Lynden contractor wins safety award

DeYoung and Roosma, builders of agricultural and general-purpose buildings, won a no-time-loss safety award from Contractors Alliance. The citation was given at a convention in Ocean Shores.

They also were cited for keeping injured employees on the job.

Since the company introduced employee shift and salary benefits, DeYoung and Roosma’s experience factor at the Department of Labor and Industries has dropped almost 40 percent.

DeYoung and Roosma builds commercial buildings for agricultural and general-purpose applications.

 

Locksmith changes name

Bellingham Lock and Safe added Security Systems NW to their name. The change reflects the company’s expansion into newer safety technology, according to Tobey Vos, consultant with the company.

 

Mother/Son open Birch Bay real estate office

The Mulijat Group in Birch Bay is now a family affair.

Terry Lehman and Josh Lehman, a mother and son team, opened Mulijat Group at the Bay last month. They will focus on waterfront properties from Semiahmoo Point to Chuckanut Bay and on north county properties.

While the real estate market in Birch Bay leans toward retirees, buyers are diversifying as prices in Bellingham increase, according to Josh Lehman.

Terry joined the Mulijat Group six years ago. Josh became a Mulijat agent three years ago.

 

Bovenkamp relaunches Camelot Computer

Shawn Bovenkamp recently purchased Camelot Computer Services. He joined the company in 1998 and initially focused on accounting software.

As part of the transition, Marc Creech has been promoted to manage the hardware department. He specializes in Windows and in UNIX networking. Cheri Chelone remains in charge of customer training and support.

 

Nature’s Path wins hemp battle

Nature’s Path, Blaine-based maker of natural food products, recently won a court battle over their HempPlus line of breakfast foods.

The Drug Enforcement Agency was seeking to enforce a rule banning the sale of hemp food products containing any measurable level of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Nature’s Path claims their hemp seeds are produced to show no detectable levels of THC.

The company sued along with other members of the Hemp Industry Association to prevent the DEA from enforcing the proposed new rule.

“Hemp is not a novelty, it is a nutritious product,” said David Neuman, vice president of sales and marketing the Nature’s Path. Company figures say hemp contains 35 percent protein by weight, includes all essential amino acids and contains high concentrations of essential fatty acids.

 

Company offers rural broadband

CSS Communications recently licensed access to the Whatcom Public Utility District’s fiber optic network. With this new agreement, CSS will provide services to both public and private clients across the county.

CSS also has municipal partnerships with the Port of Bellingham and the City of Mount Vernon.

 

Wireless Internet comes to Whatcom

PogoZone, a Bellingham based ISP, is now offering high-speed wireless connectivity in Bellingham and north Whatcom County.

Service is available to both residential and business customers at a variety of services. Customers must be at a location visible to PogoZone transmitters. The company will perform a survey to ensure prospective locations qualify.

 

Petzl tied to Samson Rope in new agreement

Petzl America and Samson Rope have joined forces to produce The Vector Rope for the rescue and rope access market.

Because of a manufacturing technique called fusion technology, rope sheath and core work together to protect the core from abrasion and helps the rope retain its rounded shape.

 

Homestead among nation’s top builders

Homestead Northwest again ranked in Professional Builders’ list of the top 400 builders in the nation. The list ranks builders according to overall sales volume. Homestead completed 200 homes last year and plans for similar production this year.

According to Heather McCune, editorial director at Professional Builder, Homestead’s second consecutive appearance on the list is “…a remarkable achievement in a year when a strong housing market resulted in significant turnover on the annual list.”

 

Zervas Group wins for river house

River House Apartments, a senior’s complex in Lynden, won a design award from the national Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. Zervas Group took home the award in the Affordable Housing with Amenities for Seniors category.

The complex is designed as an ‘L’, with parking hidden behind the building. Zervas Group created the complex to provide individuality to the apartments and at a scale that relates to other buildings in the neighborhood.

 

Favinger expands plumbing business

Favinger Plumbing relocated to a newer, larger building on Kentucky Street last month. The move allowed the company to increase their warehouse space and inventory.

Art Favinger opened his plumbing store in 1989, when he and his wife moved to Bellingham from Denver. He entered an apprentice program while taking time off from college and opened his first plumbing store in Denver.

 

Whatcom unemployment down in April

Unemployment in Whatcom County was down three-tenths of a percent in April, to a seasonally unadjusted rate of 5.9 percent. The revised unemployment figure for March was 6.2 percent.

Statewide unemployment increased two-tenths of a percent in April to 7.3 percent.

“The increase in the national and state unemployment rate is not unexpected,” said Sylvia P. Mundy, employment security commissioner. “Economic indicators are still very mixed.”

Non-agricultural wage employment increased by 13,400 in Washington in April. Wholesale trade, transportation, warehousing and local government were strong sectors for employment increases. Financial services, educational and health services have remained strong throughout the downturn.

 

City proposes roundabout traffic solution

Bellingham’s engineering department proposed a roundabout to solve traffic congestion at Cordata Parkway and Kellogg Road. Reid Middleton, an Everett-based engineering firm, proposed the novel solution after analysis. Roundabouts are considered good alternatives for traffic safety and long-term capacity. At this location, it will keep the city from having to widen Cordata Parkway to five lanes, which would be required for a traffic signal.

 

University offers China study tour

The College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University invite a limited number of community members to sign up for a study tour to China next March.

During winter quarter 2004, CBE will offer a decision sciences course on China, including speakers, case studies and corporate visits.

During spring break, students will travel to Beijing and Shanghai to visit businesses, manufacturing enterprises, and universities. The trip will provide a unique opportunity to learn about Chinese business management practices, supply chain operations, environmental issues and cultural issues.

Students must take the trip to receive credit for the course.

Fro more information, contact Peter Haug in the decision sciences department at Peter.Haug@wwu.edu.

 

Amtrak Cascades wins design award

Cooper-Hewitt design museum of the Smithsonian recognized Cesar Vergara’s work on the Amtrak Cascades train cars. Cooper-Hewitt included the trains in their National Design Triennial, a museum exhibition recognizing the best in commercial, advertising and architectural design.

Train cars were cited for the seven-foot-tall hollow fiberglass tailfins Vergara added to the locomotives and matching fins installed on the passenger cars.

“The fins don’t provide any aerodynamic effect, but they do provide a spiritual lift,” Vergara said.

The Cooper Hewitt citation praised Vergara for transforming the trains from “anonymous people movers to compelling fantasies.”

 

Better Business Bureau seeks nominees

Better Business Bureau and U.S. Bank are sponsoring business of the year awards in western Washington.

“Business of the year program is an opportunity for the public to let us know about the businesses in their communities committed to the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public,” said Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO and president of the Better Business Bureau.

Nominated businesses are assessed based on their record in customer service, community involvement and innovative business practices.

Deadline for nominations is Aug. 31. The small business category is for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. There is also a large business category. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Seattle on Nov. 6.

To nominate a business or for more information, call the Better Business Bureau at (206) 431-2222.

 

State report highlights small companies

Almost 70 percent of Washington firms are very small, employing between one and nine workers, according to a report released by Washington State Employment Security Department.

Those very small firms, while numerous, employ only 13 percent of Washington workers. The largest firms, of 250 or more employees, put 34 percent of Washingtonians to work. And firms of 100 or more employ half of all the workers in the state.

While more than two thirds of companies statewide offer health insurance to full time employees, coverage depends heavily on firm size. Almost all of the largest companies offer health insurance, while just over half the firms of 1-9 employees cover their workers. Of businesses that do offer health insurance, there is an even split between those offering shared cost plans and those that pick up the entire tab.

On average, fewer companies in Northwest Washington, which includes both Skagit and Whatcom Counties, offer health insurance than in the state as a whole. Just over 68 percent of Northwest Washington firms offer health coverage.

Childcare is the least common component of a benefit package, with 1 percent of state firms offering it to employees. Just over 10 percent of firms extend benefits to temporary or seasonal workers.