Steven McCarty has joined Sound Physicians as general counsel. He previously was vice president, legal counsel with Catholic Health Initiatives. Prior to CHI, McCarty also practiced law with Jones Day. He earned his undergraduate degree from University of Notre Dame, and his jurist doctorate degree from Capital University Law School.

Laura Hershkowitz D.O. has joined MultiCare Health System. She is a board-certified neurologist and neurophysiologist with special qualifications in epilepsy. Hershkowitz received her medical training at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to joining MultiCare, Hershkowitz served for more than a decade as a regional epileptologist and the director of neurophysiology at Hamot Medical Center and Hamot Neuroscience Institute in Erie, Pa.

A section of Canyon Road East can now claim it's the best county asphalt paving project in Western Washington.

Pierce County received the 2008 first place Quality Award for Asphalt Pavement Construction from Washington Asphalt Paving Association. The county's paving contractor, Tucci and Sons, Inc. of Tacoma, was a joint recipient of the award.

O'Reilly Automotive Inc., one of the largest specialty retailers of auto parts and accessories, announced today the planned conversion schedule for Schuck's Auto Parts stores is entering its second phase.

This conversion of the in-store information system, as well as enhancements to the distribution infrastructure, coincide with the opening of a new regional distribution center in Puyallup this month.

The Department of Licensing has modified the plan announced last month for issuing seven-character license plates for use on passenger cars and sport-utility vehicles.

DOL will begin issuing a new, seven-character configuration in November or early December as announced, but the arrangement of letters and numbers on the plates has changed.

Valley Auburn RV Center has joined the Jayco network of recreational vehicle dealerships, which includes more than 300 RV dealerships throughout the United States and Canada.

The new retail operation has been serving the South Sound area RV market for more than 35 years and offers a comprehensive service department staffed with certified technicians and a fully-stocked parts department.

Port of Olympia Finance Director Kevin Ferguson reported historically high financial results for the nine months ending with the third quarter 2009 at the regular Port Commission meeting this week.

"For the first nine months, the Port is showing historic highs and we expect this trend to continue through year end," said Ferguson.

Starting tonight and continuing through October, motorists can expect intermittent closures of the new Hood Canal Floating Bridge as contractors conduct extensive testing. Halts to vehicle traffic lasting up to 90 minutes are expected weeknights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Motorists going south on Interstate 5 from Thurston into Lewis County will have daytime lane closures and rolling slow-downs. Contractors are placing permanent lane barriers and building bridge structures. Delays up to 5 minutes are anticipated between 5:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays.

In honor of Labor Day, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a proclamation encouraging state residents to celebrate Washington transportation workers.

"Our workers are building and maintaining safer, more efficient ways of travel – jobs that help support local communities and get our economy back on track," said the governor.

MultiCare HealthWorks opened a new location in Puyallup today.

Physician Archie Adams serves needs of employers for a comprehensive range of services designed to reduce workplace risks and manage workplace injuries quickly, efficiently and with a focus on a prompt return to work.

Staff at the Department of Licensing will be working over this weekend to help customers take advantage of the federal Cash for Clunkers. This new vehicle rebate program is scheduled to end Monday, Aug. 24.

"We've been working hard to help Washington residents take advantage of the rebate program, and we're going to keep it up this weekend," DOL Deputy Director Alan Haight said.

Crews on the Interstate 5 HOV widening project through Fife will begin closing lanes at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.

By 11 p.m., a triple-lane closure will be in place, leaving just the inside lane open to traffic.

Motorists traveling northbound Interstate-5 near the Pierce/King county line this week can expect nighttime left lane closures. They will be coned off overnight Monday through Friday from 70th Avenue to the county line from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. More details on this project to extend HOV lanes is online.

Additional nightly on- and off-ramp closures at the junction of I-5 and State Route 16 will occur as crews continue work on a project that rebuilds the Nalley Valley interchange. Tonight, the ramps from southbound I-5 to westbound SR 16 and to 38th Street will be closed between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Online information is available.

Washington State Department of Transportation recently received national recognition as a Perpetual Pavement Award winner by the Asphalt Pavement Alliance for a four-mile section of Interstate 5 near Everett's northern city limits.

The award is given to agencies with asphalt pavements that are at least 35 years old and never had a structural failure. The award winning section of pavement in Everett carries more than 60,000 vehicles per day, with 4,400 of those being heavy trucks.

Apply-A-Line Inc. of Pacific has won the Washington State Department of Transportation contract to install nearly 250 miles of centerline rumble strips on nine state routes in northwest Washington. Funding for the work comes from the federal government's economic stimulus package.

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $12 million in funding for installing centerline rumble strips on 662 miles of state highways in Washington and for retrofitting nearly 30 miles of cable median barrier. Together, these projects will help support approximately 120 jobs during construction.

More drivers hit the roadways for Independence Day weekend, with just one minor exception. The state's initial traffic counts show there was an increase of nearly 15 percent on Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass compared to 2008, while US 2 over Stevens Pass saw a 12 percent increase.

On I-5 near Olympia, there was only a 6 percent increase. However, further north on I-5 from Bellingham to the Canadian border, there was a 1 percent decrease from 2008.

Today is the start of what forecasters predict will be a five-day stretch of sunshine, with temperatures expected to top 90 degrees – a definite "heat wave" for Western Washington natives, though non-natives often scoff.

The Business Examiner would like to know how extreme weather affected your hometown? More than 100 degrees at 100-percent humidity? Wind chill of 50 below? How did you cope?

The preliminary forecast  from the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council assumes a much more severe recession than did the forecast adopted in November.

The recession is expected to last six quarters with a peak-to-trough decline in real Gross Domestic Product of 2.7 percent. The unemployment rate, which has already risen from a cyclical low of 4.4 percent in December 2006 to 7.6 percent January 2008, is expected to climb to 9.0 percent in March 2010. Payroll employment, housing starts, and personal income are also much lower in the new forecast. One piece of good news since the November forecast is the adoption of much larger stimulus package than assumed in November.  

The Business Examiner named The Artisans Group, an Olympia construction remodeling firm, its 2008 Fastest Growing Company at an awards presentation last night at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Company president Randy Foster accepted the award.

Rounding out the Top-Ten growth companies in the South Sound were Sound Options; Fast Transact; John Korsmo Construction; Farrelli's; SiteCrafting; LaborWorks; Print NW; BCRA – also the Longevity Award Recipient; and Sound Glass Sales Inc.

Several of the nation's top car makers have asked Congress for a slice of the bailout pie in an effort to buoy up their floundering automobile manufacturing sector.

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