Mar 17, 1998

Washington First International Bank

Washington First International Bank, based in Seattle, has named Tobias Washington vice president and commercial real estate loan portfolio manager. Washington was formerly with Washington Federal Savings Bank where he established and managed the multi-family loan department.

Pierce Transit

Pierce Transit has received the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting from Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its 1996 comprehensive annual financial report. This is the thirteenth consecutive year Pierce Transit has received the certificate of achievement.

Washington State Chiropractic Association

Dr. John Wood was recently elected to serve as a member of the Washington State Chiropractic Association board of directors. Dr. Stephen Saunders was elected chairperson of the board of directors. Dr. Joyce Middendorf was elected president, Dr. Nancy McCown will serve as vice president, Dr. John Huber was elected secretary and Dr. Jeff Kantola will serve as treasurer.

Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association

Puget Sound businesses interested in contacting potential suppliers, distributors or customers in France are encouraged to call the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association, which will have a booth at the international fair in Nantes, France, April 3-13. There is no charge for the services provided by the association. Interested businesses can discuss their specific needs with Dr. Thomas Bennett at (206) 542-5663.

Palisade

Palisade has named David Marshall senior manager. Marshall's responsibilities include overseeing the restaurant's brunch and lunch programs, as well as staff training and restaurant marketing.

Ragin' Cajun

Danny and Holly Delcambre of the Ragin Cajun restaurant in downtown Seattle were recognized by the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) with its "Hero Award" for operating their successful small business. Danny Delcambre is a deaf mute with severe vision limitations. Jerry Schuermann, a SCORE counselor and retired restaurateur, said he tried to steer Delcambre away from the restaurant business at their first meeting but soon realized he could succeed despite his disabilities. SCORE is a volunteer group that works with the Small Business Administration to help entrepreneurs.

Jones & Roberts

Thomas Stewart has joined the management staff at Jones & Roberts Co. Stewart has over 22 years of industry experience and holds a building construction degree from the University of Washington. In his role as vice president, Stewart will be responsible for all estimating and market development activities of the Lacey-based general contractor.

LCL

Lease Crutcher Lewis has added two members to its estimating department. Mark King is the company's new CAD (computer aided drafting) administrator and Jeff Spencer is an estimator. King supports LCL's design and technical details coordination in the preconstruction and construction phases of projects. Spencer is working on several projects in the preconstruction phases.

Tech-Fast

Tacoma-based Tech-Fast Metal Systems Inc. has named Mike Hayes as Northwest regional sales representative, Jim Donovan as vice president and general manager, and Jeff Martin as engineering services manager. Tech-Fast designs, engineers and supplies building materials and constructs self-storage buildings for developers.

MBE/WBE awards

King County recently held its 10th annual "Celebrate Success" event to honor outstanding minority-and women-owned business enterprises. Awards were given in four categories. The architecture and engineering award went to Garry Struthers Inc. Construction awards went to: E.M. Castillo, Leajak Construction Inc., Magnolia Contractors Inc., Nisei Construction Co. Inc. and Seattle Based Inc. Consultant awards were given to Community Connection and Triangle Associates. Awards in the purchased goods and services category went to: Master Computer Inc., Perry Ko's South China Restaurant and Road Warriors. A special recognition was given to Linda E. Burgess Enterprises.

WSU

The School of Construction Management at Washington State University has recognized three students with its Outstanding Student awards. They include: Paula Johnson, outstanding fifth-year senior; Michael T. Benton, outstanding fourth-year senior; and Mike Franken outstanding third-year junior.

PTI changes name, hires new staff

BELLEVUE -- Bellevue-based PTI Environmental Services has a brand new name: Exponent Environmental Group. PTI's name change reflects the new name of its parent company, which just switched its moniker from The Failure Group Inc. to Exponent Inc. The name change went into effect last Monday. Exponent's former name denoted the focus of its largest subsidiary, Failure Analysis Associates, which analyzes the causes behind high-profile disasters such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the ValuJet and TWA plane crashes. Michael R. Gaulke, president and CEO of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Exponent Inc., said the time had come to change his firm's name to reflect its growing scope. "Although analysis of failures and accidents will always be an important part of our business, increasingly our clients require a broader range of scientific research and analysis for product development, regulatory compliance and risk management," Gaulke said. The Failure Group acquired PTI last May. In addition to PTI, two other Exponent subsidiaries have changed their names: Failure Analysis Associates has become Exponent Failure Analysis Associates; and Environmental Health Strategies Inc. has become Exponent Health Group. Exponent's fourth subsidiary, BCS Wireless Inc., will retain its name. Along with its new name, Exponent Environmental Group also announced a number of new staff members in its Bellevue office:

• Morgan Perry has joined Exponent as an environmental scientist specializing in management systems and environmental health. Over the past six years, Perry has worked with businesses to help them reduce cost and waste at their industrial and commercial sites.
• Christina Noftsker has joined the Bellevue office as an environmental scientist. She has eight years of experience in the bioremediation of hazardous wastes.
• Kristin Avery has joined Exponent's Publications group, where she will specialize in technical writing, editing and document design and production.
• Kate Beardsley, a project assistant to the Hazardous Materials Management group, will support project managers and technical staff in data management, analysis and creation of presentations and report documents.
• Teri Long is providing technical support to a computer network environment that supports approximately 160 employees.

Exponent Environmental Group also has opened an office in the Detroit area and has hired environmental scientist Natalie Wilson to work there. Wilson manages risk-assessment projects that evaluate the human health and ecological effects of chemicals in soil, air, groundwater, surface water and sediments. Exponent Environmental Group has 80 employees in Bellevue and in six additional offices in Lake Oswego, Ore.; Boulder, Colo.; Waltham, Mass.; Landover, Md.; Birmingham, Mich.; and Atlanta.

What can be done about polluted runoff?

WENATCHEE -- "Partnerships in Preventing Polluted Runoff," a two-day conference sponsored by the state Department of Ecology, is scheduled for March 31 and April 1 in Wenatchee. Polluted runoff, also known as "nonpoint-source pollution," is the biggest source of contamination in most of Washington's lakes, rivers and streams. Many citizen groups, environmental groups and government agencies are working to prevent this type of pollution from reaching and contaminating the state's waters. The conference will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 31 and from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 1. Throughout both days, speakers will discuss a variety of nonpoint-pollution problem areas, such as failing septic systems, contaminated stormwater runoff and runoff from dairy farms. The general session on the morning of March 31 will focus on the listing of salmon species under the Endangered Species Act, as well as recent legislation on local watershed planning, and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) under the Clean Water Act. That morning's keynote speaker will be Bill Bradbury of the group For the Sake of the Salmon. From 7 to 9 p.m. March 31, Ecology will present slide shows of selected projects around the state which have succeeded because of effective partnerships. The conference will meet at the Wenatchee Convention Center. The registration fee for the conference is $25, and the cost of lunch is $9 per day. For more information, call Bill Green at Ecology at (360) 407-6795, or send him an e-mail message at: wgre461@ecy.wa.gov.

Brian Boyle joins Battelle

SEATTLE -- Brian Boyle has joined Battelle's Seattle office as associate director of strategic planning for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Boyle is leading a new initiative that will engage Battelle science and technology resources in complex natural resource issues in the Pacific Northwest. Boyle was the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands from 1981 to 1993, having been elected to that position three times. More recently, he was a visiting professor at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources. He also was president of the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center.

Greens sue to put redband trout on ESA list

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Environmentalists have sued the federal government to force consideration of redband trout in the high desert of the Great Basin for the endangered species list. Filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, the lawsuit argues that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to meet the 90-day deadline for making an initial finding on the adequacy of the petition filed last September for protecting the fish under the Endangered Species Act. The petition asked for protection for six populations in Eastern Oregon, Northern California and Nevada: the Catlow, Fort Rock, Harney, Goose Lake, Warner Valley and Chewaucan basins. Redband trout are cousins of rainbow trout, but able to survive much warmer water temperatures. Redband trout are extinct over 72 percent of their range. Redband trout historically migrated between mountain streams, where they spawned and reared, and basin lakes, where they grew large on plentiful insects. But carp introduced in some lakes have muddied the waters. Irrigation dams have blocked spawning runs. Logging and grazing have removed trees and brush from riparian zones, allowing increased erosion and removing shade that keeps the water cool. A listing would affect logging, irrigation and cattle ranching on private as well as federal lands in the region. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been working with ranchers on voluntary measures to protect stream habitat from grazing. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working to remove carp from Malheur Lake in the Harney Basin and improve fish passage over dams. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Susan Saul said the agency has not seen the lawsuit, and could not comment on it yet. She added that evaluating petitions has been a low priority in the past year, because of more pressing issues, such as the court-ordered consideration of bull trout for Endangered Species Act protection. The evaluation of petitions is likely to move up in priority in the coming year, as other projects are completed. "We hope we are not repeating here with redband trout what we have seen with bull trout," said Jim Myron of Oregon Trout. After Fish and Wildlife refused to consider bull trout for listing in 1994, environmentalists pressed the issue in court, until the agency finally proposed last June to list bull trout in the Columbia River Basin as threatened and the Klamath River Basin as endangered. Environmentalists are still fighting in court to force consideration of three other populations.