Published March 2006

Business Briefs

New flight facility at Arlington Airport
Out of the Blue Aviation Inc. celebrated its grand opening in February at its Arlington Airport location, 18306 59th Drive NE.

The new flight facility offers flight instruction, from private pilot to commercial; flight reviews; instrument proficiency checks; aircraft rentals; pilot supplies; and espresso.

For more information, call 360-474-1060 or go online to www.outoftheblueaviation.com.

Cocoon House breaks ground
on Arlington shelter
After the completion of its $4.2 million Building Dreams Capital Campaign, Cocoon House in February broke ground on the first of two new facilities to provide emergency shelter to teens.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site of the shelter’s future new home, at 521 Highland Drive in Arlington, with attendees including Cocoon House’s board of directors, Executive Director Lee Trevithick, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon and Arlington Mayor Margaret Larsen.

“Cocoon House would not be here to build this dream without the generous support of the Arlington community, including the Arlington Rotary, which committed $100,000 to the campaign, and others throughout Snohomish County,” said Trevithick. “We are also especially thankful to Patrick McCourt and Barclays North Inc., who have taken on the construction for this project.”

For more information on Cocoon House, call 425-259-3342 or go online to www.cocoonhouse.org.

Hospitality guild approves
River Rock for membership
Arlington’s River Rock Inn recently was endorsed as a member inn by the board of directors for the Washington Bed and Breakfast Guild.

To be endorsed, the inn is inspected and approved, and must operate at or above the Washington Bed and Breakfast Guild’s standards of quality for continued membership.

Nastech partners
with Proctor & Gamble
Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. in Bothell is teaming with Procter & Gamble in a blockbuster deal to create a nasal spray that combats osteoporosis, a bone-loss disease suffered by at least 10 million Americans.

A published study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that doses of a naturally occurring hormone, the parathyroid hormone, referred to as PTH1-34, can actually reverse bone density loss when taken in combination with another drug. That’s an important difference from most other treatments that attempt to prevent bone loss or slow it down.

Nastech’s spray form, now being tested on humans, could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration under a shorter and less costly 505(b)(2) application process. There’s already an approved form of PTH by injection, Forteo from Eli Lilly and Co., so the application asks for a shortened test period for Nastech’s patented nasal delivery form of the drug.

Under its partnership with Nastech, Procter & Gamble is paying $10 million immediately and up to $22 million in additional research and development milestone payments over the next year. Total payments could reach $577 million, not counting potential royalties if and when the drug reaches the market.

Port of Everett wins grant
for guest moorage
The Port of Everett recently received a $990,000 federal Boating Infrastructure Grant, which will help fund a 36-slip guest moorage dock in the new 12th Street Yacht Basin.

The moorage slips will consist of a mixture of side-tie moorage as well as 40- and 50-foot slips with finger piers to provide flexible moorage for nontrailerable boats.

The guest moorage slips will be in addition to the 155 permanent slips in the yacht basin, which currently is under construction.

The new marina is adjacent to the new 65-acre Port Gardner Wharf waterfront redevelopment that will include more than 1.6 million square feet of residential units, restaurants, hotel services, retail shops, offices and also a public amphitheater and continuous waterfront walkway.

Funding for the grant came from a portion of the federal Aquatic Resources Trust Fund administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Port of Everett competed against 32 other projects nationwide for funding.

Salon moves to new space,
offers tanning and massage
Almost Famous Tanning & Hair Salon, formerly A Nu Image Hair Color by Design, has moved from Evergreen Way to larger facilities at 221 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite M-9, in Everett.

Along with hairstyling services, the business, operated by Penny Troth and daughter and hairstylist Rachel LaPierre, offers tanning and massage.

For more information, call 425-355-8330 or go online to www.almostfamoustanningandhairsalon.com.

GeoEngineers acquires
High Desert Geo-Technologies
GeoEngineers, an earth science and technology company with an office in Everett, has acquired High Desert Geo-Technologies Inc., a Bend, Ore., company specializes in custom GIS solutions and services for property, asset and land management.

Terms of the sale, which took effect in February, were not disclosed. High Desert will become GeoEngineers’ 14th office, and its staff will remain as part of GeoEngineers.

Employers’ association to build
new office in S. Everett
TOC Management Services, which provides human resource services, recently purchased 6.2 acres of land in the Seaway Center area of south Everett for the construction of a new Western Washington regional office building, said the organization, whose regional office is now in Bothell.

The targeted completion date for the new building, expected to be between 18,000 and 20,000 square feet, is fall 2008, the employers’ association said. The new building will include a training center for its members and the community.

“We look forward to having a new home for TOC. We are dedicated to serving our ever-growing membership of employers and being actively involved in the community,” says Nancy Dicus, TOC’s Western Washington regional manager.

For more information on TOC, go online to www.toc.org.

Fluke Networks partners
with Ekahau for Wi-Fi tools
Everett-based Fluke Networks is incorporating Ekahau Inc.’s Wi-Fi site survey technology in its InterpretAir WLAN Survey software, created to assist networking engineers who design and optimize Wi-Fi networks for applications such as Voice over WLAN.

“Installers of Wi-Fi systems need reliable test and measurement tools to help them design and optimize wireless networks,” said Mike Hadley, Fluke Networks wireless product marketing manager. “Fluke Networks will be integrating Ekahau technology into a range of new products that enable installers to maximize WLAN performance at all stages of the wireless network lifecycle, from planning and deployment through troubleshooting and expansion.”

The InterpretAir WLAN Survey software uses Ekahau’s Site Survey technology to analyze and visually plot Wi-Fi coverage and performance throughout the corporate campus, and draws a visual coverage map overlaid on top of building floor plans, so that network engineers can adjust Wi-Fi access points as needed to ensure optimal network performance.

AquaSox, Mariners extend
affiliation through 2008
The Everett AquaSox and the Seattle Mariners have reached an agreement to extend their current player development contract through 2008, the Everett ball club said.

The new pact will allow AquaSox fans to watch some of the top Mariners’ prospects for at least the next three seasons, the ball club said. The previous agreement was set to expire at the end of 2006.

“The Mariners are extremely pleased to extend our affiliation in Everett,” said Benny Looper, the Mariners’ vice president of player development and scouting. “The AquaSox management and fans make this an easy decision, as our players and staff enjoy first-class treatment while competing in the Northwest League.”

The AquaSox team has been the Northwest League affiliate of the Mariners since September 1994.

Banfield pet hospital opens in Everett
Banfield pet hospital opened inside the new PetSmart store at 1130 SE Everett Mall Way in Everett.

Portland, Ore.-based Banfield has more than 500 locations across the United States, in the United Kingdom and in Mexico.

CombiMatrix Corp. boosts
partnership with INBIO
CombiMatrix Corp. of Mukilteo has expanded its partnership with INBIO, which will become the majority owner of CombiMatrix’s subsidiary in Japan.

INBIO, based in Australia, will run the day-to-day operation of the subsidiary, known as CombiMatrix K.K., and expand distribution to CombiMatrix’s DNA analysis products and services in that nation.

Bartell Drugs’ Silver Lake store
moves to new, larger location
Bartell Drugs recently moved to a larger location in the Silver Lake area of Everett, celebrating the grand opening of its new store in February.

The new location, at 11020 19th Ave. NE, is directly south and across the parking lot from its previous location. The store has 15,035 square feet of space, nearly 2,100 square feet more than the original site, Bartell Drugs said.

Dykeman designed the store, and Gaffney Construction Inc. was the general contractor.

Applicants sought for new
health-care leadership fund
The Everett Clinic Foundation, in conjunction with the family of William MacDonald, recently established the William MacDonald Leadership & Personal Development Fund in honor of Dr. MacDonald, who was a highly respected leader and president of The Everett Clinic for many years.

Funds will be allocated to Snohomish County health-care professionals for the purpose of promoting leadership, collaboration and enhancement of health care for the residents of Snohomish County.

Preference in the allocation of funds will be given to health-care providers who are residents of Snohomish County and/or projects that take place in the county. One award will be given annually, up to a maximum of $10,000.

For more information or to apply, call 425-259-1177, Ext. 2868; send e-mail to macdonaldfund@everettclinic.com or go online to www.everettclinic.com/macdonald.

VOA to close three thrift stores
Volunteers of America announced in February that it will close its three thrift stores in Snohomish County, in Everett, Marysville and Arlington.

The Everett and Marysville stores will no longer accept donations of clothing or household goods. All items at the two stores will be immediately discounted by 30 percent.

The decision was made after the three stores lost $101,000 over the past three years. There’s also increasing competition among thrift and discount stores, said Phil Smith, development director.

The Marysville thrift store, at 310 State St., was expected to close Feb. 28. Still to be decided is whether the organization will sell the building or use it for other purposes.

The Everett store will close March 31. The store is on the first floor of the organization’s two-story building. The space will be used for other programs.

Plans for closing the Arlington store, at 311 Olympic Ave., are not yet final because the business is being sold.

Reardon proposes apprenticeship
requirement for projects
Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is proposing to establish apprenticeship requirements for all county government construction projects with an estimated cost of $1 million or more.

The apprenticeship program would require contractors to hire apprentices enrolled in training programs approved or recognized by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council. The goal is for apprentices to perform 15 percent to 20 percent of total labor hours per county project. Transportation projects would be exempt from the program.

“Our ability to grow a strong economy depends in large part on having enough skilled workers in the construction trades to meet the demand,” Reardon said, noting that studies have shown that the percentage of skilled workers in the construction trades is declining due to attrition and retirement.

Snohomish County’s apprenticeship program would be joining similar programs already in place for the state of Washington and King County.

Boeing 787 supplier to locate in county
A German company that is supplying parts for the Boeing Co.’s new 787 airliner has decided to locate its assembly building in Snohomish County.

Drager Aerospace has narrowed its list of prospective sites and hopes to have a lease signed soon, said Wolfgang Marquardt, the company’s customer support representative for Boeing programs.

The facility will be small, initially employing about 10 people working in a building of about 20,000 square feet to assemble passenger service units — the lighting and ventilation systems above each seat.

But it’s a milestone. Drager is the first new Boeing supplier to announce it is moving to Everett to build parts for the 787. Last year, 787 supplier Messier-Buggatti moved from its previous Everett site into a new 25,000-square-foot plant on 75th Street SW.

John Monroe, who heads the Snohomish County Economic Development Council’s aerospace outreach program, said the group has been working with Drager for about six months identifying potential sites, reviewing state aerospace tax incentives and putting the company in contact with other Boeing suppliers it can do business with.

OfficeMax closing Everett,
Lynnwood stores
OfficeMax Inc. will close its two Snohomish County stores as part of the struggling office supply chain’s nationwide restructuring.

The two stores, at 228 SW Everett Mall Way in Everett and in Lynnwood’s Alderwood Plaza, are the only ones in Washington state being closed this winter. Across the country, OfficeMax is shutting 110 locations.

The chain’s nearest remaining stores are in Shoreline, Woodinville, Oak Harbor and Burlington.

The Lynnwood OfficeMax, which occupies 38,000 square feet, is much larger than the chain’s typical store, said Krista Haverly, senior associate with CB Richard Ellis in Seattle. Haverly, who handles leasing at Alderwood Plaza, said the closure wasn’t unexpected or even necessarily a bad thing.

“We have an opportunity to get a much better tenant there,” she said. The 25,000-square-foot OfficeMax in Everett Mall Plaza may be just as attractive to other retailers as well, Haverly said.

OfficeMax spokeswoman Nicole Miller said the chain will seek to find jobs for laid-off workers at its other stores.

NSA World Series event
coming to county
Snohomish County has been awarded the contract to host the National Softball Association Girls Fast Pitch World Series in July 2006, which will bring more than $3 million in economic impact to Snohomish County, according to the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau.

The new Holiday Inn in downtown Everett was selected as host hotel for the event. Additional room blocks are being held at 20 area hotels from Bothell to Monroe to Marysville with more than 5,000 hotel room nights expected during the weeklong event.

Thirty-six softball fields throughout the county have been reserved, and thousands of players and fans are expected to attend the tournament, which will include more than 200 participating teams.

Snohomish County successfully hosted the event in 2004.

Kimberly-Clark donates
788 acres to YMCA
Kimberly-Clark Corp. has given 788 acres of land on Ebey Island to the YMCA of Snohomish County.

The donation, estimated to be worth about $4.7 million, is the largest ever received by the Snohomish County YMCA, and one of the largest charitable donations ever made in the county, said Jerry Beavers, the YMCA’s president.

The acreage is undeveloped wetlands on the island just south of the U.S. 2 trestle. Beavers said the YMCA board is considering what to do with the land.

Some will likely be preserved as wetlands, perhaps as a wetlands education site. The organization also wants to create some sort of public access for families to the site.

The YMCA also is looking at ways it can generate money from the land to help support a new fund-raising campaign intended to expand capacity at the organization’s sites in Everett, Marysville, Monroe and Mukilteo.

Kimberly-Clark acquired the land in 1990 as part of a plan to develop a cottonwood plantation that would supply fiber to the Everett mill. Market conditions changed, the plantation was never started, and the land remained undeveloped.

YMCA’s ‘Helping Kids Grow’
campaign under way
The YMCA of Snohomish County began its annual Invest in Youth “Helping Kids Grow” campaign in February, with a 2006 goal of raising $480,000 to support the Everett and Marysville/North County family YMCA branches and the Big Brothers Big Sisters branch.

The association board of trustees, together with the Mukilteo, Southeast and Monroe/Sky Valley family branches, will conduct a separate capital fund-raising campaign later this spring to support five countywide projects.

The campaign will run through March 14.

For more information, contact the local YMCA of Snohomish County family branch or go online to www.ymca-snoco.org.

Local companies recognized
with Better Workplace Awards
Two Snohomish County companies were among those recently recognized by the Association of Washington Business through its annual Better Workplace Awards.

For Workplace Safety, Damar Machine Co. of Monroe was an award winner in the 26- to 100-employee business category. The AWB noted that Damar has taken “a unique approach to employee training and leadership with its 16-month-long Team Building and Leadership Training program.

For Innovative Benefit & Compensation Programs, Mukilteo’s Pacific Seafood received a Certificate of Merit in the 26- to 100-employee category for showing “its appreciation for its employees’ good work with an innovative health reimbursement account program, smoking cessation and weight loss programs, and a generous profit sharing plan,” the AWB said.

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