http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/ Latest blog entries from staff at Business Examiner en-us Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:40:10 PDT Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:40:10 PDT Business Examiner CMS http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/boeing-renegotiation-fails-strike-called/ After two days more days of negotiation, Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were unable to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, covering nearly 27,000 employees mainly in Washington, Oregon and Kansas. The IAM is calling for Boeing machinists' strike to begin at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:16:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/speak-up-be-wants-opinion/ The Business Examiner would like you to take five minutes out of your day to help us grow and improve our BE Daily service. It is our goal to provide timely and relevant news coverage, while making the BE Daily interesting and valuable for our readers and advertisers.  The information you provide in the survey link below is invaluable in helping us reach that goal. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:42:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/business-school-in-session-at/ The Business Examiner has added a feature to its Web site that features expert advice from the PBS show Small Business School as well as links to gain free access to full shows featuring a range of business topics. New tips will be added each business day. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:48:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/sound-40/ 2008 Olympian and record setter Melanie Roach will speak at the grand opening of Thrush Sports Performance Center, her home gym, on Saturday Sept 6. TSPC will also feature an Olympic Weightlifting Expo with local elite weightlifters from Spanaway to Edmonds competing to win a $100 prize.  Visit www.thrushsportsperformance.com. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:25:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/sprouts-kent-linked-to-illnesses-1/ State health officials believe alfalfa sprouts are connected to an outbreak of Salmonella that's sickened nine people in the state and four in Oregon.The outbreak has been tied to alfalfa sprouts from Sprouters Northwest in Kent. The company has agreed to recall the product and has stopped distributing it. The sprouts are sold in a variety of packages labeled as both alfalfa sprouts and as mixed varieties that contain alfalfa sprouts as an ingredient. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:59:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/state-disciplines-health-care-workers-1/ The Washington State Department of Health has taken disciplinary actions against health care providers in the South Sound. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:58:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/commercial-construction-jobs-grow/ Going against the tide of the nation's rising unemployment rate, the nonresidential construction sector gained 2,900 jobs in August, according to the U.S. Labor Department. But that won't likely last. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:37:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/state-gives-funds-to-improve/ The state's Employment Security Department awarded $5.7 million to the Tacoma-Pierce County workforce development council to help workers polish their skills and find better jobs through June 2009. The region's allocation decreased by $480,000 compared to last year. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:21:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/be-part-conversation-1/ Visit BusinessExaminer.com and voice your thoughts on today's news and read comments from other people in the South Sound's business community. The BE blog also offers RSS functions so you can see only the local or industry business news that you want, as it happens. ... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:51:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/olympia-station-offers-enthanol/ Wilcox & Flegel Oil Co. has announced its sixth location, offering U.S. Ethanol E85 in the state of Washington, has opened at 3505 Pacific Avenue in Olympia. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:48:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/amtrak-cascades-gains-ridership-1/ Amtrak Cascades ridership in 2008 has increased a total of 12 percent since 2007. In July alone, ridership hit an all-time record of nearly 80,000 passengers — a 12.4 percent increase from last year.  ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:43:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/boeing-strike-delayed-friday/ Even though Boeing machinists overwhelmingly voted last night to strike, union negotiators have called for them to report to work through Friday. The delay will allow negotiators to work with federal mediators and Boeing officials to develop a new contract and avoid a walk out. The contract covers 27,000 workers, mostly in Washington, Oregon and Kansas. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:09:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/accounting-hiring-to-be-flat/ A net 1 percent of chief financial officers in the Puget Sound expect to add accounting and finance staff during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a recent Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index. While 7 percent of executives surveyed plan to add staff during the quarter, another 6 percent anticipate reductions in personnel. The majority of respondents, 85 percent, foresee no change in hiring. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:08:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/jobs-mixed-picture-in-august/ Today's National Employment Report from Automatic Data Processing shows employment decreased by 33,000 in August. The report is based on actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:06:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/flow-boosts-outlook/ Flow International Corp., a Kent-based developer and manufacturer of industrial waterjet machines for cutting and cleaning applications, today reported results for its fiscal year. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:05:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/people-on-move-57/ Verizon Wireless announced today that the company has been recognized for the "Highest Call Quality Performance Among Wireless Cell Phone Users in the West Region," which includes Washington, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study. The J.D. Power study employs a call quality index based on criteria that impact overall carrier performance. The wireless phone subscribers surveyed were asked about their experiences with static, connection on first try, voice distortion, echoes, dropped calls, immediate voice mail notification and immediate text message notification. ... Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:02:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/radiologist-suspended-pending-probe/ The license of a Kent radiologic technologist has been immediately suspended for inappropriately touching two minor patients. ... Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:02:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/states-credit-freeze-law-thaws/ Starting this week, Washington residents have even more control over their credit files thanks to changes that are also helping more retailers warm up to the law. ... Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:51:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/uwt-to-host-plastics-conference/ Experts from the United States, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will gather at the University of Washington Tacoma next week for the first international workshop on the problem of microplastics in the marine environment. The workshop is sponsored by UWT and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ... Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:31:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/spending-inflation-on-rise/ The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council forecast determined that final sales increased 3.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, following a 0.9 percent gain in the first quarter as inventory accumulation continued to decline. ... Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:18:00 PDT http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/blog-watch-land-locked/ Tacomamama.com has a tall stack of stories and comments about the fate of the Richter Farm in Fife that will be tilled over to make way for an American Fast Freight expansion.  ... Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:56:00 PDT