Business Briefs
Published 1:29 pm Tuesday, September 2, 2008
WIC Outreach office opens in Arlington
The Pregnancy Aid WIC Outreach Program for Snohomish County has moved its administrative offices from north Everett to Arlington.
Carolyn McGinty is the administrator of the program, which provides nutrition education and food vouchers for mothers and their children at outreach clinics in Arlington, Marysville, Granite Falls, Snohomish and Monroe.
Pregnancy Aid of Snohomish County, a nonprofit agency providing free emotional and practical support for expectant mothers and their children, also administers the federally funded Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for areas of north and east Snohomish County.
Snohomish Farmers Market to start 2007 season in May
The Snohomish Farmers Market will kick off its 2007 season beginning at 3 p.m. May 3 at First Street and Cedar Avenue. The market will then run from 3 to 8 p.m. every Thursday through Sept. 27.
The market will feature the finest from Snohomish County farm country, according to market officials. Among items featured will be certified organic fruit, vegetables and berries. Market vendors also will offer farm-fresh, cage-free eggs; nursery stock; local honey; fresh baked goods; beautifully arranged cut flowers; and one-of-a-kind crafts made by local artisans.
Blue Heron faces claims of patent infringement
Blue Heron Biotechnology, which synthesizes genes for life science researchers, is accused of infringing on a Massachusetts-based firm’s patents in a new federal lawsuit.
Codon Devices Inc. near Boston claims in its U.S. District Court case that Blue Heron’s gene synthesis technology infringes on five patents held exclusively by Codon. It seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction against the Bothell-based firm.
After an initial assessment of Codon’s claims, Blue Heron officials said there is no basis in fact for the allegations.
“In its eight years of operation, Blue Heron has always maintained the highest levels of integrity in matters of intellectual property development and application, and we are confident that Codon’s action will be shown to be without merit,” said John Mulligan, Blue Heron’s founder and chief scientific officer.
Noteworthy is that Codon was founded by a venture capital firm in 2004 and began operations in 2005. Privately held Blue Heron was founded in 1999 by Mulligan.
“It’s unusual to, eight years in, be sued on something you presumably patented years ago,” said Karel Lambert, a Seattle patent agent who once worked for Bothell’s Sonus Pharmaceuticals.
But, he said, it’s possible that Codon or its predecessors held the patent rights years before getting the company started.
Bowenwork Wellness Clinic opens
The Bowenwork Wellness Clinic has opened at 6226 196th St. SW, Suite 2D, in Lynnwood. Scott Wurtz, an internationally accredited Bowenwork Therapist, is the owner/operator.
Wurtz, formerly of the New Health Medical Clinic in Edmonds, completed his Bowenwork training in June 2005. Along with being trained in Bowenwork, he has more than 20 years of experience as a massage therapist.
Bowenwork is a soft-tissue physical therapy assisting the body to relax, enabling it to flush away toxicity and rebuild and renew, according to Wurtz.
For more information, call 425-672-3130 or go online to www.soulhealer.net.
Premera drops plan to become for-profit company
Premera Blue Cross has announced that it is abandoning its five-year quest to convert from a private, nonprofit insurer into a publicly held, for-profit company.
The Mountlake Terrace-based insurer had appealed to the state Supreme Court after state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and the Court of Appeals rejected the company’s proposed conversion.
Premera Chief Executive Officer Gubby Barlow said the company has no plans to reapply for public company status.
Former ICOS employee forms new biotech
Armed with $21 million and a drug candidate originally developed in ICOS Corp.’s lab, startup Calistoga Pharmaceuticals unveiled itself in March.
The company could be called the first spin-off from Bothell-based ICOS, which was swallowed by Eli Lilly and Co. in January for $2.3 billion.
In addition to developing an ICOS-derived compound, Calistoga is led by Michael Gallatin, former scientific director at ICOS. The startup also has hired about five employees with connections to the biotechnology company.
But Gallatin and fellow venture capitalist Alan Frazier, both of Frazier Healthcare Ventures, began talking with ICOS early last year, well before the Eli Lilly buyout offer came.
When they were allowed access to ICOS’ roster of potential drug candidates, Gallatin and Frazier settled on one that targets p110 delta, an enzyme found in cancer and inflammatory disease cells.
Three firms — Alta Partners, Three Arch Partners and Amgen Ventures — joined Frazier Healthcare in the first investment round.
The amount raised will help to advance one or more drugs into clinical trials.
Meanwhile, the company has hired 10 employees and moved into an office and lab in downtown Seattle.
King’s Mattress opens in Lynnwood
King’s Mattress, a mattress retailer with locations in Redmond, Everett and Tukwila, held a grand-opening celebration in March for its newest store, at 3225 Alderwood Mall Blvd., in Lynnwood.
“We’re excited to be expanding our stores to include Lynnwood. It’s a wonderful community, and we’re excited to be a part of it, which is why we’re having this celebration,” company President Aaron Zarling said.
For more information, go online to www.kingsmattress.com.
CompUSA to close in county
CompUSA is closing both its Snohomish County locations as part of a nationwide wave of store closures and restructuring for the electronics retailer.
The seller of computers and related equipment is closing 126 stores in the United States, leaving 103 open, by summertime to improve its financial condition.
In Mountlake Terrace, the retailer has been at 6007 244th St. SW, just east of I-5, about 13 years, according to city permit records. It has been at Lynnwood Square, at the intersection of 196th Street SW and 44th Avenue W., since taking over the Good Guys electronics store there. CompUSA acquired Good Guys in 2003.
In addition to CompUSA’s two local stores, the retailer is pulling out of Kirkland, Bellevue, Tukwila and Tacoma. The chain’s Spokane store is the only one being spared in Washington state, said spokeswoman Jessica Nunez.
The company didn’t specify how many employees will be affected by the closures.
Allstate agency opens in Mountlake Terrace
Allstate Insurance agent Laura Shore has opened Shore Insurance at 22725 44th Ave. W., Suite 108, in Mountlake Terrace.
The agency offers a complete line of products and services, including auto, property, commercial and life insurance.
“My staff and I are excited about opening for business,” Shore said. “We are looking forward to helping families insure and protect the things that are important to them.”
Shore comes to Allstate with more than 20 years of public relations experience in the tourism, senior living and education industries.
The agency can be reached at 425-744-1267 or by sending e-mail to laurashore3@allstate.com.
Coastal Community employees award grants to nonprofits
The Coastal Community Bank Employee Giving Fund at the Greater Everett Community Foundation recently distributed grants totaling $9,657 to eight local nonprofit organizations.
Organizations receiving grants were American Legion Post 6, Open Door Theatre, Readiness to Learn, Volunteers of America, Sunshine Physically Handicapped Foundation, Crystallite Employee Foundation, Matthew House and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Coastal Community Bank Employee Giving Fund comprises individual contributions from 100 percent of the bank’s employees and awards grants three times each year to organizations that do work in the communities served by the bank.
Zumiez marks strong revenue growth in 2006
Zumiez Inc.’s sales grew 45 percent last year, and the youth-oriented retail chain aims to outdo Wall Street’s expectations again this year as it opens 50 new stores.
By the end of 2007, the Everett-based seller of clothes and gear related to skateboarding and other sports plans to have more than 280 stores open. That compares with just more than 100 in 2003.
In the quarter ending Feb. 3, Zumiez’s sales rose above $112 million, up 49 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Net income for the period jumped by 67 percent to $11.3 million, or 39 cents a share, compared with $6.8 million in the prior-year quarter.
The key same-store sales figure increased by 12 percent during the quarter.
That capped off a year in which Zumiez sales soared to $298 million, up 45 percent from the $206 million made during fiscal 2005. That gave the company an annual net income of $20.9 million, or 73 cents a share.
Maritime Trust lines up funding for port’s condo project
A Chicago company pairing with the Port of Everett for a $400 million redevelopment of the city’s waterfront has nearly secured the money it needs to start building condominiums this spring.
Francis Freeman of Maritime Trust told port commissioners in March that he expects Merrill Lynch to provide a $72 million construction loan and $15 million for land purchases, and General Electric’s pension trust arm to provide a $17 million loan.
Freeman said he still must win approval of the company’s loan application, but that the amounts and details already have been established.
During the first phase of the project, Maritime expects to build nearly 160 condos, which would sell for $400,000 to $1 million, as well as provide office and retail space.
Before the company can go ahead, the port will have an opportunity to approve or reject the financial deal. While the commissioners did not vote in early March, all three said they approved of the plan in theory.
Cascade Coffee creates new organic blend
Everett-based Cascade Coffee Inc. recently introduced the newest member of its Compass Creek family of coffees: Organic “Zanzibar” Fair Trade Certified Blend.
The latest blend combines Fair Trade Certified coffees from both Indonesia and Africa that are roasted to create a deep full-bodied flavor, according to company officials.
For more information, including office coffee service, call Keith Allen at 425-442-9618.
Water Channel to stay on air as parent files for bankruptcy
The parent company of the Water Channel, available nationwide on satellite television, says the channel will stay on the air even though it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
MCE Television Networks Inc. of Everett voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 in February in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle, claiming both assets and liabilities totaling between $1 million and $100 million.
The company owes about $17.5 million to its 20 largest creditors, according to court records. That includes more than $13 million to a Japanese investment group that helped bankroll the Water Channel’s startup last year.
Art Lindgren, MCE’s president and chief executive, said “contractual disputes” created the need to seek time for reorganization. He declined to elaborate.
The Water Channel began offering 24-hour-a-day programming last fall on Dish Network’s Channel 217 and on cable systems scattered around the East Coast. It offers programs about fishing, boating, water skiing, surfing and related topics.
Mobile branch expands services at Mountain Pacific Bank
Mountain Pacific Bank recently launched its mobile branch, bringing banking to the doorstep of its customers.
The mobile branch is operated with a specially designed vehicle equipped with the capability to pick up and deliver deposits to the bank, enabling customers to handle necessary banking transactions without going to the Everett-based bank.
Survey: Robust job market expected for Everett, Lynnwood
Everett- and Lynnwood-area employers expect to hire at a brisk pace during the second quarter of 2007, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
From April to June, 50 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 10 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Jill Olinger. Another 37 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels, and 3 percent are not certain of their hiring plans.
“Everett/Lynnwood area employers expect more favorable hiring conditions than in the first quarter, when 43 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add staff, and 13 percent planned to reduce headcount,” said Olinger. “By comparison, employer hiring intentions are strikingly similar to a year ago, when 50 percent of companies surveyed thought job gains were likely, and 10 percent intended to cut back.”
For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in construction, durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation and public utilities, education, services and public administration.
Employers in wholesale and retail trade as well as finance, insurance and real estate voice mixed hiring intentions, according to the survey.
