By Peninsula Daily News staff
and The Associated Press
ALL OF THESE business meetings are open to the public:
Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce — Weekly luncheon meetings are held Mondays at noon in the second-floor meeting room of the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St.
This Monday’s meeting (July 15) will feature the three primary candidates for Port of Port Angeles commissioner for District 1: Colleen McAleer, Del DelaBarre and incumbent Paul McHugh.
The two top vote-getters in the all-mail Aug. 6 primary, held only in the Sequim/East End District 1, will advance to the November general election for all of Clallam County to decide.
Luncheon tickets are $15 and can be purchased from the meeting room cashier.
For those not having lunch, there is a $3 participation fee that includes a beverage.
Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce — Weekly luncheon meetings are held Mondays at noon at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St.
This Monday’s (July 15) speakers are Mike Glenn, Jefferson Healthcare CEO, and Dr. Joe Mattern, chief medical officer, reporting on the Port Townsend-based hospital and the public hospital district.
Lunch at $8 will be catered by Subway, and Monday’s meeting sponsor will be the Ajax Cafe.
Forks Chamber of Commerce — The chamber’s Wednesday luncheon meetings are on hiatus for the summer and will resume in September.
North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce — The chamber’s meetings on the third Monday of the month alternating in Quilcene or Brinnon are on hiatus this month and in August. The chamber will return with a business mixer Sept. 16.
Port Angeles Business Association — Breakfast meetings are Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. at Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 DelGuzzi Drive, Port Angeles.
This Tuesday’s (July 16) speaker will be Shari Ioffrida, manager of the -Clallam County Fair, which this year will be held Aug. 17-18.
There is a $2.16 minimum charge by Joshua’s for those who do not order breakfast.
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Electric car talk on Tuesday
PORT TOWNSEND — The public can hear from an electric vehicle (EV) pioneer who will discuss the potential for EV tourism on the Olympic Peninsula at this month’s Jefferson County Energy Lunch Program.
The talk will be from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday (July 16) at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St.
The talk is free and open to the public.
Speaker Tom Saxton is a board member and chief science officer at Plug In America, a California nonprofit that advocates for electric vehicles.
Saxton and his wife, Cathy, plan to drive their Tesla Roadster to Port Townsend from their home in Sammamish for the presentation.
Energy Lunch programs are held the third Tuesday of every month.
Participants are welcome to bring their lunch and arrive at noon for an informal conversation with energy professionals.
The programs are sponsored by Power Trip Energy Corp., Sunshine Propane, Alaska Power & Telephone Co., the Port of Port Townsend, Frederickson Electric, Port Townsend Paper Corp. and Huber’s Inn.
Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/k7sg333.
Free PA tax workshop set for Tuesday
PORT ANGELES — The local office of the state Department of Revenue is hosting a free workshop for new and small-business owners at the Clallam Transit System Conference Room, 830 W. Lauridsen Blvd., from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday (July 16).
Participants will learn about excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, tax incentives, sales tax collection and record-keeping requirements.
Everyone will receive a workbook and reference guide to department rules and regulations.
To register, visit www.dor.wa.gov or phone 360-417-9900.
A schedule of workshops statewide and a streaming video version of the workshop also are available on the website.
Free workshop on Wednesday
PORT ANGELES — Anytime Fitness of Port Angeles and Kristin Halberg of KIC Coaching have partnered to offer a free workshop, “Stop Emotional Eating.”
The workshop will be held at Anytime Fitness, 112 DelGuzzi Drive, at 10 a.m. Wednesday (July 17).
It will offer instruction and coaching on “creating neural habit changes to facilitate weight loss and/or a better relationship with food and eating.”
For more information, visit www.kiccoaching.com or phone Halberg at 425-343-2374.
Open house slated
SEQUIM — An open house to celebrate the eighth anniversary of The Lodge and Cottages at Sherwood Village will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday (July 18).
The event will include music, desserts, apartment and cottage tours, bistro samples, chair massages and prize drawings.
The Lodge’s eight original residents also will be honored.
Guests also can visit the facility’s in-house shops: The Hair Loft, Lodge Chiropractic and The Nail Salon.
For more information, phone The Lodge at 360-681-3100.
Senior fitness
PORT ANGELES —Fast Stop Fitness, 902 E. First St., Suite C, is hosting a five-day “Fluid Interval Training” event for seniors this Monday (July 15) through Friday (July 19).
An open house to start the event will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday.
Information on customizing strength, power and cardiovascular workouts will be presented, and attendees can win door prizes.
Free workouts will be available for seniors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
For more information, phone Laura Dietrich at 360-417-6869 or email info@faststopfitness.com.
PA supermarket manager recognized for workforce
PORT ANGELES — Finding workers with a strong work ethic can be a challenge, but Port Angeles Safeway manager Mike LaGrange has a knack for finding the right employees.
LaGrange was presented recently with the Clallam County Health & Human Services Business Leadership Advisory Committee Employer of the Quarter award by Kathy Burrer, executive director of Dungeness Courte and a committee member.
The award recognizes employers who demonstrate diversity and inclusion in their hiring practices, particularly in hiring people with disabilities.
The Safeway at 110 E. Third St. has more employees with disabilities receiving supported employment than any other employer in Clallam County, according to county Health & Human Services.
Safeway, LaGrange said, “actively tries to hire people” who mirror the community.
“This is at all levels, from entry to management,” LaGrange added.
He and his hiring coordinator take “great joy in mentoring employees to be the best that they can be,” he said.
“I’ve found that people with disabilities are often a forgotten segment of our population and sometimes passed over.
“So, if you find the right job match for them, many times you will have an employee who is grateful, happier, has better attendance and is dedicated.”
Many customers recognize the value to the community “to have an inclusive business,” he added.
For more information on connecting employers to those with disabilities, phone Clallam County Health & Human Services Developmental Disability Case Manager Mary Cliffton at 360-417-2407 or email mcliffton@co.clallam.wa.us.
First Federal announces new positions, staffers
PORT ANGELES — First Federal recently announced the addition of two new staff members and a new role for a long-time employee.
Dawnya Textor has accepted the role of director of retail banking.
Textor will be responsible for expanding the relationship oriented sales and service efforts throughout First Federal branches.
She will direct and oversee the branch managers’ implementation of cross-departmental sales and service goals to ensure our customer experience is centered on meeting lending, deposit and non-deposit needs and desires.
Textor also will be an integral part of First Federal’s future branch expansion plans.
She began her career with First Federal in 1984 and was most recently a regional manager for First Federal’s Sequim-East market.
Jesse Long has accepted the position of branch manager of the Sixth Street branch in Port Angeles.
Since 2004, Long has gained experience in many areas in banking, including marketing, financial planning, business banking, consumer, residential and commercial lending with advanced credit fundamentals.
Long earned a degree in business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and was the former Port Angeles branch manager of Union Bank.
Patricia Kelley has accepted the position of business development officer for First Federal’s Poulsbo branch/lending center.
Kelley has 28 years of experience in financial planning, business development and customer service.
She is the former Bainbridge Island branch manager of Kitsap Credit Union.
Annie’s Flower Farm opens for season
SEQUIM — Annie’s Flower Farm, 303½ Dahlia Llama Road, recently opened for the season.
A “you-pick” flower garden is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through mid-October.
Customers can choose from more than 100 varieties of flowers and design their own custom bouquet for $8.50.
Annie’s Flower Farm will hold a “grand opening” lavender party from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20.
Guests are welcome to stop by for free lavender lemonade and cookies.
Music performances will be by Cort Armstrong, Jim Faddis, Donna Rankin, Ron Munro and Getta Rogers.
Annie’s Flower Garden has a staff florist who can provide expert arrangements for weddings. It also offers “do-it-yourself” and combo wedding options.
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares are available.
Formerly part of The Cutting Garden, the 1-acre flower operation is now a separate business run by owner Sid “Annie” Sherwood, who leases the plot from owners Catherine and Tom Mix.
For more information, visit www.anniesflower farm.com.
Magazine names PNNL staffer a ‘2013 Influencer’
SEQUIM — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Jennifer States has been named a “2013 Influencer” by Windpower Engineering & Development magazine.
States, who develops and manages PNNL’s wind and water power projects, was one of a handful of people the magazine honored for being leaders in the wind power industry.
She works out of PNNL’s Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim but is currently on a one-year assignment with the Army’s Energy Initiative Task Force in Arlington, Va.
To read the article, visit tinyurl.com/StatesArticle.
Hairstylist joins salon
PORT ANGELES — Stylist Alexandria Lewis has joined the team at Patti’s Off Peabody Hair Design, 330 E. First St., Suite 8.
Lewis specializes in haircuts and styles for adults and children, texturizing and shaping, along with foils, perms and waxings.
She is also available for evening appointments if scheduled in advance.
For more information, phone Lewis at 360-457-1131.
Fourth anniversary
PORT ANGELES — Patti Kuth is celebrating the fourth anniversary of her I Sew 4U sewing business.
Kuth, whose business motto is “I’m Sew Happy,” provides hemming, alterations, repairs, zipper replacements, patches and other sewing projects.
She works out of her home near Civic Field in Port Angeles.
For more information, phone Kuth at 360-417-5576 or email isew4u77@gmail.com.
Named as ‘super lawyer’
SEATTLE — Grady B. Martin has been selected as a “2013 Super Lawyers Rising Star” and will be listed in Super Lawyers and Seattle Met magazines.
Martin is a 1993 Port Angeles High School graduate and the son of Gary and Sheila Martin.
The annual selections are made throughout the U.S. using a multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area.
Martin worked in the Hochberg Law Offices in Edmonds for several years before opening his own practice in north Seattle in 2012.
Cellars goes local
SEQUIM — Saying it wants to support other North Olympic Peninsula businesses, Wind Rose Cellars is now serving Pane d’Amore breads for its panini, dessert items from That Takes the Cake and select cheeses from Mt. Townsend Creamery.
Wind Rose Cellars, 143 W. Washington St., is open for meals from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
For more information, phone Wind Rose Cellars at 360-681-0690 or visit www.windrosecellars.com.
Charity conference
PORT ANGELES — Staff and board members of the United Way of Clallam County will head to Renton on Thursday to attend a one-day United Ways and Collective Impact conference.
Collective impact is an approach designed to create lasting solutions to social problems on a large scale, according to Jody Moss, executive director of the United Way of Clallam County.
“It’s all about working together toward a common goal, involving nonprofits, local governments, schools and volunteers,” said Moss, who also serves as board chair of the United Ways of Washington.
Keynote speaker for the conference is Stacey Stewart, U.S. president of United Way Worldwide.
Seminar on estate planning slated
SEQUIM — Clallam County attorney Ted Ripley will present a free seminar on estate planning, “Will Your Will Make a Difference?,” on Thursday, July 25, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Both sessions will be held at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.
Ripley has focused on estate planning for the past 15 years.
He said only a few seats remain for the 4 p.m. session.
To register, contact Sue Chickman at 360-477-4123 or organicallysue@olypen.com.
Website set up for PA Port board hopeful
PORT ANGELES — Marketing consulting firm Laurel Black Design has created a website for the Port of Port Angeles commissioner candidacy of Colleen McAleer.
The site, www.colleen forport.com, also links to the campaign’s Facebook page, said Laurel Black, owner of the firm.
McAleer, who holds a staff position with the port, is in a three-way primary race with incumbent Port Commissioner Paul McHugh and Del DelaBarre, owner of an event services company.
Their race is voted on only in District 1, mainly in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, for the Aug. 6 primary. The top two vote-getters advance to a November countywide race.
McAleer’s site also was developed by John Gussman of DoubleClick Productions of Sequim.
Lavender program
SEQUIM — To celebrate its new year-round calendar of events, the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association has created Friends of Lavender, a special membership program for lavender lovers.
The cost of a membership is $35 a year.
Friends of Lavender benefits include:
— 15 percent discount on purchases at all Sequim Lavender Farmers Association member farms throughout the year.
— Two tickets to the Sequim Lavender Farm Faire ($30 value).
— Complimentary Lavender Faire poster ($10 value).
— Annual and periodic newsletters.
To join, sign up at www.sequimlavender.org or at any member farm or phone 360-452-6300.
The Sequim Lavender Farm Faire, presented by the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association, is part of the annual Sequim Lavender Weekend.
Lavender Weekend, which also includes the Sequim Lavender Growers’ Lavender Festival, is this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 19-21.
Ferry fare meets
SEATTLE — The state Transportation Commission is holding five public hearings on proposed increases in ferry fares.
The first three were last week in Vashon Island, Coupeville and aboard the San Juan Islands inter-island ferry.
The remaining two sessions are Monday (July 15) at Bainbridge Island and Tuesday (July 16) at Port Orchard.
The commission plans to make a decision July 30 in Seattle.
The panel said hikes of 2 to 3 percent are needed to meet revenue targets set by the state Legislature.
Warning for hikers
WENATCHEE — To avoid confrontations with aggressive mountain goats in Washington, hikers are advised to be careful where they “go.”
Hikers in the Enchantment area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness have been reporting close encounters with mountain goats.
Rangers in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest said goats are attracted to hiking trails because they crave salt, found in urine.
Hikers are urged to use toilets and not urinate close to trails.
Olympic National Park officials also have urged hikers not to urinate along trails to avoid goats.
Three years ago, a Port Angeles man, Bob Boardman, 63, was fatally gored by a mountain goat on a trail in Olympic National Park.
Dams evaluated
PORTLAND, Ore. — The federal agencies responsible for making Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams safer for salmon said they are doing a good job, helping more young fish survive their migration downstream and producing higher returns among threatened and endangered runs.
The Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation have released a draft evaluation of their efforts since 2008 to implement the improvements laid out by the NOAA Fisheries Service.
But conservation groups said that despite spending $600 million a year, the agencies are no closer to getting 13 runs of salmon and steelhead off the threatened and endangered species lists.
Save Our Wild Salmon and Earthjustice said the single most effective measure — spilling more water over dams rather than running it through turbines — is not being done enough.
Food stamps
WASHINGTON — House approval of a scaled-back farm bill is setting up what could be an even bigger fight over food stamps and the role of domestic food aid in the United States.
Food stamps have been a part of farm bills since the 1970s to gain urban Democratic votes for the rural measure. That union has soured as the food aid has exploded in cost and Republicans have taken aim at the program.
Republican House leaders won passage of the smaller farm bill on a party-line vote Thursday by dropping a section of the bill that dealt with food stamps, saying they would deal with that issue separately.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Republicans will “act with dispatch” on a food stamp bill.
Arsenic in juice
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is setting a new limit on the level of arsenic allowed in apple juice after more than a year of public pressure from consumer groups worried about the contaminant’s effects on children.
Nationwide, apple juice is second only to orange juice in popularity, according to industry groups.
Studies have shown that the juice contains very low levels of arsenic, a cancer-causing agent found in everything from water to soil to pesticides.
The FDA has monitored arsenic in apple juice for decades and has long said the levels are not dangerous to consumers, in particular small children who favor fruit juice.
But now the agency is putting in place a strict standard on how much arsenic is acceptable in apple juice, limiting the amount to the same level currently permitted in drinking water.
Under the new regulation, apple juice containing more than 10 parts per billion could be removed from the market, and companies could face legal action.
Agency officials stressed that the vast majority of juices on the market are already below the threshold.
Airline raises fees
SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines is raising its fee for checking a suitcase to $25, bringing it in line with most major airlines.
For tickets purchased on or after Oct. 30, the Seattle-based airline will charge passengers $25 each for the first and second checked bags. Additional bags will cost $75.
Alaska currently charges $20 per bag for the first three suitcases.
The airline will keep its baggage service guarantee. If a passenger’s bags are not at the baggage claim area within 20 minutes of the plane parking at the gate, Alaska will give them a $20 discount code for use on a future flight or 2,000 bonus frequent flier miles.
The discount will increase to $25 and the miles to 2,500 on Oct. 30.
The time remains the same, according to spokesman Marianne Lindsey.
Delta Air Lines is the only major airline to offer a rebate of baggage fees but only for bags that are delayed 12 hours or more.
Alaska is also increasing the fee to change tickets to $125. Currently, Alaska charges $75 if the change is made online and $100 if the change is made through a call center. Passengers who change tickets 60 or more days from the day of travel will not incur any fee at all.
American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines and US Airways all increased change fees on domestic tickets from $150 to $200 in May.
Alaska Airlines Group Inc. expects the higher fees to result in $50 million of additional revenue each year.
