Dec 03, 1996

Tony Maroni's

Tony Maroni's Gourmet Pizza will open its first store in Seattle on December 4. The store, located in Madison Valley at 2743 E. Madison, will be the first of three franchise stores to open in Seattle operated by franchisee Don Gilbert. Gilbert's responsibilities will include the overall operations, store marketing and advertising as well as staff and management training for all of his franchise stores. The company plans to open five company operated stores located in the Seattle area, including a flagship located in downtown in 1997.

Cable, Langenbach, Kinerk, Bauer & Leshner

The Seattle firm of Cable, Langenbach, Kinerk Bauer & Leshner, LLP has appointed Frederick Huebner to "of counsel". Huebner, formerly a partner of Helsell Fetterman LLP, will continue his practice in commercial, fraud, securities and employment litigation and arbitration.

Chevys

Christine Bloch, a local entrepreneur, has signed a franchise development agreement with Chevys Inc. for the Puget Sound region. Based in San Francisco, Chevys is a "fresh mex" restaurant where all of its food is prepared fresh on the spot. The company has over 69 locations nationwide.

Mondo Burrito

Mondo Burrito, a gourmet burrito restaurant, has undergone a renovation of its store located in Seattle at 2121 First Ave. Brenda Wallace, a restaurant designer, designed a new configuration that includes an area for the cash register where to-go customers can order and pay in an organized and speedy way. The removal of the barstool/counter area has opened up more seating to accommodate larger crowds. Peter Hook, a local furniture artist/carpenter, helped Wallace with the renovation. Mondo Burrito has also added new features to its menu, which include the addition of three new burritos - the Hawaiian, Mediterranean and the Indian. The expanded menu will also offer new international appetizers, specialty soup and salads and homemade desserts.

WALP

The Washington Association of Landscape Professionals has announced the recipients of its 13th annual Environmental Landscape Awards program. Winners are: Berg's Landscaping of Woodinville, two awards for the Kahle and Mellen residences; Environmental Pride Inc. of Woodinville, one award for the Pacific Regent Retirement Center; Hendrikus Schraven Landscape Construction & Design of Issaquah, two awards for the Shurtleff and McKeehan residences; Horticulture Plus Inc. of Vancouver, four awards for Fishers Mill Apartments, Eastridge Business Park, The Cove and Prairie View Apartments; Lake East Grounds Maintenance Inc. of Redmond, two awards for the Spaulding residence and Gallery Place Apartments; Ohno Construction Co. of Seattle, one award for the West Point Treatment Plant landscaping; Parkwood Services Inc. of Seattle, three awards for Robinswood House, the Koehler residence and Luther Burbank Park; Plants a la Cart of Bothell, three awards for an indoor tropical rainforest, the Pacific Institute and Country Color; Scott Koppes Landscape Designs of Issaquah, one award for the Phillips residence; Skinner Landscape Service Inc. of Mill Creek, one award for the Nelson residence; Teufel Nursery Inc. of Everett, one award for Microsoft's Redmond West Campus; and Woody's Custom Landscaping of Battle Ground, two awards for the Jacobsen and Johnson residences.

Shapiro acquires A.G. Crook Co.

SEATTLE -- Shapiro and Associates, a Seattle-based environmental consulting firm, has acquired the Oregon firm A.G. Crook Co. (AGCO) and has renamed its Portland office SRI/Shapiro/AGCO Inc. The acquisition increases the natural resources services offered by Shapiro and Associates. The 10 people at AGCO have specialized in hydrology, watershed analysis, forestry, range management and natural resources training. SRI/Shapiro/AGCO also offers wetlands, wildlife, permitting, regulatory compliance and land use planning services. Shapiro and Associates purchased the firm SRI three years ago and changed the name of its Portland office to SRI/Shapiro. This new acquisition will make the number of employees in the Portland office jump from 15 to 25. Shapiro's Seattle office has 50 full-time employees. George Berscheid, former president of one of the founders of AGCO, has become a principal of SRI/Shapiro/AGCO. Robert Gill, former AGCO vice president, has assumed the role of general manager in the Portland office. Berscheid and Gill both have experience working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Other staff joining SRI/Shapiro/AGCO include Aaron English, Phillip Lee, William Lind, Kent Mays, Rita Mroczek, Robert Rallison and Wendell Styner.

EPA holds off on 'sole source' designation

SPOKANE -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it will not designate the Eastern Columbia Plateau aquifer system a "sole source aquifer" under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA officials say the decision was made because county governments and local organizations in eastern Washington are capable of taking the lead in protecting underground water supplies. In 1994 the EPA proposed that the Eastern Columbia Plateau aquifer system should be declared the sole source of drinking water for the 260,000 people living in a 14,000-square-mile area stretching from the Columbia River into Idaho. The area included all of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Adams, Franklin and Whitman counties in Washington, along with a few areas along the western edges of Benewah, Latah and Nez Perce counties in Idaho. A sole source designation would have allowed EPA to review projects funded by federal money to make sure those projects would not cause drinking water to become contaminated. The EPA proposal met with stiff opposition from local governments and residents. Now local Ground Water Management Areas (GWMAs) are being formed in eastern Washington to provide a framework so community-based advisory groups can tackle a number of issues, including nitrate contamination in certain irrigated areas of the region. EPA will work with the state departments of Health, Agriculture and Ecology, the Conservation Commission and Washington State University to help the GWMA process by providing technical and other support and evaluating the success of the GWMAs. EPA's responses to public comments and to criticisms made by a scientific peer review panel on the sole-source issue will be available soon. To request copies, contact Scott Downey, Ground Water Protection Unit, EPA, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101, (206) 553-0682 or (800) 424-4372.

Gorton, Murray to speak at PUD meeting

SEATTLE -- The annual meeting of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association will take place Thursday at the Red Lion Hotel/Seattle Airport, 18740 Pacific Highway S. Both U.S. senators from Washington state will address the group. Sen. Slade Gorton will give the luncheon address, and Sen. Patty Murray will speak from 3:15 to 3:40 p.m. Other speakers will include Bonneville Power Administration Administrator Randy Hardy and National Public Radio White House correspondent Mara Liasson. The meeting will focus on changes in the soon-to-be-deregulated electric utility industry, analysis of the recent elections and future directions in state water policy. Association members also will ratify resolutions, elect officers for 1997 and present awards. For more information on the meeting, contact Sarah Driggs at (206) 467-1327 or sdriggs@wpuda.org.

Imco to buy EnviroSource subsidiary

HORSHAM, Pa. (Dow Jones News) -- EnviroSource Inc. said last weeek it agreed to sell its Imsamet subsidiary to Imco Recycling Inc. for $58 million. Imsamet owns aluminum recycling plants in Post Falls, Idaho, and Wendover, Utah, and has a 70 percent stake in a recycling plant in Goodyear, Ariz. It also operates and has a 50 percent stake in a plant in Wendover that reclaims materials from a salt cake, a by-product of the recycling process. Imco, of Irving, Texas, is an aluminum recycler and also processes zinc and magnesium. EnviroSource, of Stamford, Conn., said it is selling Imsamet to focus efforts on its steel-related businesses, International Mill Service and EnviroSource Treatment & Disposal Services. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt. The sale is expected to be completed in late December or early January.

Greenhouse gases jump in B.C.

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) -- Greenhouse gases are climbing in British Columbia at almost twice the national average. Figures from Environment Canada's pollution data branch show the emissions, mostly carbon dioxide from energy use and deforestation, jumped 15 percent to 125 billion pounds from 1990 to 1995. At the current growth rate, the B.C. emissions will increase 32 percent by 2000, said Chris Rolfe of the West Coast Environmental Law Association. Greenhouse gases increased by 9 percent across Canada as a whole. The B.C. government announced a greenhouse gas action plan in November 1995 that promised to slow the growth to 4 percent by 2000. Scientists blame greenhouses gases for causing climate change. The gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, are largely the result of burning oil, gas and coals. Such change in British Columbia could have dramatic consequences on forestry, agriculture and fisheries, and could produce more forest fires and greater pressure on limited water supplies. The environmental association, which obtained the latest figures, said Monday they show the B.C. government has taken little effective action. "The province has to start moving to energy efficiency and start reducing dependency on the automobile," Rolfe said. Vehicle use is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases in the Vancouver and Victoria areas. But federal government standards for fuel efficiency have not changed since 1984, Rolfe said. In addition, the province has emphasized highway construction at the expense of public transit, he said.