Business News

Parkside changes name to Birchview

Parkside Special Care in Sedro-Woolley is now known as Birchview – a Memory Care Community. The name change coincides with an ownership change.

Over the summer, the Henderson family, represented by Charles Henderson, purchased the care facility. Senior Services of America will continue to oversee day-to-day operations. Parkside offers services to residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

 

Rack Attack celebrates anniversary

Rack Attack celebrated their seventh year in business in August. The Mount Vernon company sells and installs vehicle rack systems for recreational and commercial use. Racks can carry bicycles, skis and snowboards, and kayaks as well as lumber. The company also sells interior van shelving.

Shell refinery purchases fire truck

Shell Puget Sound Refinery in Anacortes added to their fire response capacity with the purchase of a 2003 Pierce Pumper fire truck. The new truck can apply 3,000 gallons of industrial foam or water per minute to a fire. The refinery’s combined fleet can apply 10,500 gallons of foam or water to a fire.

The new truck replaces a pair of fire trucks from 1973, which were retired with the addition of the new truck.

Group calls for smoke free Skagit

Skagit HEAT is a youth coalition lobbying county commissioners to enact a county wide clean indoor air resolution. The resolution would “express the desire to eliminate smoking in workplaces and public areas.”

“This resolution won’t force businesses to change policies,” said Nate Schaner, Skagit HEAT. “But it will get the conversation started for Washington State.”

This would be the first such resolution in the state. In a recent state health department telephone survey, 89 percent of Skagit County respondents said secondhand smoke is harmful and 92 percent believed children should be protected from secondhand smoke.

Skagit HEAT presented to the county commissioners at the end of August.

 

Kaiser’s go retro with Big Daddy’s

Joan and Chuck Kaiser, owners of the Cascade Candy Company, recently opened Big Daddy’s. The La Conner ice cream parlor has a self-consciously retro feel, with memorabilia and design elements from the 1950s. In addition to ice cream and fountain drinks, Big Daddy’s sells old-fashioned candy. In a nod to the present, the Kaiser’s roast their own coffee for espresso and coffee drinks.

 

USDA offering construction assistance

The federal department of agriculture has loan funds available to low income senior citizens who need home repairs. Funds are to be used by eligible homeowners in rural areas.

Eligibility is determined by income level and geography. Individual homeowners must make less than $16,400 annually, with a sliding scale of larger allowances for larger households. Grant recipients must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States and must use the money for improvements in owner-occupied housing of modest value.

For more information on these grants, contact the USDA service center in Mount Vernon.

 

Japanese may put Skagit growers in the chips

Representatives of the Japanese potato chip industry are putting pressure on their agriculture ministry to lift a ban on the importation of U.S. chipping potatoes. This follows last year’s trade mission to Japan during which Gov. Gary Locke and Valoria Loveland, director of the Washington department of agriculture, discussed opening the Japanese market with Japanese officials.

Since then, both the state potato commission and the agriculture department have stepped up pressure for liberalized potato trade with Japan.

“This is very encouraging news,” said Gov. Locke. “It’s further proof that trade missions create opportunities.”

Frozen potatoes are currently exported to Japan, however the Japanese agricultural ministry opposes lifting import restrictions on fresh potatoes. They fear potato diseases risk harming Japanese potato crops, but US officials say the Japanese may reconsider if appropriate steps to prevent contamination are introduced.

Potato chip manufacturers in Japan are lobbying their government to open the market to US potatoes from March to June when domestic supplies are not available.

 

Family farm summit set for October

The Washington State Family Farm Summit will take place in Wenatchee on Oct. 14 and 15. Hosted by the Institute for Rural Innovation and Stewardship at Wenatchee Valley College, conference participants will seek to “…take issue, take a stand, and take part in making a plan to direct the future of family farming.”

Keynote speakers at the conference include John Ikerd, agricultural economics professor at the University of Missouri, William Heffernan, professor of rural sociology at the University of Missouri and Fred Kirschenmann, North Dakota farmer and director of Iowa State University’s Leopold Institute.

Topics include weathering the current farm crisis and the role of family farming in the agricultural economy. All participants will contribute to a statement of consensus to be used by policy makers and educational institutions for devising a strategy to promote family-based agriculture.

 

Household to pay for lending practices

Consumers in Washington State will soon find out if they are eligible for restitution from Household International, a sub-prime mortgage lender.

Between Jan. 1, 1999 and Sept. 30, 2002, some 21,000 Washingtonians received home loans from Household or one of their retail subsidiaries, Household Finance, Beneficial or Household Realty Corporation. Subsequent analysis showed more than 12,000 of those loans showed evidence of misconduct or misrepresentation.

Eligible consumers will have until Oct. 14, 2003 to join the settlement negotiated by the state attorney general. On average, wronged consumers will receive 25 percent of out of pocket overcharges.

 

WorkFirst still limiting welfare caseload

A study marking the sixth anniversary of WorkFirst shows families are still leaving the welfare rolls at the same rate as during the booming 1990s.

WorkFirst is Washington’s welfare to work program.

Researchers tracked employment patters and benefit reception among three samples of adults selected from the welfare rolls in March 1999, October 2000 and October 2001.

While 50 percent of the 1999 sample were working one year after receiving benefits, 45 percent of the 2000 and 2001 groups were employed at their one year mark. Approximately 45 percent of each group were employed in the fourth quarter of 2002, the last period studied.

According to a lead investigator on the study, families leaving welfare and a slight decrease in the employment rate are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Many WorkFirst participants cycle on and off the benefit rolls and many others have a changeable employment pattern, said, Marieka Klawitter, associate professor of public affairs at the University of Washington. She said more than half of the participants in her 2001 sample cited a new job or higher pay as the reason for leaving welfare. Some may have remained in the labor market despite temporary unemployment.

Other reasons WorkFirst participants cited for leaving the welfare rolls included additional income from family members, child support, and the desire to save eligibility for cash assistance or dissatisfaction with WorkFirst requirements.

 

Dawson finishes, starts projects

Dawson Construction completed two major projects and started a new one in the past three months.

Work at the Whidbey General Hospital took place while the facility remained fully functioning. The new patient services expansion includes a medical ambulatory clinic, a quiet room, entry canopies, fast track area and an expanded emergency room. John Stimson managed the project, Ben Thompson was superintendent and Seattle-based Northwest Architectural Company did design work.

The Skagit Valley Hospital emergency department project included a 2,200 square foot addition to the existing emergency room. Jim Quick managed the fourth month project and Ken Kuiken was superintendent. Decker Architects of Seattle designed the expansion.

Work at the Frontier Bank building at Barkley Village started in June and is scheduled for January completion. The new 11,000 square foot structure will include both a new Frontier Bank branch and 3,000 square feet of second level leased office space. Ross McClure Cornwell architects of Bellingham designed the structure. John Zimmerman and Pete Dawson are project managers while Russ Rogers is the superintendent.

 

Feds offer biodiesel education grants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced nearly $1 million in grants for biodiesel fuel education programs. Money is available for the development of a program designed to target both governmental and private sector operators of vehicle fleets. A key goal of the education program should be to address fleet operator’s concerns about balancing positive environmental effects with increased fuel costs.

Applicants who want to compete for the education program contract can find detailed information in the July 15 issue of the “Federal Register” or online at http://www.usda.gov/oce/oepnu/index.htm.

Biodiesel fuel can be made from almost any agricultural oil, as well as from animal fats and recycled grease.

 

State launches geographic products Web site

The department of Natural Resources launched a Web site last month, offering public access to a variety of maps and geographic products. Until now, most geographic information products were only available directly from the department’s sales office in Olympia. Customers can order maps or files for downloading and printing from the department.

The site also offers access to GIS data. Natural resources department developers are also working on a Web site for access for access to aerial photography.

The Web site is accessible from the publications and data link from the department’s Web site at http://www.dnr.wa.gov.

 

Unemployment drops in county and state

Unemployment in Skagit County was down six-tenths of a percentage point to 7.3 percent in July. Skagit’s unemployment rate remains unchanged from July 2002. Statewide, unemployment was down two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.4 in July. The nation’s unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in June.

“The labor market in Washington continues to send mixed signals,” said Thomas Bynum, acting deputy commissioner of the employment security department in a news release. “Although the unemployment rate edged down based on household survey data, non-agricultural jobs declined during July and the number of people claiming unemployment edged up.”

He cited positive economic signs, such as increased factory orders and growth in equity markets, as a reason to be encouraged but said those economic signs have not stirred a weak labor market.

In real numbers, statewide employment was down by 100 jobs from the previous July. This is the first year over year decline in 2003. Washington’s economy lost over 21,000 jobs between June and July, with much of the decline caused by seasonal layoffs in education. Manufacturing employment, especially in aerospace, has been hit hard over the past year. Employment in construction, trade, financial activities and professional and business services was up since last July.

 

Finance Book now on line

Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission recently posted the 2002 campaign finance fact book to their Web site. The book provides all manner of information about contributions to last year’s political campaign, including a descending list of major contributors to each candidate, a reverse directory of significant givers and information about the giving activities of political action committees.

Candidates last year spent a total of $16 million, averaging $110,000 for each contest. On average, the 16 losing candidates outspent the $24 winning candidates by more than $13,000.

The fact book is available online by clicking on the spotlight services link from the Public Disclosure Commission Web site at http://www.pdc.wa.gov.