Published October 2004

Business Briefs

Tulalips given deadline
to fix federal grant problems
The Tulalip Tribes have six weeks to come up with a plan to resolve grant-management issues with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials.

Tribal directors met with HUD officials in September and discussed what needs to be done to prevent federal sanctions that could include halting annual grants and ordering the tribe to pay back millions of dollars the Tulalips have received since 1998.

HUD officials on Aug. 9 notified the board that the Tulalip Housing Authority had failed to resolve issues, including allegations that some federal grant money had been misspent, and the authority’s management had put the federal money at risk of being mismanaged and wasted.

The Tulalips set up a committee to develop the plan, and will hire two certified public accountants and designate a financial manager, tribal Chairman Stan Jones Sr. said. The Board of Directors will oversee the plan.

Business Computer Services
opens in Arlington
Business Computer Services has opened in Arlington, offering information technology services that include computer servicing, networks and telephony support, with cabling, hardware, software, maintenance and installation.

Among other products, the company offers 3com NBX, Intel/Dialogic and Cisco Voice-over IP phone systems. The firm is a leader in small- and medium-business managed services, specialized in outsourcing of IT staff services at flat rates and flexible hour combinations.

He handles Lucent SysteMAX, Siecor LANscape fiber system and 3M fiber for systems that handle both voice and data traffic over the same wires. He also markets products from Dell, Compaq, Cisco, Linksys, HP, IBM, Symantec and Microsoft.

The business, owned by Richard DeLuca and his brother, Michael, is at 8513 178th Place NE; the Web site is at www.bcsdirect.net.

Richard DeLuca arrived recently from working in California’s Silicon Valley computer industry. They picked the area for its growth potential and lifestyle, he said.

He recently teamed up with John McKeon of GE Financial to promote a North Snohomish County Business Expo at the Hawthorn Inn & Suites on Oct. 30 to showcase area businesses. Co-sponsors of the show include the Greater Marysville Tulalip, Smokey Point and Arlington chambers of commerce, the cities of Marysville and Arlington and the Tulalip Tribes (for more information on the expo, see the Calendar of Events).

North County Bank opens
Lake Stevens branch
North County Bank celebrated the opening of its third banking office with a bankwide open house in September.

The new office, at 629 State Route 9, in Lake Stevens’ Frontier Village, joins branches in Arlington and Marysville.

For more information, call the Lake Stevens branch at 425-335-7878.

Dream Dinners sells
50th franchise
Snohomish-based Dream Dinners Inc. sold its 50th franchise in September, said the company’s chief executive, Stephanie Allen.

The business, founded by Allen and Tina Kuna in March 2002, is a pioneer in the home meal-replacement industry and the first to roll out the assemble-and-freeze dinner preparation concept on a national scale.

Dream Dinners has 12 stores in Washington and locations in 15 additional states.

The company, which has been featured on cable TV’s Food Network, was in the spotlight again in September, this time on a segment of CBS’ “The Early Show” that focused on the growing trend of “make and take” meals.

Blue Heron receives
federal research grant
Blue Heron Biotechnology Inc. of Bothell has been awarded a federal phase-one Small Business Innovative Research grant of $137,910, which it will use in developing a “universal” restriction enzyme system, according to U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who made the announcement.

Dr. John Mulligan, president and chief executive of Blue Heron, said the SBIR program has enabled his company to develop a set of exciting new technologies “that could revolutionize the way scientists approach biological problems.”

“The universal cutter technology that is the focus of this grant will have broad applications in molecular biology while also pushing our gene synthesis platform into the realm of very large genes and whole genome synthesis,” Mulligan said.

The goal of the grant is to develop a uniform method for assembling large DNA molecules.

Blue Heron was founded in 1999 to accelerate discovery research by industrializing the manufacture of custom reagents. Blue Heron’s proprietary GeneMaker synthesizes any gene, regardless of sequence or size. Today, hundreds of researchers from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as academic and government laboratories buy synthetic genes from the company.

Cycle Barn expanding
with new Lynnwood facility
Cycle Barn is expanding, with a new “barn” being constructed on Highway 99 about a mile north of its other location at 188th Street SW and Highway 99 in Lynnwood, the company said.

The new facility will house Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph and Arctic Cat brand lines, with the Harley-Davidson and Buell lines being retained as “Harley-Davidson of Seattle” at the company’s store at 5711 188th St. SW, Cycle Barn said.

The new building, when opened in summer 2005, will add 52,000 square feet of retail space and allow Cycle Barn “some breathing room for all of the exciting motorsports products headed our way,” owner Jim Boltz said.

Bothell-based Microvision
gets Volkswagen deal
Microvision Inc. of Bothell will develop an advanced prototype of its head display system for drivers and passengers for Volkswagen of America. The order is separate but similar to another recent deal between Microvision and Volkswagen’s electronics laboratory. Under both contracts, Microvision will develop a compact display system that meets specifications for future car designs.

This and other deals gave Microvision more than $600,000 in new business in the third quarter.

Lynnwood Goodwill turns 25
Lynnwood Goodwill recently marked 25 years of operation, commemorating the anniversary with cake, punch and special sales for customers Sept. 23.

The nonprofit organization, part of Seattle Goodwill’s network of retail outlets, has occupied three different locations during its first quarter century, moving to its current home, at 4027 198th St. SW, in September 2002.

Proceeds from store sales benefit Seattle Goodwill’s education and job training programs, which help hundreds of low-income people annually to gain skills and experience to secure employment with career advancement and wage progression opportunities. For more information about Seattle Goodwill programs, call 877-GIVE4GOOD or visit the group’s Web site, www.seattlegoodwill.org.

Nastech headquarters
bought for $16.2 million
BioMed Realty Trust Inc., a San Diego company that owns and develops laboratory and office space for biotechnology companies, has purchased the headquarters building of Nastech Pharmaceutical Co.

The $16.2 million Bothell acquisition is one of five that BioMed recently completed along the West Coast, the company said.

The 51,000-square-foot, two-story building at 3450 Monte Villa Parkway is south of the Canyon Park area. It was built in 1996 and renovated two years ago. The previous owner was a private partnership.

Nastech has occupied about two-thirds of the building since its move here from New York two years ago. But the company, which is developing nasally inhaled pharmaceutical drugs, is now expanding into the rest of the space, BioMed officials said.

Epoch Biosciences
to be sold in $58 million deal
Bothell-based Epoch Biosciences Inc., a maker of molecular testing tools, is being acquired by Nanogen Inc. of San Diego in a stock deal worth about $58 million.

Nanogen plans to merge Epoch’s administrative, sales and marketing into its own operations in San Diego. Epoch’s research and development lab and manufacturing operations will stay in Bothell, however.

Bert Hogue, Epoch’s chief financial officer, said about 40 people work for the firm, with manufacturing and research and development groups comprising the bulk of the work force.

“There likely will be some job losses out of Bothell, but how many is unknown,” he said.

Nanogen agreed to pay the equivalent of $2 per share for Epoch in the all-stock deal. Epoch’s stockholders will receive Nanogen shares, though the actual exchange ratio will be based on Nanogen’s stock price when the transaction closes.

In the past two years, Epoch has been through changes in an effort to become profitable, including selling its California-based division, which made DNA probes, in 2003. Despite that, the company still lost $748,000 in the second quarter of this year, excluding a one-time gain from the adjusted value of stock warrants.

Philips to lay off
150 employees
Philips Medical Systems will lay off up to 150 employees in Bothell next year as the company tries to streamline its ultrasound manufacturing.

One of Snohomish County’s largest private employers, Philips employs about 1,700 people in Bothell’s Canyon Park area, which serves as the Dutch company’s worldwide center for ultrasound products.

Nearly all of the job cuts will involve employees who make transducers, the hand-held probes that are used with ultrasound machines, spokesman Steve Kelly said, noting that the company also makes transducers at facilities in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

To improve efficiency, the Bothell transducer manufacturing and development unit will move, in all likelihood, to Pennsylvania. The layoff of about 130 full-time and 20 part-time employees in that department is scheduled to begin in January.

Philips hopes to have the layoffs and changes finished by September 2005.

Meanwhile, Philips has announced that it plans to sell its circuit board manufacturing division, which could result in additional job losses locally.

Everett Events Center scores
record attendance with circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus came to town in September, bringing record attendance to the Everett Events Center.

The center marked an opening-night sellout crowd of more than 8,000 people during the Sept. 16 show, and the combined eight-show, four-day run drew 40,970 people, the Everett Events Center reported. The previous multi-show attendance record was set during Nov. 5 through 9 last year, when “Disney On Ice presents Princess Classics” drew a crowd of 36,388.

“We expected big things from ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ and that’s exactly what we got,” said Kim Bedier, the center’s general manager. “As with any event, we open our doors for everyone to experience the fun and excitement of live entertainment. This market continues to support all of our shows. We’ll see if ‘Disney On Ice presents Monster’s Inc.’ in November can reclaim the attendance record.”

That show is set to run from Nov. 10 through 14.

Port of Everett approves
amphitheater plan
A public amphitheater and park on the Everett waterfront costing a minimum of $1.1 million won approval from the Port of Everett commission in September.

The amphitheater, which will be the main gathering place for the planned $200 million redevelopment of part of the city’s waterfront, would include 400 permanent seats and temporary seating for 950 more for public performances, a significant amount of green space and shaded areas, and several areas for performances.

If efforts to raise another $500,000 to $600,000 by three area service clubs are successful, the facility also would include a gateway with accent columns, plaza block seats, a permanent stage cover, a dressing-hospitality building, below-ground storage, a 100-square-foot restroom and fountain jets.

Port commissioner Don Hopkins noted that any group looking for naming rights to the facility had better be prepared to come up with a big donation.

“I expect a significant contribution from them,” he said. “Otherwise, it will be the taxpayers’ park.”

Also: Port gets two security grants
The Port of Everett has received two federal homeland security grants totaling $1.56 million for video surveillance equipment and controlled-access gates. The grants come at a time when the port has nearly completed early projects aimed at fencing in all its marine terminals. The new money will mostly be used to buy video cameras and monitors.

Everett AquaSox sold
The Everett AquaSox baseball club, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners owned by Mark and Joan Sperandio for the past six years, has been sold to another baseball family, the Carfagnas of Cleveland, Ohio.

Peter A. Carfagna, his wife, Rita Murphy Carfagna, and their eldest son, Pete. E. Carfagna, are majority owners of the Lake County Captains Baseball Team, an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

Contingent upon the approval of the Northwest League, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and Major League Baseball, the AquaSox will be managed in Everett by Pete E. Carfagna as vice president, with the Sperandios working with the club for the next few months during the transition period. In deciding to sell, the Sperandios said they wanted to move closer to family on the East Coast.

Performance Kia
opens new facility
Performance Kia recently opened a 20,000-square-foot facility in Everett at 229 SW Everett Mall Way, marking one of the first “ground up” facilities for the Kia Circle of Excellence Dealership Program, according to the Everett dealership.

Introduced to Everett by Hugh Hall in 1997, the Kia line has cultivated a strong market, with Performance Kia now ranked in the top 20 percent nationally in new Kia sales, the dealership said. With a new facility, the goal is to reach the top 10 percent in sales.

For details, call 425-347-5763 or 425-609-5600.

Alaska’s cost cutting could mean
more work for Goodrich
Alaska Airlines has closed its jet maintenance facility in Oakland, Calif., and plans to send more work to Goodrich Corp.’s Everett plant as part of a series of cost cuts the Seattle-based airline announced in September.

A spokeswoman for Goodrich said it’s too early to say what impact the decision will have on the company’s workload in Everett. Goodrich already does maintenance work for Alaska at its Aviation Technical Services center in Everett — about one 737 a month, spokeswoman Denise Anderson said.

The airline has been sending about 60 percent of its maintenance work to Goodrich and to AAR Aircraft Services in Oklahoma City, while Alaska’s own mechanics have worked almost exclusively on the airline’s fleet of 74 Boeing 737s, which Goodrich’s Everett mechanics specialize in.

Goodrich employs about 1,600 people at its Paine Field plant, which is one of the largest jet-maintenance facilities in North America. Those people do heavy maintenance and overhauls on about 450 planes a year, the company said.

Espresso Americano
opens in Everett Station
Espresso Americano, which already operates inside the Everett Public Library, has opened another shop at Everett Station, 3201 Smith Ave.

The opening follows a bid process by the city of Everett to fill the 1,227 square feet of space next to the Greyhound Lines Inc. and Amtrak ticket counters.

Hours of operation will be from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. The cafe will be closed Sundays. In addition to espresso drinks, Espresso Americano will offer breakfast sandwiches, cold sandwiches, soups and pastries.

The station, which also houses the University Center and WorkSource Everett, serves more than 5,000 commuters, visitors and employees who pass through the facility daily, according to the city.

Bon name faces retirement
early next year
Just more than a year after The Bon Marche took on the hybrid name of Bon-Macy’s, Federated Department Stores Inc. said in September that the retail chain will just be called Macy’s in early 2005.

Federated, which owns Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and regional department stores across the country, said it wants to consolidate them under the Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s names.

The Bon Marche was started in Seattle in 1890 and became part of Federated in 1988. Signs at Bon-Macy’s stores, including those at Alderwood and Everett Mall, will be changed sometime early next year.

EDC receives additional
funding from Everett
The Everett City Council recently voted to restore funding to the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, approving a deal to contribute $40,000 in funding for the group, which helps recruit businesses to the county.

Cities pay dues to the development council based on population, but former Mayor Frank Anderson last year did not earmark money for the agency in the 2004 city budget because he was waiting for a debate on whether Everett was getting its money’s worth from its $50,000 contribution. Anderson lost last November’s election to Mayor Ray Stephanson, who shared some of Anderson’s concerns.

The Stephanson administration agreed earlier this year to give $10,000 to the council. It then negotiated a new deal in which the agency agreed to the city’s key requests, including:

• that the development council let city officials meet with representatives from any business seeking to locate in the county;
• that the development council provide a quarterly report on how its activities are benefiting Everett.

The newly approved $40,000 will come from the city’s economic development budget. As a result, the city will have to scale back on promotional material and travel to some conferences.

AquaSox, sponsors donate
$185,000 to community in 2004
The Everett AquaSox and sponsors of the ball club donated more than $185,000 to Snohomish County nonprofit organizations during the 2004 season.

A large portion of that total — $135,000 — was contributed by former club owners Mark and Joan Sperandio in the form of new seats in the stands of Everett Memorial Stadium, the facility used by both the AquaSox and the Everett School District, the ball club said.

Other groups to benefit from donations included more than 30,000 students and 80 schools participating in the Wells Fargo Hit a Home Run in Reading Program, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County, the United Way of Snohomish County, the Community Health Center of Snohomish County, Volunteers of America Food Bank, Page Ahead, Camp Fire USA, Cocoon House, the Sno-Isle Public Library System, the Everett Public Library System, the Everett Merchants, the Everett Gospel Mission, KSER 90.7 FM, the Everett YMCA and Volunteers of America.

AquaSox sponsors include Wells Fargo, Verizon, Haggen Food & Pharmacy, Cold Stone Creamery, Moneytree, Premera Blue Cross, Paine Field, Espresso Connection and the Washington Lottery, among others.

Health District passes audit
for 14th consecutive year
The Snohomish Health District passed its latest state audit for the 14th year in a row, according to reports recently published by the Washington state Auditor’s Office.

The audit covered the period Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2003. The Health District’s 2003 budgeted expenditures were general fund $16.86 million and special revenue funds $1.43 million.

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