It has been three months and five days since Bellingham Pasta Company owners were handed the keys to the site of their future restaurant at 100 N. Commercial St. Since then, they have spent most of their time preparing their “dream space” for today: The Table’s almost grand opening.

“It’s somewhere between a soft opening and a grand opening,” co-owner Anna Rankin said, explaining that the four new restaurant owners will be muffling the bells and whistles of their opening until they get everything running smoothly.

Co-owner Katie Hinton prepares pasta in the new kitchen. Photo by Ryan Wynne

For the first week, or possibly only through the first weekend, the Table’s menu will be trimmed down slightly to half or two thirds of its total offerings, but it will still be incredible, Rankin said.

That’s in large part because the of new chef, Glacier resident Dave Reera, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He has kept busy in the restaurant’s kitchen lately whipping up deliciousness, such as chicken cacciatore with vodka cream sauce. He will soon get to experiment more with ravioli recipes, too; the pasta company recently received its new ravioli machine, Rankin said.

Also, he appreciates sourcing from local producers, which is a priority for the restaurant, Rankin said.

“He’s incredible and he’s really with us on the farm-to-table concept,” she said.

While The Table’s menu is rife with dishes that use a variety of fresh pastas, which are made in the restaurant’s kitchen, Rankin said it’s not an Italian restaurant. More than anything, she said, it fits better into a fresh-foods genre. Preparing fresh foods means buying fresh ingredients. That’s why much of The Table’s menu items, including adult beverages, are sourced locally when they’re in season, she said.

“The focus is on the Northwest,” Rankin said. “We’re just wanting to minimize our carbon footprint and support local economy.”

For those who just want the pasta, though, there are options. The restaurant has a retail case full of Bellingham Pasta Company pastas and they will continue selling their pasta at the farmers market and at grocery stores.

Rankin said she and the three other owners, and Steve Hinton, are exhausted after three months of construction and planning, but are also excited to share their new space and menu with the public.

The Table is open Monday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will also be open before and after Mount Baker Theatre performances.

For more information, call (360) 594-6000 or visit bellinghampasta.com.

Uriah Brown is a bit different from his Whatcom Community College classmates. He makes time between working and school to make longboards — picture surfboards, but for pavement. Brown is also 21 and a self-proclaimed business geek. Combine the two and what do you get? A longboard entrepreneur.

But his entrepreneurial spirit didn’t come from longboards. Brown started his first business at 16, inspired by a certain Sudden Valley inhabitant.

Looking around his Sudden Valley neighborhood, Brown saw un-landscaped yards filled with forest. Trees towering above houses. Trees creating shade. Trees creating a perfect environment for moss to flourish, even on houses.

He looked deep into the layers of moss, saw a business opportunity and started what soon became a successful pressure washing business. But, Brown admits the success shouldn’t be attributed to his discovery of a niche market or his work ethic alone.

“People thought it was cute. That was part of the sales pitch,” Brown said.

When he wasn’t pressure washing or in school, Brown could often be found woodworking. He started woodworking with his girlfriend Emily’s father, Ted Scherrer of Fairhaven Woodworks. At the same time, a new kind of skateboard started to gain popularity in Bellingham. His Bellingham High School classmates started longboarding.

Armed with woodworking experience, Brown teamed up with Scherrer to make a longboard for Emily. It wasn’t exactly pretty, Brown said, but what came from that experimentation is.

Brown decided to keep at it because he saw, just like he had in the moss-covered homes, a niche market. This market was for craftsman longboards that focus on the natural beauty of wood rather than screen prints that usually adorn the bottom of boards.

Brown is in the process of getting that longboard business rolling. Essence Industries is in its second year and Brown said it has been a slow start, but he is confident business will pick up when the word starts to spread about the “best kept secret.”

The best way to spread the word, he said, is to get the boards in people’s hands. That’s because, like handcrafted furniture, people have greater appreciation for the natural beauty of the wood when they can experience it, Brown said.

“They have to go there and touch it and feel it and see the grain,” Brown said. “I think people that appreciate my boards appreciate the one-of-a-kind aspect a small maker can provide. They want a piece of functional art.”

That said, Brown said he prefers selling his boards via his website, essenceboards.com, because his boards don’t get beat up like they do when they become test-rides at stores. The website also gives customers more opportunity to customize their boards, matching their wood preferences to the board styles they want.

Brown’s boards range in price from $105 to $125, but the steeper price will soon go up to $150 because he keeps selling out of the corresponding model, which looks like a smaller version of the old-fashioned wood surfboards — the kind with a variety of brown planks running smoothly from end to end.

Brown said people will pay more for that type of quality, especially when they learn he makes the boards himself.

“There’s a certain attraction to a hand-made good,” Brown said.

Essence Boards can be found locally at Innate on N. State St. and Bellingham Kite Paddle Surf on Harbor Loop Drive. They can also be found at shops in Glacier, Gig Harbor, Tacoma and Kent, and at essenceboards.com.

More than two years have passed since the start of this recession and many people are waiting to hear a different “R” word: recovery.

Unemployment is slowly coming down and some industries are posting job gains, but most experts believe this will be a “jobless recovery” — a term that is as depressing as it is confusing.

But for the average American, “recovery” means a steady paycheck and confidence in the market, not just numbers on a page, said Jim Vleming, a regional labor economist for Washington state.

“I’m not convinced it’s a recovery yet,” Vleming said. “If it doesn’t bring some jobs with it, is it actually a recovery?”

At last count, 8.3 percent of residents in Whatcom County were looking for work. While their job search continues, things aren’t getting any easier for businesses. Consumers still aren’t spending much and the slow housing market continues to be a major obstacle for the economic recovery.

For Ronald Jepson, who owns his own engineering and land surveying firm in Bellingham, so much depends on the comeback of private development. When the housing market collapsed in 2008, it wasn’t just builders who were affected, but all the industries that supported development from start to finish: architects, engineers, surveyors, lumber mills, electricians and real estate agents.

“There’s a lot of unemployed engineers right now,” Jepson said. “I get resumes from engineers and surveyors all the time from people who had been with companies for 10 years or more. The market is full of very qualified people, but there’s nothing to put them to work on.”

Jepson and his 15 employees have survived thus far by expanding their reach from Bellingham to Olympia and bidding on as many public projects as they can. Public projects are becoming increasingly competitive, though, and Jepson said he can’t survive on public projects alone. But without private development, there is no other choice.

“In about a month I’ll be able to tell you if it’s working,” he said.

Jepson has been in the industry for 42 years and has weathered all the ups and downs along the way, but this recession is particularly “sinister,” he said. It’s like a lingering fog that is keeping everyone from moving forward. Even with the summer construction season under way, there is little sign that building activity will be enough to keep people busy.

Temp workers in demand

Though the housing and development market isn’t showing signs of serious improvement in the near future, many local manufacturers are experiencing a slight uptick in business. Since manufacturing is often the first industry to feel the effects of a recession, an increase in business could be a sign that the economy is on its way to recovery.

After two slow years, though, many companies are hesitant to ramp production back up and hire full-time employees. So they are looking to temporary employees to fill in while the company waits to see if the good times are going to stay around, said Stacey Snodgrass, office manager at Express Employment.

“Coming out of this economy, companies aren’t sure where things will go, so they are switching to staffing agencies,” Snodgrass said.

Currently, Express Employment finds work for more than 200 people each week, and that number is growing as local manufacturers seek more employees.

While temporary employment may not be the steady job most unemployed workers are looking for, more than half of the temporary jobs through Express Employment turn into permanent positions, Snodgrass said.

“For a lot of people, once they show their work ethic and stay on for a while, they will get hired on full-time,” she said. “Companies are looking for really good employees, especially during tough times.”

Staffing agencies are also being used for recruitment and hiring for mid- to upper-level management positions, said Kiera Berghof, district manager at the staffing agency Kelly Services.

Many companies simply do not have the time or the resources to sift through hundreds of applications that come in for a single position. So they look to staffing agencies to narrow the field of qualified candidates and help with picking the right person, Berghof said.

Slim pickings

For many businesses, the worst part of the recession seems to be over. But the future is still murky: consumers aren’t yet confident enough in their jobs to spend much and employers are not confident enough in the market to start hiring more than a few part-time employees here and there.

Historically, June is a time of job growth as the construction season starts, tourism increases with the sunny weather and students get seasonal jobs. That trend hasn’t materialized for the two previous summers, and economists are waiting to see if it will happen this year.

“It’s slim pickings out there,” said Vleming, the state economist. “We need to get legs on this recovery, because we rarely add jobs during the winter.”

No matter what happens, though, Vleming is certain of one thing: The road to recovery will not be easy or predictable.

Editor’s Note: This story is part two in a three-part series on unemployment in Whatcom County by reporters Ryan Wynne and Isaac Bonnell.

Forget about housing starts and foreclosure rates, Ted Thompson of Z Recyclers has his own economic indicator: He watches the size of the company’s scrap metal pile.

“My dad has always called our scrap pile our bank account,” Thompson said, looking out over a pile of mixed and mangled metal parts about 50 feet high and covering nearly two acres. “We can judge the market just by looking at it. That back corner over there hasn’t been touched for five to six years.”

When the market for scrap metal is good, prices go up and the pile goes down. When the market is bad, the pile slowly grows as the company waits to get a better price.

Thus far, 2010 has been a decent year for scrap metal, with prices peaking near $300 per ton of steel. Since May, though, prices have been slowly dropping and many in the industry are hoping it doesn’t stay that way.

When the housing market collapsed in 2008 and construction and manufacturing activity slowed, the market for scrap metal also dropped significantly. For scrap yards like Z Recyclers, that meant the companies that shred the metal for reuse were paying much less for the raw material sold to them.

“The end of 2008 was when it absolutely tanked,” Thompson said. “We couldn’t get rid of material. We went from 19 employees down to nine. That is stuck in the back of my head  — I really hope that doesn’t happen again.”

Z Recyclers has since been able to hire back four of its former employees, but the market is nowhere near where it was before the recession.

Global demand

Since much of the shredded scrap metal produced here is sent overseas, the global economy has a big impact on the price of scrap metal. And for the past two years, the global economy did not need a whole lot of scrap metal.

Construction is a major supplier and consumer of scrap metal. Many industry analysts point to a recent uptick in construction in China as one of the reasons for higher demand this year. But here in Washington, construction is still slow, meaning there is less metal being scrapped.

“The flow of the market depends a lot on construction,” said Marty Kuljis, manager at Northwest Recycling. “A great deal of scrap metal comes from that sector and that’s fallen off considerably.”

Globally, construction has once again slowed, causing the price of scrap metal to drop to around $180 per ton, Kuljis said.

Steel shipping containers are also a large supplier of scrap metal. But low scrap metal prices are keeping many shipping containers from being scrapped because of a growing market for used containers, said Dave Black, who owns Big Steel Box in Lynden with his wife Debbie.

Big Steel Box rents and sells new and used shipping containers, which are generally used as backyard storage. Black buys many of his used containers from shipping companies in Seattle and he said he is seeing a lot of poor quality containers that would normally be scrapped.

But scrap metal prices are so low that many companies are holding on to their aging containers hoping for better scrap prices to come. With global shipping also down, the number of unused shipping containers is starting to pile up.

“When the scrap market was high, they were taking a lot of the worst-case shipping containers and scrapping them,” Black said. “Now there is a ton of really nasty containers in Seattle.”

Staying on top of the pile

The trick to staying ahead in the scrap metal business is just like any other — never pay more for something than what you can sell it for. The only problem is that scrap metal prices fluctuate daily.

“If you buy too much at too high a price, you have to watch the market to make sure it doesn’t drop too quickly,” Thompson said.

Scrap yards like Z Recyclers are almost always looking for more scrap metal, which makes the business quite competitive. Most yards will have agreements with local manufacturing companies to take all their scrap metal, but the average person coming in to sell scrap metal is looking for the best price and will call around or wait to give it up.

“It can be very cut throat at times,” Thompson said. “It’s more aggressive when it comes to getting the scrap. And when the market is down, you almost start to see it pile up around the county.”

To insulate itself from the daily fluctuations of scrap metal prices, Z Recyclers picks through the scrap metal it receives and pulls out items like antique tractor parts or artsy pieces of copper that might be of interest to someone. This draws a regular crowd of metal artists and repairmen, who sort through boxes of copper pipe, aluminum scraps and structural steel.

“It is one of the neat things about working here; you get to see a lot of different people from all over the county,” Thompson said.

All the while, the company ships out about five truckloads of scrap metal each week, slowly working toward that back corner of the pile that hasn’t been touched for five years — and may not be touched for a few more.

Bellingham Kite Paddle Surf
Owners: Andy and Marlys Holmes
Start date: June 12
Square feet: approx. 600
Address: 2620 N. Harbor Loop Drive
Phone: (360) 775-2741
www.kitepaddlesurf.com

The odds are slim that two emerging adventure sports will complement each other and appeal to the same group of people. You would be hard pressed to find an outdoor store tailored to rock climbing and snowmobiling.

But stand-up paddling and kiteboarding seem to go hand in hand, especially at Bellingham Kite Paddle Surf.

“It’s the perfect complement to kiteboarding,” shop manager Colleen Carroll said about stand-up paddling. “If you show up to the beach and it’s not windy, you can still get on the water, guaranteed. It’s another way to enjoy gorgeous Bellingham.”

Owners Andy and Marlys Holmes opened the shop June 12 after they decided to add stand-up paddling to their existing business, Bellingham Kiteboarding, which they ran out of their home near Locust Beach.

Located along the Squalicum Harbor walkway, the new retail store offers kiteboarding lessons, stand-up paddle board rentals and all the gear you need to get out on the water. For those simply spending the day at nearby Zuanich Point Park, the shop also carries a selection of small stunt kites and single-line flyers, which have sold extremely well, Carroll said.

Stand-up paddling has been popular in Hawaii for decades and is quickly gaining followers here on the West Coast. The boards are typically 10 feet to 12 feet long and wide enough to provide a stable platform. Some are made of high-density foam and resemble a giant body board, others are made of fiberglass and have a pointed bow similar to a boat. Riders propel themselves using a long-handled paddle similar to ones used for canoeing.

There may not be any waves for these stand-up paddlers to ride here, but the shallow bay and steady wind is also attracting kiteboarders from around the region, Carroll said. Already the shop has seen customers from Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C.

“People don’t think about Bellingham as a kiteboarding destination, but it’s becoming one,” she said. “We get more consistent wind than a lot of places in Puget Sound. The wind comes in off the strait nice and smooth and we get real moderate speeds.”

The shallow waters off Locust Beach make it ideal for teaching beginners because the instructor can stand in the water next to the student and offer tips, Carroll said. The steady 10-mph to 20-mph wind is ideal for those just learning to control their large kite as it pulls them along the water on a board similar to a wakeboard.

“The hardest thing is learning good kite control,” she said. “There’s a lot going on at first, but it’s really not that difficult to learn.”

But with summer in full swing, the hardest part of Carroll’s job is staying inside.

“It’s hard on windy days. Everyone here kiteboards and we argue about who gets to bail first and go play,” she said. “We’re just water people.”

Jeremy Brown, vice president of Commercial Fishermen of America, has been fishing commercially since moving to Bellingham 28 years ago. He has seen many changes in the ocean over that period and has even seen the infamous garbage island off the Pacific coast, but recently he started seeing signs of something new.

“All my sense is that things are changing in the ocean quite profoundly,” Brown said.

Brown stayed on the alert for new reports related to ocean health and started connecting the dots. He learned there is a problem arising that has the potential to devastate the region’s fishing industry, he said.

“It’s probably the thing that would keep me awake at night. I don’t think North Korea is a threat to my future. I do think environmental concerns are,” Brown said. “This is going to have huge implications. Seafood is a big contributor to the local economy.”

The phenomenon Brown is referring to is called ocean acidification, a process where the ocean slowly grows more acidic and interferes with oceanic ecosystems, and it is creating uncommon alliances as fishermen and scientists join forces to look for solutions.

Joining forces

The international marine conservation organization Oceana, which is often at odds with fishing interests, joined forces with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), according to an SFP press release drafted shortly after the environmental summit in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.

“Oceana and SFP have very different ways of relating to the fishing industry,” said Brad Warren, a veteran fishing industry analyst who now directs a program on ocean acidification for SFP. “But when it comes to acidification, our common goal is bigger than our disagreements. That goal is to ensure that the oceans remain capable of supporting strong fisheries and healthy ecosystems.”

Brown said he is not at all surprised by collaboration between fishermen and scientists. It makes sense because scientists can help fishermen find solutions and fishermen can help scientists by providing first-hand observational knowledge, he said. He said even a lot of fishermen who don’t believe climate change is happening can see the effects of ocean acidification first hand.

Fisherman and farmers tend to be much more aware of what’s going on with the environment because that’s where they work, Brown said, and they often want to help because the environment is a matter of their livelihood.

“I’m a fisherman. That involves not only working on the ocean, but taking care of it and advocating for it’s health,” Brown said. “If the ocean is sick, I’m out of work.”

Is the ocean really becoming acidic?

When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is emitted. Those emissions have dramatically increased since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Oceans have absorbed about 50 percent, approximately 525 billion tons, of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website. When CO2 reacts with H2O in seawater it produces H2CO3, called carbonic acid.

“It’s high school-level chemistry,” Warren from Sustainable Fisheries said.

That absorption has lowered the pH of the ocean. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the pH of ocean surface waters has decreased from an average of about 8.21 to 8.10, according to NOAA. A pH of seven is neutral and below seven is acidic. That means the ocean isn’t actually acidic, but is headed toward the acidic end of the pH spectrum and becoming more corrosive.

Warren said if ocean acidification is as real as it appears, more needs to be learned.

Christopher Harley is an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s department of zoology whose lab studies the effects of ocean acidification, and monitors them first hand.

He said results of the pH change can already be seen in marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate, such as oysters, clams, zooplankton and coral reefs. The more corrosive water is making shell formation at the larval stage much more difficult, he said. If there are no larvae, there are no adults, and that’s a problem for the seafood industry.

Harley said there are already shellfish hatcheries in Oregon and British Columbia that can no longer produce their own larvae.

Producers in peril

Washington isn’t immune to the problem. Taylor Shellfish Farms has farms all over Washington, including one on Samish Bay off Chuckanut Drive. Oysters for those farms come from the company’s two hatcheries, one in Kona, Hawaii, and one on the Hood Canal in Washington.

Bill Dewey, a spokesman for the company, said that while the Kona hatchery’s larvae production has remained steady, Hood Canal’s has dramatically decreased. In 2008, production was off 60 percent to 70 percent and in 2009 it was off by 80 percent, Dewey said.

“We’ve been having a lot of trouble with our larvae production,” Dewey said. “If you don’t have oyster seeds, you don’t have an oyster farm. If we don’t have seeds, we don’t have a product.”

West Coast shellfish hatcheries that rely on seeds to set naturally are having even more problems than those that don’t, Dewey said. It has been about five years since Willapa Bay hatcheries have had a natural set, he said, and producers in that region provide well over 50 percent of the oysters on the West Coast.

Dewey and Harley said the West Coast is particularly vulnerable to the effects of ocean acidification. On average, the pH along the West Coast is lower than the world average, Harley said.

“It is changing the ocean pH worldwide. It already has,” Dewey said. “Unfortunately for us, that seems to be exacerbated on the West Coast.”

Still, Dewey said ocean acidification won’t just stay on the West Coast. He is afraid the pH could eventually lower at the company’s Kona hatchery if something isn’t done soon, and right now, the Kona hatchery is providing larvae to all of the Taylor Shellfish farms.

Fin fish in the wild don’t appear to be directly suffering from the effects of acidification yet, but Brown said he is afraid of the indirect problems that could result when the food sources for some fin fish are diminished. Specifically, Brown said, salmon eat calcium carbonate-producing plankton, and he doesn’t know what would happen if those plankton disappeared from the food chain.

If the fishing industry disappeared, so would jobs on fishing boats, in processing facilities and in cold storage facilities, Brown said.

“Worst case scenario,” Brown said, “the wheels come off the whole thing and there are no fish.”

Brown said there is a fair amount of talk about ocean acidification among fishermen in the area, and it has some of them worried because fishermen can see it.

Stopping the burn of acidification

Brown is doing what he can to spread the word about ocean acidification. He has done everything from speaking on a University of Washington panel on ocean health, to having conversations with other fishermen. He is trying to get the word out now because he’s afraid that if something isn’t done to mitigate the effects of ocean acidification right away, the problem will continue to get worse.

“It’s a lot better to try to stop things from getting bad before they do, rather than trying to stuff the genie back in the bottle,” Brown said.

Things could definitely become worse. Harley said students in his lab simulated ocean conditions that are within the range scientists are projecting for the end of the century. Those simulations showed an abalone population that was only 60 percent normal, meaning the other 40 percent had abnormalities such as warped shells. And the normal abalone, Harley said, were smaller than those reared in control seawater.

Abalone, oysters and other calcium carbonate produced organisms won’t be the only directly affected if ocean acidification continues getting worse, according to a report by Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett published in the September 23, 2003 volume of the science journal Nature.

“We conclude that unabated CO2 emissions over the coming centuries may produce changes in ocean pH that are greater than any experienced in the past 300 [million years], with the possible exception of those resulting from rare, catastrophic events in Earth’s history,” the report says.

Harley said the ending is not written in stone, though, and that more attention is being paid to acidification. He said the U.S. government has made a lot of funding available for acidification research to find out what is going to happen and what can be done to mitigate it.

And there are a lot of little things individuals can do to reduce carbon emissions, from driving less to simply turning out the lights, he said.

“Every little thing helps,” Harley said. “I think ocean acidification, rather than being a ‘throw up your hands and give up’ scenario, should be a call to action.”

When the Bellingham Public Development Authority (BPDA) was created in 2008 and tasked with developing city-owned properties, the first question was where to start.

The initial idea for starting the BPDA was to develop city property that is part of the 220-acre waterfront redevelopment project, but the scope has since grown to include five sites: Cornwall Beach on the waterfront, a parking lot at Cornwall and Maple streets, the Federal Building downtown, the Army Street parcel, and a parcel at 600 W. Holly St., also known as the old ReStore site.

Last month, the BPDA board of directors outlined for the first time a strategic plan for undertaking the daunting task of improving all five properties, which are all in various stages of development.

“The purpose of this [strategic plan] is to evaluate the properties that are to be transfered to the public development authority,” said BPDA Executive Director James Long. “We have limited time and staff, so we’re looking for a strategy that allows us to move forward on all five projects concurrently.”

Long described the plan as a management tool that will help the group focus its time and energy on projects that have the highest benefit to the community. To assess each property, the group came up with preliminary plans for each project and scored them against a list of goals and objectives.

The analysis also considers any environmental remediation, land acquisition or public infrastructure that would be needed for development to proceed.

“It’s a long way from a definitive development plan on any of these projects,” Long said. “There’s still a good deal of information that we don’t know.”

In all, the five properties included in the strategic plan total more than 21 acres of land on which roughly 100,000 square feet of buildings currently exists. Most of these sites are vacant or underutilized with depreciated structures, according to the report.

Conceptual plans

The plan is to develop each project in such a way as to spur private development in that area — all with an overarching concept or master plan. The goal is to parlay these 21 acres into developments of 45 to 50 acres with a potential of 1.75 million square feet of building over the next 20 to 25 years.

“We focus on place-making concepts,” Long said. “We initiate the concept and see if there’s interest.”

Here are the basic plans and descriptions of each site, ranked in order of priority in the strategic plan:

1. Army Street: Located next to a street right-of-way that was never built, this small 0.4-acre parcel has a very strategic location at the juncture of downtown, Old Town and the waterfront.

The plan is to include several surrounding parcels owned by eight different land owners, including the Port of Bellingham and Trillium Corp., for a total acreage of about 20 acres — much of it on the waterfront — to create a large mixed-use development that would draw activity to the area. Conceptual plans include a four to five-level parking structure along the bluff, adaptive reuse of The Granary for a conference center, urban plazas and up to 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use space.

2. 600 W. Holly St.: This 2.1-acre site was the former location of the ReStore building, which was demolished in 2009.

The plan is to develop it for institutional use by BTC, Western and Northwest Indian College and serve as a logical expansion of the North Puget Sound Clean Ocean Research facility next to the site. Should this institutional use not work out, the next idea is for a mixed-use building, but that depends on the timing of a relocation of nearby Northwest Recycling.

3. Cornwall/Maple project: The city purchased this 0.7-acre gravel lot in 2008 with plans to build another parking garage.

The new conceptual plan is for a single mixed-use building with excess parking to meet demand for public parking in the area. Development on this site isn’t likely to drive more development on the waterfront site or downtown, but could complement other projects, Long said.

4. Cornwall Beach: This project encompasses three parcels of land: the five-acre R.G. Haley parcel, which the city recently acquired; a six-acre parcel that is jointed-owned 51/49 percent by the port and city; and a seven-acre site owned by the state that is managed by the port.

This proposed project would create a new park and would coincide with the master plan for the waterfront redevelopment project. There is also a possibility of using four acres of the site for private development, such as office or institutional space.

These properties are contaminated and will require extensive environmental cleanup, which could take upward of two years.

5. Federal Building: Built in 1913 and purchased by the city in 2004, this three-story historic building has approximately 45,000 square feet of space. Less than one-third of the building is currently occupied.
Management of the building has already been conveyed to the development authority; the city is retaining ownership.

The plan is to renovate and update the building to create separate tenant spaces. Some mitigation of lead and asbestos will be required.

The next step

While the strategic plan is a major step for an organization that is just getting on its feet, the BPDA still has a long way to go.

“Overall, I like where they’re going, but there are still challenges,” Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike said.

Focusing on the Army Street site is a good place to start, Pike said, because it is at the nexus of three districts and it has the potential to spur development on the waterfront — something many citizens have been waiting to see happen.

Now that the BPDA has a strategy for tackling all five projects, the group will start diving into the finer details of each project and working with the private sector to get development started as soon as possible.

The strategic plan will be updated every year to account for changes in the market, the addition of new projects, or new development ideas. But for a first step, Long said the strategic plan is quite comprehensive and does a good job of guiding the work of the BPDA.

“This [strategic plan] is for setting the context for what is to come,” Long said. “After all, where you end up is a function of where you start.”

When Sherry and George Keizer decided to sell Keizer A A Meats in Lynden, they wanted to make sure the business would end up in good hands. That’s because without Keizer Meats, USDA certification would not be available to most meat producers in Whatcom County, and without USDA certification meat can’t be sold in stores or restaurants in Washington. No Keizer Meats would mean limited selling options for local producers.

Local real estate agent Ron Bennett immediately thought of two buyers who would likely be interested in purchasing Whatcom County’s only USDA-certified meat processing facility. For Bennett, USDA certification is of particular significance. In addition to selling commercial real estate, he raises and sells grass-fed beef to local stores and at his farm in Everson.

The buyers he had in mind didn’t bite. Those rejections, along with the concern that the wrong buyer could decide to use the facility for another kind of processing, inspired Bennett to explore another option. He decided to talk to other meat prodcers with a similar interest in the facility. Bennett wanted to know whether they would be interested in starting a corporation and buying shares in Keizer Meats.

Word spread quickly. Weeks after Bennett was turned down by the two potential buyers, a meeting was  held just to see what kind of serious interest was out there and to talk out details of the corporation. People filed into the Lynden Senior Center ready to invest.

“Some people had their checks out and were ready to go,” Bennett said.

Sherry Keizer said that because of the need for the facility to stay as is, she hopes the corporation is able to form and buy the business. But meat producers aren’t alone in their need for processing options. Clayton Burrows, director of Growing Washington, said Whatcom County has very few food processing facilities, which means consumers have less access to local foods, especially in darker, low-production months. It also means producers can’t reach their full sale potential.

“There is not enough processing infrastructure in the county, nor for that matter, the region,” Burrows said.

The power of processing

In 2007, when the last agricultural census was done, the market value of agricultural production for the county was more than $326 million. Jeff Voltz, project manager for the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, said Whatcom County has the largest farm gate sales of all western Washington counties and is among the top in the state.

More milk and raspberries are produced in the county than can be consumed here, Voltz said, and there is even more capacity to grow more food. So, with all the potential to grow even more food, and thus grow the local economy, why don’t producers produce more?

“The issue is pretty complex really, and pretty simple at the same time,” said Fred Berman, WSDA Small Farm Program coordinator.

Part of the reason, Berman said, is a lack of processing facilities.

Voltz said nearly all capacity to process food has left the county.

Burrows said there is a demand for local food year round, and processing facilities would enable producers to meet that demand, if only in part, by putting food in a form that preserves it, such as canning or freezing.

The need for processing goes beyond putting food in a form that preserves it, though. Burrows said there is also a need for post-harvest facilities that have the capacity to turn milk into cheese or yogurt, and those where carrots and onions could be sliced and packaged. The latter process is important because institutional kitchens, such as those in schools and hospitals, don’t have the facilities or staff to prepare vegetables themselves, Burrows said.

Berman said post-harvest production is key to opening new markets for local producers, but because of expenses, it would be advantageous for groups of producers to establish and run processing facilities cooperatively — think Keizer Meats.

One market that could be accessed if a large-scale commercial processing facility were available is Western Washington University, which has a food-service contract with Sodexho. Berman said local producers’ food is getting to Western already, but it’s a small amount and has to go through at least two back doors to get there, which cuts into producers’ profits.

In order for most foods to be sold on campus, they have to be routed through a Sodexho network — Sodexho only buys from businesses on the company’s preferred sellers list. Local producers could get on that list, but doing so would require a large group of committed producers and a large post-production processing facility, and even then, costs would probably need to be offset with grant money, Berman said.

And why would food production require grant money? Because increasing processing capacity isn’t all that’s needed to increase local food production and the economic value of Whatcom County agriculture. Berman said processing is the easy part of the answer. The remainder of the solution is the more difficult.

Don’t have a cow, have 49,000

Part of the issue is convincing producers it is economically viable for them to put, or in some cases keep, their products in forms that make them available to local consumers year round, Berman said, and the only way to do that is to create a market for those goods. Creating that market is the hard part. The reason: Costs of small-scale, local production and processing are higher than those for mass production.

Voltz said more production would benefit Whatcom County’s food economy, but consumers have to be willing to buy so producers have an outlet for their products.

For instance, according to the most recent agriculture census, in 2007 there were approximately 49,000 milk cows in Whatcom County — for reference, that’s about one milk cow for every four residents.

approximately 133 million gallons of milk are produced in Whatcom County each year and local residents only consume about 4 million gallons of milk each year, Voltz said, but most of that milk is shipped out of the county and processed into powder.

“The milk produced here goes somewhere else,” Voltz said. “We need to bring that capacity back locally.”

Nearly all milk producers in the county sell their milk to Darigold, which turns it into powder, Voltz said. Producers need viable business models and most don’t see selling milk in-county is not an option because local consumers can’t drink all the milk produced here and producing and processing dairy independently can be expensive.

Still, that abundance of milk shouldn’t be looked at in terms of milk sales alone. Some milk could be processed into yogurt, which adds value to the milk and results in a larger profit for the milk producer, Voltz said. The same holds true for other value-added dairy products.

So why aren’t brilliant entrepreneurs building post-production processing facilities? Again, the answer is costs. The cost of building and operating small post-production facilities is high relative to larger operations, which translates into higher priced foods.

“It gets to be price, price, price is everything,” Voltz said.

Larry Stap, owner of Twin Brook Creamery in Lynden agreed. He said dairy processing plants have continued to grow and become more cost efficient, which makes it difficult for small, independent producers to offer competitive pricing. That’s why cooperatives such as Darigold are appealing, he said.

Stap said that, in his opinion, most consumers want cheap meat and cheap dairy, not high-quality local products. While small, local processing plants will help a few, they won’t be used to feed the masses because most people won’t pay more, he said.

“The simple part is processing,” Stap said. “The complicated part is where are you going to market it.”

Estimates for the amount of locally produced food consumed locally support Stap’s opinion. That amount ranges from 1 percent to 5 percent, with five agreed upon as incredibly generous and even unlikely. Voltz said demand is key.

“With more local and regional demand for locally produced food, the agricultural economy would blossom,” Voltz said.

Finding your niche

Stap used to be a member of the Darigold cooperative, but changed directions. Twin Brook starting selling milk independently and in 2007, began selling milk in glass bottles. That set their product apart from others, Stap said, and it paid off. He said the business has taken off and to such a degree that an expansion is in order.

The key for small-scale producers, Stap said, is finding a niche.

Berman said that now, more than ever, producers need to have a marketing plan to reach consumers who are used to buying based on price comparisons alone. For many producers, that could mean diversifying product options or finding a niche, he said.

Voltz said a lot more food could be produced in Whatcom County, and Stap said more food production would create more farming and processing jobs, which would result in demand for tractor dealers, feed producers and countless others down the line.

But, Berman said, increasing the amount of food produced locally would take more than individual producers coming up with impressive marketing plans. He said it would require systemic change — people have to be willing to pay for it.

“We really are looking at a paradigm shift,” Berman said.

That shift has started to happen, and not just within county borders. Berman said the federal government is investing in localized and regional food systems.

Federal investments, local food advocates’ grassroots efforts and marketing efforts are starting to pay off. Voltz said there is a growing demand for local food. Berman said the same and Bennett said there is definitely a demand for his local, grass-fed beef. Bennett said he sells 200 to 250 pounds per week to the downtown Bellingham Community Food Co-op alone.

Both Twin Brook Creamery and Keizer Meats are planning facility expansions and Twin Brook is now selling glass milk in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

“We have to look at expanding,” Stap said. “It has just taken off.”

Birthdays and anniversaries have a way of sneaking up on you. The years fly by and the milestones pile up.

Sunday, June 20, was one such milestone for Chuck and Dee Robinson, who celebrated the 30th anniversary of opening Village Books. What was once merely a romantic impulse by two former teachers from Illinois has become one of this city’s most iconic businesses. And for the Robinsons, it has become their life and livelihood.

“We never imagined doing the same thing for 30 years,” Dee said.

When it opened in 1980 a few doors down from its current location, Village Books was a mere 1,500 square feet and the Robinsons were excited new business owners. Both 32 at the time, the couple had sold their house in Illinois and decided to travel the states in search of new careers.

Along the way, they became enamored with small, independent bookstores that they happened to visit on their journey. So they started asking store owners questions about the industry.

“What we heard most was that it wasn’t a great way to get rich, but it’s a great way to make a living,” Chuck said.

When they finally reached Bellingham, they knew that this was where they wanted to settle down and start their own bookstore.

The 1980s were boom years for independent bookstores and Village Books saw double-digit annual growth during the first few years. The store expanded after two years into the space now occupied by Pacific Chef. The Robinsons also started Paper Dreams that year to offer the kind of cards and stationery that most bookstores carry.

By 1988, the bookstore was a funky maze of spaces upstairs and down, “as most bookstores were at the time,” Chuck said. The Robinsons had survived the initial years of owning a small business and carved out a strong enough niche for themselves to survive the coming years of mega bookstores and Internet sales.

As the years went on, the Robinsons wanted a space that felt all their own and wasn’t so disjointed. They bought the corner property on 11th Street and Mill Avenue and drew up plans for a mixed-use building.

After some initial trouble getting financing, the Robinsons sold the project to Ebenal General Construction, which finished the building in 2004. When Village Books moved in, the Robinsons also bought one of the two upstairs condos so they could live above the store — just as they had always dreamed about doing.

A changing industry

As the couple sat and reminisced last month, they both acknowledged that the book-selling industry they started in 30 years ago will never be the same.

“We knew technology would change the industry,” Dee said, adding that they got their first point-of-sale system in 1985. “It’s hard to imagine running a bookstore now without a computer.”

When Internet sales became possible in the mid-1990s, the Robinsons jumped at the opportunity.

“We were selling books online as early as anyone, right around the time Amazon came online,” Chuck said. “We understood then that the Internet would be a part of our business.”

While Village Books doesn’t sell nearly as many books online as Amazon.com, the Internet has changed the bookstore in a different way. Last year, the Robinsons purchased an Espresso Book Machine that has access to more than 3 million books online and can print a book and a cover in minutes.

Rather than waiting to order a hard-to-find title or track down a book that is out of print, Village Books can print them whenever a customer wants.

“There’s no reason that a book has to go out of print anymore,” Dee said.

As the publishing industry has seen ever more consolidation, Chuck sees the Espresso Book Machine as a way to build self-publishing into a viable way to break into the market. Thus far, the store has worked with 25 authors to self-publish their books.

Village Books has also published five books of its own, most recently a memoir by Chuck Robinson called “It Takes a Village Books.” In the first two weeks that it was on the shelves, it outsold a book by Stieg Larsson that is on the New York Times best-seller list. But Chuck doesn’t have delusions of grandeur about his book.

“What I expect will happen is we’ll keep it on the shelves and we’ll print a book when we need a book and sell maybe five books a year,” he said.

The next stage

The last 30 years have been more exciting than either of the Robinsons said they could have imagined when they started the book store. They have met four presidents, many famous authors and important publishers, not to mention a cadre of other independent bookstore owners.

But at age 62, Chuck and Dee are starting to think about retirement and about what will happen to Village Books when they’re gone.

“There’s a sense of responsibility now. It’s more than just a business,” Chuck said.

“It’s a little daunting,” Dee added. “We hope that the store has a life beyond us.”

But before that happens, there are a lot more books to read, new technology to figure out and a lot more memories to make.

Duane Sammons is a 30-year veteran of the insurance industry, but he has dedicated even more of his life to the practice and teaching of martial arts. By day, he runs Duane Sammons Insurance Center off Broadway, however his evenings are dedicated to his students at the Bellingham Academy of Self Defense on East Maple Street.

For more information about the Duane Sammons Insurance Center or the Bellingham Academy of Self Defense, visit www.duanesammons.com and www.bellinghamacademyofselfdefense.com.

Earl’s Bike Shop
Owner: Craig Earl
Square Feet: 500
Start Date: May 1
Address: 2827 Meridian Street, Bellingham
Phone: (360) 746-2401

Craig Earl opened his new bike shop at the beginning of May with a couple services that bikers will not find elsewhere in Bellingham. He sells consigned bikes at affordable prices and offers a used parts system that will help cut down on the cost of repairs.

Earl said he found the shop’s location in the Fountain District about a year ago.

“I was riding my bike around here and I noticed there were a lot of ‘For Lease’ signs. That was right at the time when it seemed like we were at the full recession and commercial real estate seemed to be cheap,” he said.

He said he worked with an agent to find a suitable space for a community bike shop until they found the current location.

“I wanted to be in this in this area because there’s a lot of commuters, a lot of people riding around on their bikes,” Earl said. “A lot of people seemed to like the idea of being able to walk or ride their bike to the grocery store.”

Earl said he has worked at several different bike shops over the course of his career, including locations on the East Coast and California. Before starting Earl’s Bike Shop, he ran Whatever It Takes Bike Repair out of his basement, which was a home bike repair and delivery business.

He said the startup costs of his brick-and-mortar shop were low because he already had many of the tools and parts he needed from his home business and some generous contributions from the building’s owner also helped him get started out.

Earl said he provides a full-service repair shop, but one of the main things that sets Earl’s Bike Shop apart is that he accepts consigned bikes, which he fixes up to be sold.

“No one was doing the consignment bike thing,” he said. “I thought it helped fill a niche for those people that want to get a bike that’s a decent bike but they really can’t afford a brand new one. And buying one off Craigslist — for some people it’s kind of a little sketchy.”

He said his shop offers a safer environment for customers looking to save on a used bike because all his bikes come with a service policy and have been checked over by a certified mechanic. He said it’s almost like buying a new bike when a customer purchases a consigned bike from his shop.

Additional services include a parts workbench, where he sells used parts and barely used parts. He hopes to offer a customer rewards program in the future where repeat customers and their families pay the same labor rates as the year they first started doing business with Earl’s Bike Shop.

Business: Go Big Paintball
Owner: Rick O’Connor
Address: 4120 Meridian St., Bellingham
Start Date: June 5, 2010
Square Footage: 900
Phone: (360) 318-7637
Website: www.gobigpaintball.net

Some hobbies are a little more exciting than others. Snowboarding down a mountain or skating across a ramp can pale in comparison to having small globes of paint shot at you at 300 miles per hour by dozens of other players.

Paintball is an intense sport that involves shooting up your opponents not with bullets, but with small spheres of compacted paint. For those who are interested in the sport or have been fans for years, Go Big Paintball on Meridian Street might be just the place for them.

Owner Rick O’Connor, who also owns Blu Sky Creative Services, a web programming and design business, said he and his friends have been paintballing for years and the lack of a paintball shop in Bellingham has put them in some awkward situations.

“Myself and a bunch of other buddies, we typically go paintballing every weekend,” he said. “We’re used to having to buy everything online, and then you receive things that are bought online, sometimes they aren’t what you originally thought you were buying.”

He said he wanted to fill the void in the Bellingham paintball market by establishing a community shop where players can come to get equipment and repairs. He said the vision of Go Big is to have good customer service, a knowledgeable staff and to help grow the sport of paintball.

The business’s website has been operating since November 2009, O’Connor said, and the shop opened its doors on June 5 with people coming in immediately. O’Connor said people were wandering in and buying items while the shop was still under construction.

“We knew there was a demand for it, and because we played it all the time we knew the elements customers were looking for,” he said.

The shop has an enclosed, 25-foot long target range where guns are tested out. Instead of using actual paintballs, customers and staff use small plastic balls to shoot down targets and see what each gun can do.

Beyond selling guns, paint, air canisters, rotors, masks and clothing, O’Connor said the shop will offer gun diagnostics and a customer rewards program that gives back $5 for every $100 spent at Go Big. The shop will be implementing a rental program, through which people can rent guns and buy paint ammo at  discounted prices for events or parties.

“We’re about really taking care of the customer completely,” O’Connor said, “and it just kind of comes naturally because everyone who works here is really enthusiastic about the sport.”

With so many fun activities to do on land, it’s easy to forget sometimes that Bellingham is also a great place to get out on the water.

And whether you’re a certified sailor or just looking to paddle for a few hours, Fairhaven is a great place to start your boating adventure.

Not many large boats call Fairhaven home. Sure the Alaska Ferry and various NOAA vessels regularly stop in for repairs, but they rarely stay long. This year, however, the historic schooner Zodiac officially moved to town and later this month will show off a freshly repainted transom that shows Fairhaven as its homeport.

At 160 feet long and weighing in at 146 tons, the boat is the largest wooden schooner on the West Coast and also boasts the largest mainsail, which is 4,000 square feet. Originally built in Maine in 1924 as a private yacht, the schooner is now operated as a charter vessel.

The Zodiac is no stranger on the Fairhaven waterfront. Previously, the boat would moor in Seattle for the winter and dock in Fairhaven at the cruise terminal in between summer trips out to the San Juan Islands. The lease in Seattle ran out this year, though, and so the crew decided to look for a new homeport.

“We were getting tired of spending half the year down there and half the year here,” said first mate Chris Wallace. “We’re pretty excited to be here — Bellingham has a lot to offer. And this dock has a lot of visibility.”

Down in Seattle, the splendor of the historic boat was sometimes lost among the melee of the fishing fleet and other large vessels, Wallace said. But in Bellingham, the Zodiac is a big fish in small pond. And it already has quite a local following. Whenever the schooner comes back from a trip, there is usually a crowd waiting to watch it dock.

The Zodiac spends a good part of the cruising season in the Puget Sound, doing everything from sunset cruises to winery and brewery tours with onboard tastings. During the brewery cruise, the crew even brews a batch of its own recipe, Schooner Rat IPA.

The longer cruises and winery tours usually cater to the out-of-town tourists looking for a unique Pacific Northwest experience, whereas the day trips are popular with the local crowd, Wallace said.

“We get a lot of people from out of state for the brewery and winery tours,” she said. “People are looking for those vacations that aren’t over to Europe, but still unique. So we’re always looking for something new and unique to highlight on a cruise.”

Paddling for pleasure

If the wind is too light for sailing, then you’ll just have to paddle yourself around the bay in a boat from the Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center.

Located just a few hundred feet down the shoreline from the Zodiac, the center is a one-stop shop for renting small watercraft: They have sailboats, sea kayaks, row boats, racing sculls and sit-on-top kayaks. The center is also going to offer stand-up paddleboards this year.

“Bellingham is a small-boat town — it’s one of the best paddling towns around,” said Executive Director Mike Callaizakis.

Mike Callaizakis at the Community Boating Center. Photo by Isaac Bonnell

The center offers paddling skills classes all summer and also has kayaking camps for kids. For those who want a guided tour, the center offers weekly sunset paddles and when there is a new moon, they offer a bioluminescence tour to see glowing plankton from 9 p.m. to midnight.

When the nonprofit was launched in 2006, the founders were adamant about being located on the Fairhaven waterfront. Protected from the prevailing south winds, the small Fairhaven cove offers a “little protected bubble” for beginners to learn and it is within a day’s paddle to several attractions, Callaizakis said.

“This is a perfect spot because we’re located in the middle of the bay,” he said. “It only takes 30 to 40 minutes to get to Boulevard Park and it’s about three to four hours round-trip to get to Chuckanut Bay.”

The location was also a big draw for Blake Young, owner of NuCanoe. He moved his business from Irongate to the Fairhaven waterfront in December of last year to be closer to the water. NuCanoe makes sit-on-top boats that can be configured for whatever type of activity you feel like doing.

“This boat will allow you to go out on the water and do whatever you want to do,” Young said. “The hull is a platform hull that people can set up for a one-person fishing boat or a three-person family boat. In just a couple minutes, you can configure it however you want it.”

Along with the benefits of working right next to one of his favorite places to paddle, Young has also seen an uptick in sales locally.

“Before, no one was going to stumble upon us,” he said. “Now we have people stop in every week, even in the winter, saying they saw our boat out front and just wanted to stop in and take a look.”

So if you find yourself yearning to be out on the water this summer, just follow the crowds to Fairhaven. You’ll find plenty to do there.

Both the U.S. Senate and House passed versions of financial regulatory reform bills intended to protect consumers and prevent financial fallouts that could cause another recession. Before President Barack Obama can sign the bill into law, the two versions of the bill must be reconciled.

Support for the bills is mixed. Some lawmakers think it goes too far, while others don’t think it goes far enough. In fact, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., voted against the Senate version of the bill, which passed in a 59-39 vote.

“While this bill takes much needed steps to help prevent a crisis of this magnitude from ever happening again, it fails to close the very same loopholes in derivatives trading that led to the biggest economic implosion since the Great Depression,” Cantwell said in a press release.

But there is another perspective. Hart Hodges, director of Western Washington University’s Center for Economic and Business Research, said he thinks some kind of reform should take place, but that the timing is not right. The reason: We are just too close to the crisis and not enough discussion has occurred regarding the ramifications of regulations proposed in the bills, he said.

Among many other things, the bills include regulation of derivatives (betting on future movement of securities), formation of a group of regulators to look for risky behaviors and assignment of a federal regulator to enforce rules that protect consumers.

That doesn’t sound so bad, but Hodges is concerned. Not enough time has been spent thinking about the ways banks and other financial institutions will respond to regulations, and that’s critical because they will respond, he said.

A market built on innovation

Hodges also worries about the implications regulations could have on innovation, which markets encourage, he said. Innovation stems from people trying to make something quicker, easier or from someone trying to make more money. By its nature, innovation creates change, he said. Regulation, by its nature, tries to create predictability and certainty, but the world isn’t predictable Hodges said. Without innovation (disruption), a market would be stagnant, he said.

“Innovation is a good thing, but innovation can rock the boat,” Hodges said.

Right now, effects of regulating innovation are still unknown, he said.

“Innovation is disruptive, and regulating it is really hard to do if you don’t understand it,” Hodges said.

One of those innovations is derivative trading, and Mark Wallace, a financial adviser at Bay City Financial Services, said he isn’t sure that is a sustainable practice. But, for the past 20 years, banks have made money off of trading derivatives, he said.

In the long run, regulation could be a good thing, Wallace said, “but in the short term it could be a shock to the system.”

Wallace agreed with Hodges that some kind of regulation should occur, but said he is confident that at the end of the day Congress would create something that works.

“I think the end product will be what is necessary to provide the right amount of regulations, but that remains to be seen,” Wallace said.

Concerns

Whatever those new regulations end up being, Hodges is afraid they will almost certainly impose costs on consumers because consequences haven’t been thoroughly thought through, he said.

Not only that, he said, rules designed to address current problems could quickly become outdated. For example, he said, rules can be created that would reduce or eliminate predatory lending, but those rules deal with problems we understand through experience.

“It’s a much more difficult task to write rules that minimize the impacts of problems you haven’t imagined yet,” Hodges said.

Like Hodges, Wallace has concerns. He is worried about the government taking regulations too far and isn’t quite sure how regulations will affect the market. There is a possibility that regulations could cause reduced return rates on investments, that banks would end up charging higher interest rates on loans, and that increased regulation would reduce efficiency and increase costs, Wallace said.

Still, with all his concerns, Wallace said banks should be more heavily regulated.

“Basically, our banks have been left to police themselves,” Wallace said. “They were given free rein to take a lot of risks.”

As we have seen, if one of the big institutions fails, that failure can have ramifications that affect everyone, he said. Wallace said the government shouldn’t go too far, but we do need something in place.

One of the fastest growing markets in the world of dietary supplements isn’t a new vitamin or compound, but rather a new way of taking supplements. Pills are out and liquids are in.

Botanical Laboratories in Ferndale is on the leading edge of the liquid supplement market. Founded in 1988, the company makes Wellesse brand supplements and has seen a 40 percent increase in sales in the past two years.

“Liquid supplements are really hot right now as more people age and become aware of vitamin supplements,” said Greg Andrews, vice president of marketing and product development. “Our product is for people who don’t like taking pills and want something that absorbs quicker.”

Botanical Laboratories makes three supplements under the Wellesse brand: glucosamine for joint health, vitamin D3 for immune system support, and calcium with vitamin D3 for bone health. The glucosamine supplement used to be the star of the line-up, but recent studies, showing the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Americans, have dramatically increased demand for that supplement, Andrews said.

Wellesse supplements are now distributed to more than 40,000 stores nationwide, which is double what it was in 2007. This growth has put the company near the upper limits of its production capacity.

Botanical Laboratories has grown incrementally over the years as it has taken on more private-label manufacturing for other brands and expanded the Wellesse line. The company now operates out of four buildings, totaling 80,000 square feet and each with its own production line based on the size of the product’s bottle.

The largest of the production lines is for the Wellesse brand, which comes in 16-ounce bottles. The manufacturing process starts in two 1,300-gallon tanks, where the supplement is mixed. Each supplement has a recipe that is meticulously checked each time to ensure the proper amount of each ingredient.

As you might expect with a liquid product, the most important ingredient in that mixture is water — in this case, purified water, said Operations Director Tim Schaafsma. About a year ago, the company invested in its own 2,500-gallon water purification system.

Once mixed, the solution is pumped to the bottling machine, which fills 12 bottles at a time and then sends them down the line to be capped and labeled. The system can pump out approximately 60 bottles a minute, equal to a bottle a second. From there, the bottles are boxed and sent to the warehouse to be shipped.

“One of the disadvantages of liquid is it’s bulky,” Schaafsma said. “We don’t get as many units on a pallet and the weight is a factor in shipping. But we get a good freight rate because there are a lot of goods coming into Whatcom County and we get a competitive rate for trucks going back out.”

Spurred on by growth here in the United States, the company has jumped into international markets and now sells Wellesse in Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

“The international market has been challenging, but it’s worth it,” Andrews said, adding that there is a large market for supplements in Asia. “In Taiwan, about 78 percent of consumers take dietary supplements, as opposed to 60 percent in the U.S.”

Indeed, for a product with the slogan “Better Health at the Speed of Liquid,” growth has been fluid at Botanical Laboratories.

On a sunny Saturday evening last month, a group of about 12 people, many of whom had never met before, gathered for dinner at a downtown restaurant. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the event, but the circumstances were unique: Almost all of the attendees were vegans and they met at Bellingham’s first restaurant devoted to an entirely vegan menu.

It was a meet-and-greet without the meat.

“We had a great time and we talked about food most of the time,” said local blogger Clarissa Mansfield, who runs the blog Vegan in Bellingham and organized the event. “We’re going to make it a regular thing every other month or so.”

Vegans in Bellingham now have more options for dining out than ever before. In the last several months, three restaurants with meatless menus have opened offering a mix of vegan, vegetarian and raw food entrees: Bloom, Veg Express and Nama Living Foods & Wellness cafe.

And these aren’t the only restaurants catering to a growing population of vegan diners, said Mansfield, who has been a vegan for 10 years. An increasing number of restaurants here and around the region now have vegan entrees on their regular menus.

“Bellingham has become a lot more vegan friendly,” she said. “More people are talking about food sources and restaurants are noticing.”

Not just for vegans

There are varying levels of vegetarianism, depending on whether you exclude red meat, poultry, fish or all of the above, but a vegan diet is perhaps the simplest to describe. Vegans eschew all animal products, whether it be dairy, eggs or meat. Some vegans take it further and also avoid animal-derived products found in clothing and cosmetics.
For many vegans, the health benefits of the diet are as much a factor as the ethical reasons and environmental impact.

“I really stand by the diet,” said Justin Bilancieri, owner of Bloom. “I believe that it’s the most healthy diet, not only for humans, but for the environment as a whole.”

Since opening Bloom in October 2009, Bilancieri said he has received positive feedback from the local vegan community. He has expanded the menu in recent months to include items that non-vegans might be more willing to try, such as vegan burgers and burritos.

“I’m trying to cater to vegans and non-vegans alike,” he said. “Even people who aren’t vegetarian or vegan have taken a liking to the food. They don’t miss the meat when they come.”

Marlene Riviere, owner of Nama Living Foods, has a similar outlook with her raw food menu. She opened the restaurant in April of this year with a small menu of lunch items and desserts, but there is nothing on there that the average person wouldn’t recognize.

“I have a small, select menu because I want everything to taste good and I try to make food that tastes similar to foods that people are familiar with,” Riviere said.

A raw food diet, also called a living food diet, is slightly different from a vegan diet, though the two can be quite similar. Raw foodism is not anti-animal products — it is anti-cooking. Cooking sucks nutrients and natural enzymes out of food and makes it harder to digest food, Riviere said.

Though it may sound like a rather restrictive diet, Riviere wants people to know that eating raw food doesn’t have to be boring. Her first experience with raw food three years ago wasn’t exciting — she had green smoothies for a month — and she eventually dropped the diet. But after attending a raw food potluck a year ago and seeing and tasting the variety of dishes there, she decided to give raw food another chance. Preparing raw food is time consuming, though.

“There’s a lot of prep work. It’s not easy and it can take a lot of time,” she said. “It can be simple, you just have to have lots of room in your fridge to store stuff.”

So what does a raw foodist eat? Mostly sprouted nuts, grains, veggies and fruits. One of the more popular items on the menu at Nama Living Foods is the Thai noodles made with zucchini and kelp, topped with a spicy almond sauce and lots of veggies.

More vegan options

When Mansfield started her blog in 2008, Bellingham didn’t have restaurants dedicated to vegan or raw food. So she started the blog to be a resource for fellow vegan diners.

“I used to feel really uncomfortable when I first became vegan. I felt like the center of attention when I would go out in a group and it came around to my turn to order and I had my list of usual questions,” she said. “Now I feel like I can order like a regular person. Most restaurants know what vegan is and you don’t have to explain it.”

Even after two years of reviewing vegan fare in Bellingham, Mansfield still has a lot of restaurants left to visit. And she still questions the servers when ordering just to make sure the entree is vegan.

Some common mistakes she finds while dining out include serving a creamy salad dressing (made with dairy) with a side salad or cooking a vegan entree on the same grill where meat is cooked.

“It’s like giving a gluten-free person a basket of bread after they order,” she said.

While she really enjoys the new restaurants with meatless menus, Mansfield said she wants to encourage mainstream establishments to add to their vegan options.

“It’d be kind of neat if businesses realized that offering vegan items is in their best interest, because vegans come with people,” she said. “They will bring more people to the restaurant.”

Brian Kerkvliet, Alexandra King and their two daughters run the Bellingham-based Inspiration Farm, a multi-faceted business which includes Gossamer Glass Studios and also teaches sustainable living techniques through various classes. Watch the video below to learn more. For additional information, visit the farm’s website here.

By Ryan Wynne

Katie Fellows, a 2006 Western Washington University graduate, walked into work on a seemingly average workday two months ago. She soon realized that day would be a turning point in her life.

Rob Knode, a salesman with 25 years experience, received an unwanted surprise when he went into work on Aug. 10, 2009, which led him on a journey most people don’t tend to go on after 50.

What do these two have in common? At least two things: they were both laid off and have struggled with unemployment during this recession.

According to regional employment data, the unemployment rate is beginning to decline, but it remains high and that means people looking for jobs can’t find them. In April, the unemployment rate dropped to 8 percent in the Bellingham/Whatcom County area. While that may seem low compared with the 10 percent unemployment rate just a few months ago, it is much higher than numbers from 2007, which bottomed out at 3.7 percent. Not to mention that 8 percent represents 8,590 neighbors who are looking for work, but can’t find it.

“We are not going to see 3.6 any time soon. I just think this is going to be a slow recovery,” said Jim Vleming, a regional labor economist for Washington State.

‘Uncharted territory’

The last time April rates were close to this high was in 1994, Vleming said, and over the past couple of years, Whatcom County unemployment rates have been higher than any previously recorded.

“It’s kind of uncharted territory,” he said.

Gary Smith, regional director for WorkSource Northwest, which covers Whatcom County, said visits to the free one-stop career center have increased dramatically in the past few years. He said visits are up 78 percent since the beginning of the recession in 2007, and that for every one job that opens, there are six people looking.

“It’s unprecedented in our system,” Smith said.

Not only is it unprecedented, it’s also demanding and challenging for WorkSource employees and, it goes without saying, for most people using the federally and state-funded program, he said.

“Being out of work is being out of work. It is a very difficult emotional experience,” Smith said,  comparing it to the stages of grief.

Pounding the pavement

Fellows may or may not be dealing with those stages. Either way, she said she is going through a hard time. She was blindsided two months ago when her employer laid her off.

“I showed up to work that day and by afternoon I was no longer employed,” Fellows said.

Fellows graduated from Western with a degree in business administration and was able to find a job right away. Jobs are harder to come by than they were four years ago and Fellows said she has searched for a job for two months and applied for 40 to 50.

Even though unemployment numbers are beginning to decline, Fellows said she is hesitant to embrace optimism.

“Honestly, because I’m in the position of being unemployed, I don’t think it’s getting any better,” Fellows said.

Of the 40 to 50 jobs she applied for, Fellows said she has had four nibbles. She had two interview and two call backs.

“Once you try a little bit harder and you still aren’t getting anywhere, you kind of go back into a rut,” Fellows said.

Knode, who was also surprised by a layoff, said the old, traditional way of job seeking doesn’t really work any more. He said he didn’t turn in resumes, but instead turned to networking. That, and the decades of experience he has under his belt paid off. He found a job within about two months of being let go. Not that it was easy for him. Knode said he had to scrape by during that period.

Knode was able to find a job much quicker than most. Vleming said nationwide, it is taking job seekers an average 33 weeks to find work

Fellows said the job situation is discouraging, but that she is trying to stay positive. She also said she has a lot less to worry about than those receiving unemployment benefits that are about to run out.

Growth on the horizon

So far in Whatcom County, approximately 500 people have seen their benefits exhausted and that number will soon increase to 600, according to C.J. Seitz, Northwest area director for the state’s Employment Security Department.

But there is light creeping in through a small crack at the end of the tunnel. Vleming said he thinks the unemployment rate will continue to decline. In April, Whatcom County gained 300 jobs. It was the biggest month-over-month gain since around November of 2008, Vleming said. That growth will likely continue through summer, especially in the construction, retail-trade and hospitality industries, which are seeing relatively significant growth.

The momentum won’t be everlasting though, and will likely peter out at the beginning of winter, he said.

“I think the hiring frenzy is probably going to be on hold for awhile,” Vleming said. “I think we will probably see some conservative growth, but at least its growth.”

Editor’s Note: This story is part one in a three-part series on unemployment in Whatcom County by reporters Ryan Wynne and Isaac Bonnell.

At a time when most businesses are trying to cut costs, it may not seem feasible for them to implement changes to reduce energy use, but just the opposite could be true.

Whatcom Educational Credit Union (WECU) recently made some energy efficiency upgrades to  its Birchwood Avenue location. Reid Frederick, social responsibility representative at WECU, said that for less than $1,000, improvements were made to the facility that will not only take some stress off of the natural environment, but will also save an estimated $1,000 per year in energy costs. While $1,000 may not seem like a large sum of money, Frederick said it’s definitely nothing to scoff at.

“One thousand dollars annually, at a time like now when people are trying to watch their costs, is pretty significant,” Frederick said.

Improvements at WECU wouldn’t have been nearly as accessible without the Community Energy Challenge.

“They have a lot of grants, so you would pay significantly more for a company to come in and provide you with the same expertise,” Frederick said.

Community Energy Challenge

The Community Energy Challenge is available to businesses and individuals who want to reduce energy use. The challenge is a program funded by approximately $4 million in grants, most of which come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

It is available to all businesses in Whatcom County with 500 or fewer employees and who don’t qualify for Puget Sound Energy’s Resource Conservation Manager program. For the first year, participants pay $65 for energy assessments and step-by-step assistance for following through with assessment recommendations.

Energy assessments may not sound exciting, but the extra cash they leave business with probably does.

Alex Ramel is the policy and energy manager with Sustainable Connections. While not alone in the challenge, Sustainable Connections is heading the commercial end of the project. Ramel said  businesses that have taken advantage of the challenge so far have seen an average energy savings of 5 percent, which translates into an average annual savings of $1,000 per business.

“The businesses we are getting to are saving energy. There is no question about that,” Ramel said.

Businesses willing to make larger, capital improvements are expected to save even more. Ramel said the target is an energy reduction of 15 percent for customers who implement both large and small improvements. While reductions of 15 percent would save a businesses more money, larger projects are also more expensive projects, which likely explains why only one or two businesses have undertaken big projects.

Participation on that scale could soon change. In late May, a low-interest loan became available to businesses wanting to make energy-saving capital improvements. Banner Bank, in partnership with the project leaders, is offering a loan with an interest rate 2 to 3 percent below market rate, Ramel said.

Since the pilot last spring, approximately 20 assessments have been done and there are 10 more in the queue, Ramel said, but the goal is much greater. He said the Community Energy Challenge wants to work with 150 businesses and 900 homeowners, which is projected to create 35 jobs and trigger $10 million in economic activity.

WECU will likely boost project numbers. Frederick said the Fountain District branch is already in line for improvements. That could mean another $1,000 in savings. He said WECU hopes to improve most if not all of its older buildings — newer building are LEED certified. WECU is even considering taking on capital projects.

And the process itself hasn’t been painful. Frederick said Sustainable Connections has been easy to work with and understanding of financial limitations.

“They will cater to what you can do not what they want you to do,” Frederick said.
In addition to assessments, the Community Energy Challenge offers incentives of  $500 to $1,500 for qualifying projects.

The federal government isn’t the only entity offering assistance for energy efficiency measures. Utility companies such as Puget Sound Energy and Cascade Natural Gas are doing the same.

Grants and rebates

PSE offers grants, rebates and free online tools customers can use to track their energy use, a service paid for by PSE customer fees.

David Landers, PSE’s interim manager of business energy management said the utility will cover up to 70 percent of energy saving projects and that PSE has grants from $100 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“We do any size project,” Landers said.

He said PSE will provide grants to most commercial and industrial customers doing energy saving projects that have measurable results. For non-lighting projects, such as heating, PSE offers up to 30 cents per kilowatt hour of annual energy savings and up to 70 percent of measured installation costs.

For lighting projects, PSE offers as much as 20 cents per kilowatt of energy savings and up to 50 percent of measured project costs, Landers said.

For businesses with less money to invest in energy savings, there are other options. On the lower end of the cost spectrum, PSE offers rebates such as $3 to $12 per compact fluorescent lamps, $40 to $80 for automatic lighting controls, such as timers and motion sensors, and $50 for seven-day programmable thermostats. PSE also has a free online tool that graphs energy use and bill trends of small-business customers, which are most commercial business customers, Landers said.

Many rebates and all grants require pre-approval, and Landers said customers can find more information on rebates on PSE’s website www.pse.com or they can call the energy adviser hotline at (800) 562-1482.

Don Elliott recently took over as president of the Whatcom County Association of Realtors, but his story doesn’t begin there. He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Alabama, was a commercial fisherman in Bellingham and later became a personal cook in Las Vegas. Don Elliott’s story is interesting to say the least.

It was 1973 when Elliott began working as a commercial fisherman in Bellingham, a job he stuck with until moving to Florida in 1992. That’s when he got into the restaurant industry armed with a love for cooking. That love took him and his wife to restaurants all over the country before they settled in Las Vegas where Elliott worked as a personal chef.

“We call it a 12-year road trip,” Elliott said. “We had a lot of fun.”

But unlike many things that happen in Vegas, Elliott did not stay there. They learned that their  daughter, who lived in Everson, was pregnant.

“My wife and I decided that we wanted to get in on the grandkids,” Elliott said.

Elliott’s move to Whatcom County in 2005 brought him closer to a new grandchild and into a new career. He became a real estate agent and did well from the get-go.

In his first year with John L. Scott Real Estate, Elliott was voted rookie of the year and he didn’t stop there. At the beginning of 2010, a time when home sales were slow at best, Elliott assumed the Whatcom County Association of Realtors presidency.

This is an interesting time for real estate companies. Home sales are down, way down. The $8,000 tax credit, which breathed some life back into the market,  just expired. Interest rates are at near-historic lows, but they are expected to go back up soon. Needless to say, Elliott has his work cut out for him.

The Bellingham Business Journal recently had an opportunity to sit down with Elliott to find out what the Whatcom County real estate market is doing and where it’s going.

The Bellingham Business Journal: What do you like best about your new position?

Don Elliott: It’s fun. I’m a political junky and the association is involved with state and local politics. I also like sharing information with the association. Not to mention, I’ve never been president of anything in my life and I kind of like it.

BBJ: How are the association’s membership numbers?

DE: There are about 630 members, which is 15 percent fewer than the same month last year. The market has been tough. The economy has not been great.

BBJ: How did the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers affect the market, and what happens now that it has expired?

DE: When the first tax credit expired last November, there was a real lull in sales, but the most recent tax credit brought sales back up. That credit, which ended April 30, caused a flurry in the office the week before it expired.

It doesn’t look like the credit will be renewed and sales will likely slow down. The credit brought a lot of people into the market who may have been waiting until later in the year to buy. Now those people have bought and we will likely see a dip in sales for a while, but sales will probably come up a bit soon. Until then, there will probably be an increase in home inventory.

BBJ: Is this a buyer’s market?

DE: It’s mostly a buyer’s market at the moment, except in the lower price range. Much of the inventory in that range was bought up by first-time home buyers who took advantage of the tax credit.

When there is an average of three to four months worth of inventory, the market favors sellers, but we are seeing closer to 9 months worth of inventory and I think sellers will end up holding that inventory for a while.

Countywide in April 2010, single-family homes sat on the market for an average of 93 days before selling. For the same time frame in Bellingham, the numbers look slightly better for sellers. This April it took an average of 84 days to sell single-family homes in Bellingham. The number of days houses sat on the market was brought down slightly by the tax credit, but sellers are holding their homes for a long time.

One reason for the large inventory, and thus the long sell-time, has to do with foreclosures. By foreclosing on homes, banks have brought a significant number of homes back into the market.

BBJ: How has the large inventory affected sale prices?

DE: Foreclosures tend to be a reduced price because banks want them to move, and banks still have a lot of inventory. Foreclosures bring down the overall price of homes on the market because appraisers look at comparable sales when assigning values to homes. Large inventories also tend to bring down the amount houses actually end up selling for. We were pretty overpriced and now those prices are coming back down.

This April in Whatcom County, the average price seller’s listed single-family homes for was $397,000, but the average sold price was much lower at $267,000. Average sold prices in Bellingham were slightly higher at $304,000, but sellers in Bellingham also saw significant reductions between sold prices and their listed prices, which averaged $478,000.

BBJ: Will low interest rates stick?

DE: Interest rates were hovering at 5.25 percent at the beginning of May, which is historically very low, but they are expected to go back up.

With interest rates as low as they are, buyers have more purchasing power. Even without the tax credit, low interest rates makes this an excellent time to buy.

BBJ: Overall, how does the housing market look this coming year?

DE: I think this year is still going to be a good time for people to buy. Prices have been pushed down by foreclosures and interest rates are still low.

The tax credit is gone, but people are still coming forward to buy homes. For many buyers, there’s a perception that recovery is just around the corner, many of whom have been waiting for the market to bottom out. For those buyers, this probably looks like an attractive time to buy.

But it’s complicated without my crystal ball, so we will have to wait to find out.

When toxic chemicals get into the water, it’s never a good thing. From the April diesel fuel spill in Squalicum Marina to the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, accidents happen and businesses need to be educated on their role in water pollution. Pollutants such as oil and gasoline can damage not only the ecosystems of the area but the businesses that depend on them as well.

A large-scale spill is one thing, but hundreds of unchecked businesses contributing trace amounts of pollution is quite another. Locally, it’s Bri Silbaugh’s job to talk to small and medium-sized businesses around Bellingham about limiting pollution and obeying all environmental and waste disposal regulations. She is a local source control specialist with the City of Bellingham’s Local Source Control Program, a position that was created in 2008 partially through a grant from the Washington Department of Ecology. She and her co-worker Mindy Collins go to different business sectors and talk to business owners and managers about hazardous wastes and storm water runoff.

In an effort to help businesses help themselves, Silbaugh goes industry by industry offering support and information tailored to that specific industry. Silbaugh said she chooses a business sector, such as marine trades or her current sector, local gas stations, and then makes a list of all businesses within that sector. She and Collins then send a letter asking to schedule a visit or drop in to make an appointment in person. She said they work with the businesses free of charge.

“I work for the government, but I’m really a consultant that goes out and helps the business come into compliance, or at least tells them how to come into compliance, with local and state and federal regulations,” Silbaugh said.

Assistance and compliance
During an inspection, Silbaugh said she primarily looks at hazardous wastes and any chemicals that may be swept along with storm water into drains. She said many drains in Bellingham do not go to a waste treatment plant but empty into streams or ocean water.

However, Silbaugh said she also looks for any and every possible source of pollution at a business. In addition to potential chemical spills and storm water runoff, she also examines potential air pollution sources, among others.

After an inspection, Silbaugh said she sends a follow-up letter to the business about how to best come into compliance with all the regulations they must obey based on her knowledge of those regulations.

Larry Leeper, owner of the boat repair shop, Leeper’s Marine, Inc., said Silbaugh inspected his facility on Valencia Street last year. He said he was deemed to be in full compliance with all pollution control regulations.

“We take our clean pretty seriously,” he said.

Leeper said his business has been family owned and operated since 1985. His business focuses on smaller ski boats that are used on lakes, but he also services and repairs some saltwater craft. He said the shop was remolded five years ago and is fully up to code on pollution prevention and waste product disposal.

Leeper has all leftover fuel and antifreeze are stored in labeled containers, and waste oil is funneled into a large Emerald Services tank inside the main shop contained within a metal grate.

Leeper said a dedicated drainage area is used for all storm water runoff. A small strip of grassy hillside next to the shop receives all water runoff from the shop’s roof. The grass acts as a natural filter that channels runoff into a drain that feeds into a cache pond.

Runoff from the shop’s working areas and repair bay goes into drains that lead to a oil separator before continuing on to a waste treatment plant.

In addition to making sure his area is kept clean and that pollutants are properly stored and disposed of, Leeper said he tries to cut down on pollutants produced from the boats while in the shop. Leeper’s Marine stocks biodegradable bilge cleaners and boat wash.

“When people buy the product, they are buying something that breaks down,” Leeper said.

Additionally, Leeper stocks oil absorbers to be used in boat bilges. The bilge is the area where the engine is housed and oil collects. Leeper said if there’s any kind of leak, the bilge is where  it would be, so it’s important to have something to soak up any excess oil.

Help from the Department of Ecology
Katie Skipper, communications manager for the Washington Department of Ecology’s Bellingham Field Office, said its important for marine based businesses, such as Leeper’s Marine, to control their pollution output. Ultimately, polluting ocean water and contaminating the waterfront will have a negative impact on businesses. Skipper said pollution can kill recreational and tourist activities like boating and kayaking, which directly harms businesses tied to those sports.

Furthermore, Skipper said pollution can kill off fish and other marine wildlife that local companies depend on for income and residents depend on for food.

Carl Andersen, a hazardous materials specialist with the Department of Ecology’s Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program, said he works with businesses to control pollution. He said he and his co-workers do education and outreach to local businesses in order to prevent any spills.

“I think we work really as a team to educate the community,” Andersen said.

He said in addition to education, the spill program prepares businesses for spills by advising them to drill their workers on what to do during an oil spill or similar incident. He suggested that businesses have a spill plan for contacting help and containing a spill, as well as a spill kit with the appropriate materials to help clean up any hazardous chemicals.

Andersen said the spills program is willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with local businesses in the case of a spill in order to contain chemicals and prevent damage to natural resources.

Leeper said he believes in a responsible approach to taking care of his environment. He picks up trash and debris from the road by his shop because it is the right thing to do.

“The way to be a good steward, the way to be a good environmentalist, is not to be radical but practice good general care,” he said.

For the average person, tax season is done. The grumble has subsided and thoughts turn to the impending arrival of a tax return or a dreaded visit from the Internal Revenue Service.

But for many businesses, taxes are a part of daily life and the consequences of not paying them are more severe. If you don’t pay your taxes on time, the state can shut you down.

That is a last resort, though, said Department of Revenue (DOR) spokesperson Mike Gowrylow.

“We have a graduated enforcement program,” Gowrylow said. “But ultimately, if we think the business is just going further into the hole, we’ll revoke their business license — especially if it’s a retail business that is collecting sales tax from its customers.”

The DOR is the agency that collects sales taxes and business & occupation taxes. The state collects these taxes from businesses at different times throughout the year, depending on the size of the business. The larger businesses with more revenue report monthly; others do it quarterly and the smallest businesses report annually.

Different agencies collect at different times, though, and that can be difficult for some people to keep straight, said Heather Pavlosky, owner of Bellingham-based Pavlosky Accounting Solutions.

“What happens is you get the money in the summer when business is booming and then you owe the money in January when sales have dried up,” Pavlosky said.

The key is to save tax money as it accrues, Pavlosky said. That way you avoid getting stuck with a large payment at the end of the year that is difficult to pay.

Late fees

Should you find yourself owing taxes or paying them late, do not be ashamed — it happens all the time. Sometimes people simply forget to pay their taxes and just need a reminder phone call, which is the first thing the DOR does if you miss a payment, Gowrylow said.

If a business cannot make a lump sum payment, the DOR can then set up a partial payment plan to pay the taxes over a set period of months. Other state departments have similar programs, but some will charge additional late fees that range from 5 percent to 25 percent based on how late a payment is submitted.

When the economy is good, most businesses don’t have a problem paying taxes on time, Gowrylow said. But when the economy isn’t doing well and the bills start to pile up, taxes are often the first thing a business will skimp on because of the leniency periods.

“Compliance is really good for the most part. But when we have an economic downturn like this, more businesses get into trouble and we have to ratchet up enforcement,” Gowrylow said. “When times get tough, our job gets a lot harder.”

The DOR doesn’t have a set timetable for businesses paying back taxes; it all depends on how responsive the business is and what the department can negotiate with the owners.

So the best thing you can do is be honest with the collection agents and keep in contact, Gowrylow said. Otherwise, you could get a notice that your business license has been revoked.

“Clearly, if a business never calls us back, it’s going to happen sooner rather than later,” he said. “Look, we want you to stay in business, but you have to pay your taxes.”

Delinquent business taxes on the rise

The number of businesses owing taxes and the dollar amount of outstanding taxes have risen during the recession.

Employment Security Department: The following statistics are a snapshot of delinquent taxes at the end of each calendar year. The first quarter of 2010 is already higher than previous years.
•    2008: 39,495 delinquent accounts, representing $28,717,439 in unpaid taxes.
•    2009: 73,164 delinquent accounts, representing $27,581,662 in unpaid taxes.
•    2010 to date: 51,475 delinquent accounts, representing $30,096,830 in unpaid taxes.

Department of Revenue: The DOR keeps quarterly reports on tax warrants. The number of warrants this year is lower than last year, but the dollar value of outstanding taxes has increased.
•    Q1 2008: 3,766 tax warrants, totaling $35,340,823. The DOR revoked 158 business licenses.
•    Q1 2009: 4,433 tax warrants, totaling $63,957,475. The DOR revoked 210 business licenses.
•    Q1 2010: 4,128 tax warrants, totaling $68,579,424. The DOR revoked 200 business licenses.

Department of Labor & Industries: L&I keeps annual statistics on tax warrants that it issues.
•    2007: 9,630 tax warrants, totaling $45,137,682.
•    2008: 9,200 tax warrants, totaling $45,040,547.
•    2009: 11,980 tax warrants, totaling $53,228,387.

Sources: Employment Security Department, Department of Revenue, Department of Labor & Industries.

On April 30, 250 business people from across the country gathered for the Sustainable Connections spring business conference to network with other businesses and listen to speakers talking about issues on the cutting edge of sustainable business theory and practices.

The conference was centered around “the future of business.” So in an effort to find out what the future might hold, reporter Ryan Wynne interviewed conference speakers and attendees to find out what they think the business world of tomorrow should look like.

Infusion Solutions, Inc.
Owner: Rowena Birnel, RPh
Start Date: April 21, 2010
Square Footage: 2,700
Address: 134 Prince Ave., Suite B, Bellingham
Phone: (360) 933-4892

Do you require infusion therapy? If so, a new business is giving Whatcom County patients some new options.

Infusion therapy, the practice of injecting medicine and treatments directly into a patient’s bloodstream via IV, helps many of those who suffer from deeply rooted infections and other ailments. Now, Infusion Solutions is here to help.

Rowena Birnel, owner and president of Infusion Solutions, graduated from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in 1988 and after briefly working in a retail pharmacy, and found it was not to her liking.

“I thought I was going to be the world’s greatest retail pharmacist, did it for three weeks — hated it,” she said.

She went on to work at the Veterans Administration Hospital for eight years and then a home infusion provider, OptionCare, for 13 years. OptionCare was later bought by Walgreens, so Birnel decided to start her own home infusion business.

Birnel said Infusion Solutions’ mission is to provide high quality and cost effective home infusion care for its patients in Island, Skagit and Whatcom counties. She said the focus is on the needs of the community and to provide the community with another option in home infusion care.

“The patient should be No. 1,” Birnel said.

Birnel said this treatment is useful to people with deep rooted infections that oral medicines can’t treat effectively, and that infusion therapy can provide a broader spectrum of medicine in general then pills someone has to swallow.

Birnel said each patient’s therapy is uniquely tailored to their needs. Treatments are prepared in Infusion Solutions’ clean room with its fully stocked pharmacy.

Patients can come into Infusion Solutions’ offices and receive their treatment in one of the three private treatment suites. Each suite offers patients a comfortable spa-like setting, complete with wireless Internet access, cable TV and a DVD player, Birnel said.

Alternatively, nursing staff can come to a patient’s home and administer treatments there. Nurses can also educate patients on how to administer treatments themselves in their homes. Birnel said this allows patients to have a more flexible schedule. Some patients require infusions of their treatments several times a day or at odd hours, which can make coming into a clinic or hospital inconvenient. Birnel said by self-administering their treatments, patients manage to retain their mobility and independence.

Patients can even go on vacation while on their treatments, provided they coordinate with Infusion Solutions staff and grab enough of their medicine and other supplies before taking off.

Birnel said patients who are administering their own treatments have access 24/7 to nurses on call, who can be reached by calling Infusion Solutions. The nursing staff can provide technical assistance as any equipment breaks down and replace depleted medicine reserves.

Birnel said Infusion Solutions is currently working on getting its Medicare number and coordinating with other hospitals in the area in order to better serve the needs of patients through home infusion care.

Bellingham City Council voted unanimously at its May 10 meeting to give $75,000 in existing lodging tax funds to the Pickford Film Center for its new Bay Street facility, a project that has felt the squeeze of the recession and been delayed due to a lack of funding.

The contribution to the nonprofit from the city’s lodging fund went unquestioned at the meeting. In fact, the only comments from council were supportive of the project, which is expected to bring media attention and tourism to downtown Bellingham. And, according to Mayor Dan Pike, should create 100 construction jobs immediately.

Councilman Terry Bornemann said he hopes the city’s contribution encourages potential donors to give to the project.

James Willson, vice president of Pickford’s board of directors, said the Pickford is roughly $100,000 to $200,00 away from meeting its $3.25 million goal. Not only is he delighted with the city’s monetary contribution, Willson said he is equally delighted with the mayor’s and councilmembers’ positive verbal support for the Pickford.

Bellingham’s Tourism Tax Advisory Committee also expressed its support for the project when it voted April 6 to recommend the city use tourism fund dollars to support the new theater. In an April 12 letter from the committee’s representative Nicole Oliver to the council, Oliver said committee members reviewed five proposals before deciding to back the Pickford project.

“LTAC members noted that although this allocation did not provide an immediate ‘head-in-beds’ scenario, the opening to the Pickford will provide a great deal of additional people to downtown throughout the week, supporting the entire Arts District as well as downtown businesses,” Oliver said in the letter.

One of the factors considered by the committee was another grant the Pickford was close to accessing. The city’s contribution will allow the Pickford to access $175,000 in previously awarded grant funding from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Willson said the Pickford had to raise $2 for every dollar of grant funding before they could get the money. He said they have raised slightly more than $3 million, but some of that money came in the form of loans.

At the meeting, Councilman Michael Lilliquist said this is the type of project that has widespread effects. His comment echoed those from members of the public who spoke before the vote.

Bellingham resident Laurel Cook said the project is not just about the Pickford. She said the project is also about the affect a film center like the Pickford Dream Space has on downtown businesses such as the Temple Bar, the Black Drop Coffeehouse, Henderson Books and the American Museum of Radio & Electricity, and that giving energy to the Pickford, is giving energy to all of downtown.

Cook said those businesses, and local businesses like them, keep Bellingham from filling with chain stores and becoming a “catalog downtown,” a prospect she seemed less than excited about.

“You may as well be in your mailbox,” Cook said.

The Pickford Dream Space project has gained significant momentum in the past couple of weeks. In addition to the city’s contribution and the $175,000 in now usable grant money, $250,000 has been appropriated for the project in the state’s capital budget.

According the the Pickford’s website, the Dream Space is about 65 percent complete and is slated to open at the end of 2010. The space will include two screens, 250-seat capacity, which is triple the current number of seats, and a 1,300-square-foot lobby, café and concessions area.

Willson said construction will begin within the next two weeks.

For information on the Pickford Film Center or to donate, visit here.

Homestead Habitats
Owners: Dyana Fiediga, Seth June and Paul Kearsley
Start Date: March 1, 2010
Address: 2609 Cedarwood Ave., Bellingham
Phone Number: (206) 355-9912

If you’ve ever wondered how to best set up a food-bearing garden on your property or what goes into creating a sustainable private landscape, Homestead Habitats has the answers for you.

Co-owners Dyana Fiediga, Seth June and Paul Kearsley met at the Bullock’s Permaculture Homestead on Orcas Island. They interned there at separate times and learned the basics of permaculture, which is the practice of creating sustainable landscapes that people can use to feed and support themselves. They decided they wanted to open up a permaculture business and offer the benefits of that method to a wider community. Kearsley suggested Bellingham because he was familiar with the area after attending Western Washington University.

June said permaculture draws elements from agriculture, land management practices and ecology and incorporates those ideas into a more holistic system.

“Permaculture strives at any given location to create kind of a sustainable system that is not only something that you inhabit, but is something you interact with and produces for you,” June said. “There’s some principles, which are care for the earth, care for people and kind of return the surplus. Part of the ethic is to teach and to share that knowledge and to share the abundance of what you produce.”

The trio found a garden with space they could use on property owned by Christy Nieto and Eli Chase and started offering services on March 1.

June said the company is limited to consulting, education and gardening work right now because they are waiting to become registered landscape contractors, which would allow them to provide a wider range of services.

Kearsley said the eventual process would be in three phrases, starting with a consultation for a property, which would cost approximately $50 and would involved an hour-and-a-half of surveying the land and seeing what could be done in terms of modifications. Then clients would be e-mailed a consultation package with resource lists and recommended readings. The idea is at that point, the client could proceed to modify their landscape themselves if they wished, or they could retain Homestead Habitat’s services.

Kearsley said the second step would be the design process when a more detailed survey of the property is conducted and a specific plan developed based on the customer’s needs.

Fiediga said the design process is a collaboration between Homestead Habitats and the customer. The entire process is driven by customer input.
Finally, the the third phase would involved modifying the landscape, installing any plants or facilities and creating a sustainable space for the customer to enjoy and use.

Homestead Habitats has also been involved in working with school gardens and conducting workshops on permaculture systems and sustainable design, with more programs being considered for the month of June.

June said he would like other landscaping businesses to learn about sustainable practices and incorporate new techniques into their trades. He said he does not care so much about competition because he and the other co-owners feel that there is value to the work Homestead Habitats does in and of itself.

“I think it would be great if in five years there wasn’t any more work for us here,” he said of his vision of a time when sustainable practices become more widely adopted.

Technology is evolving faster than ever, leaving many people struggling to keep up. The business world has become a virtual arms race to see who can adapt to the newest technology and take advantage of the next big innovation.

But the fear of the unknown and the untested can make it difficult for businesses to welcome new technology with open arms. Take the iPad for example: What can businesses do with a device that is not quite a laptop, but more than just a big iPod or iPhone?

Dave Dunkin was one of the lucky few to get an iPad right when it hit stores. As a software designer for Logos Bible Software, Dunkin designed the company’s applications or “apps” for the iPhone and the iPad. He doesn’t really consider himself a gadget geek, but he is always interested in new technology — and the iPad especially caught his attention.

“If the company hadn’t got me one, I would have bought one for myself,” Dunkin said.

Despite all the criticism the device has received, Dunkin likes the intuitive touch screen format and thinks the iPad could change the way people think about surfing the Web or reading on mobile devices. But he admits the potential of the iPad is difficult for some people to see.

“It seems that people either love it or hate it,” Dunkin said. “Only time will tell how it plays out.”

Dunkin compares it to the release of the iPhone in 2007. At the time, there were already other smartphones on the market and sales of the iPhone weren’t great at first. But when Apple unveiled the second-generation model with the App Store a year later, the business community started to take notice.

Apps for everything

When the Apple App Store opened in July 2008, it included 500 third-party apps. Now, nearly two years later, there are almost 200,000 applications available and the App Store has surpassed 4 billion downloads.

“It’s completely saturated, but it’s growing astronomically,” said Rick O’Connor, president of Blu Sky Creative Services, a Web design firm that also develops phone apps. “People are still designing new apps.”

Be it games or map programs, many businesses are now starting to dip their toes in the market after seeing the success that other companies have had with smartphone apps. And applications have proven to be flexible enough to work for various pricing models, O’Connor said. It all depends on what results you are shooting for.

For example, a software company could create an app that is a trimmed down and cheaper version of their software, hoping that people will buy the app and then upgrade to the full product. On the other hand, a game company could create a free app in hopes of simply getting their name out there and marketing to potential customers.

“You can create a game and submit it to Apple and you can be in front of 40 million people almost instantly,” O’Connor said. “The cool thing with new technology is that there are so many things to try and it’s cheap to try them.”

For Logos Bible Software, the decision to develop an app for the iPhone and iPad came about from customer demand and has led to a shift in the company’s strategy, said President and CEO Bob Pritchett.

“Our strategy is not about any one platform anymore — it’s about getting to wherever our customers are,” Pritchett said. “It is a big shift for us to be moving to multiple platforms. We’ve been largely a Windows product platform, but now we’re trying to be platform independent. This idea that software is not limited to a single platform anymore is big.”

Making sense of it all

With so many different smartphone platforms and new gadgets out there, though, it can be difficult to know where to start.

“In some ways there’s frustration because to be on the cutting edge now, you have to be coding for multiple platforms,” Pritchett said.

Pritchett likens it to the 1980s, when several operating systems were still vying for market dominance. So to be successful, software companies had to design their software to run on several different operating systems. And it was even harder for consumers to decide which operating system would suit them best.

The market for applications is like that now, O’Connor said. The iPhone has carved out a good niche for itself, but it is by no means the only smartphone out there. And with the selection of apps growing everyday, consumers can easily be overwhelmed.

“The problem is that there are so many new applications now that it’s hard to get noticed,” O’Connor said. “You have to rely on getting the word out virally.”

But more important than that is simply being there first, said Dunkin, the app designer for Logos. With a market that is changing so rapidly, being first allows you to capitalize before the market is saturated.

“There is definitely an advantage to being in early,” Dunkin said. “For example, there are other Bible apps that were out there before us and now we’re trying to catch up.”

And what will happen to the iPad?

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best that can come out of this yet,” he said. “You can now do anything at anytime from anywhere, and businesses are still trying to figure out the best way to engage their customers at anytime and anywhere.”

Sometimes the best business ideas don’t come from years of planning and research, but from the needs of the present. Such was the case for two local fishing families, the Coskys and the Edwardses.

Back in the summer of 1997, both families found themselves sitting on the docks unable to sell their boatloads of tuna. The market was flooded with fish and all the major canneries weren’t buying any more tuna for the season. So the two families decided to start their own cannery, Pelican Packers.

“The idea was easy, but doing it was hard,” said Harvey Cosky, who has been fishing since 1970. “It’s harder to sell tuna than it is to can it.”

At the time, Pelican Packers was one of the first micro-canneries to offer fishermen an alternative to selling their catch to the large canneries. Now micro-canneries, which process small batches of fish and often tailor toward higher-end customers, are almost as popular on the West Coast as microbreweries.

Pelican Packers struggled at first to make a name for itself and convince fishermen to basically go into business for themselves, but now the cannery contracts with about 25 other independent companies and fishermen.

“A large part of our growth has been canning for other fishermen who sell their fish at farmers markets,” said Russ Edwards, president of Pelican Packers.

The cannery now keeps busy year-round, producing products such as tuna paté or tuna with dill or jalapeños. Edwards no longer fishes — his father retired and sold the family boat several years ago — but the cannery has given him more than enough to do.

“We try to process a ton of fish a day — that makes about 2,000 cans, depending on what size can we’re using,” Edwards said.

For Cosky, who still fishes and sells his troll-caught albacore tuna under the name Wild Pacific Seafood, the cannery has given him a chance to capitalize on a niche market for quality tuna.

Cosky uses trolling gear — baited hooks that are dragged through the water — which allows him to handle each fish individually as he pulls them aboard his 60-foot boat that he built himself in Blaine. He bleeds each one and then lets it cool on the deck before immersing it in salt water for about five hours.

After a good soak, the fish are then stored onboard in a freezer that is kept at -25 degrees Fahrenheit. This process ensures that the meat stays firm and retains it’s natural oils.

Cosky and his wife, Judy, fish up and down the West Coast until their hold is full, which usually takes about six weeks. When they get back to port, they unload about 40 tons of tuna for storage at Bellingham Cold Storage, where it is kept until it is time to be canned.

The canning process is simple: each fish is gutted and the meat is cut into chunks that will fit into the cans. The cans are then sealed and cooked in a large pressure cooker for 90 minutes.

It’s a simple process — and Cosky wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That’s what we do: make real simple, delicious food,” he said.

Sound Beverage Distributors, Inc. was founded in 1950 by present-day manager Mark Shintaffer’s grandparents, Dale and Elaine Shintaffer. In its 60 years, the company has grown from four employees to 85 and, despite the ups and downs of the economy, has never laid off an employee. The current recession, however, has done little to impair business for the distributor — until now.

As part of its strategy to close a $2.8 billion deficit, the state Legislature recently made big cuts and increased some taxes, including the tax on mass-produced beer. Sound Beverage Distributors’ main product is beer, and Mark said the beer-tax increase could soon tarnish the business’s clean track record.

“We are anticipating some layoffs around here already,” Mark said, with the caveat that nothing is set in stone and that the business is just preparing at this point. “We are scared enough to at least have the discussion.”

This is an odd year for legislators to deal with budget issues. The state came out with its 2009-11 biennium budget last year, at which point it closed a $9 billion shortfall. However, six months after signing a balanced budget, lagging tax revenue related to the recession led to an additional shortfall of $2.8 billion. That shortfall propelled legislators into a budget session to rebalance the budget, which ended with a 29-day special session.

With the clock ticking down toward the maximum allowable days for the special session, legislators voted along party lines April 13 to raise taxes on some notable items such as beer, soda and candy, and to raise taxes on service businesses.

At the same time, $755 million dollars in cuts were made, many of which were aimed at education.

Still, there are many who believe the government is still spending too much, including Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale.

“There have been solutions on the table since day one of the legislative session that would have created jobs, prioritized government and reformed the budget process,” Ericksen said in a press release. “Nearly all of these solutions were pushed aside in favor of new tax increases.”

However, Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, said that while the vote was difficult for her because citizens are struggling in this economy, cutting billions more would have been devastating.

“Last year we solved the largest shortfall in state history without raising taxes,” Linville said. “We cut billions of dollars from state programs. But I’m afraid that if we take another all-cuts path this year, we risk irreparable long-term harm to Washington because it would cripple certain basic services that people value.”

In an April 13 press release, Gov. Chris Gregoire said legislators were forced to make some tough decisions and she commended lawmakers for their hard work.

“Tough times require tough choices,” Gregoire said. “It’s taken a little longer than we hoped to find the path forward, but the end result is a good one.”

Tax increases

The legislature’s agreement does little to console Mark Shintaffer. He said his business will likely take a hit from the beer tax, which will go up by 50 cents per gallon beginning June 1. The beer tax will not be applied to microbreweries — those producing less than 60,000 barrels of brew per year.

Mark’s company distributes microbrews, but its warehouse is also filled with 20-foot walls of mass-produced beer, such as Budweiser. Because of state liquor laws, distributors have to pay taxes for the beer they deliver. Mark said his company sometimes eats slight tax increases to avoid dips in sales that could result from passing them on to consumers, but this increase is too significant and must be passed on.

When prices go up, Mark is afraid sales will go down.

The same could be true for soda, candy, bottled water, tobacco products and lottery tickets. The new tax bills, approved by Gregoire April 23, are expected to increase tax revenue by $757 million by increasing taxes on those items and others, by closing loopholes and by establishing new taxes.

Certain new taxes could actually benefit some Washington businesses, according to Mike Gowrylow, Washington State Department of Revenue spokesman. One of the budget provisions established a tax for out-of-state businesses doing business in Washington, such as banks, and that is expected to bring in approximately $85 million in new revenue. Gowrylow said that decision could help Washington businesses be more competitive with non-state companies.

“That might mean increased business for in-state businesses,” Gowrylow said.

The Legislature also voted to increase the B&O tax for service businesses except hospitals and scientific research and development activities. It will go up from 1.5 percent to 1.8 percent. Approximately 45 percent of Whatcom County businesses will be affected by the rate change, but that doesn’t figure in the amount that will benefit from another change: the doubling of the small business tax credit.

“There is some good news for smaller operations,” Gowrylow said.

He said approximately 74,000 of Washington’s 137,000 service businesses will benefit from the credit increase, which is 14,000 more than were previously able to take advantage of it. Before budget provisions, service businesses generating more than $56,000 in annual service income paid the B&O tax at a regular rate without tax credit compensation. With the increased credit, businesses can gross up to about $80,000 per year without incurring additional B&O tax liability, and in some cases will pay lower taxes.

Among other provisions, Legislators also voted to temporarily suspend a sales tax exemption affecting livestock nutrient management, repeal a property management salary exemption, limit the bad debt deduction on retail sales and require corporate boards of directors to pay tax on their fees.

Spending cuts

The amended budget is not just based on revenue generation, though. Many state-funded programs and jobs will be affected by cuts. With both 2009-11 budget sessions combined, legislators cut approximately $4 billion in spending. As of press time, 3 p.m. April 23, Gregoire had not approved provisions regarding budget cuts.

In its recent session, legislators reduced funding to higher education by $73 million. Western Washington University, one of Bellingham’s top employers, took a base budget hit of $3 million in recurring cuts and $1.2 million in one-time cuts.

“As painful as this cut will be, any better outcome was highly unlikely,” Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard said in a campus-wide letter. “And, given the state’s situation, much worse outcomes could have occurred.”

The reductions come as Western is dealing with the state’s initial $44 million cut to its 2009-11 base budget, which was made when the state’s original budget was approved. That budget cut funding to public colleges and universities by $557 million.

Western offset effects of the initial reduction with tuition increases and federal stimulus funding — bringing the net reduction down to $18.9 million — that’s about $9.5 million when split between both years — and brought it down further by reducing its operating budget.

Now, facing a 2010-11 base budget cut totaling approximately $12.5 million, Western is considering eliminating positions. Last year 164 positions were eliminated and this year another 39 could be affected, 10 of which are currently occupied and would either be eliminated or see reduced hours.

“The university is being squeezed pretty severely at this point,” Western Communication Director Paul Cocke said. “There have been layoffs and there will be layoffs. It’s not easy on anyone.”

With both cuts, the state’s contribution to institutions of higher education has been reduced to a level near the minimum required for receipt of federal stimulus funds.

Cocke said cuts like these don’t just hurt the university, they hurt the entire community — 2,100 employees and 14,000 students spend their money in the community, he said.

“It’s in everyone’s interest that Western remain as strong an institution as possible,” Cocke said.

Higher education wasn’t the only educational target for budget cuts. The remaining $79 million in Initiative 728 per student allocations to school districts was eliminated, which will be felt in Whatcom County. Also, the grade 4 class size enhancement was reduced by $30 million, and legislators saved another $15 million by eliminating the learning improvement day for teachers.

Major cuts extended beyond education. Based on legislation requiring temporary layoffs or salary savings, legislators reduced funds to all areas of state government by $49 million. Correctional facility capacity was reduced by $46 million, information technology funds were reduced by $30 million, and Security Lifeline programs saw a cut of $28 million.

Preserved programs

As deep as the cuts may be, they would preserve funding for a variety of programs. The budget includes $631 million in new revenue that will help support state programs.

One critical program for students that will be preserved is the State Need Grant, a need-based financial aid for students from lower income families. Shepard commended legislators for restoring State Need Grant funding and for partially restoring funds for the work study program.

The funding would also support the Basic Health Program, which will continue to offer health insurance for more than 60,000 Washingtonians, the levy equalization program, which provides state financial support to school districts with a lower than average property tax base, maternity services for at-risk mothers, and hospice care for thousands of low income Washingtonians.

Although she showed support for the Legislature’s decision to preserve programs by raising some taxes, Gregoire was adamant that voters realize significant reductions were made.

“While new funding will be generated to support needed state programs, I want to be clear that we will be cutting more from the budget than what will be raised in new revenue,” Gregoire said. “This means layoffs at state agencies, facility closures and larger class sizes for our young students. All Washingtonians, in one way or another, will feel the effects of these painful reductions.”

Until November

The 2009-11 budget drama is not quite over. Immediately after legislators adopted budget provisions, initiative activist Tim Eyman filed initiative measures that would roll back the new taxes. In order to get the initiative on the November ballot, Eyman would have to get 241,153 valid voter signatures.

At the same time, Bill Gates Sr. has filed an initiative measure that would create a state income tax for couples making a joint income in excess of $400,000, or $200,000 for individuals. The bill would also reduce the state property tax by 20 percent and eliminate the B&O tax for all small businesses, which, according to the initiative, would provide middle class tax relief. Funds from the tax would be dedicated to improving education and health services.

If the new initiatives make the ballot, voters will also get to have a direct say in budget matters, but even without the initiatives the November ballot will give voters a chance to tell legislators whether they agree with budget votes — all of the state House seats and about half of state Senate seats will be on that ballot.

Veg Express: A Vegetarian Drive Thru
Owner: Michelle Whittaker
Start Date: April 5
Address: 700 Ohio St., Bellingham
Phone: (360) 961-8694

The logo for Veg Express says it all: a white rabbit using two heads of lettuce for wheels. The rabbit represents the cars that pull up to the small stand on Ohio Street to grab a quick vegetarian lunch, an option they did not have before owner Michelle Whittaker set up shop.

The Veg Express stand is in a large concrete lot with lots of room for cars to pull up to order and park. A gray single-story office building sits behind it and houses several businesses as well as Whittaker’s kitchen.

Whittaker, a life-long Whatcom County resident, said the idea for a vegetarian drive thru came to her 15 years ago when she was working at a nursing home. She said she has been an off-and-on vegetarian for years and she could never find a good place to grab a quick vegetarian meal during her lunch break.

“I [didn't] know if  Bellingham was ready and I wasn’t ready to do something like this,” she said.

So she put idea on hold for awhile. She worked at her own painting business until recently when she decided that she would like a change of pace and seriously considered resurrecting that old dream of a vegetarian drive thru.

She said she found space in the building behind the stand that could serve as the kitchen where all the food is actually prepared. She found the trailer that people drive up to on Craigslist. It used to sit on Lummi Island next to the ferry terminal and Whittaker knew it would fit her needs well as soon as she saw it. She said she funded the business through use of credit and through the generosity of her friends and family.

Whittaker said that while she had some initial worries about attracting customers, but she quickly realized that hers is a niche market.

“I figure this is such its own little thing that I felt I would still get business,” she said.

And business she has received. Whittaker said her first week was busy with several repeat customers.  She said she tried to put enough variety in her menu to draw people back to find out what they missed the first time through. So far the most popular items have been the Sweet Burrito, made with sweet potatoes and black beans, the Big Cheese, a grilled cheese with sprouts, tomatoes and avocado and the Spicy Black Bean Burrito with avocado.

“People are very grateful and appreciative that they have somewhere to go,” she said of her customers.

Whittaker said the benefits of eating vegetarian include reducing one’s impact on the environment, preventing animal suffering and improving one’s health.

Whittaker said the mass farms produce a lot of animal waste and take up many resources in order to feed livestock. She said the grain used to feed a cow so it could become a single steak could feed several people instead.

She said many of the animals destined to become meat items in the grocery store are treated cruelly and kept in poor conditions. She said this kind of practice is why she personally practices vegetarianism.

Jonathan Rands, Attorney at Law
Owner: Jonathan Rands
Start Date: April 12, 2010
Address: 1514 12th St., Suite 100
Phone: (360) 306-8136

Driving under the influence can land someone in a lot of trouble. Licenses can be revoked, fines can be levied and restrictions can be imposed. The legal pressure brought to bear on someone charged with a DUI can seem overwhelming, but that’s where attorney Jonathan Rands can step in to help.

Rands has eight years of experience in the legal field and has seen numerous DUI cases during his time as public defender in Skagit County and at his last firm, Fox Bowman Duarte. He started his own practice in January and had to work out of a friend’s conference room while his own offices were being set up in the former Stanello’s location on 12th Street in Fairhaven.

“Ninety-nine percent of my practice is DUI defense and what that means to me is first and foremost making sure that peoples’ rights are protected,” Rands said. “We live in a society right now that, since 9/11, we’re all too comfortable giving up civil rights in one way, shape or form.”

Rands attended law schools in Jacksonville, Fla., and in Seattle. He said criminal defense law started to appeal to him more and more as he progressed through his education and early training in Seattle. He said DUI cases, in particular, offer a lot of variety and challenges for him to tackle.

“It’s one of the only areas of law where you really get a little bit of everything. You get some science, actually you get a lot of science,” he said, “you get general search and seizure; you get point-of-arrest issues; and you’ve also got something that’s very important to everybody in their lives — which is a driver’s license — at stake.”

Rands said he encourages potential clients to sit down with him to talk about their case before even hiring him. He said he likes to keep in close contact with his clients once he’s hired — not just talk with them in court. His practice provides clients with four points of contact, which are Rands himself, Lynn Rose, his legal assistant, Carrie Moody, his receptionist and Thomas Missel, a private detective Rands often hires.

“I offer more comprehensive service than anybody, not in this city, but anybody in this state,” Rands said. “That’s my main goal. Above-and-beyond criminal defense is making sure I take care of the person and making sure I service the person, because we are a service industry.”

Rands and his wife, Janise, are committed to learning more about the community they are now a part of. He said they are interested in doing charitable work about once a month because it is “the right thing to do” and it allows them to give back to the community outside of the courtroom. They have recently donated to the Birch Bay Food Bank, the Boys and Girls Club and to a scholarship fund at Concrete High School in honor of a veteran.

“It makes a difference,” he said.

keiko.keiko
Owner: Megan Rush
Start Date: Feb. 6
Address: 2518 Meridian St., Bellingham
Phone: (360) 303-2249

Women in the Bellingham area have a new place where they can buy stylish or professional clothing that won’t cost them an arm and a leg.

Megan Rush opened the keiko.keiko resale clothing boutique on Feb. 6. The store, located off Meridian Street in the Fountain District, offers used clothes suitable for women ages 30 and up. Rush said she studied fashion design, art and English at Washington State University. Ultimately she received her degree in English but never used it. She said she has come full circle now by returning to fashion.

Rush said she was inspired to start her own boutique after volunteering for a year at the YWCA Back to Work Boutique. She was a consultant, helping people put together professional outfits so they could go to job interviews and attend work. She said volunteering with the YWCA, along with celebrating her 40th birthday, helped her focus in on getting her own career started.

The idea of resale cloths appealed to Rush because selling used items would allow her to keep prices down and conserve resources. She said she is a big fan of recycling and reusing. Most of the furnishings in the store were crafted using materials from the RE Store, which sells used buildings materials.

The location for the shop was discovered by one of Rush’s friends. The former home of Kalamalka Tattoo, the building is a converted home that’s been on Meridian since the 1920s and was recently remodeled. Rush is the first tenant to enjoy the renovation. She said she was able to lease and furnish the shop because she sold her house when the market was still good.

Rush travels down to Seattle once a week to browse other used clothing stores for items useful to keiko.keiko. She said now that the boutique has been in business for awhile customers are actually donating clothing items to the store. She said 25 percent of her stock is comprised of customer donations.

Rush said she has been able to attract repeat customers because they like the streamlined setup of the store and the selection of clothing offered.

“Most of my customers are really liking the clothes I pick out,” she said. “I think I have a really good eye for picking out clothes.”

Rush said she has tried hard to give the shop more of an upscale boutique feeling. She said she is working on hosting a spring ladies night sometime in May for customers to come into the store and enjoy food, drink and other activities.

As for the name, Rush said “keiko” means “spot” in Hawaiian and is the name of her 19-year-old Calico cat. She said she always calls out “Keiko, Keiko,” when trying to find the pet and she thought it would make a cute name for the store.

After five weeks of renovation, Diamond Jim’s Grill is now open in its new space at 2400 Meridian St., the former home of Speak E-Z’s.

The move is a considerable expansion for the business, which jumped from a mere 900 square feet at the old triangular-shaped building on North State Street to more than 2,500 square feet in the new location.

“I’ve always wanted to expand, but I just never had the space,” owner Jim Green said. “Here I have a more modern kitchen that’s almost as big as the seating area.”

With the extra space and kitchen capacity, Green said he would like to add a dinner menu by the end of this year. He plans to offer home-cooked comfort foods such as meatloaf and hamburgers.

The new space still has iconic pieces of the old diner. The breakfast counter is the same, with the same vintage lights overhead. The old neon clock still hangs on the wall, across from the drive-through-style menu.

Green had some trepidation about the move — restaurants have struggled in this recession because people are eating out less often and food prices have continued to rise — but his worries were eased a bit by the crowd that filled the diner on opening day.

Green has been searching for a suitable place to relocate his business since August 2009 when the City of Bellingham approached him to buy his building. The city is planning to improve the intersection adjacent to the old location for better connectivity to the freeway.

Green had just celebrated 13 years in the North State Street building when he closed the restaurant on April 10.

Though the building contained many memories for Green, he said he is happy with the new location and is excited about what he can do with the space.

“Here I feel like its more of my own creation,” he said.

Owner: Scott Keller
Start Date: March 15, 2010
Address: 1601 Birchwood Ave., Bellingham
Phone: (360) 746-8310

Scott Keller, owner of the recently opened Keller Automotive on Birchwood Avenue, is willing to go that extra mile for his customers.

Keller, who has 30 years of experience in the automotive repair industry and has received factory training with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW, recently had a repeat customer bring in her third car to get an oil change from him. Keller gave her the oil change, plus a filter and two windshield wiper blades  for free.

“It cost me 30, 40 bucks,” he said, “but I have a customer for life.”

Keller, who moved to Washington from California five years ago, said he worked as the manager of a local shop starting in August 2009, but was excited when the opportunity arose to start his own business.

Keller said while he was initially nervous about getting enough customers to be  successful, his fears were quickly allayed when he had five cars come in the first day Keller Automotive opened. He said business has been improving since then.

The shop offers just about every auto service one can ask for. From the standard lube and oil change to advanced engine and brake system repairs, Keller and his team handle it all. He said it costs $32 for a four-quart oil change and $38 for a five-quart oil change. Additionally, he said he’s offering a free oil change to any customer that manages to bring in three other customers.

Keller said he offers free safety checks on every car that comes into the shop. While an employee takes care of the oil change, Keller likes to check over the car himself and see if there are any problems, which is usually a 15-minute process. For everything he finds, he lets the car owner know what’s wrong and if it’s something that can be fixed later or should be taken care of right away.

Family is important to the shop. Keller has both of his sons, Tyler and Kyle, as employees, while his father, Don, helps him with bookkeeping. His wife, Marnie, works for Shukson Middle School as a special education teacher and provides moral support, Keller said. His good friend, Alger Deleon, is the shop’s service manager while Deleon’s brother works as one of the mechanics.

“It’s a family-oriented business,” Keller said.

Keller has bigs plans for the shop. He said Keller Automotive will soon become a Castrol Premium Lube Express franchise. New signs will be attached to the shop and two out of the three car bays will be reserved for Castrol product use. Keller said Castrol will pay him to use their products if he meets a certain yearly quota for gallons used.

Financing a business or project is no small feat, especially in today’s economy. The lifeblood of any operation, financing lately seems to be as easy to come by as water in the desert. So that being the case, there is no better time to discuss traditional as well as alternative financing.

Questions and concerns over financing can come in many forms: How do I fund the start of my business? How do I fund growth or just sustain day-to-day operations? But all of these small details lead up to one underlying question: What financing is available?

The reality today is that many small businesses are not completely bankable yet, said Jennifer Shelton, director of the Small Business Development Center, a free consultation service for local businesses. She said there are several programs available for business that don’t fit in the box of a traditional lender. These can include programs banks don’t know about and ones in which a bank can partner with, she said.

According to the Center for Economic Vitality’s Web site, one of the main reasons businesses are denied bank loans is because they don’t understand the bank’s requirements and restrictions. In order to obtain a loan, banks require the business to put together a loan package, which includes an in-depth business plan and future projections.

The key points and documentation a traditional lender will review includes what has come to be known as the “five Cs,” Shelton said. These include management capacity, cash flow, collateral, credit, and contribution.

“This is where our program comes into play,” Shelton said. “We help businesses who don’t meet all five of these put together their loan packages, so when they present to a lender, whether traditional or alternative, they have a higher success rate of securing the loan.”

Government loans

Alternative financing exists in many forms, but government loans are a big chunk of that. For small businesses, there are numerous Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs available.

SBA programs don’t offer direct loans, said Elizabeth Rusnak, vice president and senior loan officer of the Northwest Business Development Association. SBA sets guidelines for loans in order to guarantee they will be paid back, making a business less of a risk to a lending partner, she said.

The SBA 504 Loan Program is what the Northwest Development Association is specifically licensed to facilitate. This loan program is intended to facilitate financing to businesses to allow acquisition of fixed assets, such as commercial buildings or major equipment. The idea behind the 504 Loan Program is on average, for every $65,000 dollars given, a job should be created or retained, Rusnak said.

The SBA loans up to 40 percent of the proposed funding and then partners with a lending institution, which pays up to 50 percent, allowing the business owner to pay as little as 10 percent down, Rusnak said.

“Direct bank financing often requires a down payment of 20 percent to 25 percent, so that can end up being a lot of money saved and funneled back into the business,” Rusnak said. “SBA also carries a fixed interest rate for the entire 20-year loan, which is almost unheard of.”

Businesses in rural areas can look to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA offers various loan and grant programs, except they work through partnerships with public and private community-based organizations and financial institutions.

These loan and grant programs target rural areas with a population of 50,000 or less. The average equity required is at least 10 percent  to 20 percent for new businesses, and interest rates vary because they are negotiated between lender and borrower. Terms can be up to seven years for working capital loans, 15 years for equipment loans and up to 30 years for real estate loans.

At the state level, the Washington State Department of Commerce offers grants and loans to small and medium-sized businesses through loan capital for start-up and expansion projects. They offer seven programs ranging from private business loans to gap financing resources for rural businesses.

Most state and local governments offer industrial revenue bonds, a loan to a company to build or buy a facility or buy land and/or equipment, as a way to encourage relocations and expansions of companies to provide jobs and help local communities. Locally, the Port of Bellingham’s Industrial Development Corporation offers tax exempt financing to qualifying companies through these bonds.

Bond amounts can range from $1 million to $10 million, have fixed- or variable-rate features, and long-term repayment, plus the projects can be located anywhere in Whatcom County.

Nonprofit organizations

When it comes to nonprofits, traditional lending can’t help in the way it used to either, said Che Wong, associate loan officer for Seattle-based ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, a certified nonprofit community development financial institution. Many banks are under regulatory orders to put bigger restrictions on their reserves, and nonprofits are being turned away.

Being certified by the Department of Treasury enables banks like ShoreBank to help existing organizations geared toward community development, Wong said. These organizations can include ones owned by women, minorities, low-income individuals and businesses with an environmentally-friendly component. They are selected on the types of projects they do and, just like a traditional lender, have their own requirements and restrictions.

“We are able to take on a little more risk,” Wong said. “We don’t take deposits, or open up savings or checking. We are a business lending bank, only we’re more flexible.”

All loans through ShoreBank must be secured by collateral, although the collateral assessment may be more flexible. Interest rates vary depending on the risk and payback terms are generally one to five years. Loans are available from $25,000 to $750,000.

Some lesser-known options

Alternative financing options exist everywhere, especially on the Internet, Shelton said. For example, social lending is an online lending option for businesses.

Social lending doesn’t require a business plan, and numerous Web sites are equipped with personal lenders looking for an investment. Most Web sites only require an intermediary credit check and then it matches you up with a potential lender. Some examples of these Web sites are www.virginmoney.com and www.prosper.com, Shelton said.

“People always think to go to the bank, but online is yet another option,” Shelton said. “People are taking their savings from the bank and lending it with higher interest to businesses and individuals in need.”

The Bellingham Angels is a larger group of accredited investors who are interested in providing equity capital to early and mid-stage entrepreneurial companies in Whatcom County. The local group is part of a national organization consisting of similarly functioning groups in other cities.

Prospective buyers have to pass the company screening process and are then required to make a short 15-minute presentation to the group at one of their bi-monthly meetings. If an individual investor chooses to invest, then they work out the details between the borrower and lender. Investments typically range from $150,000 to $1.5 million.

Some counties have specific loan funds for community and local economic development, Shelton said. The Northwest Economic Council offers a Revolving Loan Fund and an Economic Development Investment Plan to help local manufacturers and public facilities in need.

The Revolving Loan Fund can fund up to $75,000 for any single project in Whatcom County and sets the interest rates below rates in the area. It must be a job-creating activity and at least 20 percent of the financing must come from the applicant. The maximum applicant portion of the loan is 30 percent.

The Economic Development Investment Plan was developed when the Washington State Legislature authorized rural counties, such as Whatcom County, to collect a portion of the sales tax collected to finance public facilities. This program is intended to fund public facilities and create and retain jobs.

In the development and construction world, you can sometimes judge the state of the industry by looking at the crane index — an unofficial count of how many cranes there are around the city. Last year, at times, there was hardly a single one.

But 2010 is looking better. Hard hats and dump trucks are once again becoming regular sights in Bellingham.
Here at The Bellingham Business Journal, we often write about proposed developments months, sometimes years before they actually break ground. Some of these projects have moved forward and others are nowhere to be seen.

Listed below are some of the more prominent projects we’ve reported on over the past couple of years with a quick update on their status to date.

St. Paul’s Academy

Address: 1509 E. Victor St.

Developer: St. Paul’s Academy

Plans: New middle school and high school

Status: Under construction

Update: After years of planning, construction of the $11.4 million school is under way and is expected to be completed by next summer. The school had been waiting for financing for about two years and managed to raise more than $1 million last year for its capital campaign.

“It has truly been an epic period for St. Paul’s Academy,” said Sarah Brand, development director at St. Paul’s. “With more than $1 million in donations we are excited and enthusiastic about our plans to expand our school.”

Marriott Hotel

Address: 4034 Northwest Ave.

Developer: 360 Hotel Group

Plans: Five-story hotel with 204 rooms and underground parking

Status: In permitting

Update: The first building permit for this project was submitted in mid-March to build two stormwater vaults on the site. The developer did not return calls about when construction of the hotel might begin.

Bellingham City Planner Brian Smart said it is not uncommon for developers to submit a stormwater permit separately from the building permit because it allows them get the project started without a complete review of the building plans. It’s also a strong indicator that the project has all its financing lined up.

“If they have the financing, they will build those stormwater structures first,” Smart said.

Fairhaven Hotel

Address: 1200 Harris Ave.

Developer: Ralph Black, Alliance Properties

Plans: Five-story retail/office building

Status: Waiting for financing

Update: The market for commercial real estate has plummeted in the last year, making it even harder for projects like this to proceed. Developer Ralph Black said banks won’t lend for the project without a tenant lined up, and tenants are wary to sign on to a project that doesn’t yet have financing.

“But should financing become available and should we find a tenant, we’ll be going forward on this project,” he said.

King Mountain urban village

Address: North of King Mountain Neighborhood and east of Guide Meridian

Developer: Ralph Black, Alliance Properties

Plans: Urban village with about 900 residential units (single-family residences, condos, townhouses) and between 60,000 and 100,00 square feet of mixed-use commercial space.

Status: In master planning

Update: After being annexed by the City of Bellingham last year, this project is waiting for the Bellingham City Council to docket the project, meaning it would get the go-ahead for city staff to work out a potential rezone.

Walton Two

Address: 1501 N. State St.

Developer: Bellingham/Whatcom County Housing Authorities

Plans: Three-story mixed-use building with 40 affordable housing units, 2,800 square feet of commercial space and underground parking

Status: Under construction

Update: Executive Director John Harmon estimates the $7.2 million project is approximately 20 percent complete. Much of the initial work has been pouring the foundation and the underground parking garage. Commercial tenants are still being sought for the ground-floor commercial spaces.

The project is expected to be completed in February 2011.

Bellwether Gate

Address: 21 Bellwether Way

Developer: David Ebenal, Ebenal Construction

Plans: Three office buildings, the tallest of which is four stories, and one restaurant

Status: Under construction

Update: Construction of the first and tallest of the Bellwether Gate buildings began last year and is expected to wrap up in July, said development manager Wayne Weed. The engineering firm CH2M HILL is slated to occupy most of the building and Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant announced that it will take up most of the ground floor.

“We’re currently negotiating with five other tenants for the building,” Weed said. “We feel that by the first of June we will be close to 90 percent occupancy.”

Morse Square Apartments

Address: 1010 Railroad Ave.

Developer: Rick Westerop, West-Lind Construction

Plans: Four, six-story mixed-use buildings with apartments

Status: Planning stage

Update: Developer Rick Westerop first submitted plans in late 2008 to scale back this project from an 18-story condo tower to two mixed-use buildings with 140 apartments. The plans have since changed to include four buildings with underground parking — and they could change some more, Westerop said.

“We’re still dragging along, trying to make the buildings a little more cost effective,” he said.

Since banks are lending less these days, Westerop said, he is redrawing the plans to make the project pencil out easier.

Eldridge Manor

Address: 1515 E. St.

Developer: Living Care

Plans: Four-story senior living facility with 91 units and underground parking

Status: Project cancelled

Update: After months of looking for financing, Seattle-based Living Care has withdrawn its plans in Old Town, said CEO Denis Bryant.

“There was not sufficient market to absorb another senior living facility,” Bryant said. “We are disappointed that it didn’t work out.”

Average occupancies at many senior living facilities in the region are down due to the recession, Bryant said, and lenders did not want to finance the construction of more units. Though this particular project didn’t make it, Bryant said the company would still like to build in Bellingham.

“We like the Bellingham market very much. We think it’s a great city,” he said.

For many locals, the opening of the Bellingham Farmers Market on April 3 was a sign that winter has ended and spring has sprung. But for many vendors, the market means steady business during a time when the economy has hit small businesses hard.

Last year was a tough year for craft vendors in particular, said Market Director Caprice Teske. Though foot traffic remained high, averaging 1,200 to 1,500 each weekend, people generally shied away from expensive gifts and spent their money on food and vegetables.

Despite the economy, the market saw a 3 percent increase in revenue last year, a trend that Teske hopes will continue this year.

“We will be really happy if we can pull in the same kind of year as last year,” Teske said. “If we can maintain that, we wil be doing really well and we’ll be grateful for that.”

Last year was Cheyenne Black’s first at the Bellingham Farmers Market. As the co-owner of Sip-T, an organic tea blending company, she said the market gave her business a presence in the community and helped her cultivate a group of devout customers.

“The Farmers Market is great as an alternative storefront when you’re just getting going,” Black said. “It lets you get to know your market without having to invest in a retail location.”

And when the market ended in December, Black had enough regular customers from the market to keep steady business through the winter.

The visibility of the market is usually the main attraction for new businesses, Teske said. Each year, the market receives 30 to 50 applications from new vendors vying for five to 10 openings.

“We can fit 110 vendors on-site, and we have about 140 for the Saturday market,” Teske said, adding that some vendors switch weeks. “It’s a scheduling challenge. We are maxed out on space and it’s getting to be really tight.”

Two new vendors that made the cut this year are Bison Bookbinding and Juice Peddler. For Carly James of Bison Bookbinding, the market will be a chance for her and her husband, Kevin Nelson, to get back into the retail side of the print business. The couple previously had their old-fashioned presses in a shop on North State Street, but moved the business to their house last year.

“Now that we’re working out of our home, we thought it might be nice to be out in the public every week, just to let people know we didn’t go out of business,” James said. “And it’s an opportunity for us to work on our own artwork.”

Most of their work is in designing and printing posters and books for private clients, she added, which leaves little time for artistic pursuits. But this year, James and Nelson decided to spend time developing their own line of greeting cards. They plan to sell their cards at the market, along with journals, sketchbooks, and of course, bookbinding supplies for those who want to get creative at home.

Juice Peddler, on the other hand, will offer market-goers a chance to blend their own smoothies using a bike-mounted blender. Owner Kelli Akre came up with the idea while traveling around Thailand on her bike. When she came back, she figured out a way to mechanically attached a blender to the drivetrain of a bicycle. The blender sits above the front wheel and is operated by the customer pedaling the bike.

“This blender can go faster than a plug-in blender because of how fast you can pedal the bike,” Akre said.

For Akre, the Farmers Market is just the beginning. She hopes to eventually open a retail location in town and make more pedal-operated blenders. But until then, she’ll be parking her bike every Saturday down at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

Two years ago, when the economy was sliding into this recession, the stock market was a daily topic of discussion. It offered a measured snapshot of something that is difficult to quantify, at least in real time.

When the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped below 7,000, many investors had already lost a lot of money and some were pulling out of the market altogether. Since then, the Dow has made impressive gains and is back above 10,000, but investors are still leery.

“When you come out of a recession, the economy first has to climb a wall of worry,” said Brant Faulkner of Faulkner Investment Services. “Investors are still jittery — there’s a lot of disbelief in the market now. Investors want some clarity on where this market is going.”

When the market was at its lowest, there was a dramatic shift to safer investments, mainly bonds. Yields on bonds are generally lower, between 2 percent and 4 percent currently, but they are considered less risky.

That move didn’t surprise Egan Ludwig from Waycross Investment. From 1982 to 1999, the stock market had the best run in its history. And when it came crashing down, many portfolios just weren’t built to handle it.

“It woke a lot of people up to that fact that you can’t be blind to risk,” Ludwig said. “We’ve been through two bubbles in the last decade and I think people have become a little more cautious with their investments.”

Balancing risk

If this recession has taught one lesson, it is the importance of maintaining a diverse portfolio, Faulkner said. It’s human nature to become overconfident when the market is doing well and investors often take on more risk than they should.

“They put everything in hot areas that have performed the best over the previous 12 months,” Faulkner said. “Instead of putting togther a diverse portfolio that can weather the good times and bad, they put it all in one area.”

Panic is also a part of human nature, and it tends to take over when investors are losing money. It can lead people to go against basic investment strategy: they end up buying high and selling low instead of buying low and selling high.

“Then people tend to get back into less risky investments and they won’t quite see the gains that can be made when the market rebounds,” Faulkner said.

In fact, much of the gains from this recession have already been made, Ludwig said, pointing our that in the last year, the Dow has risen 50 percent.

“If you don’t have any stocks and you’re sitting there with cash, you’ve missed a huge chunk of this rally already,” Ludwig said. “The worst thing is when people see the market going up and they put money into it when the market has already had its run.”

Bond bubble?

The stampede to the bond market may have stabilized many portfolios in the short term, but it is creating another unstable situation, said Rick Joines, a financial adviser with Bay City Financial.

“The next bubble to burst is going to be the bond market,” Joines said. “Everybody has gone to the bond market looking for safety and really it’s creating a bubble in the bond market.”

The problem is that as interest rates start to rise and the stock market becomes more appealing, people who invested heavily in bonds will find that their portfolios aren’t gaining much value, Joines said. He recommends keeping at least a quarter of any portfolio in the stock market to keep up with inflation and balance risk.

This is especially important for people managing their nest egg or planning for retirement, he added.

“You’re looking for investments that are not correlated and having a small amount in the stock market will adjust your risk in the long term,” Joines said.

Emerging markets

One area of investment that has seen a lot of attention lately is “emerging markets,” countries such as India, China and Brazil that are rapidly becoming more developed.

While many American companies are still struggling through this recession, these emerging markets have rebounded and then some. For example, Brazil’s stock market is up almost 100 percent and Russia is up 160 percent in one year, Ludwig said.

“I believe in the emerging markets,” he said. “You have to make sure you protect yourself from what happens here in the U.S.”

Faulkner agrees, adding that emerging markets should definitely play a role in diversifying a portfolio. But that’s not to say that the domestic market isn’t going to bounce back.

“This year will be a transition year from the economy relying on stimulus to standing on its own two legs,” Faulkner said. “I’m pretty optimistic at this point — things are developing about as well as we could have hoped. I’m just happy that, by golly, we did avoid a big disaster.”

When most people think of concrete, they think of a driveway or a sidewalk. Not Mike Bechkowiak.

As the owner of BForm, Bechkowiak has designed his own unique concrete mix that is three times stronger than standard concrete. Most concrete floors are four inches thick and capable of holding about 4,000 pounds per square inch. Bechkowiak’s concrete can hold 12,000 pounds per square inch, allowing him to make pieces as thin as one-quarter inch.

“It’s a highly specialized mix that allows me to get high strengths and low profiles, all without steel reinforcements,” he said. “I can do things you don’t expect to see out of concrete.”

For example, this mix allows him to create lightweight countertops that he can mold into any shape a customer wants. It also allows Bechkowiak, who is a trained sculptor, to be more creative. So far he has crafted concrete coffee tables, fireplaces, sinks and tiles.

“As long as I can make a mold, I can make it out of concrete,” he said.

One of the many ingredients that Bechkowviak puts in his concrete mix to give it extra strength is fly ash, a recycled material that is scrubbed from the chimneys of coal-burning power plants. In fact, recycled material makes up 40 percent of Bechkowiak’s concrete mix.

Bechkowiak first started experimenting with new concrete mixes about 10 years ago, when concrete countertops became popular, he said. At that time, though, he was busy with regular concrete jobs and didn’t know if there was much work to be done with concrete countertops.

But once the recession hit, Bechkowiak decided to fine tune his new concrete mix and take his business in a new direction.

“I can count on two hands how many times my phone has rung for ordinary concrete work in the last two years,” he said. “Timing-wise, it was awkward for me to launch a new business strategy in a down economy. But it was do or die for me.”

So far, the move is paying off. The new mix has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for concrete. The hard part, however, is changing the public’s perception of concrete.

“It’s still difficult to get people to envision concrete that is not a slab surface,” he said. “I’m trying to get people away from thinking of this as just a surface. It can be a very nice decorative feature.”

And since concrete can be dyed, Bechkowiak can make it any color the customer desires. He can also adjust the mixture to give it either a uniform look or a speckled look.

“People often say, ‘I want this to look like stone.’ I’m not trying to make this look like stone or like anything other than what it is,” he said. “Concrete, when polished, will have a look all its own. I think concrete has a certain warmth and beauty that no other material has.”

The Fountain Coffee & Wine Bistro
Owners: Fred and Jill Holmes
Start Date: Jan. 2
Address: 1910 Broadway St., Bellingham
Phone: (360) 778-3671
Web site: www.thefountainbistro.com

A cup of coffee turning into a glass of wine, which is the logo for newly opened The Fountain Coffee & Wine Bistro, mirrors the entire concept behind the new business.

The bistro, which claimed the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building on Broadway, opened in January, offering a mix of food, wine, beer and coffee beverages from dawn till dusk.

“There is a saying that, ‘everything is copied,’” said Manager James Boosey, “but what makes you unique is your approach. I think we’re unique because we do offer different drinks and food all day long, from breakfast till dinner; and it’s a fairly new concept, especially to the Northwest.”

Owners Fred and Jill Holmes always had a keen interest in opening a restaurant of this nature, Boosey said. The couple has had many friends open up successful establishments, and after looking for a period of time, the old KFC building proved to be the right location.

Boosey said the owners are very involved in the restaurant, but he runs all the floor operations. Boosey, who moved to the states from England, has lots of previous experience in pubs and restaurants. Jill also runs an appraisal business in addition to the restaurant.

“The restaurant has the feel of a pub,” Boosey said. “It’s a place where everyone can come, at any point in the day, and enjoy some comfort food.”

The Fountain offers examples of this comfort food for every meal of the day. Breakfast includes a variety of pastries and numerous coffee beverages, lunch offers salads and sandwiches, and dinner brings in larger dishes such as lasagna and spaghetti. Boosey said there is a definite French theme to the menu, but the restaurant has an American diner feel.

In addition to the in-dining options, The Fountain offers a drive-thru and pick-up service as well. The restaurant has a retail liquor license; so not only can customers take their food home, they can also purchase and take home a bottle of beer or wine from their wide selection, Boosey said.

Although the restaurant has seen a lot of business during lunch and dinner, Boosey said they would like to see a bigger breakfast crowd, but they can’t complain overall about the amount of business they’ve come across.

“When the weather improves, we’ll be opening up a deck outside for people to dine on,” he said.

On April 27, a ballot measure will allow voters to decide whether they want to increase local sales tax by two-tenths of one percent to support the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA).

If the measure fails, WTA expects to make major bus service cuts. Despite potential cuts, those in opposition insist this isn’t the appropriate time for a sales tax increase.

As a result of the economic recession, sales tax revenues have been down more than 11 percent countywide. A portion of that sales tax revenue contributes to 90 percent of WTA’s operating budget and the transit service currently isn’t making enough each year in services to maintain its budget, said Maureen McCarthy, community relations and marketing manager for WTA. Currently, WTA receives six-tenths of one percent of the sales tax, and under state law, it can receive as much as nine-tenths of one percent.

In response to the decreased funding, WTA has considered a 14 percent reduction in bus service in a proposal for its yearly budgeting cycle. WTA has seen a significant decrease in funds and for nearly three years the authority has been using money from its reserves to make up for the lost funds, McCarthy said.

During the past two years, WTA has seen a 39 percent ridership increase — 32 percent in 2008 and 4.8 percent in 2009 — earning the agency national recognition. Given this increase, McCarthy said WTA has made other attempts to balance the growing deficit and avoid cuts, such as a 25 percent across-the-board increase in fares, but eventually something had to give.

“A 14 percent service cut is the last thing [WTA] wants to do,” McCarthy said. “So our board decided to consider other options and they wanted to give the community a chance to vote whether they would like WTA to cut back on its service.”

On Feb. 11, the Bellingham City Council unanimously endorsed the ballot initiative. Councilman Michael Lilliquist said he felt WTA made a reasonable request because it has taken many other routes to fight its budget deficit and the value the city would get back would be worth the additional price.

Lilliquist said that Bellingham spends more than $15 million a year supporting individual transportation, whether it be to widen current roads or add new ones.

“For example, if you put one or two buses on every road it takes dozens of cars off the roads,” Lilliquist said. “Upholding a solid transit system would allow people to get around on the existing streets at their existing widths, saving the city from having to redo them or create more.”

While Bellingham is in support of the ballot measure, not everyone in the county agrees. On Feb. 16, the Lynden City Council voted in favor of a resolution opposing the sales tax increase. People for Progressive Transportation, the main opposition group to the measure, was in agreement with the Lynden council and the reasons behind their decision.

The group’s campaign chair, Brett Bonner, said their basic argument is two-fold. He said they believe now is not the time to raise taxes given the unsettled economy and struggling families and businesses. Bonner also said the group feels WTA has not hit its crisis point because its $22 million reserve, or “rainy day” fund can supply the transit service until 2012.

The group is recommending WTA not cut back on service, tap into the fund, and see what happens with the economy. Bonner said if nothing improves, then it would be appropriate for WTA to request a tax increase next year.

Bonner said WTA is currently working under a $3.8 million cash flow deficit. If the ballot passes, WTA will receive $6 million per year, which would provide them with $2 million more than they were previously running under.

“If WTA has this rainy day fund to tap into, it saves the county $16,000 a day in sales tax,” Bonner said. “Plus, the community has started looking to buy from other counties, such as Skagit County, because their sales tax is lower. In this economy, every penny counts.”

According to a reserve fund analysis, out of the $22 million in reserves, more than $14 million is allotted for “operating reserves” and “undesignated cash reserves,” but as WTA continues to operate under a deficit, this amount will hit a critical low in two years. McCarthy said a board-set policy keeps a certain amount of money in reserves to ensure payroll and other necessary funding, so completely draining the account isn’t an option.

McCarthy said if the ballot measure passes, the sales tax increase will stop the running deficit for WTA and allow them to stop draining the reserve fund. If the increase doesn’t pass, a service cut would merely slow down the bleeding, and eventually another cut will need to be made in 2012, she said.

“This situation is very typical of what is happening at other transit agencies,” McCarthy said. “It is a bad time to make a service cut and raise taxes, so the board figured it would be best to let voters weigh in on the potential cuts.”

Of the proposed cuts, WTA considered cutting multiple week-day routes that are less productive, which adds up to 10 percent of the service cut, and the additional 4 percent would come from a cut of all Sunday transit services. Under the current process, if the measure fails, WTA would hold a public hearing on these proposed cuts, reach a final decision,  and the cuts would go into effect in September.

Additionally, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Steve Mura has dismissed the lawsuit over the wording of the ballot for the sales tax increase brought into action by Bonner and People for Progressive Transportation.

The wording of the ballot included the words “maintain and improve,” and the opposing group claimed the language did not accurately describe the issue. The group had ten days after the auditor certified the language to challenge the title. The lawsuit was not filed within this deadline and the case was dropped.

The ballot language that will appear on the April 27th election will be: “Shall public transportation services in Whatcom County be maintained and improved by authorizing the Whatcom Transportation Authority to impose an additional two-tenths of one percent sales and use tax effective Oct. 1, 2010?”

So you finally decided to put your business on Facebook and Twitter. You have a couple hundred followers and you update them daily with upcoming sales and links to new products.

Well, now what?

Using social media is still a new adventure for many businesses both large and small. While it may be easy to get up and going, it can be difficult to keep it going and see results.

The key is to look at social media as more than just a new type of marketing, said Anne-Marie Faiola, CEO and founder of Bramble Berry, a local do-it-yourself soap supply company. Using social media should be like having a conversation; that’s why it’s called “social” media.

“I see the value in having a conversation with my customers in real time,” Faiola said. “Before, to get my customers’ opinions, I had to get on the phone with them or see them in person in my retail store. This gives me an opportunity to have many conversations in many places and to form a global view of my customers.”

One thing that Faiola kept hearing from customers was that they wanted custom soap molds from leaf imprints to soap shaped like tractors. Seeing a demand that the market wasn’t meeting, Faiola recently launched a new company, Soapmolds.com, that designs and manufactures custom soap molds.

When Faiola first started using social media to promote her business, she quickly realized the potential it had to connect her to customers. In 2007, she dropped her entire advertising budget and in 2008 went 100 percent to social media. By the end of that year, her efforts had paid off: She saw a 28 percent increase in business.

These days, Faiola is active on as many social media outlets as she can fit into her schedule. She blogs at least five times a week, updates Facebook daily, and updates Twitter about 12 times a day. Last year, she also started her own YouTube channel called Soap Queen TV, where she demonstrates soap recipes or showcases new products.

Admittedly, updating so many different networks and coming up with new content can be tiring, Faiola said.

“It requires me to do all the work, but I think it’s well worth it,” she said.

One key element that Faiola said really helped her see results from social media was coming up with a content strategy. The content that you post to Twitter and Facebook may be similar, but each platform has its own unique characteristics. What works on Twitter may not work on Facebook, and vice versa.

“A lot of people hook their Facebook account up to Twitter. I don’t do that because they’re different outlets and people want different information from each,” she said.

The right content

For Matthew Dunn, co-founder of Say It Visually!, posting the right content to the right place isn’t as much about words as it is about visuals.

“Seventy percent of Facebook activity is related to pictures or video,” Dunn said.

So if you’re looking for a way to step up your social media presence or interact more with fans, try using a photo or video rather than words. And in this increasingly digital age, people respond better to visuals than to text, Dunn said.

“We don’t read anymore, we scan — and we don’t scan very well,” he said. “There are just some kinds of information that we can ingest faster with our eyes than if we read text.”

And don’t feel like you have to post slick photos with beautiful models, Dunn said. Social media isn’t about fancy marketing campaigns; it’s about adding character to your business and building an identity that people can connect with.

“A simple photo of your workplace will humanize your business,” Dunn said. “Don’t feel like you have to go to a marketing company to get good visuals. I guarantee you that you will get more engagement out of that informal photo than out of something polished.”

The one thing you don’t want to do, though, is treat social media like brand management, Dunn said. As advertising has invaded more areas of people’s lives, people have become adept at picking out what is real and what is fake.

“If it looks too slick, we don’t pay attention to it,” Dunn said. “So don’t work so hard for polish. Work for substance.”

How much is too much?

As social media grows, there is a chance that it could reach information overload. This is already the most socially connected and technologically advanced generation in history, but when will it all be too much?

“If we get overloaded, we’ll turn it off,” Dunn said.

One way that social media is starting to get overloaded is with automated updates. This takes the personality out of social media, Dunn said.

He gives this example: Say that you run a ski area and you regularly post photos of ski conditions to get people excited about skiing. Then you decide to set up a Webcam that automatically tweets a photo of the ski conditions every day. Your fans may love it at first, but pretty soon it can start to feel just like spam e-mail.

“Will I pay attention to it when I get a photo every day for weeks at a time?” Dunn postured.

The key, then, is to focus on good content that has meaning. That way, your fans will be more likely to interact and you’ll be on your way to social media stardom.

Social Media Conference NW

Want to learn more about how to get the most out of social media? You can hear more from Anne-Marie Faiola and Matthew Dunn, plus meet the official Tweeter for Starbucks, by attending the Social Media Conference NW on March 25 at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon.

For more information or to see a list of speakers, visit www.socialmediaconferencenw.com.

Caryn Friedlander, an art professor at Whatcom Community College, has spent years trying to combat chronic pain and tension in her upper neck and back. After sustaining an injury from a hard hit to the head, the pain and tension grew into a much bigger problem: a herniated disk and intense neck spasms.

Friedlander shopped around for potential help. She visited a chiropractor, but the pain and pressure weren’t relieved. She also visited a physical therapist in the Seattle area, massage therapists, a sports and spine doctor and multiple neurosurgeons. It wasn’t until she visited a craniosacral specialist that she remembered a somewhat similar, yet more rigorous form of rehabilitation she tried 15 years ago, known as Rolfing.

Rolfing is one of multiple options available for Bellingham residents suffering with chronic, injury-related, and occupational-related body pain. Brad Jones, a Bellingham-based certified advanced Rolfer, works with his hands, fingers, elbows and knuckles to provide a specific type of massage to improve structural integration.

“I can sit and talk with a patient for an hour to figure out the source of structural problems, but seeing them in their real environment or work station for just 15 minutes can tell me a lot more.” —Brad Jones, certified advanced Rolfer

Jones said Rolfers work with the connective tissue on the muscles, or myofascial system. This muscular tissue, which is akin to the thin white coating on a piece of chicken, can take on patterns that affect body structure depending on how someone uses their body. Rolfers work with muscles and deep-connective tissue in order to re-teach the body how to move.

“Imagine the tissue is like a tight wet suit on your body,” Jones said. “If you pull at one end, the entire body suit moves; one thing sets off another. The body work is a global approach, it involves working with the entire body to fix [a localized problem].”

This type of approach involves more than just weekly sessions of body work; it involves an understanding of how the patient moves, sits and stands in their daily lives. Many of Jones’ patients have developed pain and body discomfort from daily and occupational habits such as sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day or wearing heavy utility belts and moving around incorrectly.

Sometimes understanding the core of a patient’s problem can even involve the practitioner visiting their place of occupation or viewing daily activities in order to help them.

“I can sit and talk with a patient for an hour to figure out the source of structural problems, but seeing them in their real environment or work station for just 15 minutes can tell me a lot more,” Jones said.

All about ergonomics

Mike Poulos, a certified hand and occupational therapist, also echoed Jones’ line of thinking; fully understanding a patient’s movement in their daily life is key to identifying their pain and discomfort. Poulos said no matter what the treatment, patients should always leave with a basic understanding of ergonomics, which involves teaching people how to move within and design their workspace, equipment and living environments in a way to prevent repetitive injuries.

Some basic ergonomic principles involve keeping ears over shoulders and shoulders over hips when standing, sitting and moving around, Poulos said. When lifting and carrying things, keeping nose and toes facing the same direction and holding objects close to the body are important. A person who spends a lot of time in front of a computer should remember to keep their shoulders relaxed, elbows bent and wrists neutral and straight, he said.

An understanding of ergonomics, appropriate equipment and consistent exercise and stretching help to keep the heart pumping and blood flowing throughout the body, Poulos said. This is particularly important in his line of work because hand therapy is usually a treatment for an injury or surgery, and blood flow is a large aid for healing tissue and muscle, he said.

Both Rolfing and occupational therapy involve a lot of outpatient work. Jones said a patient needs to understand that the work done during a session must be coupled with changes in their daily lives to provide maximum change. For the most part, this involves being open to “mixing things up.”

The body is not in a neutral state when sitting or lying down. Many patients often sit up too straight or slumped over, causing a string of problems throughout the body. No matter how properly someone sits, excessive sitting can be damaging to body structure. An easy solution is simply moving around.

Jones said one of his patients, whose job requires an abundance of time in front of his computer, has a computer stand that allows him to switch between standing and sitting throughout the day. The patient can sit for a period of time, then adjust the computer stand higher, allowing him to stand.

Poulos has often recommended similar equipment to his patients. This equipment can include anything from a certain type of chair, keyboard or mouse to a gel mat for those in standing occupations.

Be proactive about posture

Another, and arguably the most common, option many patients choose for structural and postural care is chiropractic work. Chiropractic focuses on spinal adjustments to re-align the spine and correct problems throughout the body. Brian Boyd, chiropractor at Southside Chiropractic of Fairhaven, has a slightly different view on the source of body problems.

Boyd, who practices a postural approach to chiropractic work, said during crucial developmental years most children are in school nine months out of the year and it is primarily a sitting activity. As a result, he said, much of the pain adults feel began in their childhood, not from their daily lives or occupations.

For example, natural body posture is supposed to involve a neck curvature, or a C-shape facing toward the back that measures 60 degrees. In his 14 years of work he hasn’t seen any patient walk into the clinic with the proper measurement, and this is believed to be caused by a lack of posture during childhood, a source of many ailments.

He said he feels the idea that spinal adjustment is too abrasive for the body is a misunderstanding guided by health care providers. Boyd has followed multiple studies and believes many ailments, such as earaches and headaches, can be cured with a subtle adjustment to the spine as opposed to medication.

Regardless of the treatment, all three practitioners agree that chasing symptoms and waiting for them to appear is a reactive way of approaching any sort of occupational therapy. Being proactive about how your body moves within its environment is the key point to avoiding injury.

“Injury and surgery are one thing, but many people only seek out care when they finally have a pain problem and it’s usually the result of years of damage,” Boyd said. “Symptoms are there to tell you your body is off balance, but there are ways to prevent injury daily and it’s a matter of carrying through with them.”

Chronic pain sufferer Friedlander, who admits being more inclined to find alternative ways of healing other than chiropractic work and surgery, found Rolfing to personally be the most effective solution.

After receiving a cortisone shot to ultimately cure the inflammation from the herniated disk, Rolfing provided tension release she wasn’t able to find elsewhere. She said she tried so many different avenues of healing but it was important to find something that suited her needs because everyone reacts differently to body work.

“Chiropractic work and massage therapy are definitely helpful for some people, but I needed something different,” Friedlander said. “I have my personal beliefs with medical care, as do others, but all I know is finally finding a source of relief and continuing to seek care has helped keep me almost completely asymptomatic.”

By Isaac Bonnell

Going into its 70th year of service, Bellingham International Airport (BLI) will mark a major milestone this month. On March 4, it will officially be upgraded from an Index B airport to an Index C airport, indicating a higher level of traffic.

Though it may seem like just a formality, the reclassification is leading to two much-needed improvements this year: a complete reconstruction of the runway and taxiway to handle larger aircraft and a major overhaul of the terminal to meet the demands of more passengers.

The reconstruction of the runway and taxiway is slated to begin in May and will last through September, when the whole airport will be shut down for three weeks while the runway is torn up. The projected cost is around $24 million.

“This is a huge project for us,” said Port communications manager Carolyn Casey. “It’s the largest single Port project ever in terms of dollar value.”

The project wouldn’t be possible without significant financial support from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is funding 95 percent of the construction, said aviation director Art Choat. The FAA has been closely following growth at BLI over the last several years and has helped the Port prepare for more passengers.

When the need arose for a new airport rescue firefighting station — a $2.7 million facility that opened last August — it was the FAA that suggested the Port build a larger building to meet Index C requirements.

“They could see us growing,” Choat said.

In fact, Bellingham is one of the few airports in the Pacific Northwest that is still growing. An industry report for the year ending Sept. 30, 2009, ranked BLI as the 10th largest airport out of 73 in the region. And out of the top 15, it was the only one to report positive growth.

“We grew 18 percent last year and all the others went backwards,” Choat said.

More Allegiant flights

Eighteen percent more passengers means more aircraft coming and going. When BLI reaches Index C, that means it will be averaging five flights a day from the largest aircraft that the runway can currently hold, the MD-80s used by Allegiant Air.

“The second week in March we’ll be up to about 37 flights a week, and we’ll grow it to as many as 46 flights a week this year,” Choat said. “All that growth is Allegiant. When you look at how many people are being moved through the airport, Allegiant is moving about 60 percent of the total volume of people.”

By comparison, Horizon Air runs 34 flights a week and Alaska Airlines operates three flights week, but both carriers use smaller airplanes.

The years of steady growth at the airport are due in large part to the sunny tourist destinations it serves and the massive influx of Canadian travelers. More than half of the passengers leaving BLI are Canadian, Choat said, and without them this airport would be just like all the other sleepy, one-strip airports around the country.

“If they close the border tomorrow, we would have one destination left and that would be to Seattle, because there’s not enough people locally to support the service that we currently have,” he said.

So why are so many Canadians flying out of Bellingham rather than Vancouver International Airport? Vancouver serves the same destinations as Bellingham, but by flying out of Bellingham, Canadians avoid paying the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Choat said.

“It’s a trade advantage for us, so to speak,” he said.

And for many living in the Lower Mainland, it’s just as easy to drive to Bellingham as to drive into Vancouver.

Terminal capacity

BLI may look like a small airport, especially when you consider the size of the terminal, but it is bursting at the seams.

The original terminal was built in 1981 and has undergone four additions. It’s currently about 30,000 square feet and can handle about 9,000 passengers a month.

“We’re currently handling just under 30,000 passengers a month through that terminal, so it’s under a lot of stress,” Choat said.

The terminal also lacks a permanent holding gate for departing passengers and the temporary gate with seating for 260 is overcrowded when two flights are scheduled to leave around the same time.
So starting in August, the Port will start phase one of a three- to five-year reconstruction of the terminal. The project is expected to cost around $24 million, but spread out of over the length of the project.

In the end, the terminal will grow to nearly 80,000 square feet and will be capable of shuffling 45,000 passengers a month through its doors. The departure gate will have room for 450 people with the possibility to expand it to seat 600.

Runway improvements

The one factor that will always limit growth at BLI is the runway. At 6,701 feet long, the runway is as long as it’s ever going to get in our lifetime, Choat said. But it can still be strengthened to accommodate larger aircraft.

Built in 1941 by the military, the airstrip has received only minor improvements over the years.
“We’re putting $10,000 a month into this runway just in ongoing maintenance, because that’s how bad it’s coming apart,” Choat said.

Last July, when the Port began planning to tear up the runway and rebuild it, the FAA said that the runway should not only be repaired, but also upgraded to handle planes as large at 757s, which can hold about 220 passengers. This means that the Port will level the runway — adding as much as 36 inches of fill in some areas — and add an extra nine inches of asphalt on top of it all.

The taxiway next to the runway will also be expanded from 60 feet wide to 75 feet to accommodate larger planes, Choat said. Construction on the taxiway will start in May and happen in phases to allow for planes to still access the runway.

But on Sept. 1, the whole airport is scheduled to shut down for construction on the runway. Crews will work around the clock and lay an estimated 140,000 tons of asphalt, so much that two temporary asphalt production units will be brought onto the site.

“The whole project is very big,” he said. “It’s the single largest asphalt project in Whatcom County in a concentrated period of time.”

Bellingham International Airport stats

Three airlines operate out of Bellingham International Airport (BLI): Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and Allegiant Air. Using these carriers, passengers can fly directly from Bellingham to Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

The number of passengers flying out of BLI has increased steadily during the past six years:
2004: 79,890, up 25% from the previous year
2005: 98,497, up 23%
2006: 132,059, up 34%
2007: 229,837, up 74%
2008, 269,595, up 17%
2009: 320,358, up 18%

During the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the eyes of federal, local and state agencies were vigilantly focused on the Canadian border from a former warehouse near the Bellingham International Airport. What most people don’t know is that the warehouse was outfitted with state-of-the-art technology by Bellingham-based Audio Visual Excellence.

Throughout the Olympics, the Olympics Coordination Center has given representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol a single place to coordinate their surveillance and security efforts in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack during the international games.

The model has been so successful that Washington’s elected leadership has approved the center to remain active even after the Olympics.

“At a time when we know terrorists are looking for weak links, the coordination center has been a successful model for bringing law enforcement agencies together,” Washington state Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen wrote in a letter to Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano.

As the games come to a close, The Bellingham Business Journal took this opportunity to take a peek inside the center and to chat with a Bellingham business arming federal, state and local law enforcement with the tools they need to keep the border protected.

Lance Clark certainly has his work cut out for him.

As the new executive director of the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIAWC), he is pushing forward in an industry that is experiencing perhaps the worst slump in decades. New residential construction has all but disappeared leaving builders scrambling to find new work and wondering when the economy will turn around.

The industry is also seeing an increase in the cost of doing business. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) this year raised insurance premiums an average of 7.6 percent.

Despite the hardship, Clark sees this as a time to strengthen resolve among the 600 BIAWC members. The BBJ recently sat down with Clark to discuss the state of the home building industry and the issues affecting builders.

The Bellingham Business Journal: How is the homebuilding industry doing right now?

Lance Clark: It’s a little slow but we’re seeing signs of light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a slow uptick. We’re still seeing some permits being taken out.

In the last 50 years, housing has led the economy out of recessions — and we will do that again.

As I mentioned, we’re on a slow uptick, but it really is about consumer confidence and consumers and builders getting lending. As much as there’s talk about stimulus money coming out of Washington, D.C., bank lending locally is still tight. As credit is made available from the Fed, it needs to be available at the local level so consumers can use it.

BBJ: What are the main concerns you’re hearing from builders?

LC: Our members are cautiously optimistic. They’re working hard to keep their businesses intact and their construction crews busy.

Our members are always concerned about the cost of building permits. In some regions of the country, local governments are reducing or delaying impact fees. Instead of charging immediately when you take out the permit, they delay it until the point of occupancy because that’s when the builder and developer actually start to make money on that costly investment.

They’re also concerned about the Washington Department of Labor and Industries with this year’s sizable premium increases that we’re paying at a time when we need relief. It’s excessive and a little competition and privatization is not a bad thing to be considered. In some states, there’s privatization and self-insured plans, and there’s even legislation at the state level to address that. So stay tuned.

BBJ: How does the business environment here compare to other places where you’ve worked?

LC: Certainly the environmental community in the Pacific Northwest is probably the strongest in the country. I think the difference that the public isn’t always aware of is as much as it is important to protect our environment, there are balances in the basic human needs to have shelter, to have jobs and support a family. So you can live in an ideal utopian bubble, but people still have to bring home the bread.

BBJ: In the realm of government affairs, what issues do you plan to tackle this year?

LC: Over the past couple of years, we’ve been active in the Countywide Housing Affordability Task force (CHAT). We’re optimistic that some of the recommendations will actually be taken to heart and implemented and that it will not become shelf art.

It’s highly likely that the City Council will again visit the issue of inclusionary zoning. One way or another, local government will attempt to impose this tax on future new homebuyers and ultimately we know that further study needs to occur to understand the impact.

So the real question to be asked is are we going to subsidize housing at the expense of serving another? Perhaps one of the CHAT recommendations that needs to be implemented is considering a housing levy. If voters deem it important to subsidize, then it should be something broad-based that society supports, not something that just one builder or homeowner supports.

BBJ: What needs to happen in order for the building industry to turn around?

LC: Five things. First of all is consumer confidence. There needs to be positive public sentiment; consumers beginning to be comfortable in spending and circulating money in the local economy.

Number two: bank lending. As our elected officials out of D.C. say that the dollars are available, it needs to be seen that it’s available locally because it isn’t right now. That is both for consumer lending as well as builder lending.

Number three: Affordable housing solutions that are meaningful, in which government doesn’t just jack up fees that add on to the cost of housing. It needs to be supported by broad-based taxation so that all of society bares the tax burden, not just single industries.

Number four: the movement of existing housing inventory. This will open up the opportunity for new construction to occur.

Last but not least is a vibrant job economy. As I mentioned earlier, housing will lead this economy out of the recession, just like it has before.

Owners: Elizabeth Azzara and Marisa Perrault
Start Date: Dec. 4, 2009
Square Footage: 2,300
Address: 310 W. Holly Street, Bellingham
Phone: (360) 778-3858
Web site: www.honeybellingham.com

It might sound cliché, but it really is all about hair at Honey, a newly opened hair salon on Holly Street. The salon came into existence when owners Elizabeth Azzara and Marisa Perrault teamed up to take the next step in their stylist careers and open their own business.

Honey is located in a modern space within a historic building along Holly Street and the salon staff works to uphold a fresh artistic and creative atmosphere.

“We strive to keep ourselves educated, which is something many salons don’t do,” Perrault said of the staff. “For example, we’re planning to attend a two-day, hands-on workshop in New York to receive specific training and learn new styling techniques.”

Azzara and Perrault have known each other for eight years since attending beauty school at Gene Juarez Academy in Seattle. Azzara was living in Seattle and Perrault in San Francisco, when they decided they were both at the right place in their careers to open a salon together. Perrault wanted to come back to the Northwest and Azzara had spent much of her youth in the area, so Bellingham was a good compromise.

The salon also offers a unique and different service known as sugaring hair removal. This service, akin to waxing, uses a product known as Sugar Suite, which is a gel-like substance made out of sugar, lemon juice and water. It is an ancient hair removal technique from the Middle East that is more sanitary and less wasteful than waxing. The ingredients create a consistency that doesn’t stick to the skin as easily and feels similar to honey, an inspiration for the salon’s name.

“The process doesn’t involve paper products and is more gentle than regular waxing,” Perrault said. “It’s still painful, just not as much and the technique fits right in with our style, which is very new and fresh.”

The staff is comprised of four people: one “sugarist,” and three stylists. Azzara and Perrault want solid customer service and looked for stylists who echoed their talent, style and outlook for the salon. Since they feel strongly about advanced stylist education, it’s important to them their staff does as well.

They offer multiple hair and hair removal services including cuts, color, relaxers, perms and other similar chemical and technical services. The salon also has four available chairs for stylists, but is in no hurry to fill them. Perrault anticipates filling the open chairs within the next few years as the salon builds a reputation.

“We eventually hope to install an advanced training program in the salon to allow for people to apprentice and train for a year and learn our methods,” Perrault said. “We really focus on a particular type of salon environment and our entire staff should be focused on that too.”

Bellingham Retina Specialists
Owner: Dr. Eric N. Subong
Start Date: Feb. 1, 2009
Square Footage: 2,400
Address: 3130 Squalicum Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone Number: (360) 656-5839
Web site: www.bellinghamretina.com

Visiting a retina specialist for Bellingham residents used to involve a trip down the I-5 corridor, but the long drive is no longer necessary thanks to a newly opened practice located near St. Joseph Hospital.

Dr. Eric N. Subong recently opened Bellingham Retina Specialists, which specializes in retinas, or more specifically diseases and surgery of the retina, macula and vitreous.

“I deal with everything with the back of the eye,” Subong said. “This can include treatment for diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal detachment and tears and other ocular trauma.”

Bellingham Retina Specialists offers treatments such as laser procedures, vitreoretinal surgeries, and intraocular and periocular injections. They also have the equipment to provide in-depth ultrasounds of the eye and optical coherence tomography, which provides extensive photos of the retina. Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, or dyes that are injected into the body to locate potential eye problems with specialized lights, are also available.

Subong, who previously worked at the Bellevue office of Retina Consultants of Seattle for a year and a half, had always wanted to open his own practice. During his time in Bellevue, he met and worked with ophthalmologists and optometrists from the Bellingham area and it was brought to his attention there were no retina specialists located in the city. Subong said he made a visit, fell in love with Bellingham and it was an easy decision to make.

Subong said he became interested in ophthalmology in medical school, where he received his degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C.  After completing an internal medicine internship and residency training, he was drawn to the instrumental and technology-driven field of vitreoretinal diseases and surgery.

“My brother is also a retina specialist, so I may have been influenced in that respect as well,” Subong said.

Prior to his practice, local residents had to travel as far south as Seattle to receive treatment from a retina specialist. Subong said part-time retina specialists are available in Mount Vernon and Everett, but most have to go further. Subong and his staff, which include a manager and technician, came to offer the same full-time services locally.

The practice has only begun to see patients, but Subong is confident the practice will grow. He said one of the most important parts of his job is maintaining individual doctor/patient relationships, because retina specialists must understand each situation and work with the patients other doctors in order to treat them properly.

Subong said he will add another doctor if the practice grows too big for him to maintain these relationships.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2010,  all construction cranes in Washington are required to get an annual safety inspection, though only about 800 of the estimated 70,000 cranes in the state have done so, according to the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).

One reason that many construction companies have yet to certify their cranes is because construction spending is down and many cranes are simply not being used.

“There definitely is still a large number of cranes that require certification,” said L&I spokesperson Hector Castro. “It’s not to say that a crane that hasn’t been certified isn’t safe, but now we have rules in place to make sure that they are. Many companies are just waiting until they will actually be using cranes on a construction site.”

The new crane certification requirement is part of a larger L&I crane safety program that also requires crane operators to pass a written exam and a skill test. The operator certification rule went into effect in January 2008.

It was the collapse of a crane and the death of one person that prompted state lawmakers to adopt new crane safety laws. In November 2006, a 210-foot tower crane used in the construction of a Bellevue office building collapsed, killing Microsoft lawyer Matthew Ammon in a nearby condo. An L&I investigation determined that the crane’s steel base frame needed to be four times stronger to adequately support the crane. This structural weakness caused the accident.

Now L&I is requiring yearly safety inspections to be done by one of the 50 certified crane inspectors in the state. The process can take anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the size and complexity of the crane, Castro said.

The process went smoothly enough for Tom Pike, safety manager for IMCO General Construction, to put in his vote of confidence.

“We actually got checked the first Monday of the year,” Pike said. “But we’ve always had our cranes inspected on a yearly basis, so that’s nothing new to us.”

Three of the five cranes that IMCO uses have been certified, and the remaining two are scheduled to get certified this month. In order to comply with current law, the company also sent five crane operators to a week-long training program to prepare them for the operators test.

“It’s a pretty substantial training,” Pike said. “We have operators who have been with us for years and even those guys told me it’s tough. The tests are hard and they don’t give you any breaks.”

Overall, Pike said, he is happy with the program, but there are just a few small procedural hiccups that need to be worked out to make sure that the right paperwork gets to the right person.

“It’s new, and I’m sure it’s going to take awhile for it to get going smoothly,” he said.

Owners: Tom Wasley and Ron and Cynthia Pereira
Start Date: July 1, 2009
Square Footage: 1,000
Address: 1400 King Street, Suite B105
Phone: (360) 933-1158
Web site: www.casdcadecreditorsservice.com

Collection agencies have a bad reputation. In 2009, more than 80,000 collection-related lawsuits were pursued in the United States‚ a record for the country.

Tom Wasley, co-owner of Cascade Creditors Service along with Ron and Cynthia Pereira, recently opened up the collection company to battle the long-standing reputation, and strive to keep local money funneled back into the county.

“The needs of our local creditors aren’t being met by collectors,” said Wasley, who has been in the business for 18 years. “Most accounts from local creditors are assigned to agencies out of the area, like Seattle, so the money isn’t circulating back [into the county].”

The local debt collection company takes inventory, buys out debt from companies and formulates a plan for paying the debt off.

However, the small staff of six employees who make up the agency possesses a philosophy not often heard in this line of work: honest, professional and ethical collections.

Wasley said throughout his years in the business, he has witnessed agencies use inappropriate and threatening tactics with clients. The problem is these tactics usually work, which incentivizes the bad behavior.

Cascade Creditors Service has a different train of thought. It uses a combination of strong customer service, better recovery statistics (the amount of money returned to a client), and competitive rates.

“Customers are always wondering how collection services are going to represent them,” Wasley said. “We bend over a little farther to create workable payment situations because we want to solve problems, not create them.”

Wasley said the main thing he wants to ensure their clients is the money the company collects isn’t theirs; it belongs to the clients. The company tries to return as much of it to the client as possible.

Cascade Creditors Service has been happy with the growth so far and hopes to continue to grow in order to continually ensure local creditors needs are met. The company serves the creditors of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish and San Juan counties.

“Creditors need help and bills aren’t being paid‚ so there is always a need for our services,” Wasley said. “Maintaining good reputations is how we plan to make some noise as a new company.”