| Kochman named Business Person of the Year | [3/28/2012] | |
Jeff Kochman (in photo), president of the Barkley Company commercial
real estate and development firm in Bellingham,
received 2012 Whatcom Business Person of the Year honors Wednesday night (March
28). The 26th annual awards dinner sold out at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, with about 400 attending from the Whatcom County business community and government.
Other award recipients: Chuckanut Bay Foods in Ferndale,
Small Business of the Year; Infusion Solutions, Start-up of the Year, and Frank
Imhof, Lifetime Achievement Award.
Publisher Tony Larson of co-host Northwest Business Monthly magazine (along with Whidbey Island
Bank), commented, "The need has never been more
important to focus positive attention on local job creation, volunteerism and
philanthropy. Every year at this event, those virtues are encouraged, supported
and recognized and I believe lead to an improvement in our quality of life and
civic health.”
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| The Willows Inn re-opened March 1 w/martini bar | [03/01/2012] |
[Scroll down for more updates]
©Northwest Business MonthlyThe Willows Inn reopened March 1 with Chef Blaine Wetzel, whose farm-to-table cuisine drew national and international media coverage throughout 2011, as part of the ownership group that formed and purchased the 102-year-old Lummi Island landmark last year. Managing partner John Gibb, in a one-to-one interview at the inn, identified the West Shore Hospitality investing partners. He offered details of new features at The Willows Inn, complementing the 35-seat, $135-a-plate dining room gourmet presentations by Wetzel.
The inn re-opened from its annual winter spruce-up, seasonal hiatus with a new, limited-menu martini bar upstairs, and a redesigned Taproot Cafe downstairs. The Taproot re-opened as an Internet cafe, featuring soup and sandwiches and a coffee/espresso bar. The Inn also now features Lummi Island artists and artisan crafters in the gift shop, with new concierge Ria Harboe as their liaison. West Shore Hospitality also plans to re-open the Beach Store Cafe, which former owners closed last month.--MICHAEL McKENZIE, reporter
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| All-American Marine giving preview of its largest project | [02/20/2012] | |
This week All American Marine in Bellingham will
preview to the public its Sea Scout, the largest vessel the company has built (134 feet). The event Thursday (Feb. 23) includes a tour, sea trial, equipment demonstration, and reception. Activites run from 1-3:30 p.m., at the boatbuilder’s shipyard at 200 Harris Ave.
AAM’s project team and a senior vice-president from the boat’s
owner, C&C Technologies in Louisiana, will take questions from attendees
about this multi-mission, hydrographic survey catamaran with advanced survey
technology and a unique quad-propeller propulsion system.
Nic de Waal with Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand,
will speak by Skype link. He was the naval architect on this project.
All-American Marine, Inc., founded in 1987, employs 48 and the Sea Scout was a $10 million project, according to CEO Matt Mullett.
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| Homestead NW files bankruptcy | [1/19/2012] | Homestead Northwest in Lynden has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to a news story in The Bellingham Herald (Thursday afternoon, Jan. 19). Financial problems with the development funded by about 400 investors (homes, condominiums, golf country club, Birch Bay waterslides) were reported as long ago as April 2009. A related Herald story appeared earlier in the day.
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| New geo-info systems business opens in Fairhaven | [01/18/2012] | |
Maestro Northwest GIS, a start-up company specializing in geographic
information systems, has been formed by partners Lauren Erickson (in photo) and Daniel
Tepper in Bellingham's Fairhaven district. The firm produces maps related to farm
management, property planning, and trail planning.
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| Large island in San Juans purchased by land trust | [1/12/2012] | The San Juan Preservation Trust purchased 217-acre Vendovi Island at half the asking price from a family named Fluke in Seattle, as reported in The Seattle Times' Business & Technology section. The island lies across Samish Bay from Skagit County, about nine miles north of Anacortes. The late John Fluke, known in the high-tech sector, bought the island in 1966. It is not served by a ferry, and a family spokesperson said that the trust will allow no public access while preserving it as an eventual state park.
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| Wood refinishing business opens Blaine branch | [1/6/2012] | | Gleam Guard, a wood-refinishing business that
originated 25 years ago in Oklahoma and operates in three other states, has opened an office in Whatcom County.
Company president and founder Tracy Booth and his wife Amrit have moved to Blaine to establish the
new territory. | ... (FULL STORY) |
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| Mayor Linville to speak at Chamber meeting | [1/3/2012] | |
Mayor Kelli Linville, the first woman mayor in Bellingham history, will make her first address to the local business community Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce 'State of the City' breakfast. Register here to attend. Linville started her first
business day today meeting and greeting. She set as one of her highest
priorities the meeting of every City employee as soon as feasible.
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| Zervas Architects name Krzysiek partner | [1/2/2012] | Andrew Krzysiek has become a partner at Zervas
Group in Bellingham, one of the leading architect firms in the region. He has
worked most of the last 12 years at Zervas Group Architects as a project
manager/architect | ... (FULL STORY) |
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| Whatcom Parks & Rec honors pair | [12/15/2011] | |
Stephen Frank and Paul
Woodcock received the annual William J. Dittrich Award this week from the Whatcom Parks and Recreation Foundation. Lauren Erickson, executive
assistant with the foundation, said in a telephone interview, "The award has
been given since 2000, and represents dedication to upholding the value or
parks and recreational opportunities in Whatcom County…upholding
the legacy of Mr. Dittrich.”
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| Sommer Cronck to lead TAG | [12/12/2011] | Sommer Cronck has joined the Technology Alliance Group (TAG) in Bellingham as executive director, effective Dec. 12, succeeding Anna Ehnmark who resigned last month. Cronck previously served as coordinator of information technology (IT) and marketing for
Bellingham/Whatcom County Tourism. Cronck is a former business owner, originally from Pittsburgh, Pa.
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| Trillium Corp.'s Syre files for bankruptcy | [12/10/2011] | |
by John D'Onofrio
David Syre, one of Whatcom County's best-known - and most-controversial
- businessmen has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in Seattle.
Syre, the driving force behind the construction of Bellis
Fair Mall and the Resort at Semiahmoo, is the owner of Trillium Corporation, a
Whatcom County-based development and timber company that he started in 1974.
According to his attorney Gayle Bush, Syre expects all of his creditors to be
paid in full. | ... (FULL STORY) |
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| Peoples Bank hires Voth as Sr. VP | [12/09/2011] | Peoples Bank announced the hiring of John J. Voth as a senior vice-president for its commercial-lending team serving Skagit and Island Counties. He has joined the bank's Business Banking Group, based in Mount Vernon. He has spent the last 11 of his 21 years' experience in commercial lending.
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| Wiltermuth joins NorthStar Medical | [12/08/2011] | Brandy Wiltermuth, a state-licensed adult registered nurse
practitioner (ARNP), began assisting weight-loss management patients this month
at NorthStar Medical Specialists in Bellingham, moving from Sacramento, Calif. to
work with Dr. Anthony Burden's bariatrics team.
NorthStar specializes in the medical field of bariatrics
(cause, prevention, and treatment of obesity), as well as sleep disorders and
pulmonary rehabilitation. | ... (FULL STORY) |
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| Whatcom orchestra director Briggs resigns | [11/17/2011] | The Whatcom Symphony Orchestra announced today that Roger Briggs, its artistic director since 1995, will step down from the orchestra’s
podium in June 2012. Dr. Briggs said he will devote more time to his composition career that has made him an acclaimed composer whose music is performed
around the world. The orchestra board of directors will form a search committee to seek his replacement
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| Marshall's discount store open | [11/17/2011] | Marshall's, a discount store for clothing and other merchandise, opened today in Bellingham's Meridian Village, occupying a space vacated more than three years ago by Linen 'N' Things.
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| Mt. Baker Ski Area open since 11/18 | [11/17/2011] | |
With 16 inches of new snow in 24
hours, and snow continuing to fall (thank you, El Nino), Mt. Baker Ski Area
revealed on its website this morning that it opened for 7-day operations
on Friday (Nov. 18) – two days earlier than 2010. Read the snow report, and hours
of operation on the MBSA site.
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| I-5 Burlington to Samish clear (for now) | [11/10/2011] | |
All those nightly lane and ramp closures and reduced speed limits on I-5 north of Burlington up to Lake Samish have gone away for the winter, as a $20 million improvements project hibernates until good weather next spring. Results of the ongoing work this year include a smooth ride replacing the familiar bumpiness of many years past, according to a news release from Washington State Department of Transportation.
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| BP Cherry Point adding staff | [11/08/2011] | |
A day after news of Whatcom
County’s top employer
reorganizing and eliminating more than 80 positions, the second-largest
employer in the county revealed in a story in the Bellingham Herald editions Tuesday that it
would add 60-80 positions during restructuring.
BP Cherry Point gains the positions, according to The Herald report, through
shared positions of plants in California and Texas that will be sold
by the end of next month. In January 2012, Stacy McDaniel will take the Cherry
Point plant’s top position of plant manager, moving up from production manager
and replacing Jeff Pitzer who was promoted within the BP upper management.
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| PeaceHealth St. Joseph announces major-cuts initiative to trim costs by $9m | [11/07/2011] | |
A big shoe has dropped at PeaceHealth
St. Joseph Medical Center, and the echo can be heard through many different
hallways. Reducing 81 full-time positions, including 17 non-nursing layoffs, the
medical center in Bellingham announced first to its staff and then to media a "sustainability initiative” that will
result in a $9 million reduction in operating costs. In addition to
restructuring of several positions and a partial hiring freeze, PeaceHealth St.
Joseph – Whatcom County’s largest employer – accepted its offering of early
retirement from 33 employees.
Further,
the hospital will implement changes in nurse shifts (to 8 hours), pharmaceuticals
purchasing, usage of supplies such as blood products and linens, reduction of
redundant staffing in Cardiovascular Service, and will close one of four
interventional labs.
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| Saturna Capital wins 6 communications awards | [10/31/2011] | |
Saturna Capital Corporation, a
U.S. investment management
company based in Bellingham that advises three
major funds, was recognized with six awards at the recent Mutual Fund Education
Alliance's 2011 Star Awards Celebration in Chicago,
one of which highlighted its St. Paul’s
Academy.
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| KulshanCLT receives grant | [10/14/2011] | Kulshan
Community Land Trust has received a grant to install a solar array on its latest and 100th new home, located in the Birchwood neighborhood.
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| Photog Bergsma opens gallery | [10/13/2011] | |
Mark Bergsma, a Bellingham-based photographer for more than
30 years, has opened a gallery to introduce fine art on canvas that blends
photography with impressionism. "impressionism has woven its influence into new works on camera that I am creating,” Bergsma said in a news release. Mark Bergsma Imaging is located inside Donette
Studios on Hannegan Road
where Bergsma will be available Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. He
encourages appointments.
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| Fischer promoted at Banner Bank | [10/11/2011] | |
Banner Bank promoted Cheryl Fischer, who manages the retail
department of the North Sound Division, from vice president to senior vice
president. She has been with Banner Bank the last five years of her 20-year banking
career.
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