Jul 18, 1995

Entranco

Engineering and environmental consulting firm Entranco has added two vice presidential positions to respond to the company's 1995 expansion into Tuscon and Boise and addition of 25 technical staff. Dale LeMaster, a 10-year Entranco veteran who has managed the civil engineering unit since 1988, has been appointed vice president, Northwest region, responsible for managing the Washington and Idaho offices. LeMaster has 29 years of experience and is a registered professional engineer in Washington and several western states. Ed Berschinski, supervisor of Entranco's Construction Services unit for Washington, has been named vice president, quality and risk management. He has been with the company for 18 years. Entranco's Washington state office is located in Bellevue. The 34-year-old firm also has a another Arizona office, in Phoenix.

Thea Foss cleanup costs triple

TACOMA (AP) -- The cost of a hazardous-waste cleanup along the Thea Foss Waterway on Tacoma's waterfront has more than tripled, surpassing the $1 million mark, city officials said. The main reason is because contaminated soil on one property was found to be more widespread than expected, said Craig Sively, manager of the city's Building and Land Use Division. Work crews also unexpectedly discovered an underground storage tank, which had to be removed. The contaminated area is the possible future site of a $20 million glass museum. The City Council has approved paying an extra $742,000 to finish the cleanup, which was originally budgeted three months ago at $300,000. "I can see missing it by a few bucks," Councilman Mike Crowley said last week. "But we're three times the cost." The city bought the land for $1.2 million in 1993. It's part of 26 acres of waterfront property along the west side of the waterway, most of it contaminated from decades of industrial uses. "They initially thought that perhaps the contamination was more concentrated," City Manager Ray Corpuz said. "But it's really spread over a wider area." Engineers will try to produce more accurate estimates for future projects, Sively said. Typically, engineers estimate how much soil is fouled by studying the history of the site and digging a series of tests pits in areas where contamination levels should be highest, Sively said. Previous owners of the property used oils as tarring for blacktop on the site, which spread the contamination evenly over the soil, Sively said. The soil has to be dug out and hauled away. The property has been targeted by a group of art boosters who want to buy it from the city and build a $20 million glass museum on the site.

Wetlands & Wildlife Stewardship

With more and more people calling King County home, educating residents on how human activities can destroy, damage or enhance wetlands and wildlife habitat takes on added importance. In response, Washington State University Cooperative Extension King County is now recruiting individuals for a Wetlands & Wildlife Stewardship Volunteer Training Program that provides 70 hours of classroom and field training over ten weeks in exchange for 70 hours of outreach and education to residents of King County. Participants will learn what wetlands are, how they work, their value to us, how and why they are protected, and what the average citizen can do to preserve wetlands. The program also looks at wildlife resources of King County, what these creatures need to survive, and how people can learn to live with them. Training will be held from Sept. 15 to Nov. 17 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Most classes will take place on Fridays. For a program application packet, call (206) 296-3900. Outside the Seattle area, call (800) 326-6165 and ask for extension 3900. The application deadline is August 8.

Bureau of Land Management

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton nominated Michael Dombeck on Friday to become director of the Bureau of Land Management, where he has served as acting director since Jim Baca's controversial resignation last year. Dombeck, whose nomination is subject to Senate confirmation, was named acting BLM director in February 1994. Baca resigned in protest over the Clinton administration's retreat from an earlier pledge to raise livestock grazing fees on BLM lands in the West. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt praised Dombeck's selection, calling him a dedicated outdoorsman and conservationist. Local firms find work in China The burgeoning market for environmental technologies and services in the developing Asian economies is beckoning an increasing number of U.S. firms overseas. International export consulting firm Associates International Inc. and Robison Construction Inc., both Seattle companies, recently completed a business trip to China, which resulted in a World Bank contract for environmental laboratory equipment, including a water quality monitoring vehicle, for the municipality of Wuxi. Located on the shores of a large lake, the city of 1.5 million is in the process of two large environmental projects: the first to add a second phase to a small wastewater management plant, and the second, slated for later this year, to clean up the lake's polluted water. According to Associates International President Joe Reed, opportunities like this one will increase exponentially over the next 20 years as China attempts to overcome the environmental mind set of the past with projects funded by institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Other Seattle area companies involved in the negotiations were Casne Engineering and Barrett Consulting.

Jul 17, 1995

Baron & Co.

Todd McGee has joined Bellingham-based marketing communications firm Baron & Co. as an account coordinator in its planning department. Previously, McGee served as marketing coordinator at Lynden Air Freight in Seattle, where he was responsible for written material, media contact and assistance in implementation of the company's strategic plan.

Key Bank

Key Bank of Washington has promoted Michael E. Butcher, manager, Edgewood-Milton branch, to vice president. Butcher formerly was assistant vice president, and has been branch manager since 1994.

Immunex Corp.

Immunex Corp. has announced the appointment of David A. Mann as vice president, controller, responsible for accounting, credit, tax and financial reporting functions. Before joining Immunex, Mann served as controller for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle for eight years. He holds a BA degree from Western Washington University and an Executive MBA from the University of Washington. Immunex is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of products to treat cancer and autoimmune disease.

Targeted Genetics

SEATTLE (PRN) -- Targeted Genetics Corp. has completed a self-managed public offering that raised $11.7 million through the sale of 778,598 units at a price of $15 per unit. The offering brings the total number of outstanding shares of common stock to 12.1 million. International Biotechnology Trust, an investment trust managed by Rothschild Asset Management, Ltd., London, led the offering with an investment of $4.5 million. The remaining $7.2 million came from a mix of current and new institutional investors, and company officers and directors. Proceeds from the offering will provide Target Genetics with the necessary funds to cover operating costs through late 1996. The company is also working to establish at least one corporate research and development collaboration. Targeted Genetics develops gene therapy products for the treatment of certain acquired and inherited diseases. Washington State Convention & Trade Center The 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Bill of Rights is the theme of the Let Freedom Ring photography exhibit sponsored by Parade Magazine and The Seattle Times Co., the Washington State Convention & Trade Center has announced. The 100 photographs were selected in 1991 from a record 207,400 entries. It includes pictures of flags, statues, soldiers, as well as American rituals such as prayer, marriage, graduation, music and baseball. Entries were judged on the basis of pictorial composition, originality, interest of subject matter, visual appeal and consistency with the Let Freedom Ring theme. This is Parade's fifth annual traveling photography exhibit, with entries from 34 states, the District of Columbia and a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. The exhibit will be on display July 22 through August 24, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., in Room 402, Level 4 of the convention center, Eighth & Pike, Seattle.