Lusamerica Foods Inc. has purchased the Trident Seafood Processing plant in Fife for $4.5 million.

The 82,000-square-foot facility includes cooler/freezer storage, loading docks, processing areas and offices on 4.5 acres, according to Steve Offenbecher of Coldwell Banker Commercial Offenbecher in Puyallup, who represented the Morgan Hill, Calif.-based company.

We want to hear from you. "What is your favorite spring activity in the South Sound?"

Answers will be published in the April 5 issue of the BE. E-mail your answers to news@BusinessExaminer.com. Don't forget to include a photo.

The Business Examiner's "South Sound Business Report" will debut on KBTC Public Television at 7:30 p.m. April 20.

The program, which will air every two weeks, focuses on business in the South Sound. It has been seen in the Tacoma/Seattle region since January 2004.

FrontStream Payments Inc. has acquired Olympia-based Fast Transact Inc.  

Founded during 2002, Fast Transact, provides retail and Internet merchant account services throughout the United States and Canada, payment gateways and software integration for processing credit cards and debit bankcards, ACH check services, affiliate partnership programs and gift card/loyalty card programs.

The 40th annual Lakewood Rotary Club Sportsman's Dinner & Auction is scheduled for 5 p.m. tomorrow at the McGavick Center at Clover Park Technical College. This annual fundraising event is open to the public. Tickets are $50 per person and are available from any member of Lakewood Rotary Club or by calling Rick Selden at (253) 588-2104. For additional information, contact Dave Sclair at (253) 691-8103.

The popular flea market run by the Women's League of University of Puget Sound will be held this year from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at Memorial Fieldhouse, near the corner of Union Street and N. 11th Ave. in Tacoma. More than 50 booths will offer antiques, collectible dolls, books, furniture, clothing, artisan works, and more. Admission is $2. Parking is free. Proceeds from the event support University of Puget Sound scholarships for students. Last year, the flea market raised $24,000. Click here for more information.

Franciscan Health System has renewed its agreement with UnitedHealthcare, which now includes St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor.
 
The agreement provides UnitedHealthcare commercial and Medicare health plan participants continued in-network access to Franciscan Health System's facilities.

Unemployment rates were higher during January than a year earlier in 363 of the 372 metropolitan areas, lower in seven areas, and unchanged in two areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Thirty-five areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15 percent, while 2 areas registered rates below 5 percent.

The national unemployment rate during January was 10.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from  8.5 percent a year earlier. For Tacoma, the rate was 10.7 percent, up from 8.3 percent during January of 2009 and 9.5 percent during December.

Washington will receive nearly $100,000, to be split between the state's general fund and Medicaid program, from a national settlement with drug maker Alpharma.

Washington joined other states and the federal government to reach an agreement with Alpharma Inc., settling allegations that the company made false or fraudulent claims about Kadian, a morphine-based pain medication.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the United States increased 0.1 percent during February, following a 0.3 percent gain during January and a 1.2 percent rise during December.

"The LEI for the U.S. has risen rapidly for almost a year now and it has reached its highest level, but, the sharp pick up in the LEI appears to be stabilizing,"said Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at The Conference Board. "As the economy moves from recovery into early phases of an expansion, the leading economic index points to moderately improving economic conditions in the near term. Correspondingly, the coincident economic index has been rising since July 2009, albeit slightly because of continued weakness in employment."

Jasmine Smith has joined the culinary team at Snuffin's Catering. She is a 2008 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Greystone, Calif., and studied under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry Restaurant in Yountville. Smith has held positions at Peju Winery and Pana Vino Catering, Napa Valley.

Heather Hokanson has joined the staff of Sound Family Medicine at the Hartland Clinic. The Bonney Lake native will provide family care with an emphasis on women's health and obstetrics. Hokanson is board certified as an advanced nurse practitioner in family medicine and has a master's degree in family practice from Pacific Lutheran University.

Three Centralia College faculty members were granted tenure this week by the Centralia College Board of Trustees.



Ann Alves and Jacob Lund, civil engineering technology; and Joan Fredrickson, who is a basic skills instructor at the Garrett Heyns Education Center at the Washington State Corrections Center in Shelton, will officially attain tenured status beginning with fall quarter 2010.


The license of physician Sarah S. Reade has been revoked by the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission and the Department of Health, and she can no longer practice medicine in Washington.

The commission suspended Reade's license in January. She waived her right to a hearing to contest the charges. The commission revoked her license March 5.

Real average hourly earnings for all U.S. employees rose 0.1 percent from January to February, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This increase stems from a 0.1 percent increase in average hourly earnings while the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers remained unchanged.

Real average weekly earnings fell 0.2 percent over the month, as a result of a 0.3 percent decline in the average work week offsetting the increase in real average hourly earnings. During the past 6 months, real average weekly earnings have changed little.

Real gross domestic product increased 5.9 percent at an annual rate during the fourth quarter of 2009, the largest increase since the third quarter of 2003.

The increase primarily reflected an acceleration in private inventory investment, an upturn in nonresidential fixed investment, a deceleration in imports and an acceleration in exports, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

WashACE Blog leads off today with a report about chamber of commerce leaders in Everett warning about the consequences of higher taxes.

The Live Wire has a wrap-up of last night's first on-the-road outreach by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber's Shorelines Task Force and a link for Tahoma Business Environmental Award nominations.

Washington is among the 10 states least vulnerable to a spike in oil prices, according to The Natural Resources Defense Council.

The economic white paper, "Ranking States Oil Vulnerability: Assessing the Continued Threat of Gas Price Spikes," examines the impact of a gas price spike similar to the summer of 2008 and the toll that would take on Americans' wallets.

There are few signs that Washington will be one of the state's to lead the nation out of the recession, according to a policy brief published by the Washington Research Council.

The brief cites the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's January State Coincident Indexes, which show Washington was one of 19 states showing a one-month decline and one of 31 states showing a three month decline.

Russell Investments will add 16 initial public offerings from the first quarter of 2010 to the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 Index after the close of U.S. markets on March 31.

In addition to qualifying for the Russell 3000, four of the IPOs, Cobalt International Energy, KAR Auction Services, Piedmont Office Realty Trust and Symetra Financial, also rank high enough in terms of market capitalization for membership in the large-cap Russell 1000 Index.

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.6 percent during February, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This decrease followed a 1.4 percent advance during January and a 0.4 percent increase in December.

At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods moved up 0.1 percent and the crude goods index fell 3.5 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 4.4 percent for the 12 months ended February 2010, their fourth consecutive 12-month increase.

Commissioners of the Port of Tacoma are to authorize the sale of the port's 745-acre Thurston County property during their meeting Thursday.



The port bought the property near Maytown during 2006 as a potential site for rail system enhancements. After purchasing the site, which once housed an explosives manufacturing plant, the port assumed responsibility for environmental cleanup.