bellingham’s premier clothing store. The new site showcases Garys’ offerings to local and national consumers, and provides customers with contact information.
“With the growth in online technology, many consumers are now researching their shopping options online,” said Gabe Rodriguez, account manager for Baron & Company.
Garys’ newly developed Web site currently lists the labels customers can find for both men and women and displays its downtown Bellingham location.

Union membership continues a decade-long decline
The gap between union members in government compared with private industry continues to widen.
In 2006, 12 percent of workers were members of a union, down from 12.5 percent in 2005, and the union membership rate has steadily declined from 20.1 percent in 1983.
The number of people belonging to a union fell by 326,000, compared to job growth of 2.2 million, and the union membership rate for government workers (36.2 percent) was substantially higher than for private-industry workers (7.4 percent), although both sectors declined in 2006.
Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest union membership rate, 41.9 percent. In Washington state 19.8 percent of workers are members of a union, which is up from 19.1 percent in 2005.

Port refines deal to complete Bellwether development
The second phase of the Port of Bellingham’s Bellwether on the Bay project may move forward with two mixed-use buildings proposed by private developers.
The port’s board of commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Bellwether Gate LLC, which defines specific areas of agreement between the port and Bellwether Gate and sets the stage for negotiations on a lease agreement, which will include a design and development agreement as part of the lease.
“A successful agreement will begin Phase 2 of Bellwether on the Bay,” said Port Commission President Scott Walker. “Our initial concept in 1997 of a waterfront hotel, business center, restaurants, Coast Guard facility, public park and a sea-level trail has been completed. These additional mixed-use buildings will bring more jobs, energy, customers and public spaces to an already successful development.”

Express Personnel offers new benefits package
The Mount Vernon Express Personnel Services owner, Mark Hagen, announced a new benefits package is now available to all associates starting their first day working through Express.
“At a time when healthcare coverage is increasingly important, we are truly excited to offer this improved coverage for our associates,” said Hagen.
The new plan allows immediate eligibility for associates. It offers three open-enrollment periods, including at the time of application, after the first job assignment and during December each year. In addition, associates will be able to cancel their coverage at any time for any reason.
“The fact that our associates can be immediately eligible through this new benefits plan means we will continue to be a leader in the staffing industry in terms of providing for our associates, not only through helping them find jobs, but also through giving them the opportunity to have healthcare coverage for themselves and their families,” said Hagen.

Bellingham receives Bicycle Friendly award
Bellingham received a Silver level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists. The Bicycle Friendly Community Campaign is an awards program that recognizes municipalities that actively support bicycling. A Bicycle Friendly Community provides safe accommodation for cycling and encourages its residents to bike for transportation and recreation.
Bellingham joins 15 cities, including San Francisco, Flagstaff and Milwaukee, that earned the Bicycle Friendly designation in 2006.

Blanchard Strategies Group comes to agreement
The 10-member Blanchard Forest Strategies Group proposed management concepts to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to optimize Blanchard Forest’s diverse benefits.
The 4,800-acre Blanchard Forest state trust lands sit at the north edge of Skagit County. The Strategies Group’s conceptual proposal blends the continued revenue production for Skagit County services and Burlington-Edison School District with diverse habitats, and different types of experiences for visitors.
A standing advisory group will work with DNR’s forestland managers to offer input on proposed timber harvest designs and other activities on Blanchard trust lands into the future.

Bellingham receives sixth consecutive financial reporting award
For the sixth year in a row, the City of Bellingham has received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in financial reporting.
The City of Bellingham was recently honored the award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). For the sixth consecutive year, the City has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting in recognition of its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2005.
The annual financial report was judged by an impartial panel of GFOA members to meet the high standards of award achievement. These standards include demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate financial status and to motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.