Published December 2004

Business Briefs

Stillaguamish casino opens
The Stillaguamish Tribe’s Angel of the Winds Casino opened in late October, bringing Snohomish County’s number of tribal casinos to three.

Located on a 20-acre site northwest of Arlington, the $19 million, 22,000-square-foot casino hosted a packed house during its grand opening Oct. 28, with customers playing 425 “slot” machines and a dozen or so gaming tables.

Marshall Bank of Minneapolis was the project lender. Once the loan is paid off, the casino earnings will support the tribe’s social and cultural programs, tribal officials said.

Ex-Tulalip housing authority member
pleads guilty to embezzlement
The former chairman of the Tulalip Tribes Housing Authority pleaded guilty in late October to embezzling $23,500 in federal housing grant money entrusted to the tribes.

Dale M. Jones, 62, could face up to 10 years in federal prison and be fined up to $250,000 for the felony. He will be sentenced Feb. 4 in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Other former housing authority commissioners who have not been charged with any crimes have nevertheless agreed with the tribes to repay money they also obtained improperly.

A review by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed that the commissioners were responsible for nearly $500,000 in unallowable expenditures.

Jones was chairman of the housing authority from December 1993 through November 2002. During that period, Jones received 55 stipend payments from HUD grant money for travel and attendance at meetings that he already was being paid for as a tribal employee.

Although the HUD grant money belongs to the Tulalips, the federal agency regulates how it is spent. The money is for building homes and providing housing assistance on the reservation.

In court on Oct. 29, Jones agreed to make restitution, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tate London said Jones already had begun making payments.

Following the HUD review, the Tulalips outlined plans to resolve the problems related to mismanagement of the housing grants. They include creating an independent group of tribal housing experts to ensure that HUD rules are followed and hiring an independent accountant and auditing firm to audit the books.

SonoSite unveils tool
to fight cardiovascular disease
In November, Bothell-based SonoSite Inc. revealed SonoCalc, its new software that enables physicians to measure the arterial wall lining of the carotid arteries and assess early a patient’s risk of cardiovascular disease.

“By expanding our hand-carried ultrasound technology into preventive cardiology, we believe that we offer physicians a cost-effective and significant tool to help reduce the intractable increase in cardiovascular disease,” said Kevin Goodwin, president and chief executive of SonoSite.

Clinical research has shown that the arterial wall lining of the carotid arteries becomes thickened years before plaque develops within the vessel, according to SonoSite. This increased wall thickness is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Used in conjunction with the TITAN system — SonoSite’s high-resolution, hand-carried ultrasound — the SonoCalc provides physicians the ability to analyze the wall lining of the patient’s carotid artery and compare it against published population data to generate an individual cardiovascular health profile report for the patient, the company said.

Best Western Alderwood
honored for outstanding quality
The Best Western Alderwood, formerly the Silver Cloud Inn in Lynnwood, recently received the Best Western Director’s Award for outstanding quality standards.

The award recognizes Best Western International hotels with a cleanliness and maintenance inspector score of 950 points or more out of a possible 1,000. Hotels also must meet Best Western’s requirements for design and high customer-service scores to qualify for the distinction.

“The Director’s Award is an important symbol of success,” said General Manager Jennifer Alphonse. “This award confirms the Best Western Alderwood commitment to providing quality accommodations for our guests.”

Located at 19332 36th Ave. W., the 142-room hotel is adjacent to the new Lynnwood Convention Center and features two meeting facilities of its own with free high-speed Internet.

Nastech evaluating
two new treatments
Bothell-based Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. said it is evaluating, with two separate, unnamed research partners, the development of nasal sprays for the treatment of type-2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Studies will be done to assess whether drugs targeting the two conditions can be delivered via the mucous membranes in the nose.

Type-2 diabetes affects more than 90 percent of the 18 million Americans who have diabetes. Alzheimer’s afflicts an estimated 4 million people in the United States.

Helix BioMedix adds
Canadian partner
Helix BioMedix Inc. of Bothell has signed a marketing agreement that allows Body Blue Inc., a Canadian manufacturer of personal-care items and cosmetics, to use Helix’s peptides. The special proteins with wound-healing properties are being used increasingly in cosmetics.

Helix said it is holding discussions with a number of Body Blue’s clients, which include Procter & Gamble and Revlon, about adding peptides to anti-wrinkle lotions, deodorants and even mouthwashes.

ICOS trims losses
during third quarter
ICOS Corp. continued to trim its losses during the third quarter, thanks to growth in sales of Cialis and restrained spending on manufacturing and research.

The Bothell-based biotechnology company lost about $27 million, or 42 cents a share, during the third quarter, nearly 13 cents less than the average predicted by analysts. The company hopes to become profitable by the middle of 2005.

Cialis, the company’s erectile dysfunction drug, generated worldwide sales of $154 million. Leonard Blum, ICOS’ senior vice president for sales and marketing, noted that U.S. sales rose 38 percent from the second quarter to the third.

That was despite the ratcheting down of sales and marketing expenses. It has been just under a year since the Food and Drug Administration approved Cialis in this country.

David Goodkin, ICOS’ chief medical officer, added that preparations have begun for a second-phase clinical trial that will test Cialis’ effect on benign prostatic hyperplasia. That common condition is caused by enlargement of the prostate in older men.

Port’s comprehensive plan
tweaked for 7E7 pier
The Port of Everett has changed its comprehensive plan to allow construction of a special barge pier and rail spur for oversized cargo destined for the Boeing Co.’s Everett plant.

The pier, which state officials promised to pay for after Boeing agreed to build its new 7E7 Dreamliner in Everett, is expected to cost more than $15 million.

Planned is a finger pier that would accommodate barges carrying containers as large as 35 feet wide, 35 feet high and 140 feet long. A gantry crane on the pier would straddle the containers and lift them from the barge to waiting rail cars.

Early plans for the project called for a diesel-powered crane. But port officials changed that to an electric model after residents complained about the potential noise and air pollution from such a large diesel engine.

Members of the Tulalip Tribes also expressed concern that the pier could harm juvenile salmon, so the port agreed to plant eelgrass in other locations to make up for any displaced salmon habitat. It also plans to add fill to create a beach.

In November, the port’s three commissioners unanimously approved the comprehensive plan change, which is required for the port to start work on the project.

Also: Port hires marina designer
Port of Everett commissioners have agreed to spend $847,000 to have a Seattle engineering firm design the port’s new marina.

PND Inc., a consulting engineering firm, will do the final design for the marina, which will have 250 slips, mostly for larger boats. Dredging work and construction of the marina, which is expected to begin next year, will cost more than $14 million.

Goodrich to install
winglets for Alaska Airlines
Goodrich Corp.’s Everett jet maintenance center will install new winglets on jets for Alaska Airlines.

The Seattle-based airline announced in November that it had ordered 25 sets of winglets from Aviation Partners to make its planes more fuel efficient. The winglets will be installed on new 737-800s that Boeing is to deliver to the airline next year and on the 22 737-700s that Alaska has in its fleet now.

Goodrich’s Aviation Technical Services center in Everett will do the installation on the 737-700s as they come in to the center for routine heavy-maintenance checks, the airline said.

Boeing awards
more 7E7 contracts
The Boeing Co. has awarded contracts for 7E7 components to Goodrich Corp. and three French manufacturers.

Boeing announced in November that Goodrich and a subsidiary of France’s Snecma Group would provide the electric brakes for the new jet; Latecoere of Toulouse, France, would provide the passenger doors; and two American subsidiaries of the French Zodiac Groupe would provide the water and waste systems and escape slides.

Airline customers will have the option of choosing brakes from Goodrich or Messier-Buggati, the Snecma subsidiary, Boeing said. The 7E7 will be the first commercial jet to use an electrically activated brake system, as opposed to traditional hydraulics. Boeing says the new brakes will be lighter and can be monitored through the 7E7’s maintenance computers.

It is Goodrich’s fourth 7E7 contract, and the third for Snecma.

SBA seeks award nominations
The Seattle District office of the U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for its annual awards recognizing Washington state’s small-business community.

The nomination deadline is 4:30 p.m. Dec. 3, with awards for Small Business Person of the Year, Small Business Exporter of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Nominations for Small Business Champions also are being sought, with categories including Financial Services, Home-based Business, Minority Small Business, Small Business Journalist, Veteran Small Business and Women in Business.

The state Small Business Person of the Year will compete for recognition as the National Small Business Person of the Year and will join other winners from across the United States in Washington, D.C., in being honored during National Small Business Week during the last week in April.

The SBA Seattle District office also will hold an awards ceremony in April, honoring the Washington state winners.

Nominations can be submitted online by going to www.sba.gov/wa/seattle/AwardComp.html. Forms also can be received by mail or e-mail by calling or e-mailing Roger Hopkins at 206-553-7082 or roger.hopkins@sba.gov.

Aerospace, education partnership
receives $1.5 million federal grant
TRIAD, a partnership of local community colleges, businesses and economic development groups, recently received a grant of almost $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to train workers for careers in the aerospace industry.

The grant is part of a $3 million aerospace industry worker training effort under President Bush’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, a strategic plan to prepare workers for jobs in America’s fastest growing industries. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco was in Washington state to present the award.

With the grant, the TRIAD initiative will focus on increasing the development of curricula, career ladders and distance-learning approaches for advanced aerospace technician positions associated with the Boeing 7E7 supply chain. The training models developed also will be used as tools in the marine, biomedical and construction industries.

“Building a pipeline of qualified aerospace industry workers is crucial in addressing the aerospace sector’s need for a highly skilled work force,” said DeRocco. “This project’s business, education and work-force development partnership will help ensure its success in developing innovative approaches to address the work-force needs of business, while also effectively helping workers find good jobs with good wages and promising career pathways in the aerospace industry.”

Key partners in the project include Edmonds and Everett community colleges, the Boeing Co., the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council, the Snohomish County Economic Development Council and other county aerospace manufacturing supplier industries.

Everett Clinic recognized
with $20,000 grant
The Everett Clinic was one of five recipients to receive a 2004 American Medical Group Association Acclaim Award for its work to improve patient access, safety and satisfaction.

As part of the award, a $20,000 educational grant was given to The Everett Clinic for continuing focus on patient safety, quality of care and cost effectiveness throughout the organization. The Everett Clinic will use the grant to continue:

• Expanding the use of its computerized medical record (CMR) system.
• Implementing a mobile CMR.
• Improving the cost and quality of digital prescribing.
• Implementing an “Advanced Access” model of care in all primary-care sites and selected specialty departments.
• Offering advanced communication training to new physicians.

“The Everett Clinic is pleased to be among such prestigious winners as the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University in receiving this award,” says Dr. Albert Fisk, medical director of The Everett Clinic. “We will use the educational grant to further our work on improving quality and patient safety.”

The Everett Clinic, founded in 1924, is a locally owned and operated physician group practice with 220 physicians serving Snohomish County.

Master Builders Association
aids homeless shelters
Members of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties volunteered their time and talents in late October to bring improvements to homeless shelters around the area.

Part of the Master Builders Care Foundation ShelterCare program, the Oct. 30 event included painting, landscaping and other work at eight locations, including two Cocoon House shelters and the Life Changes Ministry, all three of which are in Everett.

All labor and materials for the recent “Painting a Better Tomorrow” event were donated by members of the Master Builders Association.

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