Baard Energy moves on plant project in Ohio
Vancouver-based Baard Energy, an energy project development company has acquired a technology license from Shell U.S. Clean Coal Energy Inc. to use the Shell Coal Gasification Process in the gasification portion of its proposed $5 billion coal-to-liquid fuel project located in Columbiana County, Ohio. The project will produce over 50,000 barrels per day of jet and diesel fuel and other liquid products from coal and biomass feedstock.
Workshed acquires multimedia company
Camas-based Workshed Media acquired Camas-based GT Multimedia LLC to form Workshed Creative Agency.
The company is now a full-service creative agency that offers brand-focused advertising, marketing, public relations, design, development and creative services.
Burgerville wins restaurant assn. award
The Washington Restaurant Association has named four state winners of the Restaurant Neighbor Award, a program designed by the National Restaurant Association.
This year’s winners are Burgerville in Vancouver, Canlis in Seattle, Thai Siam in Seattle and Paul Mackay of Mackay Restaurants in Seattle.
The award highlights restaurants’ community service and charitable efforts.
Burgerville annually participates as a major sponsor for the Tour de Cure, also known as the “Summit to Surf” Bike Ride for the American Diabetes Association.
Burgerville exclusively provides lunch to all of the participants, volunteers and their families for the event. In 2005, Burgerville served 1,400 people and that number increased to 2,068 in 2006. Burgerville helped the ADA raise $318,000 in 2006.
BANKING + FINANCE
Bank of Clark County expands east
Construction is underway for a second Bank of Clark County office scheduled to open in the first quarter 2008. Extensive internal and external remodeling is in progress at an existing 7,000-square-foot building located at the intersection of First Street and 164th Avenue. The bank’s East Clark County office will be a full service business banking and commercial lending office.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Job-loss threat hampers creativity
Worrying about losing their jobs may make workers more productive but less creative, according to research by Associate Professor Tahira Probst of Washington State University Vancouver, published in the Aug. 26 Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Theories that leaner companies are more adaptable and more competitive in fast-paced markets have led to a trend in downsizing. Probst and colleagues researched the effects the resulting job insecurity had on job performance.
More than 100 undergraduate students took part in a lab experiment in a simulated organizational environment that measured changes in creativity and performance under threat of layoffs. Similar data was gathered from surveys of 144 employees in five organizations.
The results indicated that while creativity went down, productivity increased while absenteeism, hostile behavior and lateness decreased.
Skills Center Dropout Program expands with HP grant
The Clark County Skills Center is expanding a program directed at keeping at-risk students and 18- to 21-year-old dropouts in Southwest Washington high schools.
The Center for Career and Academic Advancement recently entered its second year with increases in student enrollment, school district participation and a $15,000 grant from the Hewlett-Packard Corp. that paid for a computer lab and new classroom.
The program also has a new math instructor.
The program was established in 2005 through a partnership between the Skills Center and the Educational Service District 112. The ESD provides all academic instruction and support, while the Skills Center provides technical and career education instructors and facilities.
Unemployment declines in August
Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 4.9 percent in July to 4.6 percent in August, according to the state Employment Security Department. The decline was accompanied by an increase of 10,400 non-agricultural jobs in August.
Since August 2006, 87,900 net new jobs were created in the state, and overall, non-agricultural job growth increased by 3.1 percent compared to a national rate increase of 1.2 percent, according to the ESD.
Clark gets $250,000 in opportunity grants
Clark College received $250,000 under an expanded opportunity grants program that helps low-income adults attend college. The program was extended to all 34 community and technical colleges in Washington.
The program will award $10.6 million in grants in an effort to fill the gaps left by traditional financial aid.
The average income for participants in the pilot phase was less than $11,500 annually for an average household of three. Student awards will be between $2,800 and $3,800, to be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment. Transportation and childcare may also be funded on an emergency basis.
Each college’s direct costs for infrastructure and support services are also supported by the grants.
Four hundred businesses use ESD to stay afloat
The Washington Employment Security Department has helped more than 400 employers survive slumps by providing partial unemployment benefits to workers who were placed on part-time schedules while the companies weathered tough times.
Under the department’s Shared-Work Program, employers avoid layoffs by reducing their workers’ hours, which allows a company to reduce its payroll costs while maintaining a qualified workforce until business picks up.
More than 430 of the 506 businesses that participated in the program in 2005 and 2006 are still in business, and 4,323 of the 6,885 workers still have jobs with the same companies, according to the ESD.
ESDs launch shopping website
The state’s nine educational service districts have launched a new “one-stop” website that provides teachers, parents and students access to thousands of educational resources, materials and products at significantly lower prices than what schools normal can obtain individually.
This Washington Learning Source project is a collaborative effort, guided by representatives from each of the ESDs, including Vancouver-based ESD 112.
The site can be found at www.walearningsource.org.
