Dec 23, 1997

Virginia Mason

Liz Shirley was recently named manager of Virginia Mason Lynnwood. Shirley has been with Virginia Mason since 1989 and previously managed the clinic in Monroe.

Davis Wright Tremaine

The Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine has added three lateral associates: David C. Reed , a civil litigator; Jennifer L. Wright, an employment law litigator, and corporate attorney Mark B. Mildenberger.

Stafford Suites

Bonnie Boatman has been appointed resident services coordinator of Stafford Suites, a senior adult assisted-living apartment facility in Kent. Boatman previously worked in the counseling office at Mount Hood Community College.

Key PrivateBank

Marisa DiGiacomo was named vice president and relationship manager for Key PrivateBank for the Seattle and Bellevue districts. DiGiacomo previously worked as a lender in Marine Finance, and an assistant vice president for Key PrivateBank. The bank offers specialized products to meet the needs of high net worth clients.

Simpson Timber

Bob Lockwood was recently appointed business unit controller for Northwest Operations at Simpson Timber Co., based in Shelton. Lockwood has served in several financial assignments during his 12 years at Simpson, including financial manager at Simpson Tacoma Kraft Co.

Western Wood Products Association

Walter M. Wirfs has been appointed president-elect of Western Wood Products Association, the largest lumber trade organization in the West. Wirfs previously served as vice president for Willamette Industries. Western Wood Products Association, headquartered in Portland, represents lumber manufacturers in the 12 western states and Alaska.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has appointed Kevin Ylvisaker as vice president in its institutional trust group. Based in Seattle, Ylvisaker will oversee asset allocation, trading, client presentation and investment strategy for institutional accounts in Washington and Idaho. Ylvisaker was previously a portfolio manager with the private client services group.

Microsoft

The employees of Microsoft nationwide have contributed more than $4.2 million in their annual giving campaign. With a company match, more than $8.4 million will go to charities across the nation. In the past, the bulk of the money has gone to United Way of King County, whose campaign goal this year is $55.5 million dollars.

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

Douglas W. MacDougal has joined the Portland-based law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt and will be practicing real estate and environmental law, emphasizing water rights. MacDougal was formerly with the Honolulu firm of Ashford & Wriston.

Bellevue Club Hotel

The Bellevue Club Hotel, located at 11200 SE 6th, has been named a Grand Award Winner in the 19th annual Hideaways of the Year competition. Sponsored by Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, a worldwide guide with 25,000 subscribers, the world's top properties are featured in the contest.

United Building Centers

Dale E. Kukowski has been named president of the United Building Centers division in Winona, Minn. Kukowski was previously vice president of operations for United Building Centers. United Building Centers is owned by Lanoga Corp., a private Redmond-based building materials retailer.

Renton Technical College

Renton Technical College has added a new one-year training program titled "Computer Network Technician." Students enrolled in the program will be trained in how to set-up and operate network servers including web servers for several operating systems. Students will also learn PC workstation training and support, and how to install and configure user programs.

Holaday-Parks

Janet Chi and William Choi have joined the finance department of Holaday-Parks Inc., Chi in the accounts payable group and Choi as a purchasing agent for the company, supporting project management for both the plan/spec and design/build departments. Holaday-Parks is one of the largest mechanical contractors in the region with facilities in Seattle and Fairbanks, Alaska. The company specializes in commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air conditioning, sheet metal, piping and plumbing systems, electronic control systems and engineering.

PCL Const.

PCL Const. has announced the promotion of Peter Commins to senior estimator and the addition of John Maki who is joining the Seattle District as an estimator. Commins joined PCL in 1995, bringing with him 20 years of experience in the construction industry. His varied background includes positions as architectural designer, project engineering, assistant project manger and estimator on residential, commercial and industrial projects. Maki brings with him 20 years of estimating experience, primarily in the local marketplace.

KCK Cella starts up in Redmond

REDMOND -- A new environmental planning and geotechnical firm called KCK Cella has started up in Redmond. Bill Clevenger, Moin Kadri and Steve Konkel started the limited liability company, which specializes in planning, policy analysis, environmental management, dam and flume re-licensing, dispute resolution, siting and permitting. "We're targeting both private and public sector clients," Clevenger said. He said potential public-sector clients include utility districts, while potential private-sector clients include developers who are working on residential, commercial or industrial projects. "We would like to be involved with the planning phase of such projects from an environmental perspective," Clevenger said. Clevenger, Kadri and Konkel all ran their own businesses in the Puget Sound area before they teamed up on Oct. 1. Those businesses were called The Clevenger Group, Moin Kadri Environmental and Konkel & Co. Before that, all three worked for much larger corporations. For example, Clevenger worked for Shannon & Wilson in the 1970s, then moved on to Hart Crowser, and then spent 14 years with GeoEngineers, where he was a principal. Kadri used to work for Agra, and Konkel was a senior research scientist for Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. Clevenger said KCK Cella is now in the process of conducting market research and fine-tuning its focus. "We definitely want to grow," Clevenger said. "That could mean growing into more staff." KCK Cella's Web site describes the origins of the company's name: "Cella is derived from the living tradition of the Yup'ik people, a native Alaskan culture. Cella maliggluku literally means 'go in the direction of the universe.' We are searching for peace and contribution in the Cella (universe)."

EPA makes record number of fines

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency referred a record number of cases for prosecution and assessed its largest total of fines in 1997, the agency said Monday. The EPA referred 704 cases to the Justice Department and imposed $264.4 million in penalties in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Criminal claims made up 278 of those cases and $169.3 million of the fines. The others dealt with civil charges. The agency said its enforcement efforts forced environmental polluters to spent $1.98 billion fixing violations and cleaning up Superfund sites. They also contributed to a significant reduction in lead pollution, benzene, chlorofluorocarbons, particulate matter and other pollutants and carcinogens. The EPA also expanded the use of a policy to encourage industries to voluntarily disclose environmental violations. More than 185 companies revealed violations at 457 facilities under the broadened policy. The EPA reached settlements with 45 of those businesses at 71 facilities, waiving penalties in most cases.

Start getting ready for GLOBE '98

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- GLOBE '98, a conference and trade fair on business and the environment, is set for March 18-20, 1998 at the World Trade Centre in Vancouver, B.C. This year's event will focus on "The Business of Keeping Kyoto Promises." Senior government officials from the U.S. and Canada will provide an update on how Kyoto commitments are being met. GLOBE '98 will highlight the greenhouse gas reduction strategies of major corporations around the world, including British Petroleum, Westcoast Energy and Royal Dutch Shell. Emissions trading, voluntary agreements for reducing emissions, eco-taxes and "airshed management programs" also will be discussed. "Kyoto discussed reduction quotas for the countries involved," said John Wiebe, president and CEO of the GLOBE Foundation. "GLOBE '98 will provide the necessary intelligence to make meeting those quotas possible." GLOBE '98 will feature a variety of energy and fuel alternatives, including:

• the Ballard Fuel Cell, a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell engine that converts natural gas, methanol or hydrogen fuel into electricity without combustion;
• Turbodyne engine systems that reduce vehicle emissions;
• and DynaMotive's BioMass Refinery, a patented flash-heating process that converts biomass into energy.

Flood-control efforts may harm sparrow

MIAMI (AP) -- Efforts to control flooding blamed on El Nino have come down to a decision between an endangered bird and isolated private property -- and the bird is losing. The Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District say they have two possible areas to divert water that has flooded areas around Lake Okeechobee. One area has about 350 scattered homes in the western fringes of Dade County. The second is a part of Everglades National Park that is a critical habitat of the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. However, the agencies said, federal rules forbid them from flooding private property. They planned a meeting Monday to decide when to open the flood gates. "If we lose this (breeding population), the extinction of the sparrow is almost a certitude," said Craig Johnson, supervisor of the Fish and Wildlife Services' south Florida office. The Cape Sable is a cousin of the Dusky seaside sparrow, a species that went extinct in 1987 when the last known example died in a cage at Disney World. Much of Florida has been saturated this month by rainfall blamed on this year's major El Nino, the periodic Pacific warming phenomena that influences weather around the world. For the year, the area has gotten 69.4 inches of rain, 14 inches more than normal. "Right now, it's wet everywhere and there are no best options for where that water can go. There are only least bad options," said Lewis Hornung, executive director of the Southern Everglades Restoration Alliance, a group of government agencies that includes the water district and the Army Corps. Scientists at the national park say this is the third wet winter in four years, so the district had plenty of warnings about the impact of high water on the sparrow. "The sparrow is just not a priority for them," said Robert Johnson, the park's research director. There are only three populations of the Cape Sable. A southern group is hanging on, but a second nesting area is too dry and being overgrown by brush and trees. The excess water will be diverted to the third area, which already was wetter than the birds like. If that population is prevented from reproducing, the Fish and Wildlife Service believes the species could be extinct within 20 years, Johnson said. Since the early 1980s, the sparrow population has plunged from more than 8,000 birds to about 3,000. The subpopulation in the area being used for the flood diversion has declined by more than 90 percent in 15 years, to about 270. Proposals to save the sparrow include buying 107,000 acres of privately owned marsh, or buying up the area with the 350 homes, but the target date for these plans is 2004. "For now," Hornung said, "the big question is, will we lose the sparrow before we can finish building the solution to save it?"