Jun 11, 2020

Amazon Air

In Seattle, Amazon Air is leasing 12 Boeing 767-300 converted cargo aircraft from Air Transport Services Group. One of the new aircraft joined Amazon's air cargo operations in May, with the remaining 11 to be delivered in 2021. The new 767s boost Amazon's fleet to over 80 aircraft. Amazon also is expanding its ground operations and is planning to open regional air hubs later this summer at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida and next year at San Bernardino International Airport, along with a central air hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in 2021. In May, Amazon began operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

State of Washington

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended his emergency order to Washington state health insurers for an additional 30 days, requiring them to waive copays and deductibles for consumers requiring COVID-19 testing. Kreidler also ordered a one-time early refill option for prescription drugs. The extension applies to all state-regulated health insurance plans and limited-duration medical plans until July 3.

Tukwila Food Pantry

Tukwila Food Pantry last month started a temporary home delivery service using Uber Eats. The program targets seniors and others vulnerable to COVID-19 in Tukwila, SeaTac, Burien and Boulevard Park. It is expected to run through the end of the month and is a partnership between King County Emergency Management and Uber Eats.

Jun 10, 2020

Ziply Fiber

Kirkland-based Ziply Fiber acquired Wholesail Networks, a privately held telecommunications and internet infrastructure company with operations in Yakima. Ziply says it has been working with Wholesail over the past six months to lay the groundwork for its fiber network built for the internet. Ziply also is beginning fiber build-out and network improvements in 13 markets that have never had fiber, many in smaller cities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. These will be the first areas to benefit from Ziply's plan to invest over $500 million on network and service improvements. Washington cities getting the improvements include Anacortes, Kennewick, Pullman, Richland and Snohomish.

Precept Wine

Seattle-based Precept Wine bought Pampelonne, a sparkling wine cocktail company based in New York. Pampelonne is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Precept, with Pampelonne founders Wyatt Carder and Erik Weller continuing with the company. Los Angeles-based American Discovery Capital was Pampelonne's financial adviser. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Amazon

The Amazon Literary Partnership is providing over $1 million in grant funding to 66 nonprofits across the country that support writers. Some of the local recipients include Artist Trust, Clarion West, Creative Writing Program (University of Washington), Humanities Washington, Richard Hugo House, Seattle Arts & Lectures, Seattle City of Literature, Seattle Public Library, Town Hall Seattle, Washington Center for the Book and Writers in the Schools.

People's Bank

In Medford, Oregon, People's Bank of Commerce says it has provided over 900 Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling $91 million to small businesses. The bank plans to keep making the loans until the program sunsets on June 30 or until committed funds have been exhausted. It expects to get $3.6 million in processing fees from the Small Business Administration for the initial loans.

Jun 09, 2020

POSaBIT

Mike Apker joined the board of Seattle-based POSaBIT, a financial tech company focused on point-of-sale systems for cash-only businesses, especially those in the cannabis industry. Apker was founder and CEO of Oberon Financial Technology, an investment management software company that was acquired by Envestnet. He recently retired from Envestnet after 15 years in a variety of executive capacities. Apker is serving as board chair, replacing Bruce Jaffe, who continues as a non-voting board advisor.

Ethernet Alliance

In Beaverton, Oregon, Ethernet Alliance announced its officers and board for 2020. They include: Peter Jones of Cisco Systems, chairman; Greg McSorley of Amphenol, president; Jeffery Maki of Juniper Networks, treasurer; Nathan Tracy of TE Connectivity, secretary; Craig Carlson of Marvell, board member; David Chalupsky of Intel, board member; Pete Del Vecchio of Broadcom, board member; Dave Estes of Spirent, board member; Mark Nowell of Cisco Systems, board advisory chair; David J. Rodgers of Teledyne LeCroy, events and conference chair; David Tremblay of Aruba by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, power over Ethernet certification chair; and George Zimmerman of CME Consulting, technical chair. Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium advancing Ethernet technologies.

Amazon

Amazon Web Services inked a deal with Slack Technologies that allows the Slack Calls feature to use Amazon Chime, a video conferencing service. Slack is also using AWS' global infrastructure to offer its customers data residency — the ability to choose which country or region their data is stored in. AWS is an Amazon company.

Oregon Bancorp

American Banker magazine ranked Oregon Bancorp as No. 1 on its Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks and Thrifts list. It's the second year in a row that the Salem, Oregon-based bank has been at the top of the list for banks with under $2 billion in assets. The rankings are based on three-year average return on equity. Oregon Bancorp is the parent company of Willamette Valley Bank.