Small, nonfarm businesses in 35 Washington counties and eight neighboring Oregon counties, are now eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration.  

"These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenue caused by the combined effects of excessive rain, flooding, below normal temperatures, high winds, frosts and freezes occurring Jan. 1 through July, 31, 2011," said Alfred E. Judd, director of SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center – West.

Thurston County Chamber is hosting Morning MIXXer from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Feb. 7 at Columbian Hall, 6794 Martin Way East, Lacey. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for general admission. Click here for more information.

Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is hosting Small Business Roundtable from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Feb. 8 at 5000 Bridgeport Way West, University Place. Call Savannah Kimball at (253) 683-4881 for more information.

Despite the addition of 21,000 jobs during January, the nation's construction industry unemployment rate jumped to 17.7 percent, up from 16 percent the previous month, according to U.S. Labor Department. However, construction employment is up by 116,000 jobs, or 2.1 percent, compared to January 2011, and is down from the 22.5 percent rate posted the same time last year.

The nonresidential building construction sector added 6,000 jobs in January and has added 12,000 jobs year over year, or 1.8 percent, as January employment levels stood at 662,000. The residential building construction sector added 3,000 jobs for the month and has added 14,000 jobs, or 2.4 percent, year over year as January employment levels stood at 575,000.

New orders for manufactured durable goods during December increased $6.2 billion, or 3 percent, to $214.5 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase followed an uptick of 4.3 percent in November.  
 
Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.1 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 3.5 percent.

The number of salespeople meeting their quotas rose to 63 percent during 2011, compared to 59.4 percent during 2010 and only 51.8 percent during 2009, according CSO Insights' 18th annual Sales Performance Optimization study.

The increase contributed to higher overall revenue plan attainment for companies, with the 2009, 2010, and 2011 figures being 77.9 percent, 85.9 percent and 88.9 percent, respectively.

Learning executives' optimism and confidence about the outlook and expectations for their industry rebounded at the end of 2011, after declining during the second and third quarters of the year, according to the latest measurement by the American Society for Training & Development.

The current Learning Executives Confidence Index for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 66.6, up from 65.9 during the third quarter but still below the record high of 67.3 achieved in the first quarter of 2011.

Thurston County Chamber will be recognizing 31 organizations for actively promoting or providing a healthy work environment or culture during its WorkWell luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 8 at Saint Martin's University.
 
Special kudos will go to the Happy Heart recipients –  AAA Olympia, Altman Insurance Agency, And Nisqually Red Wind Casino – for extraordinary commitment to employee health.

Weyerhaeuser Co. reported net earnings of $65 million, or 12 cents per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to net earnings of $171 million, or 32 cents per diluted share for the Q4 2010. Net sales from continuing operations were $1.6 billion, compared to $1.5 billion for the previous year.

Earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 include net after-tax charges of $12 million for restructuring and asset impairments. Excluding these items, the company reported net earnings of $77 million, or 14 cents per diluted share. This compares with net earnings before special items of $52 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed enforcement actions from October through December 2011 against the following South Sound companies.
 
Formula Corp. of Auburn was fined $3,800 for failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Reporting Form for glycol ethers.

Burlington Environmental LLC of Kent was fined $275,000 for illegal storage and treatment of hazardous waste.

Access Information Management has purchased Washington Archives Management. Prior to the acquisition, Fife-based WAM was the largest, independent records and information management provider in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

"This acquisition of Washington Archives Management from Mark and Bill Naubert represents the largest in Access history and extends our service coverage to include nine U.S. states," said Rob Alston, CEO of Access Information Management.

Jerry D. Larson has been elected president of the Western Washington Fair Association. Other officers include: Gary F. Gonter, vice president; Michael D. Nelson, secretary; David R. Campbell, treasurer; and Kent R. Hojem, CEO.

Olympia Downtown Association has elected officers for 2012. They include: Tracy Knostman, West Coast Bank, president; Jeanne Carras, Bonaventure, past president and treasurer; Jerry Farmer, 94.5 ROXY Radio, vice president; and Jane Offutt, Frost & Co., secretary.

Turn ideas into companies, create jobs and learn about business planning. These are the primary goals of Startup Weekend, a 54 hour long event scheduled for March 2-4 at Saint Martin's University.

Startup Weekend will bring together students, software developers, graphic designers, artists and other professionals to share new business ideas.

Washington State Health Care Authority will make its final move as part of its merger with the state Medicaid Purchasing Administration on Feb. 21 when it relocates its remaining Lacey staff to Olympia.

The HCA office at 676 Woodland Square Loop in Lacey will close at 3 p.m. Feb. 17. On Feb. 21, the HCA will provide all customer services from HCA's headquarters at Cherry Street Plaza, 626 8th Ave. SE, Olympia. The move will not affect post office box mailing addresses used by HCA customers. Toll-free numbers for the agency's programs will not change, however, individual staff numbers will change.

The Thurston Economic Development Council looking for businesses and organizations that have demonstrated a significant contribution to the economic vitality and fabric of the community of Thurston County.

Categories for the EDC's annual recognition awards include new business, small business, corporate employer and nonprofit organizations.

Though far more companies are expected to hire than lay off this month, the numbers will lag compared to a year ago, according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management.

The Leading Indicators of National Employment Report shows that on an annual basis – comparing February 2012 to February 2011 – service sector hiring will drop by a net of 12.3 points and manufacturing sector hiring will fall by a net of 2.5 points.

Last month, the nation's employers announced plans to cut 53,486 jobs from their payrolls. That was the largest monthly layoff total since 115,730 job cuts were announced last September, according to the latest report by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The January total was 28 percent higher than the 41,785 job cuts announced during December. It was 39 percent higher than January 2011, when employers announced just 38,519 planned cuts.

The numbers are in. The Washington State Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division has announced its annual list of the top 20 industries about which consumers complain.

The winners – or more accurately, the losers – are telecommunications companies, which generated 1,581 complaints during 2011. Collection agencies, which ranked No. 1 in complaints in 2010, fell to second. Broadband companies generated the third most complaints.

The affiliation between Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services is official. While the organizations' names and brands will not be changing and patients won't see any difference in how they access care, by working together, Providence and Swedish can reduce costs and increase quality and access for patients.

Both health systems also will be maintaining their individual identities and heritage. Providence will retain its Catholic identity and name, and Swedish will retain its name and will remain non-religious.

Members of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee will discuss new toll rates for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge during a meeting Feb. 8 at the Gig Harbor Civic Center. An informational open house hosted by the Washington State Department of Transportation will precede the meeting.

The committee will consider rate scenarios before recommending a new toll rate to the Washington State Transportation Commission in March.

Port of Tacoma is hosting two open houses to allow Pierce County residents, business partners and customers an opportunity to review and comment on its draft strategic plan.

The plan will guide the organization during the next three to five years.