Archive for August, 2011
British Columbia residents voted to repeal the Harmonized Sales Tax and return to its old taxing system, according to the Province newspaper in Vancouver, B.C. Here’s a (link) to the story. The vote to ax the HST received a 54 percent majority.
The defeat of the HST shouldn’t have much of an impact on Whatcom County retailers who have seen more Canadian shoppers this year, said Ken Oplinger, president of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
In the short-term, it’s going to take some time for the B.C. government to switch tax systems. While the implementation of the HST may have prompted some Canadian shoppers to visit Whatcom County, Oplinger believes many now shop in Whatcom County because of the strong Canadian dollar and the lower costs on products.
Whatcom County restaurants, particularly in the border communities of Blaine and Sumas, may see a small impact because the HST led to increases in prices at B.C. restaurants, Oplinger said.
Bellingham’s House of Orient will be closing on Saturday, Sept. 3.
It was a family decision to close the Thai/Vietnamese restaurant, said Danh Huynh, whose family has operated it for four years after purchasing it from the previous owner. He said the lease was coming up for renewal and the new landlord has different plans for the space.
“It was a tough decision, but it’s the right one for the family,” Huynh said.
During the final days the restaurant will be open normal hourse, 11 a.m. to closing on weekdays and 5 p.m. to closing on the weekends. The Huynh family wanted to show its appreciation during the final days by offering half off dinner menu items. On the final day the restaurant will be open noon until the evening hours so some of the regulars will come by to say good-bye.
“We have a lot of regulars we hope will stop by so we can thank them for their support. We’ll miss the customers the most,” Huynh said.
The restaurant originally opened in 1996 at 209 W. Holly St. by Jimmy Nguyen. It moved to the current space at 115 E. Holly St. in 2005.
Below is a press release from the Better Business Bureau:
DuPont, Wash. – August 24, 2011 – Seeking grants? Better Business Bureau warns that Worldwide Asset Management Inc. of Lake Oswego, Ore., doesn’t deliver promised funds to clients.
The alleged “Grant Writer,” also known as WWAM USA, has acquired 21 unanswered complaints since January 2011.
Complainants—which are mostly business owners—describe the same sad story: Worldwide Asset Management contacted them regarding “pre-approved” grant money and then convinced them to pay thousands of dollars in upfront fees for application processing or business plan assistance. Ultimately, the company—run by Joseph Guiliano—failed to follow-through or respond to its BBB complaints.
Scratch and Peck's mural
I’m a fan of murals (particularly on businesses), so here’s a good-looking one out at 3883 Hammer Drive in Bellingham. The rooster is for the Scratch and Peck Feeds Company, a supplier of soy-free, non-genetically modified organic chicken feed.
The artist for this mural is Luke Hunter, who specializes in wall and floor murals, as well as concrete sculptures. More of his work can be seen at this (link). The mural is a work in progress, with the lettering the next step, said Diana Ambauen-Meade of Scratch and Peck, who also supplied the photo.
Scratch and Pecks’ products are in a variety of stores in Whatcom County. For details about where the products are sold and the company itself, click this (link)
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications were issued for two Woodinville companies and one in Burlington, all in the timber/construction industry. Details below:
Company: Woodinville Lumber, Inc. (Woodinville) will lay off 76 employees,
effective August 26, 2011
Date of Notification: August 23, 2011
Company: Woodinville Construction Services, L.L.C. (Woodinville) will lay off 38 employees,
effective August 26, 2011
Date of Notification: August 23, 2011
Company: Tri-County Truss (Burlington) will lay off 94 employees,
effective August 26, 2011
Date of Notification: August 23, 2011
Whatcom Women in Business announced its 29th annual Professional Woman of the Year finalists. They are:
Gwyn Howat, Operations Manager, Mt. Baker Ski Area, Inc; Patrice Valentine, Co-Owner, Net Solutions NA; Patti Imhof, Co-Owner, IMCO General Construction, Inc; Janelle Bruland, President/CEO, Management Services NW; Chris Foss, Co-Owner, The Greenhouse; and Bliss Goldstein, CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters NW.
The celebration begins at the Annual Awards Dinner and Auction, Tuesday, Oct. 25 at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. Silent auction begins at 5:30pm.
Dinner tickets are $65 and may be purchased online at this (link)
Whatcom Women in Business is a non-profit organization that was established in 1978.
Home values continue to depreciate in Whatcom County and across most of the nation, according to a new federal report.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency estimates that home prices in the second quarter depreciated 6.9 percent in Whatcom County compared to a year earlier. It’s also down 11.2 percent compared to the second quarter of 2006.
The FHFA uses home purchases and refinance data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to come up with its index.
Below is a list of Washington metro areas, with Kennewick being the only to experience year-over-year home appreciation.
Below are a couple of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications from the state Employment Security Department. The Kmart store in Spokane is closing, according to the Spokesman-Review. Here’s the (link) to the newspaper’s blog post.
Company: Kmart (Spokane) will lay off 68 employees,
effective November 06, 2011
Date of Notification: August 17, 2011
Company: Lockheed Martin Corporation (5 Puget Sound military locations) will lay off 41 employees,
effective September 30, 2011
Date of Notification: August 01, 2011
Whatcom’s jobless rate continues to trend downward, but the lack of job growth continues to be an issue.
In July Whatcom’s unemployment rate was 8.4 percent, down from a revised June rate of 8.5 percent. The problem is the fact Whatcom’s labor force continues to shrink: In July 94,921 people had jobs in Whatcom County, that’s down 2,303 compared to the same period in 2010.
The number of people actively seeking employment has shrunk year-over-year, according to the data from the Washington State Employment Security Department. Last month 8,752 people were actively seeking work, down 274 compared to July 2010. When the number of people employed and the number of people seeking work is both shrinking, it indicates people are either leaving the area to find work or are giving up looking.
The shrinking labor force year-over-year shows the healing is not taking place in this part of the economy, said Reinhold Groepler, a regional labor economist for the state.
In non-farm employment, several private sector industries did post year-over-year growth, including construction (up 200 people, to 6,000) and manufacturing (up 200 people, to 8,200). Government (down 200 jobs year-over-year) and financial activities (down 100) posted declines when compared to July 2010.
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