AWB to host annual Legislative Day in Olympia
The Association of Washington Business will host its annual Legislative Day, where AWB members meet legislators and learn about legislation affecting businesses. This year’s event will take place on Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the Olympia Red Lion.
This year the Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives joined as a sponsor and, together with AWB, included chambers of commerce from across the state.
Gov. Chris Gregoire will attend and speak about her agenda this legislative session. AWB’s lobbying team will conduct its annual briefing of key legislative and regulatory issues. The event is capped off with a networking reception.
AWB will announce the winners of the 2007 Better Workplace Awards and the 2007 Manufacturer of the Year awards.
Registration for AWB’s 2007 Legislative Day is $75 per person for the reception, and $35 for the board luncheon. Attending the legislative briefings and board meeting are free to all members. To register, log onto www.awb.org, or call Jennifer Costello at 360-943-1600.
Clark College, YWCA name women of achievement
Clark College and YWCA Clark County have named the 2007 Women of Achievement honorees: Sister Joelle Aflague, Val Alexander, Mari Greves, Randi Holland, Joy Overstreet, Leilani Russell, Kathi Wiley Gladson and Judy Zimmerman.
The 23rd Women of Achievement Celebration will be held on March 6 at the Hilton Vancouver Hotel and Convention Center. Guests can meet the honorees at an 11:30 a.m. reception. The luncheon, featuring emcee Laural Porter of KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, begins at noon. Cost to attend the luncheon is $35 or $30 for students and seniors over age 60. Reserve by calling the YWCA at 360-906-4301.
Camas-Washougal Chamber to award scholarships
The Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce will award one $1,000 scholarship to a Camas High School graduating senior and one $1,000 scholarship to a Washougal High School graduating senior. The scholarships are to be awarded to students graduating in 2007, who plan on enrolling in advanced education.
Deadline for applications is Friday, April 13, at 5 p.m. in the chamber office. Applications may be acquired at the career guidance office at each of the high schools or at the chamber office, 422 N.E. Fourth Ave. in Camas.
For more information, contact the chamber at 360-834-2472.
Vancouver firm has new name, website
Katlin Smith Communications, a Vancouver-based firm, which provides public relations, writing and public involvement services, has changed its name to UrbanWords Group. The name was changed to reflect the firm’s growth and focus. The firm, which was founded in 2001, has also unveiled a new website at www.urbanwordsgroup.com.
UrbanWords Group principal is Katlin Smith. The company is located at 101 E. Eighth Street, Suite 325E, in downtown Vancouver. For more information, call UrbanWords Group at 360-699-7234.
Third quarter taxable retail sales increases 8.8 percent
Taxable retail sales reported by Washington businesses rose 8.8 percent to $29.4 billion during the third quarter of 2006.
Retail trade was up 6.6 percent to $12.9 billion for July through September compared to 2005.
As usual, sales tax on construction was the single biggest component at $6.2 billion, or 21 percent of total taxable retail sales. Construction sales also were 21 percent higher than year-earlier figures. New and used car sales, while comprising 9 percent of total sales, were down 0.29 percent to $2.7 billion. Sales by restaurants, food services and drinking places rose 7.1 percent to $2.2 billon, while general merchandise stores were up 8.2 percent at $2.2 billion.
L&I reaps benefits of anti-fraud efforts
The Department of Labor and Industries collected $135 million in 2006 through its fraud program, up 29 percent over 2005. In the first fiscal quarter of 2007, which ended in September, the program recovered $44 million, up 4 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
Money recovered with L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Compliance Program comes from fraud, delinquent workers’ compensation premiums and improper payments to health care providers and workers. The collections amount to about $10 for every dollar spent on the program.
In 2006, L&I referred 20 cases for prosecution – seven employers, two health care providers and 11 workers – and avoided an estimated $16 million in costs by uncovering and stopping payments being made as a result of abuse.
Cowlitz Bancorp. reports substantial jump in net income
With $1,217,000 in net income, or $0.24 per diluted share for the fourth quarter, 2006, Cowlitz Bancorp. is up 40 percent from the same period last year, when the bank reported $872,000 in net income, or $0.18 per diluted share.
Net income for the entire year jumped 60 percent, rounding out at $4,731,000, or $0.93 per diluted share, compared to $2,957,000, or $0.66 per diluted share in 2005.
The bank saw its loan volume grow by 33 percent in 2006 compared to the previous year.
Total loans for the year topped at $358.4 million, as of Dec. 31, 2006.
Cowlitz Bancorp. specializes in commercial and international banking for Northwest businesses. Along with its four branches in Cowlitz County, the bank’s divisions include Bay Bank, located in Bellevue, Seattle and Vancouver, as well as in Oregon, serving customers in Portland and Wilsonville.
Columbia Bancorp reports record year
2006 was the strongest on record for The Dalles, Ore.-based Columbia Bancorp. Net income for the year was more than $1 billion in total assets. The bank’s net income for the year grew to $15.8 million, or $1.55 per diluted share. This marks a 15 percent increase over 2005, when the bank reported $13.7 million, or $1.36 per diluted share.
"We met our growth objectives for the year," said Columbia Bancorp President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Christensen. "And we’re using that momentum to further expand the bank’s brand and reach."
Christensen said he is excited to bring the bank’s relationship style of banking this year to the Vancouver market.
Columbia Bancorp operates 21 branches throughout Oregon and in the Tri-Cities area of Washington.
WSU receives tech grant for nLight research
Washington Technology Center and Vancouver technology firm nLight Photonics awarded Washington State University Vancouver mechanical engineering professor Amir Jokar a $27,828 grant to analyze and improve the heat transfer of nLight diode laser products. nLight, Jokar and graduate research assistant Joe Dix plan to create a more optimal cooling subsystem design, which could open up opportunities for new applications in defense, industrial, medical and graphic arts markets.
Dotster celebrates seventh anniversary with $7 domain names
Dotster Inc. celebrates seven years in business by holding weekly sales throughout the month of February. The sales kick off Feb. 2 with discounts on one-year subscriptions of .com, .org or .net domains for only $7.
As the special discounts on services and products will differ from week to week, consumers are encouraged to visit Dotster’s website home page at www.dotster.com. Some of the bargains include 77 cents for .info domain registrations and $7 for yearly hosting packages.
WSU prof, students launch Internet company
GeoMonkey, a Web2.0 startup company enabling community-building around the creation and sharing of customized maps, started in a Washington State University Vancouver computer science class.
GeoMonkey enables users to customize a map, save it to their own user profile, and share it with others or with the general public. For example, users can share pictures from vacation, directions to a house, trip planning or wedding planning details.
Ultimately, the database of custom maps will be available for searching by location, keywords, interests and user.
GeoMonkey launched a commercial limited liability company last month.
The GeoMonkey team has also developed unique functions for automatically geo-locating RSS feeds, mainly news feeds.
WSU Research Foundation provided initial funding to the group via the Cougar Gap Fund, which exists for the purpose of moving WSU innovations from research to commercialization. Visit www.geomonkey.com.
Skills Center scores new financial server
The students enrolled in the Clark County Skills Center’s Financial Customer Services Program will benefit from new software and a server procured with funds donated by the financial institutions that will be hiring the students.
A total of $20,400 was raised for the server from donations contributed by eight Southwest Washington financial institutions. Wells Fargo contributed the initial $5,000 challenge grant, followed by a $5,000 gift from the Washington Credit Union Foundation. Bank of Clark County topped off funding the project with a $2,900 gift. Riverview Community Bank contributed $2,500, while Twinstar Credit Union, Umpqua Bank, Cowlitz Bank and First Independent Bank contributed $1,000 each.
iQ Credit Union, which operates an on-campus branch, supplied the initial server and will continue to assist with annual service and technology upgrades, installing the new server and training through donation of IQ staff volunteer time.
Employers cash in on new tax credits
Washington employers who applied for tax credits in 2006 for hiring veterans, ex-offenders and other hard-to-place job seekers can cash in on an estimated $29 million tax break, thanks to a new federal law.
The bill reauthorizes the expired Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the Welfare-to-Work tax credit retroactively to Jan. 1, 2006, and through 2007. The tax credits are obtained by submitting an application to the Washington State Employment Security Department.
The tax-credit program provides up to $2,400 in tax savings to businesses who hire veterans, the disabled, ex-offenders, high-risk youths, food-stamp recipients and individuals on Supplemental Security Income. Additionally, businesses who hire welfare recipients can save as much as $9,000 over the two years. The savings are deducted from businesses’ federal income taxes.
Interested businesses should call 800-669-9271.
Also last month, Employment Security announced that state unemployment-insurance taxes will drop by an average of 13 percent in 2007.
Washington Job growth ranks sixth in nation
The 2006 job growth rate in Washington is double the national average and ranks sixth in the nation.
Professional and business services had the largest gains in employment in 2006, adding 18,100 new jobs. The construction and manufacturing industries also saw strong job growth, adding 14,200 and 13,200 new jobs, respectively. Overall, more than 79,000 new jobs were created in 2006, representing an annual growth rate of 2.8 percent. The national average was 1.4 percent.
The average unemployment rate in Washington for 2006 was 4.9 percent, which is the lowest average annual rate in the state since 1999. No major industry sectors in Washington saw job declines in 2006.
Skills Center $5,000 closer to needed van
The Clark County Skills Center received a $5,000 gift from the Bemis Co. Foundation of Minneapolis to help fund a $20,000 nine-passenger van to transport the center’s students and staff.
The gift is the first donation the skills center has collected toward the van.The Skills Center Foundation is tasked with raising funds to benefit the students enrolled in the center’s technical programs.
MGH Assoc. Progress Quarry project receives third award
Vancouver-based MGH Assoc., a land planning and civil engineering firm, has received its third industry award for the Progress Quarry project, developed by Polygon Northwest. The development, located in Beaverton, Ore., is 110 acres of mixed residential, commercial and recreational uses.
In 2006 Progress Ridge, a 746 unit residential development within Progress Quarry, was recognized with an Engineering Excellence Honor Award from American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon. Builder Magazine, a national publication also awarded this project a 2006 Builders Choice Merit Award.
On Jan. 10, MGH received another ACEC Engineering Excellence Honor Award for the Progress Quarry development, this time for Summer Creek Park, a 20-acre recreational site. The award cited MGH’s sustainable planning and design.
In other news, MGH Assoc. announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted its approval for federal trademark registration for their "People Making Placesâ" tag line.
Remodeling company wins regional award
Vancouver-based T Square Remodeling is a winner of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry regional Contractor of the Year Award.
The 30-year-old company took the award for the category of Residential Addition $100,000 to $250,000, and will compete with seven others in the spring for Top in the Nation.
The 12 employees at T Square Remodeling perform remodeling, home repair services and dry rot removal throughout the Vancouver area.
SWMC encourages careers in healthcare
Applications are available now for college scholarships through the Southwest Washington Medical Center Foundation for students pursuing health-related courses of study.
The foundation awards $100,000 in health career scholarships each year, half of which go to SWMC employees and volunteers. Applicants represent a wide variety of health career majors, such as nursing, pre-med, radiation technology, pharmacy and biomedical engineering. The scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,500 and cover expenses related to tuition and books.
Applications must be postmarked by April 6. Application materials are available online at www.swmedicalcenter.com or may be picked up in person at the hospital’s Education Department, Volunteer Services or the Foundation. Packets are also available at the Human Resources office, 5400 MacArthur Blvd., and the patient registration desk at the Memorial Health Center, 3400 Main St., in Vancouver.
Recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony on May 23.
Community partners celebrate dental health
Children ages 2 to 18 can receive free dental care, including checkups, X-rays, sealants, fluoride treatments, fillings and extractions, as part of Children’s Dental Health Day from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Clark College Dental Hygiene Clinic, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way in Vancouver.
The Clark County Dental Society has partnered with Clark College, Clark County Public Health, the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington, Greater Southwest Washington Dental Hygiene Association, Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Washington Oral Health Foundation to sponsor the event.
Clark College’s dental hygiene program is accredited by the Commission of American Dental Association. More information and appointment scheduling is available by calling 360-397-8020 or 360-397-8000 ext. 7371.
Nautilus donates fitness equipment
Vancouver-headquartered Nautilus has committed to donating the fitness equipment for the new fitness facility to be built into the current renovation of Marshall Community Center.
The $200,000 gift was announced by Mayor Royce Pollard, during his State of the City address. A year ago, Nautilus also gave the city of Vancouver the state-of-the-art equipment being used in the Firstenburg Community Center fitness facility.
