Infrastructure next hurtle in Boise land deal
A group of local investors, lead by Tualatin, Ore.-based Gramor Development, have come together to buy the 29-acre BoiseCascade-owned parcel of land, located along the Columbia waterfront just west of Interstate 5. Investors in the project include Steve and Jo Marie Hansen, George and Paula Diamond, Al and Saundra Kirkwood and Steve and Jan Olivia.
Gramor President Barry Cain said he plans to turn the property into a metropolitan mix of high-end condominiums, restaurants, office space and public open spaces. But before that happens, he and other key players will have to work out some details. The city, Port of Vancouver and the developer are conducting due diligence over the next few months to address some infrastructure issues. The issues include realignment of industrial rail tracks and road construction to connect the area with the downtown grid system. Cain is hopeful the due diligence process will be complete within the next two years. The deal is expected to close by the 1st of the year.
Credit union changes name
Twin County Credit Union announced July 31 it will change its name to TwinStar Credit Union in an effort to better reflect its statewide membership.
Credit Union President Marshall Ellison assured employees the name change was not indicative of a merger or buyout, and that apart from signage changes scheduled to take place in August and some cosmetic changes to checking and credit services, the company would continue doing business as usual. Founded in 1938, TwinStar Credit Union operates 15 branches throughout western Washington, one of which is in Clark County, and handles more than 71,000 members. With $540 million in assets, the credit union is the 11th largest in the state.
New Edge Networks co-founder to leave company
Vancouver-based New Edge Networks co-founder Dan Moffat announced Wednesday he is resigning as president of the company. His resignation becomes effective Sept. 1.
Moffat helped form the private business and communications network provider in 1999. According to a statement, Moffat said he plans to take some time off to travel before going back to work, indicating he would plan to work as a small business leader.
New Edge Networks sold to EarthLink in April 2006 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Internet service provider. EarthLink Executive Vice President and General Manager of Business Solutions Linda Beck will fill Moffat’s role until the company names a successor.
Community Cycling Center closes Vancouver shop, will continue programs
The Community Cycling Center closed its Vancouver retail bicycle shop on Main Street in downtown Vancouver this month. The retail shop has not performed as well as planned. The organization’s programs have been well received here and will continue.
CCC is a nonprofit organization and offers bike safety education programs for youth and adults. It reuses and recycles thousands of bicycles each year. The CCC sells refurbished bikes and accessories, and performs bike repairs from its full-service retail bike shop in Portland. Proceeds from the bike shop support CCC’s programs.
Dotster responds to predictions of upcoming domain name shortage
According to Vancouver-based Dotster, a provider of Internet domain name and hosting services, Web site developers are becoming increasingly concerned that domain names may soon run out completely. To date, over 70 million domain names have been purchased, and most—if not all—one-word domain names have already been taken, the company said.
The shortage of marketable domain names has led consumers to select alternatives that are difficult for their potential visitors to remember, or do not adequately describe the brands or products.
As a result, Dotster invested in the systems and business relationships necessary to offer a wide assortment of domain extensions, including boutique offerings such as .MD, .MOBI and .TV. This approach allows customers to secure their preferred domain name with a unique extension. The company also developed a tool with multi-layer logic to suggest alternative domains that are marketable and resonate with customers. Most other tools on the market today simply add prefixes or look for basic synonyms. Finally, Dotster redesigned the search interface to load quickly and present information intuitively, making it one of the Internet’s most-used domain name search tools.
To garner heavier Web site traffic, Dotster also offers consumers search optimization assistance as part of its comprehensive service offering.
Local hospitality industry honored
The Oregon Chapter of Meeting Professionals International gave their 2005–2006 Supplier of the Year award to Midge Dobbs, director of sales and services for the Southwest Washington Convention and Visitors Bureau. This award is presented annually to a member of good standing in recognition of outstanding association contribution, leadership and professionalism. The selection criteria are based on chapter participation, professional and career advancement, peer recognition, industry service and civic achievements.
The Chapter also presented Hilton Vancouver Washington with the Silver Platter Award for its excellence in service and facility quality.
The Silver Platter Award is given to a facility hosting monthly meetings at which attendees rated the facility as exceptional in catering service, presentation, menu selection, food quality, décor creativity, enhancement of program and entertainment.
Last year’s recipient was The Heathman Lodge, also of Vancouver, making this the second year in a row that Vancouver has been recognized for its superb hotel properties.
Vancouver nonprofit to participate in national study
The Social Security Administration is exploring the merits of helping people with mental health issues to get back into the workplace, and has selected Columbia River Mental Health Services to help with the study. The company was selected because of its experience in placing mental health patients back into the workforce through its own placement agency, Clearview Employment Services.
"These (patients) are already people that have a work history," said Clearview Associate Director Melodie Pazolt. "They have worked and have disabilities, and a lot of them have fear of losing their benefits if they go back to work."
The three-and-a-half-year study, conducted by the Maryland-based research firm Westat and the Dartmouth College of Medicine, will focus on members of the workforce who suffer from severe depression, bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia, and seeks to determine the benefits of providing Social Security disability insurance to such patients even after they return to work. Twenty-two cities will participate in the study, which will involve 150 subjects. Columbia River Mental Health Services will work with 75 randomly selected SSDI beneficiaries in their role in the study.
Crimeline partners with Edentify to develop new fraud recognition tools
Identity management technology company Edentify has formed a marketing agreement with Vancouver-based identity theft recognition training tool provider Crimeline. The agreement allows the two firms to collaborate in the creation of Internet-based courses individually tailored to organizations and groups impacted by fraud and security breaches.
Crimeline produces interactive scenarios designed to educate banking, security, law enforcement and other organizations with comprehensive fraud recognition and response training programs. Edentify develops and deploys data analysis technology used by security organizations. The new training modules will incorporate both products to create interactive training across a wide range of fraud crimes, including identity theft, cybercrime, credit card fraud, con artist scams and senior fraud.Youth Theater seeks board members
The Vancouver Youth Theater is seeking new board directors. The 11-year-old all-volunteer organization needs people with skills in marketing, organization, fund raising and recruitment. Directors are expected to attend most monthly board meetings and regularly attend VYT-sponsored events. Each director must also serve on at least one working committee of the board. Those interested should send a letter detailing their reasons for interest, qualifications and future vision for the theater. Letters should be sent in an envelope marked "Board Application," with the applicant’s name included. Send application letters to Vancouver Youth Theater, 1100 W. 43rd St., Vancouver, WA 98660.
Vancouver’s ARCO Quick Stop to offer full range of USPS services
To provide more convenient access to postal services, a new Contract Postal Unit opened at the ARCO Quick Stop at 2829 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver.
A full line of postal products and services are available at the ARCO Quick Stop, including postage stamps, Express Mail and Priority Mail service, International Mail, special services and more.
The location’s hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Businesses in the Portland metro area may request information about the potential of hosting Contract Postal Unit locations by contacting their local postmaster or Ranae Wittenburg at 503-294-2338.
Wells Fargo processes $65 billion with digital check images
Wells Fargo has processed $65 billion in deposits via the check imaging services it introduced in response to 2004’s Check 21 legislation. It has processed more than 15 million check images to date, currently averaging half a billion dollars per day, using its various digital image-capture remote deposit services.
The growing reliance on remote deposits is demonstrated by services like Wells Fargo Desktop Deposit. Since the end of 2005 the number of businesses using the service nearly tripled to 1,400, and the number of checks scanned grew by 500 percent to more than 8 million.
Aside from remote deposit services, Wells Fargo has also introduced check imaging services such as Image-Enabled Lockbox Services and Envelope-Free ATMs.
Clark College to provide Six Sigma training to workers at six companies
Clark College’s Workforce Development and Continuing Education department recently secured a grant of nearly $95,000 through the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to provide customized Six Sigma training to a consortium of six local high-tech manufacturers.
The group, comprised of many of the area’s high-tech leaders, includes Tensolite, nLight Photonics, WaferTech, Panasonic, Saint-Gobain Crystals and Silicon Forest. The program will consist of more than 200 hours of customized training for up to 60 managers, supervisors, engineers, production workers and support staff.
Facing increased global competition from foreign manufacturers, the participating companies must maximize the skills of their workforce to decrease waste and improve efficiencies. The ten-month training will take place at each company’s respective location, and is scheduled to begin this fall.
