Northwest Hot Spring wins showroom award

Northwest Hot Spring Spas, a Burlington hot tub retailer, won an award for their retail showroom. The 2002 Excellence Award for Showroom design was handed out at the National Spa and Pool Institute’s recent convention in Dallas.

Northwest beat out 750 other pool and spa retailers for the prize.

Pam Lloyd, co-owner of Northwest, attended the convention and accepted the award.

 

Signs Plus completes Applebee’s sign

Signs Plus completed fabrication and installation of the Applebee’s Bar and Grill sign in Burlington. It was the fourth Applebee’s sign built by Signs Plus in 2002. The company will complete 13 Applebee’s signs in 2003.

Bellingham-based Signs Plus designs, builds and maintains Applebee’s signs and awnings in Northwest Washington.

 

MacGregor institutes recycling program

MacGregor Publishing Company, publishers of the Plaid Book telephone directory, has launched the “Return to Sender” recycling campaign. Elementary school students from 18 area schools will collect used telephone books. Once collected, the books will be used as cellulose insulation for homes built through Habitat for Humanity.

Model energy code standards say a new home with cellulose insulation recycles all the newsprint the average homeowner will use in 40 years.

Last year, 5,000 elementary school children collected over 89,000 pounds of telephone directories, which partially insulated 55 homes and saved Habitat for Humanity over $25,000.

 

Mount Vernon design firm wins award

Group 3 Design of Mount Vernon won a good design award from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization for the Matrix chest press. Group 3 designed the press as part of a 27-piece line of equipment for Matrix Fitness.

Group 3 Design, has provided industrial design, mechanical design and graphic design support to a broad range of clients in the US, Europe and Asia over the last 20 years.

 

Red Salon opens in Anacortes

Red Salon opened in Anacortes recently. Gigirenee Ziegler, owner of the new salon, said the salon offers extensive hair care services, including foiling and dimensional color, as well as waxing, make up applications and lessons, and special event styling.

 

Skagit Valley College names performing arts center

Slated to open in fall 2004, the arts center on Skagit Valley College campus will be called the McIntyre Hall Performing Arts and Conference Center. The name honors the McIntyre family for their gifts to education and the community in Skagit County.

Jack and Shirley McIntyre started an endowed scholarship fund in 1987 in memory of Sydney S. McIntyre, Sr., providing tuition and full room and board to graduates of Sedro-Woolley High School. To date, $1.4 million has been awarded to 65 students. The McIntyres also contributed the $6 million initial gift toward the building of the arts center.

“McIntyre Hal, will serve as the premier performing arts facility in Skagit County,” said George Smith, interim president of Skagit Valley College.

 

Community radio increases power

KSVR, Skagit Valley Community Radio, recently increased their broadcast power and found a new frequency, 91.7 FM. The new signal stretches from Oak Harbor to Concrete and from Stanwood to Burlington.

The station broadcasts from the Skagit Valley College campus and has operated since 1973. However, the new antenna is atop Little Mountain in South Mount Vernon, 840 feet above the previous location.

KSVR broadcasts entertainment and community service programming, including Live in Skagit Valley with Primo Juan Garza, SeaMar Health Information, Youth Radio, and News in Russian.

 

HomePlace wins excellence award

HomePlace Special Care and Where the Heart Is Assisted Living won the Someone Who Cares award from the Alzheimer’s Society of Washington.

The Alzheimer’s Society presented the award during their annual caregiver training and education class. This year, the conference focuses on activities, behavior and communication in treating dementia patients.

 

College plan receives design award

Skagit Valley College’s Strategic Plan for 2001-2006 received a silver medallion award at the District 7 conference of the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations.

District 7 consists of community and technical colleges in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada.

The award recognized graphic design in best brochure or flyer category.

 

Valley farmers asked to participate in agricultural census

National Agricultural Statistics Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is conducting a census of agriculture. Farmers will receive forms asking a series of questions related to the 2002 production year. Replies are due Feb 3.

 

Manufacturing seminar to address productivity

Productivity Improvement Specialties is presenting a day-long seminar focused on increasing efficiency in manufacturing facilities. Bruce Bartlett, seminar leader, has over 25 years experience in consulting for manufacturing efficiency in Northwest Washington. In the seminar, he focuses on ways to understand production as a system, to begin to increase efficiency.

 

Krispy Kreme now open in Burlington

Krispy Kreme, a North Carolina-based purveyor of hot doughnuts, opened in Burlington to large crowds. The company reported a 56 percent increase in net income for the third quarter of 2002 over the third quarter of 2001.

The company also announced plans to develop stores in the United Kingdom.

 

Locke announces state budget strategy

Governor Gary Locke stated his commitment to develop a state budget that addresses a $2 billion deficit and “focuses spending on results that matter most to Washington citizens.”

“We have been engaged in a disciplined and creative new approach to writing a state spending plan for the next biennium that I believe will deliver the results that matter most to Washington citizens,” Locke said. “We are focusing on results that people want and need, prioritizing those results, and funding those results with the money we have.”

The state recognized 10 goals that state spending should be measured against. Those 10 goals are:

• Improving student achievement in elementary, middle and high school;

• Improving quality and productivity of our workforce;

• Improving the value of a state college or university education;

• Improving the health of citizens;

• Improving the security of Washington’s vulnerable children and adults;

• Improve economic vitality of businesses and individuals;

• Improving the statewide mobility of people, goods, information and energy;

• Improving the safety of people and property;

• Improving the quality of Washington’s natural resources;

• Improving cultural and recreational opportunities throughout the state.

“This process departs from the traditional approach of cutting or adding to an existing budget,” said Marty Bowen, Locke’s budget director. “We want the result to be a state budget that citizens can look at and say ‘Yes, if nothing else, those are things the government must pay for’.”

The government estimates they will have to deal with a $2 billion shortfall in the 2003-2005 budget.

The Association of Washington Business praised the governor for such a thorough undertaking. Don Brunell, president of the AWB, said he hopes the governor will fully implement the plan.

“The idea is to set priorities and make the hard choices necessary to achieve them,” Brunell said. “That is particularly good news for Washington employers, the state’s job providers, who pay more than half of all state and local taxes.”

 

Washington unemployment drops in October

Washington’s seasonally adjusted employment rate dropped seven-tenths of a percentage point to 6.7 percent in October. However, state analysts did not hail the news.

“Not all decreases in the unemployment rate are positive since increasing numbers of discouraged workers, which we believe are reflected in October’s labor force contraction, can cause the unemployment rate to fall,” said Sylvia P. Mundy, employment security commissioner. “Seasonally adjusted employment has risen over the month.”

“Too many uncertainties exist to take the October numbers as a sign the economy has significantly improved in Washington.”

Job gains in September and October were concentrated in state and local education, as teachers and support staff return to work.

In Whatcom County, unemployment dropped by three-tenths of a percentage point from September, to 5.6 percent.

Unemployment went up slightly by one-tenth of a percentage point nationally, to 5.7 percent.

“The unemployment rate is an estimate and additional months of data will be needed before a clear trend can be identified,” Mundy said.

 

BP reports profit, analysts disappointed

BP posted a 78 percent profit in the third quarter of 2002. However, most of the profit derived from sales of business units. Operating profit was down, and analysts downgraded BP stock.

The company scaled back their full year production growth target to three percent, down from earlier estimates of five percent.

 

Pacific Northwest Bank to outsource mortgage lending

Pacific Northwest Bancorp outsourced its residential mortgage lending operations. Approximately 80 employees will be affected by this change. Pacific Northwest is offering outplacement services to these employees.

“As we planned for 2003 and beyond, our current method of operation would not provide an effective service experience for our customers and a sufficient return to our shareholders,” said Patrick Fahey, president and CEO of Pacific Northwest Bancorp.

Bank One, Mellon Financial Corp., and Merrill Lynch & Co. have all outsourced mortgage processes in an effort to minimize the cost of processing, underwriting, and closing mortgage loans.

“This approach to mortgage lending allows us to focus on the everyday banking and financial service needs of the businesses and residents of our marketplace while removing the cyclical uncertainties and operational risks of the mortgage business,” said Bette Floray, executive vice president and CFO of Pacific Northwest Bancorp.

While this new arrangement will change the way the bank offers loans, customers can still get loans from the bank.

“We will continue to offer residential loans to our customers because they prefer to work with people they know and trust,” Fahey said. “But we will do so in a more efficient manner that provides customers a more effective process and our shareholders a better return on their investment.”

 

Worker’s compensation rates increase 29 percent

Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries adopted a 29 percent workers compensation rate increase for 2003. Initially the department proposed a 40.5 percent increase, but bowed to pressure from businesses and from the governor, who urged a much less steep increase.

According to the department, the average workers compensation rate will increase from 36.9 cents per hour to 47.6 cents per hour.

In addition to the rate increase, Labor and Industries announced a series of initiatives designed to reform the workers compensation system. Some, including measures related to hearing loss, vocational rehabilitation and wage calculation, will require legislative approval. Others, such as increased enforcement, are underway.