Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

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BY ISAAC BONNELL [email protected] The Lightcatcher Building in Bellingham may soon have a new addition to its roof: a $350,000 solar panel installation. The city of Bellingham is cur- rently negotiating a lease with Community Energy Solutions, a nonprofit based in Bainbridge Island. Community Energy Solu- tions was chosen after the city issued a request for proposals in April for solar installations on city-owned buildings. The project would be the first of its kind in Bellingham, using a state law enacted in 2009 that gives incentives for commu- nity solar installations, meaning projects owned by a group of people rather than one person or company, on buildings owned by local governments. Details of the lease are still being worked out and the final lease will have to be approved by the City Coun- cil, said Ryan Nelson, the city’s resource conservation manage- ment specialist. Several city buildings were considered for solar installations, such as the Sportsplex and the Parkade, but the Lightcatcher stood out as the best location, Nelson said. “One of the issues that came up with regard to many of our facilities was scheduled roof replacements. That’s where the Lightcatcher came out as a shin- ing star, since it’s a new building,” he said. If a lease is approved, Com- munity Energy Solution would Garage stories, Page 10 NOVEMBER 2011 Year 19 No. 11 $2 Manufacturing | Itek Energy Space reserved for mailing label SEE STORY ON PAGE 12: John Flanagan, president of Itek Energy, hopes that state incentives for solar panels made in Washington will help create demand for Itek’s solar panels, which are made in a facility in Irongate. After months of waiting for product safety certifications, the company is ramping up production and has capacity to make 120,000 solar panels a year. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ SEE SOLAR | PAGE 7 Call now to get premium placement in The Bellingham Business Journal! (360) 647-8805 Lightcatcher Building may get solar array SEE DOWNTOWN | PAGE 2 BY BBJ STAFF [email protected] The city of Bellingham recently launched a two-year community outreach and planning effort focused on the Central Business District. The project will create a new Downtown Plan to replace the 2002 City Center Master Plan. The first phase of the outreach effort, dubbed “myDowntown,” was launched in late September and includes an online survey and activities and prizes at the Bellingham Farmers Market. “We want to hear what you love about downtown and what you wish for downtown,” Bell- ingham Mayor Dan Pike said in a press release. “We want to hear how you use downtown, how you get around downtown, and what your business needs to thrive downtown. We want to know what investments you think the city, community groups and pri- vate organizations can make to boost our downtown, to make a great place even better.” Information gathered this fall about what is and is not working downtown will feed into the next phase of the Downtown Plan process, when Bellingham resi- Bellingham launches 2-year update to downtown master plan

description

November 07, 2011 edition of the Bellingham Business Journal

Transcript of Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

Page 1: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

BY ISAAC [email protected]

The Lightcatcher Building in Bellingham may soon have a new addition to its roof: a $350,000 solar panel installation.

The city of Bellingham is cur-rently negotiating a lease with Community Energy Solutions, a nonprofit based in Bainbridge Island. Community Energy Solu-

tions was chosen after the city issued a request for proposals in April for solar installations on city-owned buildings.

The project would be the first of its kind in Bellingham, using a state law enacted in 2009 that gives incentives for commu-nity solar installations, meaning projects owned by a group of people rather than one person or company, on buildings owned by

local governments. Details of the lease are still being worked out and the final lease will have to be approved by the City Coun-cil, said Ryan Nelson, the city’s resource conservation manage-ment specialist.

Several city buildings were considered for solar installations, such as the Sportsplex and the Parkade, but the Lightcatcher stood out as the best location,

Nelson said.“One of the issues that came

up with regard to many of our facilities was scheduled roof replacements. That’s where the Lightcatcher came out as a shin-ing star, since it’s a new building,” he said.

If a lease is approved, Com-munity Energy Solution would

Garage stories, Page 10

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Manufacturing | Itek Energy

Space reserved for mailing label

SEE STORY ON PAGE 12: John Flanagan, president of Itek Energy, hopes that state incentives for solar panels made in Washington will help create demand for Itek’s solar panels, which are made in a facility in Irongate. After months of waiting for product safety certifications, the company is ramping up production and has capacity to make 120,000 solar panels a year. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

SEE SOLAR | PAGE 7

Call now to get premium placement in The Bellingham Business Journal!

(360) 647-8805

Lightcatcher Building may get solar array SEE DOWNTOWN | PAGE 2

BY BBJ [email protected]

The city of Bellingham recently launched a two-year community outreach and planning effort focused on the Central Business District. The project will create a new Downtown Plan to replace the 2002 City Center Master Plan.

The first phase of the outreach effort, dubbed “myDowntown,” was launched in late September and includes an online survey and activities and prizes at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

“We want to hear what you love about downtown and what you wish for downtown,” Bell-ingham Mayor Dan Pike said in a press release. “We want to hear how you use downtown, how you get around downtown, and what your business needs to thrive downtown. We want to know what investments you think the city, community groups and pri-vate organizations can make to boost our downtown, to make a great place even better.”

Information gathered this fall about what is and is not working downtown will feed into the next phase of the Downtown Plan process, when Bellingham resi-

Bellingham launches 2-year update to downtown master plan

Page 2: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

2 BBJToday.com November 2011

BBJToday.comPhone Fax

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IN THIS ISSUEThe Buzz ..................................... 3

Trapeze coffee shop ....................... 4

Community solar project ................. 7

Wildlife Art Taxidermy ..................... 8

Bellingham Fertility Clinic ................ 9

It all started in a garage ................ 10

Itek Energy ................................ 12

Nonprofit News .......................... 13

BBJ Views ................................. 14

BBJ Data ................................... 16

2

CONTRIBUTORS

Celeste Erickson

Tom Dorr

Rik Dalvit

DOWNTOWN

Get your daily BBJWant the most up-to-date business news? Then sign up for our daily email newsletter! Each day you’ll receive a synopsis of the most recent content on BBJToday.com.

Find out what new businesses are opening soon, keep up with people you know in the business community, dig through public records for leads — you never miss a beat with the daily newsletter.

The newsletter also helps you keep tabs on the most recent public data. Business licenses and building permits are posted every two weeks. Liquor licenses, bankruptcies, tax liens and judgments are posted at the end of each month.

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dents, business owners and others will be invited in early 2012 to come togeth-er to absorb feedback offered by the community, share more ideas and create solutions.

By mid-2012, city offi-cials expect to be formu-lating a draft Downtown Plan for review by commu-nity members, stakeholder groups and city advisory committees.

A final plan is expected to be presented to the Bell-ingham Planning Commis-sion and Bellingham City Council for consideration during the first half of 2013.

When completed in 2013, it will be a frame-work for future invest-ments, amenities and improvements to be made by the city and others. The new Downtown Plan will incorporate and reinforce broad Comprehensive Plan goals and policies, formal-ize a sub-area plan for the downtown core district and revise development regula-tions.

For more information about the Downtown Plan, visit www.cob.org/mydowntown.

Letters to the editorThe Bellingham Business Journal accepts signed letters to the editor. The BBJ reserves the right to edit letters for style and length. Letters should be no more than 300 words. To submit a letter, email it to [email protected] or send some good old snail mail to 1321 King St. Suite 4, Bellingham, WA 98229.

Page 3: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 3

BBJBUZZNewsorthy and notable items for Bellingham business

Boundary Bay Brewery to double production next year

Boundary Bay Brew-ery & Bistro has signed a lease for 4,000 square feet of space at 1103 Railroad Ave., next door to its cur-rent location, and plans to use the space to increase production.

The brewery has been operating at maximum capacity for a few years, brewing about 185,000 gal-lons of beer a year.

“Right now we’re at maximum brewing capac-ity and we’re having a hard time just meeting demand in Whatcom, Skagit and King counties,” spokesper-son Amy Jones said. “We never have enough beer.”

The current facility has five fermenters, each capable of holding 17 bar-rels of beer. (A modern

beer barrel is equal to 31 gallons.) Plans for the new space include three larger fermenters that would each be capable of brewing 51 barrels of beer — which would more than double production.

The additional capacity would allow Boundary Bay to expand its distribution and serve more clients. The goal is to cover everything from Vancouver, B.C. to Portland, Ore., Jones said.

“We sent a few test batches up to Vancouver (B.C.) this summer and it was met with a lot of suc-cess,” she said. “And Port-land has been asking us for years. But we were brewing so much and it never really made it out of the state.”

Boundary Bay won’t move into the new space until the beginning of the year, giving time for the current tenants to find new locations.

“We are excited to expand,” brewery owner Ed Bennett said in a press release. “We are eager

to increase our brewing capacity as well as our dis-tribution and the expanded brewing facilities will help us reach our goal of continuing to be a strong regional brewery here in the Pacific Northwest.”

Silver Reef launches $29 million expansion

Now in its 10th year of operation, the Silver Reef Hotel Casino & Spa is launching a $29 million expansion that will include a new event center, a the-ater, a Mexican restaurant and room for more gaming machines.

The 50,000-square-foot addition will bring the total footprint of the facility to around 130,000 square feet. The new event center, with nearly 1,200 seats, will be nearly three times larger than the current space, said

Aaron Thomas, director of marketing for Silver Reef.

“We’ll be able to offer more seats for our headline entertainment than we’ve ever had in the past,” he said. “It is going to be the premiere event space in Whatcom County.”

The casino will be add-ing 225 new machines, bringing the total gaming machine count to 1,200, four times the number since the casino’s opening in 2002. More parking will be added to accommodate additional vehicle traffic, including more than 300 paved parking spaces along Haxton Way and adjacent to the current parking lot.

“Even in the height of my optimism ten years ago, I did not imagine that Silver Reef would evolve

into such an amazing facil-ity,” General Manager and COO Harlan G. Oppen-heim said in a press release.

Engineering will take several months, with completion expected by spring 2013. Silver Reef has teamed up with MBA Architecture, ID3 Design Solutions and Aecon Build-ings, the same team that worked on previous expan-sion projects.

“The Lummi Nation is very excited about bring-ing much needed meet-ing space to the greater Whatcom County business leaders, as well as bigger event space for more live entertainment,” Cliff Cult-ee, Lummi Indian Business Council chairman, said in the release.

Saturna Capital on Inc. 5000 list

Bellingham-based Satur-na Capital Corporation has been named to Inc. Maga-zine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, an exclusive ranking of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

With a ranking of 1,177 and a three-year sales growth rate of 252 percent, Saturna joins such well-known companies as Spirit Airlines, Honest Tea and Dunkin Donuts on this year’s list.

This marks the third consecutive year Saturna has been recognized by Inc. Magazine for its accomplishments.

Management reserves all rights. ©2011 Silver Reef Casino

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Page 4: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

4 BBJToday.com November 2011

BBJBUZZNewsorthy and notable items for Bellingham business

BY ISAAC [email protected]

With the change of sea-son come a few changes to the Public Market, a grocery store and popular lunch spot on Cornwall Avenue.

To start, Stuart’s at the Market closed its coffee shop at the end of Septem-ber, leaving bare a promi-nent spot in the market’s cafeteria. Sluggish sales and a pending increase in rent were the primary reasons for closing the business, owner Gary Fleming said in a news release.

But the Public Market won’t be without a cof-fee shop for long. Public Market Manager Stephen Trinkaus is in the process of opening a new circus-themed cafe called Tra-

peze in early November. In doing so, Trinkaus in bringing in his longtime friend Mike Lane, owner of Seven Loaves Pizzeria, one of the restaurants in the market.

“Mike and I have known each other for over 17 years and we’re both into food. Even back then, we talked about going into business together,” Trinkaus said. “What we’ve realized is we have different areas of expertise and we can combine parts of the busi-nesses. So we decided to have Terra (Organica) buy Seven Loaves Pizzeria and Mike will run our new food services department. This is kind of a dream situation — I would never do this without Mike.”

The arrangement allows Lane to focus on what he

enjoys most — making good food. In preparing to open Trapeze, he has res-urrected some old pastry recipes from the days when he owned a restaurant out on the Mount Baker High-way. The restaurant closed in 2003 and Lane opened Seven Loaves in the Public Market in late 2005.

The cafe will feature two deli cases full of baked goods, with one designated for gluten-free items only. And to go along with the circus theme, a portion of profits from the cafe will go to the Bellingham Cir-cus Guild.

For more information, call the Public Market at (360) 715-8020 or visit www.bellinghampublic-market.com.

Circus-themed coffee shop coming to Public Market

Public Market Manager Stephen Trinkaus (left) is opening a new cafe called Trapeze, which will be managed by his friend Mike Lane (right). Lane sold his restaurant Seven Loaves Pizzeria to Trinkaus and is the now the market’s food services manager. “This is kind of a dream situation — I would never do this without Mike,” Trinkaus said. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

Flea Market opens in old Wilson Motors space

O’Donnell’s Bellingham Flea Market reopened Fri-day, Sept. 30 in the former Wilson Motors building at 405 E. Champion St. The market had to move from its previous location at 119 W. Chestnut St. for a build-ing remodel, owner Dan O’Donnell said

“The overall property is bigger,” O’Donnell said. “We will have more space for outdoor vendors, events, petting zoos, car

shows or whatever. I’m hoping we will get a lot of fun activities going.”

The main floor is similar in size to the old location, but the parking area is the big difference, he said. The parking area is more than one acre and includes a covered area for outdoor vendors.

The market first opened in May 2010 in the old Tube Time space on Corn-wall Avenue. The market moved again last May to the former Dream on Futon location on Chestnut Street.

The market is open dur-ing its usual hours Mon-day through Thursday 10

a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information contact Dan O’Donnell at 360-220-7157 or visit www.bellinghamfleamarket.wordpress.com.

Bellingham companies recognized for smart commuting

The city of Bellingham and two local companies were recognized at the 2011 Governor’s Com-

mute Smart Award in early October.

A-1 Builders and Adap-tations Design Studio received a Commute Smart Small Employer Champion award for their program that offers financial incen-tives for employees who walk, bike, share rides or ride the bus to work.

Karen Hollingsworth, the employee transporta-tion coordinator (ETC) for Bellingham Cold Storage, was given a Commute Smart ETC Champion award. Under her leader-ship, the Bellingham Cold Storage smart commute program has become more effective each year by including space on the company time cards to ask employees how they trav-eled to work that day.

The city of Bellingham received a Commute Smart Employer Champion award in the large employer cat-egory. The city’s program includes subsidized bus passes and bicycles for work-related trips. Since the beginning of the pro-gram, city employees have logged nearly 1 million miles of smart commuting.

“This year’s winners are great examples of what can happen when public and private organizations work together to offer com-muters better choices that protect the air we breathe,” Marty Loesch, the gover-nor’s chief of staff, said in a press release.

The Commute Smart awards recognize innova-tion and dedication by communities, businesses, agencies and individuals

as they promote walking, bicycling, sharing rides and taking the bus to work.

Mark Bergsma opens new gallery on Hannegan Road

Mark Bergsma, an acclaimed Bellingham pho-tographer for more than 30 years, has opened a gallery to introduce fine art on canvas that blends photog-raphy with Impressionism.

Mark Bergsma Imaging is located inside Donette Studios at 4165 Hannegan Road, Bellingham. The gal-lery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Bergsma will be at the gallery Thursdays and Fridays.

“Choices,” a show featur-ing his newest works of art, will be presented during an open house at the Mark Bergsma Imaging Gallery from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 11.

Bergsma owned and operated the Mark Bergs-ma Gallery in Bellingham for 18 years until 2008. He has been utilizing high-tech digital editing tools to enhance images for top-notch photographers, graphic designers and advertising agencies the last several years.

“My love for creating new images has never wavered,” Bergsma said in a press release. “It seems

to be something that just has a grasp on me. Dur-ing these last few years, Impressionism has woven its influence into these new works on canvas that I am creating.”

Cascade Joinery moves from Fairhaven to Ferndale

After 11 years in Fairhaven, Cascade Join-ery moved at the end of September to 1349 Pacific Place in Ferndale near Bar-ron Heating.

The company sold the Fairhaven building housing the shop, offices and design studio in June. The new space is about 3,600 square feet of shop and office space.

“With the tight market in construction right now, keeping our overhead low was very important in choosing a new location,” John Miller, managing partner, said in a press release.

As part of the move, architect Greg Robinson is in the process of opening his own office in down-town Bellingham. Robin-son will continue to be a preferred design partner after nearly 16 years at Cascade Joinery.

Cascade Joinery was founded in 1990 by Jeff Arvin and Craig Aument and originally occupied an old dairy barn on Hemmi Road.

Dan O’Donnell, owner of O’Donnell’s Bellingham Flea Market, stands with his dog Frog in front of the market’s new location at 405 E. Champion St., the former home of Wilson Motors. Celeste Erickson | BBJ

Page 5: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 5

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Page 6: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

6 BBJToday.com November 2011

Leap Frog Water Taxi to offer service to San Juan Islands

Travel between Bell-ingham and the San Juan Islands is about to get a lot easier, thanks to a new company called Leap Frog Water Taxi.

The Port of Belling-ham on Oct. 4 approved a two-year lease with the company for a ticket office and dock space at the Bell-ingham Cruise Terminal. Owner Bill McGown plans to start the taxi service in spring 2012.

The idea for a water taxi arose from numerous conversations with island residents, McGown said.

“I own property out on Lopez Island and I interact with a lot of islanders out there and they need alter-nate transportation,” he said. “They need ways to get around that don’t rely on the roads and ferries. Even getting from Lopez to Friday Harbor can be an all-day endeavor some-times.”

Leap Frog Water Taxi will use a 12-passenger, 32-foot aluminum boat built in 2002 by Belling-ham’s own All American Marine. The vessel, named Andiamo, served as a fish-ing charter boat in Alaska for several years before the owners retired and the boat ended up back to Belling-ham.

“It’s fuel efficient, light, and rugged as all hell,” McGown said. “We call it the ‘wave crusher’ — it’s just so strong.”

The boat is small enough to use smaller docks on islands that don’t have regular ferry service, such as Blakely Island or Sin-clair Island. It can also be

beached, allowing pas-sengers to access come of the outer islands that don’t have docks, McGown said.

The water taxi will be on call and McGown is in the process of developing a program that will track the boat and show its position online so customers will be able to go to the website and see the location of the boat.

The launch of Leap Frog Water Taxi in spring 2012 will coincide with McGown’s retirement from Tabar Inc., a local glove design firm where he has worked for 17 years.

For more information about Leap Frog Water Taxi, call (360) 220-0538 or email [email protected].

Stone Pot Korean Restaurant moves to old Nona Rosa’s space

Stone Pot Korean Res-taurant has moved from its old location at 3092 North-west Ave. and reopened in downtown Bellingham in the first week of October, said Annie O, owner of the restaurant.

The new location at 113 E. Magnolia St. is about 1,000 square feet larger than the old location. The restaurant includes new additions to the kitchen and more items to the menu, she said.

O is also planning to get a liquor license and will stay open from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday. For more information, call 360-671-6710.

WTA receives $2.8 million grant for hybrid buses

Whatcom Transporta-tion Authority (WTA) has been awarded $2.8 mil-lion to replace five of its 18-year-old diesel-fueled buses with hybrid electric buses.

The grant will be funded by the Federal Transit Administration through its State of Good Repair bus initiative. This initia-tive will grant up to $750 million in bus and bus facilities program funds for transit projects throughout the nation.

“WTA is delighted to be replacing five 18-year-old diesel buses with hybrid electric buses,” WTA General Manager Rich-ard Walsh said in a press release. “While our com-munity has long expressed interest in alternatively fueled vehicles, their higher cost has been a substantial barrier. This grant allows us to overcome that barrier, and introduce the first five hybrid powered vehicles into our fleet.”

Compared to the buses they will replace, hybrid electric buses are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by over 40,000 pounds per year.

In addition, they will be equipped with enhanced electrification measures to include a beltless alternator and electric-powered cool-ing fans. These measures, combined with the hybrid electric drive train, are expected to save 11,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year.

WTA expects to intro-duce the new buses into service by the end of 2012.

BBJBUZZNewsorthy and notable items for Bellingham business

WWU Business Forum features Erin Baker

Erin Baker, center, visits with Tom Dorr and Meg Greenfield from the Center for Economic Vitality at the 11th Annual Western Washington University Bellingham Business Forum on Oct. 11 at the Hotel Bellwether ballroom. Baker spoke about the trials she went through to get her business, Baker’s Wholesome Baker Goods, to where it is today. What started in a rented kitchen at the Island County Fairgrounds has grown into a 20,000-square-foot bakery with distribution in 30 states. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

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Page 7: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 7

Gary’s Plumbing & Heating moves to Meador Ave.

Gary’s Plumbing & Heating recently moved to a larger Bellingham location to accommodate growth of the five-year-old business, including new customers from its addition of heating and refrigeration services.

Gary’s Plumbing & Heating is now at 1325 Meador Ave., Suite 101, in the Haskell Business Park. Founded by owner Gary Gibb, who has more than 30 years of experience in the plumbing industry, Gary’s Plumbing & Heat-ing has eight certified technicians who handle installations and service calls.

“Our highly skilled technicians can conduct

back-flow testing and service medical gas pip-ing,” Gibb said in a news release. “We’re one of the few local companies with a camera for sewer lines, enabling us to quickly locate problems and save customers money.”

After recently obtaining its HVAC-R certification, Gary’s Plumbing & Heat-ing now sells and installs energy-efficient heating

systems and products in addition to radiant heat-ing systems. It repairs fur-naces, refrigeration sys-tems and air-conditioning systems.

For more information, call Gary’s Plumbing & Heating at (360) 734-9700.

build a 40-kilowatt solar installation capable to producing 44,000 kilowatt-hours per year on average, enough to power about four homes. The proj-ect would cost between $350,000 and $400,000 and would be funded by a group of local investors, said executive director Joe Deets.

“We’re looking for 10 to 20 people for the commu-nity solar project,” Deets said. “I wouldn’t want someone stretching them-selves financially — it has to be someone comfortable with the investment.”

The project would use solar panels made by Itek Energy in Bellingham. By

taking advantage of state incentives for renewable energy production and for using solar panels made in Washington, the project is expected to see a 5 percent to 6 percent return on investment by the time the state incentives expire in 2020, Deets said.

The city of Bellingham could also benefit from the solar project, Deets added. After 2020, the city will have the opportunity to buy the solar installation from the group of inves-tors.

“This gives the city a chance to go solar very cheaply,” he said.

Along with the com-munity solar project on the Lightcatcher Building, Community Energy Solu-

tions is also launching a campaign for residential solar installations called Go Solar Bellingham. The initiative seeks to lower the cost of solar energy by offering free site assess-ments and by bringing solar module manufactur-ers, solar installers and community lenders togeth-er to offer discounts.

“Our goal is to essential-ly double the photovoltaic installations in Bellingham, both in number and in size,” Deets said.

For more information, check out a Go Solar Bell-ingham workshop from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 12 at the Bellingham Library branch in Fairhaven.

Community solar project on Lightcatcher would use panels made in Bellingham

SOLAR | FROM PAGE 1

Joe Deets, executive director of Community Energy Solutions, stands in front of the Lightcatcher Building, where he hopes to install a community solar project by spring 2012. The city of Bellingham is currently negotiating the details of the lease. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

BBJBUZZNewsworthy and notable items for Bellingham business

Owners Gary and Mary Gibb recently moved their busi-ness, Gary’s Plumbing & Heating, to a larger space at 1325 Meador Ave. Courtesy image

Page 8: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

8 BBJToday.com November 2011

A walk on the wild side with Wildlife Art TaxidermyBY ISAAC [email protected]

Walking into Bruce Tadeyeske’s taxidermy shop is almost like stepping into a natural history museum. Dozens of wild animals from around the world greet you at the entrance and showcase Tadeyeske’s skill and attention to detail in his work.

They also reveal his inner Teddy Roosevelt; he’s an avid hunter with a true love of nature.

“I came from a hunting family and started dab-bling in taxidermy at the age of 12,” he said. “We were always out bird hunt-ing. So I took some cor-

respondence courses on taxidermy — it was a lot of trial and error.”

Tadeyeske, 58, is perhaps the busiest taxidermist in Whatcom County, produc-ing hundreds of wildlife mounts and skins every year. He often works 10-hour days, six days a week in the shop on his Custer homestead.

Fall is especially busy, since that is hunting season for most North American game. Last year he did a 72-day stretch without a day off. But work is never too grueling when it’s something you enjoy.

“I get burned out occa-sionally, but after a couple days off, I’m ready to go

Being a taxidermist can be taxing work, especially is you’re as busy as Bruce Tadeyeske, owner of Wildlife Art Taxidermy. Last fall he worked 72 days straight without a day off. “I get burned out occasionally, but after a couple days off, I’m ready to go back into the shop,” he said. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

back into the shop,” he said. “I love what I do. It’s who I am — I’ve been at this for so long.”

After teaching himself the basics of taxidermy, Tadeyeske got his first job at a taxidermy shop when he was 17. He would work after school and on the weekends, constantly hon-ing his skills.

At 19, he landed a dream job working for the Mil-waukee Public Museum.

“I was the youngest full-time staff member in the taxidermy department,” Tadeyeske said. “It was a scary position to be in.”

Tadeyeske had always been interested in African game, and seeing the Afri-can wing of the museum only whet his desire to go there. But that opportunity wouldn’t come until 1999 — “once our kids moved out,” he said.

“Pretty much every year now I go over there. I’ve been pretty lucky,” he said. “I just love being over there. It’s everything — the sights, sounds, smell, cul-ture. And most guys can’t imagine the amount of game.”

Tadeyeske’s hunting trips take him to South Africa, where he has developed a relationship with a local hunting outfitter that guides clients on safaris and will prepare the skins and antlers for mounting.

“There’s so much prep work to make them look good,” Tadeyeske said. “Skins have to be taken care of in the field. The skinning is the foundation of everything.”

If a hunter doesn’t take care of the animal skin, then it’s harder for Tadeyeske to make a good mount. Sometimes he even turns down clients because of the poor quality of the materials they want mounted. No amount of taxidermy tricks can fix a poor quality skin, he said.

But there are a few tricks that can make a mount look lifelike; Tadeyeske pays special attention to the eyes and ears. The eyes are made out of glass and require precise positioning.

“It’s always the eyes that make it look good. If you mess up the eyes, you’ve lost it,” he said. “I’m rarely ever satisfied 100 percent with what I’ve done. I can count on one hand the pieces that I feel like I’ve nailed it. But there’s noth-ing perfect in nature.”

Wildlife Art TaxidermyLocated in Custer, Bruce Tadeyeske offers mounts and trophies for all kinds of wildlife. He specializes in African game and even takes clients on safaris in South Africa each year. “Africa has been my passion since I was young,” he said.

For more information, call (360) 366-1018 or visit www.wildlifearttaxidermy.com.

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Page 9: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 9

BY CELESTE [email protected]

In 1995, Dr. Emmett Branigan opened the Bell-ingham IVF & Fertility Care center with his wife, Antoinette, with the hope of giving patients the high-est level of fertility care on a smaller and more per-sonal level.

Now, the clinic sees about 150 patients a year, and in late September, the clinic reached its 1,000th baby conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Branigan served on the staff of a larger clinic in Seattle for four years before deciding to move to What-com County. At his previ-ous job, he saw patients being shuffled through the process, never know-ing what doctor they were going to see. For him, that was a problem.

At Bellingham IVF & Fertility Care center, Brani-gan is the only physician and sees patients through every step of the process. In most clinics the doctor would only see the IVF patients and would not do the basic procedures.

“But we’ve done that from the very beginning,” Branigan said. “From the most basic treatment to the highest of high-tech things. We do it all.”

He and his wife chose to start their clinic in Belling-ham because of the ideal location north of Everett and south of Vancouver, B.C. The location allowed them to get a big enough population base to support the clinic. A facility with the fertility services the clinic offers would nor-mally need a population of at least 250,000.

“I love helping people get

pregnant. A huge benefit of being in Bellingham is that I can’t go to the store or any event around town and not see somebody that we didn’t help,” he said. “Most people that do what I do wouldn’t have that, (they) might not even know if (the patient) got pregnant.”

Creating a familyThe clinic holds true to

how it was established, a small practice with a one-on-one basis, said Cheryl Rouse, a nurse and IVF coordinator. Rouse has worked at the clinic since 2005 and said with the size of the clinic, she really gets to know the patients she works with.

Rouse’s favorite part of the job is helping clients achieve their dream of conceiving a child. At the clinic, they develop last-ing relationships with the patient to the extent where couples bring their chil-dren back to meet the staff, Rouse said.

“That is when you know the dream is complete. It’s fun to watch the kids and families grow,” she said.

Rouse describes Brani-gan as a family man before a physician.

“He is a father and you really see that come through his work at the facility,” she said. “He wants patients to have to the same opportunity he has.”

The clinic offers a num-ber of services along with IVF including ICSI (a direct injection of sperm into the egg), blastocyst culture (an advanced cul-ture system), embryo freez-ing and donor oocytes. The cost of IVF ranges from $10,000 to $12,000 with an

Fertility center celebrates 1,000th baby conceived

Dr. Emmett Branigan sits next to photos of children he helped conceive through in vitro fertilization. He opened the Bellingham IVF & Fertility Care center in 1995 to give more personal care to patients. The clinic recently celebrated its 1,000th baby. Celeste Erickson | BBJ

additional $2,000 to use frozen embryos. Over the years, Branigan has had 10 academic papers published based on his research to improve fertility treat-ments.

IVF was developed in 1978 to help couples have children. Since then the practice has moved from developing new methods for assisted reproductive technology to making the methods more efficient.

“Even if you are at peak fertility, your odds of get-ting pregnant and having a baby in a single try is 20 percent,” Branigan said. “That’s not that efficient.”

One way the process has become more efficient is by putting the woman on birth control pills to syn-chronize the release of her eggs. With IVF, Branigan said the process follows a normal menstrual cycle, which can be irregular for some women.

Many women are born with more than 500,000 follicles, which hold imma-ture eggs, and every month about 50 or more follicles go from a dormant state in the ovaries to being acti-vated, Branigan said.

“Once they’re activated in a natural cycle they are kind of like seeds, but the body will only water one of them,” he said.

Women should only have one large follicle that releases one mature egg in a natural cycle, because one is the healthiest pregnancy, he said.

“When we do in vitro fertilization we would like more than one egg,” he said.

Changing the oddsBranigan will give the

patient a little more follicle stimulating hormone, a hormone that is respon-sible for follicle growth, than normal. Instead of watering just one egg, the body waters more of them for the opportunity to fully mature, he said.

Egg retrieval is similar to having blood drawn, but with anesthesia, Branigan said. With an ultrasound, which is a little bigger than a pen, a needle and anesthesia he directs the needle into the ovary. Then he directs it into the center of one of the follicles and sucks the fluid and cells with hopefully the egg into a test tube, he said. This procedure takes about a half hour with an addition-al hour for recovery.

The egg is placed with the sperm and after evi-dence of fertilization, the embryo is placed back into the uterus.

“All we really did was

take a perfectly natural cycle and turned it into a maximally stimulated cycle,” Branigan said. “Remember, if you are naturally trying to conceive with one egg you have a 20 percent chance. With this we have between a 50 to 60 percent chance.”

Most people go through life trying to prevent a pregnancy. Once they are ready, 20 percent to 25 per-cent of couples will have some degree of fertility issues. Of those, 5 percent to 10 percent might need these procedures.

“In the old days (30 years ago) there wasn’t a lot we could do. Now we can deal with virtually every problem,” he said.

For a woman at 40 years old, it is three to four times more difficult to get pregnant and have a child than for a woman under 35 years old. Once a woman is 43, it’s more than 10 times

more difficult, he said.At that point, there’s a

low chance that a woman is going to get pregnant with her own egg. For those women, their options are no kids, adoption or a donor egg.

If a woman wants to donate her eggs, she would go through the IVF process as well. She would not be losing any of those eggs because they would have died normally.

Donors are giving someone the ultimate gift, Branigan said.

“To me there’s noth-ing better than helping someone with their family,” Branigan said. “And that’s what we look at; we’re try-ing to turn couples into families.”

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Page 10: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

10 BBJToday.com November 2011

Humble beginnings: it all started in a garage

Martin Meade, co-owner of Girodisc, a brake technology company, moved his business to Bellingham in 2007. In recent years he has seen an annual 20 percent to 30 percent growth. Celeste Erickson | BBJ

BY CELESTE [email protected]

It is an unspoken test of courage for some of the most successful companies today such as Apple and Harley-Davidson to have modest beginnings in a garage. For Girodisc and Qualnetics, two Belling-ham businesses focused on auto technologies, that was their beginning as well.

Girodisc finds success in rotor replacements

Martin Meade, a 1993 graduate of Western Wash-ington University’s vehicle design program, first began working on replacement brake rotors for a Ferrari 360 in a garage. He worked with a fellow graduate as a side job while he worked with Porsche Design stu-dios in California where he was on the team that designed the Carrera GT.

“We thought this could be fun and we could make pocket change,” Meade said. “We just started doing it more and more and demand was starting to grow. My accountant said ‘You should really try it and see what you could do putting your full effort in to it.’”

The company, Girodisc, moved to Bellingham in 2007 and has since found success by establishing their business online and manufacturing as many parts as possible for high performance vehicles, Meade said.

Brake rotors are an area where auto makers typi-cally look to save money. The stock rotor is adequate for street driving, but when a driver gets on the race track the rotor is heavy and doesn’t cool down very well, Meade said. Girodisc makes a solution for that.

The Girodisc rotor can be used with the factory brake caliper and custom-ized to fit the vehicle at a fraction of the price of a full brake kit. A com-pany that makes brake kits could sell the entire kit for $4,000, but they don’t focus on the the rotor like we do. Brake rotors at Girodisc can range from $65 to $1,500 depending on the vehicle, he said.

“(Customers) don’t have to spend money on completely changing out the entire brake system,” Meade said. “We’re just taking the weak point of the brake system and mak-ing it as strong as the rest.”

The business really took off when he relocated to Bellingham and now has five employees along with three interns. Girodisc has grown 20 percent to 30 percent annually in the past few years, much of which is because the company hired its first employee who focused on online sales, he said.

“I attribute a lot of that (success) to customer ser-vice,” he said. “We’re not afraid to take the time and spend half an hour on the phone to educate (custom-ers) about their vehicle and different options. That’s what people look for.”

There is a lot of ship-ping in the business, — no one comes to the shop to buy the brakes —, which made it possible to move to Bellingham, said co-owner Emmanuelle Meade.

“The first few years the company really focused on the manufacturing. The process was good, the product was good, we were testing it and getting feedback from the cus-tomer,” she said. “It feels we’re almost at a point now that we can focus on other things.”

Martin said there is still a lot of potential and he wants to see the company grow.

“I don’t see any reason we can’t continue on our 20 to 30 percent growth,” he said. “We are so blessed and so lucky that this is working out for us.”

Qualnetics connects cars to Wi-Fi, drivers

Qualnetics, an engineer-ing firm, moved from founder Mark Moeller’s garage just last fall to its current office in Belling-ham.

Moeller founded the company in 1999 after working at Mircrosoft on the automotive team. There he worked on Microsoft’s first system that would begin putting various computer systems in auto-mobiles.

He began consulting with automotive customers from Microsoft and applied the technology he learned

Page 11: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 11

there.The company works on

embedded products for automobiles such as the Connected Car Access Point. The product has several applications such as creating a Wi-Fi hotspot for passengers, transmit-ting information to insur-ance companies, being able to inspect and diagnose problems within the vehi-cle and send a report to the owner, said CEO Paul Grey.

“You can be your own mechanic watching the vehicle,” he said.

These features come on a second-generation model of the product scheduled to be released by the end of the year for $300 per unit.

The first generation product was designed for Verizon trucks. Qualnetics rolled out 30,000 models for the entire truck fleet nationwide three years ago. The fleet manager was able to track where each truck was at any moment and drivers were able to inspect their vehicles with an iPad before they began each trip.

Instead of getting in and out of the truck to check the blinkers and make sure everything is working, drivers were able to stand outside and tap the head-light button on the iPad to make sure everything is running smoothly, he said.

The company moved from engineering services to focus on product devel-opment last year to help the company grow. The company can now take a customer’s idea from inception to a finished product, Grey said.

As for the future of the company, Grey said he would like to see sales double each year by add-ing product development to the company and by potentially setting up an office in Seattle next year. Moeller said he wants to continue to focus on auto-motive technology, but may branch out to other products such as medical devices.

Automotive technology is a very interesting field right now, Moeller said, because it brings in a lot of different factors including the automotive electronics, wireless devices, smart-phones, safety and accident prevention.

From garages to growing success, these businesses have carved their niche in the auto industry with their roots in Bellingham and haven’t looked back.

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Page 12: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

12 BBJToday.com November 2011

John Flanagan started Itek Energy in Bellingham this year and plans to produce up to 120,000 solar panels a year out of his facility in Irongate. The solar panels qualify as made in Washington, a certification that more than doubles the incentive available to customers. Isaac Bonnell | BBJ

State incentives kick-start solar panel company

BY ISAAC [email protected]

Despite Washington’s reputation for gloomy weather, the market for solar panels is looking brighter thanks to state incentives that pay hom-eowners and businesses up to $5,000 for producing solar energy.

Here in Bellingham, that incentive program has led to the launch of Itek Energy, a solar panel manufacturer that opened earlier this year in an 18,600-square-foot build-ing in Irongate and is ramping up production.

Though the incentives are paid to the energy producer, they were put in place to help create demand for local solar panel manufacturers by paying producers nearly four times more for solar arrays made here in Wash-ington.

Rather than the base rate of 15 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy produced, the state will pay 54 cents

per kilowatt-hour for energy produced with solar panels and an inverter that are made in Washington.

“The incentive package is one of the best in the whole country,” said John Flanagan, president of Itek Energy.

The incentive program for renewable energy pro-duction was passed by the Legislature in 2005 and also includes wind power and anaerobic digesters. Itek is one of just two com-panies in the state — the other is Silicon Energy in Arlington — making solar panels and inverters that qualify as made in Wash-ington, said Mike Gowry-low, spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, the agency that issues the certification.

Expanding production

Getting the company up and running has been time consuming, Flana-gan said, from purchasing

COVERSTORYequipment and setting up the production line to meeting state requirements and getting product safety certifications. The UL rat-ing alone took about eight months to get.

To date, Itek has pro-duced around 100 solar panels, but Flanagan plans to ramp up production with the start of the new year.

“Every day we’re produc-ing more and more. We should be able to make 100 a day in a couple months. With our equipment now we have the capacity to produce 30 megawatts a year,” about 120,000 solar panels, Flanagan said.

At full production capacity, Flanagan plans to employ 40 to 50 people working around the clock in three shifts.

Much of the production line is automated, involving machines that lay individ-ual solar cells in a line and solder them into a string of 10. Six strings make up a full solar panel, which also includes layers of glass and insulated backing that are all laminated together before being placed into an aluminum frame.

Itek does not make any of the materials for the solar panels, but since the company assembles them into a finished product, that qualifies as made in Washington, Flanagan said.

Solar panels are only half of the equation though. The power that the panels produce has to go through an inverter that switches the current from direct current (DC) to alternat-ing current (AC). Also, the state offers incentives for using inverters that are made in Washington.

Though Itek designed and developed its own solar panel, Flanagan decided to partner with Texas-based Exeltech to make the inverters. Starting in December, Itek will start

building inverters designed by Exeltech.

Overcoming high prices

The greatest hurdle for Itek and the whole solar industry is the high upfront cost for customers, said Joshua Miller, proj-ect manager for the solar installation company West-ern Solar. In fact, certified made in Washington pan-els cost about 30 percent more than panels made by

larger companies that have economies of scale.

Despite the higher cost, Miller is seeing a jump in demand for locally made panels because the state incentive is better and customers can pay off the investment in about seven years, compared to 10-15 years for out-of-state pan-els. Half of the solar panels he installs now qualify as made in Washington, he said.

“So even though you’re paying more upfront, you’re payback is much quicker,” Miller said, add-ing that there is also a feel-good factor to buying pan-els made in Washington. “The people that tend to buy solar panels are inter-ested in locally produced power and having those panels built here falls right in line with that.”

As Itek grows and realiz-es production efficiencies, the price of its solar panels should come down, mak-ing it more attractive for the average homeowner, Flanagan said. But reach-ing that point would be difficult without the state incentives.

“In our business, vol-ume is very important,” he said. “What we’re hoping is that when those incen-tives diminish in 2020, the market will have grown enough to be sustainable. If all goes well, what we’re hoping to achieve is greater acceptance of solar.”

Itek Energy hopes incentives for made in Washington solar panels will increase demand for their locally made products

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Page 13: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 13

NONPROFITNEWS

NWIC raises $17,000 at annual golf fundraiser

Northwest Indian Col-lege’s 9th Annual Golf Scramble garnered $17,000 for the school’s athletic program.

Forty-four golfers par-ticipated in the event this year, held Sept. 30 at the North Bellingham Golf Course in Bellingham. Money was raised through a combination of team sponsorships, tee sponsors and raffle sales.

Two first place trophies were awarded this year: the Champion Cup, awarded to the tournament’s overall winning team, and the Travelling Rez Cup, which is new this year and was awarded to the first place team from a participating tribe or casino.

The Champion Cup went to the team spon-sored by the Nooksack River Casino, comprised of golfers Bob Kelly, Gary Cochrane, Breck Edwards and Bill Drummond.

This year’s Traveling Rez Cup winners were the Syc-uan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, comprised of golf-ers Angelo Jefferson, Larry Kinley, Bob Shannon and Carl Lane.

Community Food Drive surpasses 250,000 pounds of food donated

A surge of last-day dona-

tions enabled the 17th-annual Community Food Drive to surpass its goal of collecting 250,000 pounds of food for Whatcom County food banks.

The food drive, which ran from Oct. 15 to Oct. 23, finished with donations of 252,190 pounds of food.

“We’re very pleased that generous individuals, businesses and organiza-tions enabled us to meet this year’s goal,” Becky Skaggs, spokesperson for Haggen stores, said in a press release. Haggen was one of the event sponsors. “We hope that people will continue to donate and that other organizations will conduct drives because food banks in Whatcom County are now distribut-ing an average of 500,000 pounds of food each month.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters wins non-profit of the year award

The Bellingham/What-com Chamber of Com-merce & Industry has cho-sen Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington as its 2011 Nonprofit of the Year.

“This organization does so much for at-risk youth in our community,” cham-ber President/CEO Ken Oplinger said in a press release. “Big Brothers Big Sisters is committed to providing an adult mentor for every child who needs one.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington was established in Belling-

ham in 1976. The organiza-tion helps children build the attitudes and behaviors needed to stay in school, succeed academically, make healthy choices and create promising futures.

“I am beside myself that we got Nonprofit of the Year. I wish you could be here to see how excited I am and grateful,” Bliss Goldstein, executive direc-tor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Wash-ington, said in the news release.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington, along with the Small and Large Businesses of the Year, Green Business of the Year, and the Man and Woman of the Year awards will be presented at the Annual Awards Banquet and Auction Dec. 7 at Lakeway Inn and Confer-ence Center. Auction proceeds will benefit the Whatcom Chamber Foun-dation and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington. For ticket information, contact the chamber at (360) 734-1330.

Whatcom Asset Building Coalition receives $8,000 grant

United Way of Whatcom County recently awarded a grant of $8,000 to the Whatcom Asset Build-ing Coalition (WABC) to support income growth in Whatcom County.

WABC is a community collaboration supporting financial self-sufficiency through education and advocacy. Like United Way of Whatcom County, WABC promotes financial stability and independence

in Whatcom County by helping individuals learn techniques to increase income and build savings.

“It is a community mobilization project,” Peter Theisen, United Way of Whatcom County presi-dent, said in a press release. “It directly addresses the community’s needs and connects with United Way of Whatcom County’s efforts to help residents not only increase their income but also maintain their assets, which leads to financial independence.”

The Opportunity Coun-cil, a nonprofit community action agency, serves as the lead agency for the WABC. United Way of Whatcom County has been a com-mitted member of the WABC since the coalition’s inception.

“We’re really grateful for this opportunity,” Anjali Englund, outreach and development coordinator for the Opportunity Coun-cil, said in the release. “The support from United Way of Whatcom County helps bring together stakeholders like financial advisers and counselors and give people a pathway out of crisis not only in the short-term but more importantly, long-term.”

The grant will help

WABC expand free tax preparation services and increase the number of working families that claim the anti-poverty Earned Income Tax Credit to receive more money on their tax return. Last tax season, more than 2,300 returns were prepared at free tax preparation sites in Whatcom County.

The coalition’s website www.whatcomabc.org offers an interactive map of free tax preparation sites, a comparison chart on basic checking account fees and a calendar of scheduled finance classes.

Whatcom domestic violence commission gets federal grants

The Bellingham-What-com County Commission Against Domestic Violence (DV Commission) recently received two federal grants totaling nearly $1 million from the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women to enhance community

response to domestic vio-lence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

The DV Commission, in partnership with the city of Bellingham, received its fourth consecutive award from the Grants to Encour-age Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (GTEA). This grant will be for two years and totals $387,218.

The DV Commission, in partnership with the Ferndale School District, received an award from the Service, Polices, Education, and Training to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking in Secondary Schools Program (STEP). This grant will be for three years and totals $549,371.

2011 was the first time that the Office on Violence Against Women offered this grant opportunity, and the Ferndale School District will be one of only 10 sites nationwide to be implementing the pilot projects in their middle and high schools.

These grants will allow the DV Commission and its partners to move for-ward in our efforts to fully respond to and end domes-tic violence.

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Page 14: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

BBJCOMMUNITY

Off Beat by Rik Dalvit

BBJVIEWSBBJNOTEBOOK

14 BBJToday.com November 2011

From the reporter’s deskStarting Nov. 17, all of the comments on BBJToday.com will be handled by Facebook, rather than the current system, Disqus. Though this will require commenters to have a Facebook account, it will improve the content of the comment section and hopefully increase social engagement.

If you’ve ever read the comments on a news website, you’d know that it is not a place for the faint of heart. Images of a Wild West saloon come to mind. Some commenters have legitimate points to make, but it often doesn’t take long for the discussion to turn into a melee of mudslinging and machinations by anonymous commenters.

One of the best ways to foster an environment of decorum is to encourage commenters to use their real identity — something that has been a challenge since the dawn of the Internet. Facebook offers a solution: not only does it have a proven system for handling comments, but it also enforces the use of real identities.

This is not an endorsement of Facebook per se, but their system offers the best way to encourage respectful interaction in what is designed to be a public forum.

Anonymity still has its places in the media, especially to protect sources. But in the public forum of a comment section, the public is best served without the veil of identity. Real people having real conversations is ultimately good for both this newspaper and the community.

The news industry is clearly moving away from anonymous commenting and The Bellingham Business Journal is proud to be in the vanguard.

LettersI was at a candidate forum and was bewildered by what I heard. In reference to stimulating the economy, Sam Crawford supported the removal of any and all barriers to businesses. He cited the recent approval of a massive gravel pit expansion in Acme, which is adjacent to area farms and the Nooksack River, as an example of removing barriers and restrictions so that businesses could thrive. I too support job creation. But Mr. Crawford, think this one through. Where are the jobs you’re referencing here? The aggregate company only employs 20 people in Whatcom County. They never claimed to expand their operation, only their land amassed under Mineral Resource zoning. By supporting this you’re imposing huge property devaluations to the surrounding community. Impacts to ground water have been studied and documented so you’re also supporting the decision to threaten the water supply for local residents, farms, and fisheries operations. Consider the potential for displacing employees and businesses that rely on adequate ground water. I’m voting for Christina Maginnis. She understands that water resources, fisheries, and farms will suffer at the hand of hasty resource planning.

Anna Martin, Osprey Hill Farm, Acme, WA

John owns a local food processing company that makes candy. His 20-person company had been steadily growing for the past five years until the recession hit and his com-pany lost 50 percent of its customers.

John realized that his local and regional customers weren’t likely to come back for many years, so he looked for new markets to expand his sales. The logical place was to look north to the British Columbia marketplace. John worked with the Center for Economic Vitality to research the competition, packaging needs and identify prospective wholesalers that would help open markets for his products.

John visited a number of the prospects and helped the wholesalers close sales a few times a month during the past year. His sales grew quickly and soon surpassed his 2008 sales revenue. Exporting has become more than 50 percent of his sales and he is now looking to expand into other provinces and Asian markets.

Exporting can be a great opportunity to expand into a new market, increase sales, and grow your business. With our proximity to British Columbia and more than three million people, exporting to Canada and the Lower Mainland are real options. However, many businesses see the prospect of exporting as a daunting task because they believe they are too small, or the regulations too arduous.

On the contrary, size shouldn’t necessarily factor into ones decision to export or not. Nearly 97 percent of all U.S. exports are by small- to medium-sized companies. International opportunities are growing as foreign econo-mies grow and connections abroad become easier and more common place.

Canada is Washington state’s number one trading partner for non-aerospace and non-agricultural products (NANA) with more than $1.3 billion worth of products sold in the third quarter of 2010. These exports were more than NANA exports to China, Korea, and Japan combined.

There are many advantages to exporting for the right business in the right industry and into the right foreign markets. Exporting has become more of an option for

small businesses, especially ones from Whatcom County, so how does one know whether exporting is right for their company?

The first phase is to look internally: Does my company have the capacity and desire to expand sales internation-ally? Are my core business functions set up correctly and running smoothly? Do I have the staff, key contacts and support to expand? Self assessment is a key component to getting ready to export.

The second phase is research. Some common questions include:

in the foreign market? What is the competitive landscape there? What is my unique selling niche?

sales, retail locations, wholesale partners, or specialty markets?

packaging requirements?

sales internationally?

channels support my pricing strategy?

revenue in a foreign country? Are my current advisors skilled in foreign tax and legal issues?

Specific issues will arise as you pursue foreign sales. Having a good team of advisors is important to interna-tional success. Find support to increase your knowledge and awareness of the ins and outs of exporting.

Exporting is easier than you think

JOHNTHOMPSONCenter for

Economic Vitality

TOM DORR

Page 15: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 15

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Page 16: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

16 BBJToday.com November 2011

BBJDATAPublic records related to business

Bankruptcies Chapter 7 — Straight

bankruptcy; debtor gives up non-exempt property and debts are discharged.

Chapter 11 — Business reorganization; protec-tion from creditors while business devises a plan of reorganization. Income/expense reports must be filed monthly.

Chapter 13 — Plan is devised by individual to pay a percentage of debts based on ability to pay. All disposable income must be used to pay.

The following bankrupt-cies are from Whatcom County.

Chapter 7

Tammy and Robert C. Spinner Jr., case no. 11-21314-KAO, filed Sept. 26.

Jose D. Martinez Galan and Janice E. Blackmore, case no. 11-21342-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

Coady E. Pike, case no. 11-21362-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

Daljit S. and Satinderjit K. Dhillon, case no. 11-21365-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

Terri L. Muenscher, case no. 11-21372-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

Kailyn E. Brown, case no. 11-21374-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

Kelley D. Vice and Sydney P. Cole, case no. 11-21411-KAO, filed Sept. 28.

Harlee’s Inc., case no. 11-21460-KAO, filed Sept. 29.

Evelia Moreno, case no. 11-21464-KAO, filed Sept. 29.

Colleen R. Mitchell, case no. 11-21472-KAO, filed Sept. 29.

David A. and Vera V. Kaydalov, case no. 11-21519-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Yuriy V. and Anna-Maria Gorun, case no.

11-21529-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Kent B. and Peggy L. Selby, case no. 11-21545-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Casey A. and Molly C. Ward, case no. 11-21547-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Luz I. and Alan D. Speidel, case no. 11-21553-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Debbie J. and John P. Wilson Jr., case no. 11-21562-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Delcie C. Van Capelle, case no. 11-21602-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

James and Deborah L. Parham, case no. 11-21605-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Thomas J. Kasperson, case no. 11-21702-KAO, filed Oct. 4.

Myron A. and Joanne J. Burke, case no. 11-21797-KAO, filed Oct. 6.

Aaron C. and Lynette M. Maberry, case no. 11-21812-KAO, filed Oct. 6.

Frederick J. and Ina J. Bach, case no. 11-21813-KAO, filed Oct. 6.

Nicholas S. Hibma, case no. 11-21889-KAO, filed Oct. 10.

Cynthia A. Bentley, case no. 11-21916-KAO, filed

Oct. 10.

Paul L. DePoppe, case no. 11-21933-KAO, filed Oct. 11.

Marisel M. Andersen, case no. 11-21976-KAO, filed Oct. 12.

Rose Vogel, case no. 11-21995-KAO, filed Oct. 13.

Kevin P. and Margaret R. Fairshon, case no. 11-22012-KAO, filed Oct. 13.

Kirk P. and Bonita J. Fengel, case no. 11-22041-KAO, filed Oct. 14.

Jude D. Gray, case no. 11-22045-KAO, filed Oct. 14.

Cheryl A. Basher, case no. 11-22093-KAO, filed Oct. 14.

Christopher J. Bauer, case no. 11-22101-KAO, filed Oct. 14.

Justin R. Tromp, case no. 11-22135-KAO, filed Oct. 17.

Mary E. Sullivan, case no. 11-22138-KAO, filed Oct. 17.

Seth H. Anderson, case no. 11-22145-KAO, filed Oct. 17.

Matthew S. Peterson, case no. 11-22164-KAO, filed Oct. 18.

Sharon M. Hymer, case no. 11-22170-KAO, filed Oct. 18.

Peter F. and Joan C. Rice, case no. 11-22179-KAO, filed Oct. 18.

Emily K. Heiser, case no. 11-22196-KAO, filed Oct. 19.

Forrest Logsdon-Hughes and Jennifer F. Hughes, case no. 11-22213-KAO, filed Oct. 19.

David C. and Christina J. Fox, case no. 11-22273-KAO, filed Oct. 20.

H. David Kurland, case no. 11-22278-KAO, filed Oct. 20.

Jocelyn A. Koker, case no.

11-22281-KAO, filed Oct. 20.

Donald S. and Christine L. Whitney, case no. 11-22293-KAO, filed Oct. 20.

Daniel L. and Amber D. Klein, case no. 11-22315-KAO, filed Oct. 21.

Jerimie J. and Jessica L. Young, case no. 11-22342-KAO, filed Oct. 21.

James M. Fellers, case no. 11-22344-KAO, filed Oct. 21.

Leslie N. Jackson, case no. 11-22353-KAO, filed Oct. 21.

Cory W. and Katherine Goodwin, case no. 11-22384-KAO, filed Oct. 24.

Kathleen R.M. and Travick F. Risher Jr., case no. 11-22403-KAO, filed Oct. 24.

Ahn T. Truong, case no. 11-22411-KAO, filed Oct. 25.

Julie A. Steele, case no. 11-22432-KAO, filed Oct. 25.

Deborah T. Lutz, case no. 11-22462-KAO, filed Oct. 26.

Michael J. Vasilantone, case no. 11-22465-KAO, filed Oct. 26.

Melanie D. Deaton, case no. 11-22469-KAO, filed Oct. 26.

Chapter 11

David A. Force, case no. 11-22301-TWD, filed Oct. 21.

Chapter 13

Michael J. and Laurie A. Morris, case no. 11-21366-KAO, filed Sept. 27.

David R. and Linda M. Schuyler, case no. 11-21587-KAO, filed Sept. 30.

Tammy D. Klenz, case no.

11-21687-KAO, filed Oct. 3.

Adam W. and Falon M. Finkbonner, case no. 11-21882-KAO, filed Oct. 9.

Sindy S. and Richard A. Wiebe Sr., case no. 11-21884-KAO, filed Oct. 9.

Kinnie L. Chamberlain, case no. 11-21919-KAO, filed Oct. 11.

Trenton J. and Shawna L. Hanson, case no. 11-21920-KAO, filed Oct. 11.

Tim P. and Grace G. Lukens, case no. 11-22089-KAO, filed Oct. 14.

Renee F. Gilbert, case no. 11-22128-KAO, filed Oct. 17.

Jordan L. Stone, case no. 11-22195-KAO, filed Oct. 19.

Anita M. Perry-Byrne, case no. 11-22299-KAO, filed Oct. 20.

Corey R. and Laura M. Barrett, case no. 11-22412-KAO, filed Oct. 25.

Business licenses

The following business licenses are from the city of Bellingham.

Cress & McGrath Rehabilitation Associates, Cress & McGrath Rehabilitation, 421 Donovan Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225

Royal Roofing & Siding, Royal Roofing & Siding Inc., 1304 E. Marvin St., Pasco, WA 99301

Little Bugs, Janice L. Rieg, 2406 Yew St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Artisans, Rick T. Alcantara II, 1215 Cornwall Ave. #101, Bellingham, WA 98225

Center for Salish Community Strategies, Center for Salish Community Strategies,

More bang for your buck

Page 17: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 17 909 Harris Ave. #202C, Bellingham, WA 98225

Banditos Burritos B, Banditos Burritos B Inc, 120 W. Holly St, Bellingham, WA 98225

Northwest Wireless, Northwest Wireless LLC, 318 36th St., Bellingham, WA 98225

K & S Woodworks, K & S Woodworks LLC, 9629 Benson Road, Lynden, WA 98264

Massage Envy #0576, Marked Improvement II LLC, 330 36th St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Discovery Music Academy, Discovery Music Academy LLC, 1252 Nevada St. #201, Bellingham, WA 98229

Midcentury Design, Kelli J. Linville, 3123 Eldridge Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225

S J Bookkeeping, Sara J. Williams, 1165 Toledo St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Burling Construction, Michael D. Burling, 2920 Canlin Drive, Ferndale, WA 98248

Kitching Excavating, E. Kitching Corporation, 4738 Neptune Circle, Ferndale, WA 98248

La Quinta Inn, Doubleland Inc., 125 E. Kellogg Road, Bellingham, WA 98226

SEPIA Photo Promotions, Trend Concepts Unlimited Inc., 1 Bellis Fair Parkway, Bellingham, WA 98226

Walton Tile, Jordon E. Walton, 2710 Wildflower Way, Bellingham, WA 98229

Supreme Bean Coffee Cafe, Supreme Bean Coffee Cafe LLC, 1205 Washington St., Bellingham, WA 98225

West Mortgage, West Mortgage LLC, 3800 Byron Ave. #148, Bellingham, WA 98226

West Mortgage, West Mortgage LLC, 2915 Newmarket Place #105, Bellingham, WA 98229

Yoga with Susan D’Onofrio, Susan C. D’Onofrio, 1317 Commercial St. #203, Bellingham, WA 98225

N W Process Service, N W Process Service Inc., 3781 Greenville Court, Bellingham, WA 98226

Marijo Martini, Marijo Martini, 1000 Harris Ave. #9, Bellingham, WA 98225

Pacific Nutrition & Wellness, Pacific Nutrition & Wellness L2930, Newmarket Place #115, Bellingham, WA 98226

SEE DATA | PAGE 18

Page 18: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

18 BBJToday.com November 2011

BBJDATAPublic records related to business

Absolute Services, Absolute Services LLC, 2214 J St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Clark Sign Service, Dale L. Clark, 31321 Signs Dr., Deer Island, OR 97054

Logan Electric, Logan Electric LLC, 6418 S. D St., Tacoma, WA 98408

Brow Art, Frozan Amiri, 1 Bellis Fair Parkway #5533, Bellingham, WA 98226

Napster, Napster LLC, 7601 Penn Ave S., Richfield, MN 55423

Lexar Homes of Burlington, Tayso Construction LLC, 485 Andis Road, Burlington, WA 98233

Lighthouse Audit & Investigation, Sandra F. Perkins, 2009 Bradley Dr., Anacortes, WA 98221

Mt Baker Candy Company, D. Barry Companies Inc., 1 Bellis Fair Parkway #434, Bellingham, WA 98226

Schober Woodworks, Robert N. Schober, 3962

Hoff Road, Bellingham, WA 98225

Systems for Marine Performance, Larry L. Pratt, 2411 Spruce St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Plum Tree Pottery, Isaac E. Howard, 1000 Harris Ave. #2, Bellingham, WA 98225

Enterprise Fleet Leasing, Enterprise Fleet Leasing Inc., 1119 SW 7th St., Renton, WA 98057

Insulators Depot, Insulation Contracting & Supply, 3511 136th St. NE, Marysville, WA 98271

Ken Crawford Consulting, Kenneth D. Crawford, 2639 N. Park Dr., Bellingham, WA 98225

Whitney Equipment Company, Whitney Equipment Company Inc., 21222 30th Dr. SE #110, Bothell, WA 98021

Serendipity, Serendipity Partners LLC, 1201 11th St. #102, Bellingham, WA 98225

Underground Republic, Sheri Griebel, 809 Gilbert

Dr., Bellingham, WA 98226

Ideas & Abilities, Kinsey L. Jarvis, 792 Shaw Road, Bellingham, WA 98229

Lampman Family Auto Detail, Karl F. Lampman, 2141 Queen St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Anti-Aging LX, Aletheia Group LLC, 2205 D St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Karen King Counseling, Karen C. King, 119 N. Commercial St. #320, Bellingham, WA 98225

D J & D J Contracting, D J & D J Contracting Inc., 7231 Secluded Lane, Ferndale, WA 98248

In Every Way Gourmet, In Every Way Gourmet Inc, 2004 N. State St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Bergelectric, Bergelectric Corporation, 650 Opper St., Escondido, CA 92029

Anderson & Associates, Timothy T. Anderson, 114 W. Magnolia St. #412, Bellingham, WA 98225

OneMain Financial, OneMain Financial Inc., 4151 Meridian St. #114, Bellingham, WA 98226

Callie Haan LMP, Callie R. Haan, 1410 Ellis St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Marietta Milling, Frederick W. Brune, 859 Democrat St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Schoenfeld Interiors, Schoenfeld Interiors Inc., 11555 Northup Way, Bellevue, WA 98004

Flow International, Flow International Corporation, 23500 64th Ave. S, Kent, WA 98032

Personal Concierge Services, Scott T. Kirk, 37 Tumbling Water Dr., Bellingham, WA 98229

D & A Electric, D & A Electric LLC, 33410 30th Ave. SW, Federal Way, WA 98023

Yoga 4 Life, Olga C. Karimou, 1609 Brookview Place, Bellingham, WA 98229

Crossroads Thrift Store, Bellagio Domestic Services LLC, 4145 Meridian St. #103, Bellingham, WA 98226

Roll’n Smoke Barbecue, Roll’n Smoke BBQ & Catering LLC, 405 E. Champion St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Go See Phil, Philip E. Radke, 2106 Pacific St. #104, Bellingham, WA 98229

S D Deacon, S D Deacon Corporation of California, 7745 Greenback Lane #250, Citrus Heights, CA 95610

First Service Networks, First Service Networks Inc., 939 Elkridge Landing Road #300, Linthicum, MD 21090

Johnstone Supply, G-A-P Supply Corporation, 3414 California Ave. #A, Everett, WA 98201

International Belt & Rubber Supply, International Belt & Rubber Supply, 4132 B Place NW, Auburn, WA 98001

Stone Pot, Gogoma LLC, 113 E. Magnolia St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Trail Insight, William H. Hasenjaeger, 2601 Likely Court, Bellingham, WA 98229

Artiezahn, Ali S. Tabatabi, 424 W. Bakerview Road #105, Bellingham, WA 98226

Linguadora, Sara B. Darling, 1505 N. State St. #305, Bellingham, WA 98225

A Home Center, Kerry M. Rice, 1706 Golden Court,

Bellingham, WA 98226

Cain’s Lawn & Gardening, Reka Inc., 1118 W. Smith Road, Bellingham, WA 98226

PrimeCare, PrimeCare PLLC, 1329 Lincoln St. #3, Bellingham, WA 98229

Coworx Staffing Services, Pomerantz PPS LLC, 1375 Plainfield Ave., Watchung, NJ 07069

J A Games, J A Games LLC, 2025 James St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Highline Construction, Highline Construction LLC, 2222 F St., Bellingham, WA 98225

The Woods Coffee, The Woods Coffee Inc., 210 36th St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Golden Specialty, Golden Specialty Inc., 3921 Spur Ridge Lane, Bellingham, WA 98226

WAFL Stop, Brian K. Schultz, 600 Ohio St., Bellingham, WA 98225

DACO, DACO Corporation, 18715 E. Valley Highway, Kent, WA 98032

Warehouse Solutions Northwest, Warehouse Solutions Northwest, 29026 39th Ave. S, Auburn, WA 98001

Ozonia North America, Ozonia North America LLC, 8007 Discovery Dr., Richmond, VA 23229

Keith C. Russell Consulting, Keith C. Russell, 915 Liberty St., Bellingham, WA 98225

Liquor licensesApplications

Beaver Inn, Beaver Inc., Brian J. Waller, James R. Waller and Nancy M. Waller have applied to sell spirits/beer/wine in a restaurant lounge in a new location at 115 E. Holly St., Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Oct. 25.

Kulshan Brewery; Kulshan Brewing Company, David W. Vitt, Michael H. Vitt, Ralph A. Perona and Jonathan J. Greenwood have applied to open a microbrewery at 2238 James St.,

Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Oct. 21.

Mt. Baker Ski Area White Salmon; Mt. Baker Ski Area Inc., Hartwell F. Bressler, Paul B. Hanson, Fred M. Haskell, Duncan A. Howat and Mary P. Mills have applied for a change of class license to serve beer/wine in a restaurant at Milepost 52, Mount Baker Highway, Glacier, WA 98224. Filed Oct. 18.

La Patisserie Cafe and Bistro; La Patisserie Inc., Joyce I. Cheng and Joe C. Ming have applied to assume the liquor license from Hiep Le and Phuong T. Le to serve beer/wine in a restaurant located at 3098 Northwest Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Oct. 17.

Contract Liquor Store #572/Sumas Liquor & Wine, Dhamivd Enterprises LLC, Varinder S. Dhami and Dilpreet K. Chhuhan have applied to assume the liquor license from Lawrence G. and Deanna K. Sperry to sell beer/wine at a specialty liquor agency located at 444C Cherry St., Sumas, WA 98295. Filed Oct. 12.

Stage Right Design, Sheila R. and Gerald I. King have applied to sell beer/wine at a gift delivery business located at 31 North Point Drive, Bellingham, WA 98229. Filed Oct. 11.

Stone Pot, Gogoma LLC, Eun O, Hyng O and Solji Park have applied to sell spirits/beer/wine in a restaurant service bar located at 113 E. Magnolia St., Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Oct. 6.

The Rustic Coffee Bar, The Rustic Coffee Bar Inc., Donna and Norman Heerspink have applied to sell beer/wine in a restaurant located at 1319 11th St., Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Sept. 30.

Renate’s German Deli, Wally’s Barber Shop Inc., Renate E. and Hilary C. Whaley have applied to be a direct shipment receiver and sell beer/wine off premises and in a restaurant located at 312 Front St., Lynden, WA 98264. Filed Sept. 29.

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Page 19: Bellingham Business Journal, November 07, 2011

November 2011 BBJToday.com 19 Underground Inc., Brian A. Tines has applied to open a nightclub located at 211 E. Chestnut St., Bellingham, WA 98225. Filed Sept. 28.

Mount Baker Distillery, Mount Baker Distillery LLC, Troy Smith, Dawn Hawley, Thomas E. Smith and Denise E. Smith have applied to open a craft distillery located at 1305 Fraser St., Bellingham, WA 98229. Filed Sept. 28.

Dynasty Cellars, Peter and Olga Osvaldik have applied to open an additional location for their domestic winery, located at 2169 E. Bakerview Road, Bellingham, WA 98226. Filed Sept. 28.

JudgmentsWhen an individual or

business becomes delin-quent in tax payments, the state can obtain a judgment against any property or business. Judgments are filed in Whatcom County Superior Court, as are records of judgments paid or satisfied. The follow-ing information is taken from the Whatcom County Superior Court clerk’s office:

Keith B. and Julia A. Flint dba Keith Flint’s Custom Painting, $3,127.13 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 26.

Haines Tree & Spray Service Inc., $27,348.61 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 26.

Quality Plus Products Inc., $1,292.61 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 24.

Saving Lives From Fire LLC, $1,655.66 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 24.

Jeffrey B. Stiner dba Bradford Rovers, $2,817.36 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 21.

William R. Simmons, $1,913.45 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 19.

Fairhaven Pub & Martini Bar Inc., $11,951.32 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 19.

American Logistics LLC, $2,235.37 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 20.

Vitaliy Kravchenko, $1,040.00 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 20.

Marianne L. Zweegman dba Zweegmans Adult Family Home, $1,395.84 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 20.

Cutsom Fit Drywall LLC, $2,522.78 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 20.

Detrick D. Hearn, $563.18 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

James E. Wilson, $2,086.72 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Karen Vogel, $612.22 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Kim K. Queen, $720.16 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Steve L. Townsley, $2,022.02 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Michael E. Rawley, $9,349.97 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed

Oct. 17.

Mark E. Rice, $1,484.60 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Jose M. Marquez, $1,692.40 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Gary D. Forslof, $999.96 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Jesse N. Unick, $53,064.40 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Steve D. Huisman, $674.44 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Beth H. Breen, $624.01 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Kristine K. Waller, $2,060.90 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Martin Medina, $2,508.42 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Richard D. Bonkoski, $1,880.08 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Craig A. Scholten, $1,572.29 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Vincent P. Kisena, $1,247.16 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Melissa Serrano, $721.00 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Jeffrey D. Phillips, $5,370.96 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

John C. Harkness, $1,775.02 in unpaid

Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Matthew Flores, $728.50 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Edward Pharakarn, $3,426.40 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Blessings Inc. dba Blessings Salon Spa, $6,280.23 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Stop Drop & Clean LLC, $2,568.67 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Bay Community Baptist Church, $205.90 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Ultrasonics International Corp., $22,680.36 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Wildwest Express Inc. dba Point Roberts Auto Freight, $4,375.97 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Garry A. Fleming dba Stuarts Coffee, $397.12 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Doeden Enterprises LLC dba Golden Dreams Adult Family Home, $1,287.23 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Erin M. Arps, $484.60 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Brad Benjamin, $243.94 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Jennifer Himango, $141.37 in unpaid Employment Security

Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Sheila M. Mihalcea, $237.58 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Steven G. Peetoom, $192.44 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Justin D. Peterson, $190.38 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Lacey D. Schuyleman, $234.54 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Brittney T. Scott, $4,627.00 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Jennifer C. Shore, $277.66 in unpaid Employment Security Department taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Beverly A. and Clark W. Casey Jr. dba Northwest Custom Insulation Services, $27,959.27 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Downtown Bobs LLC dba Bobs Burgers & Brew, $4,148.97 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Milts Pizza Place LLC, $1,603.45 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Milts Pizza Place, $1,407.58 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Seth L. Heeringa and Carlos Gonzalez dba A Fresh Cut Lawn Service, $1,085.18 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Tiffany S. Prasad, $1,951.93 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 17.

Harlee’s Inc. dba Cedars Restaurant and Lounge, $4,468.87 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 13.

Joel Olson Construction Co. Inc. aka All Trades & Associates Inc., $1,923.97 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Sheris Devine Interiors LLC, $6,106.65 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Keith B. Flint dba Keith Flints Custom Painting, $5,465.75 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Terry L. Redden dba TR Visible Design, $4,692.12 in unpaid Department of Revenue taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Lawn Enforcement, $1,040.00 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Justin L. Sheperd, $1,040.00 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Lawn Enforcement, $1,040.00 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

S&H Farms Inc., $985.48 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Ronald L. Wolfmeyer dba Wolfmeyer Enterprises, $6,742.22 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 12.

Joe Zender & Sons Inc., $28,172.21 in unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes. Filed Oct. 11.

05-2887 © 2011 Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) (life and disability insurance,

annuities) and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), a subsidiary of NM, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, and

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20 BBJToday.com November 2011

Making Life A Little EasierMEMBER FDIC

Our Banking Services

Give You Something Few Other Banks

Can Offer.

A Five-Star Financial Rating. These days, almost every bank offers some variety of business banking services – from check-ing accounts, to loans, to VISA and check cards, to the complete gamut of Cash Management Tools. But, before you decide to entrust your hard earned money to a bank, shouldn’t you have some idea exactly how that bank is doing with the money it already has? Fortunately, that information is readily avail-able – you can find it by going to the website of the company that evaluates banks nationwide, based on

their performance as well as how financially “sound” they are. All you have to do is log on to “www.bauerfi-nancial.com/btc_ratings.asp,” and enter the name of the financial instution you want the rating for. Because after all, what you really want from your business banking accounts – or any other ac-count – is a rock-solid bank behind it. For more information about our banking services, please feel free to stop by any of our branches or go to www.wibank.com.