Gov. Chris Gregoire signed two consumer protection bills this afternoon. House Bill 2428 protects families who have lost their homes because of an inability to pay property taxes and H.B. 2429 protects used car buyers.

H.B. 2428 regulates firms and individuals who contact owners of foreclosed properties offering to obtain money remaining after the auction on their behalf – in return for a cut. The new law places a 5 percent cap on such finder's fees, the same amount allowed for other kinds of unclaimed funds. Previously, individuals who provided such services kept as much as 70 percent of the former homeowner's money.

After losing an appeal of its license revocation, Bel Air of Tacoma has decided to close.

The Department of Social and Health Services revoked the nursing home's license on Feb. 19, based on significant, on-going regulatory violations that included issues such as infection control, pressure sores and administration of the facility.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is planning a busy weekend of construction in Pierce County. Scheduled construction work is weather-dependent and crews are closely monitoring forecasts.

Crews are shifting southbound Interstate 5 traffic in Fife onto a recently widened segment of median. Striping and barrier removal reduces southbound I-5 to a single lane beginning at West Hylebos Creek Bridge overnight Saturday.

The Thurston County Chamber of Commerce and the Seattle District Small Business Administration are presenting free bi-monthly business loan briefings for anyone interested in knowing how to get a loan to start, expand or buy a small business. The next session, from 1 to 2 p.m. March 16 at 809 Legion Way SE, Olympia, conducted by Carol Andersen from the Seattle SBA District Office. Topics covered include how the SBA loan program works, the eligibility and credit requirements, what lenders are looking for when approving loans, who can help you with a business plan or a loan proposal, what other financing options are available and  the enhancements to the SBA lending programs under the federal Recovery Act. Space is limited. For more information, call Tammy (360) 357-3362 or  Carol at (206) 553-7315.

Small businesses make up 90 percent of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber's membership base. Join other small business owners to brainstorm and have open discussion about issues facing small businesses during the Small Business Committee meeting at noon March 16 at the Adriatic Grill Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar, near The Tacoma Mall. Lunch cost on your own. For more information or to RSVP, contact Judy Singley at (253) 627.2175.

Temporary, part-time jobs remain available at numerous census offices in Washington, including Pierce and Thurston counties.

2010 census questionnaires are scheduled to begin arriving in the mail March 15. The U.S. Census Bureau has asked that each household fill out the form and mail it back in the postage-paid envelope as soon as it arrives, ensuring that the nationwide headcount is accurate.

The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent judgments providing for restitution of more than $12 million by plan officials and service providers involved with the employee stock ownership plan sponsored by The Employee Ownership Holding Co. of Stockton, Calif., and Fife, Wash.
 
The judgments also provide for release of a fund currently holding more than $11 million, thereby making more money available to provide benefits to the ESOP's participants and beneficiaries.

If it's true that beauty is only skin deep, then those of us calling Tacoma home are starting out with a bit of a disadvantage.

At least if you believe the folks at totalbeauty.com, who rank Tacoma as No. 12 on their list of "The 13 Worst-Skin Cities."

Six individuals and organizations have been selected to receive Silver Spoon Awards in recognition of their contributions to fight hunger in Pierce County.

Recipients of this year's awards include: Tacoma Narrows Rotary Club; Puyallup Tribe of Indians; Brenda Wiest, Teamsters Local 117; Kay Bennett, retired crew supervisor for Washington Corrections Center for Women; and Stew Bowen, Bread of Life, Bonney Lake Food Bank.

Construction of the Center for Health Sciences at the University of Puget Sound will begin in May. The 42,500-square-foot interdisciplinary center is expected to open in time for the fall 2011 school semester.

Key features of the center include outpatient clinics for the 300 patients referred for occupational and physical therapy services each year by local physicians. A 6,000-square-foot outdoor mobility park will allow patients to be assessed and rehabilitated in spaces fitted with ramps, curbs, stairs and other potential barriers. An indoor simulated apartment will give patients a place to practice the activities of daily living.

Tingwei Chiang has earned the Certified Financial Planner designation. The national comprehensive pass rate was 54 percent for the exam cycle and she was successful in passing on the first attempt. She has worked for Financial Insights Inc. for five years and has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Washington.

Virginia Bruce CFP has been promoted to chief investment strategist of Financial Insights Inc. She has more than 20 years of experience in financial planning and wealth management and has worked for the company for 15 years.

The Washington State Transportation Commission will meet in Olympia next week to discuss possible action on toll rates for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, toll setting for the SR 520 Bridge and to work on the state's 20-year transportation plan.

The two-day meeting will be held March 16-17, at the Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Ave. SE and will begin at 9 a.m. both days.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed during January to $37.3 billion, down from $39.9 billion during December.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today total January exports $142.7 billion and imports of $180 billion.

Crews canceled weather-dependent work that would have shifted southbound Interstate 5 onto new pavement tonight because of a poor forecast with a high chance of rain.
 
When a drier weather opportunity appears, crews plan to complete striping and barrier removal and will shift southbound traffic onto new pavement that ultimately becomes the first I-5 HOV lanes in Pierce County. That opportunity could come as soon as this weekend.

Check out Exit 133 for the latest talk about Cheney Stadium, the Elks project and Tacoma's Stormwater Management Program.

Online navigation isn't just for four-wheeled, internal-combustion engine directions anymore. OlyBlog has an interesting post about the new bicycling layer on Google Maps.

Industrial occupancy rates for commercial space in and around the Seattle-Tacoma property market appear to have stabilized, according to new research from Colliers International that examines the global shipping trade's varied impact on industrial property fundamentals in the nation's 10 largest seaports.

The seven-page report, which analyzes how maritime freight volumes impact occupancy rates in the nation's 10 largest container seaports, demonstrates how the global recession has vastly reconfigured U.S. shipping and occupancy patterns between 2001 and 2009.

Drivers should expect delays tonight on southbound Interstate 5 when the Washington State Department of Transportation shifts traffic onto new pavement that will ultimately be the first I-5 HOV lanes in Pierce County. 



Striping and barrier removal will reduce southbound I-5 to a single lane beginning at the West Hylebos Creek Bridge. Crews will close two lanes of southbound I-5 beginning at 8 p.m. and will close three lanes by 10 p.m. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Thursday, but drivers will encounter reduced lane and shoulder widths in the project limits.

After a slow start during January, chief executive officer departures surged in February to a 17-month high of 132, 48 percent more than the 89 CEO changes announced a month earlier, according to the latest report about chief executive turnover from global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Last month's total was 61 percent higher than the 82 CEO changes recorded during February 2009. It is highest monthly total since 140 chief executives vacated their offices during September 2008, and may mark the beginning of an upturn in CEO turnover as companies shift their focus from survival to growth.

The Mason General Hospital Foundation is seeking nominations for individuals to be honored at its 13th annual American Business Women's Day Luncheon.

Every year, the foundation honors three outstanding businesswomen who are or were successful in their occupations, work or have worked in Mason County, and are active and volunteer in their community.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.76 percent, down four basis points from 4.8 percent at this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fluctuated between 4.76 and 4.82 during the past week.

The rate for Washington dropped 5 basis points, from 4.82 percent to 4.77 percent.

Flow International Corp. reported consolidated revenue today of $45.4 million, an increase of 8 percent compared to $42 million during the fiscal 2010 second quarter.
 
This follows the previously reported 11 percent revenue growth during the second quarter compared to first quarter of fiscal 2010. Revenue in the year-ago third quarter was $48.7 million.