In the Media

An important aspect of economic development in Whatcom County is being reorganized in the coming weeks.
Earlier this month Western Washington University's Center for Economic Vitality announced it is restructuring, eliminating business counseling and focusing solely on export-related counseling services. It is handing over its free business counseling services to Western's Small Business Development Center. The business counseling services at the CEV will end March 1.

Stoney Bird and Rick Dubrow, leaders of the No Coal Political Action Committee, will speak at noon Friday, Feb. 24, in Academic West room 304 on the Western Washington University campus.

Western Washington University's College of Business and Economics will offer an entrepreneurship methods course to the general public beginning Tuesday, March 27.
Participants don't need to be enrolled in a degree program at Western to participate. The course, called Lean Startup & Entrepreneurship Methods, is the first of its kind at Western and will allow participants to gain hands-on experience in creating a business. Participants will work in groups and projects will be treated as real startups, not simulations, according to a news release from Western.

Unless you’re a big bank or you use a machine to roll your cigarettes, state House Democrats’ budget doesn’t raise your taxes.

Instead, their plan cuts payments to cities and counties and allows them to make up the money by raising your taxes.

The plan unveiled Tuesday would take a big step – in what may become a historic shift – away from state support for local government programs.

So how broke is the state of Washington?

It's so broke it could start selling off its art collection -- including some masterpieces -- and using the money to pay for low-income students to go to college.

That's the gist of a new bill being introduced by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent.

The second and final lecture in this year's Bellingham Lectures in Philosophy and Religion is being held tomorrow (Thursday) at Western Washington University.

Each year for the last four year, they've brought scholars of religion and science to western to give two lectures on cutting-edge philosophical research.

League officials of the National Association of Intercollegiate Hockey (NAIH) are touting early success for the association.

The association was started in the summer of 2011, after a group of individuals wanted to start an association that offered a lower-membership cost than rival associations. The association follows NCAA rules with a few modifications, and offers computer rankings for tournament seeding.

After learning of the third death to strike the Eastlake community in the space of two weeks, Claire Jones came up with a simple gesture she hoped would help the community unite, regardless of their current locations.
Jones, a 2009 Eastlake graduate who attends Western Washington University, wished that she, along with everyone else, could be with friends and family during this time of grief.
“But obviously everyone is busy with school and careers and families and life in general, so that wouldn’t be possible,” Jones said.

Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has hired Stephanie Bennett as corporate responsibility manager.

With this new position, the OIA corporate responsibility department grows to two full-time employees, reflecting the association’s commitment to better serve the membership and a desire to expand support of corporate responsibility both within and outside the outdoor recreation industry.

Bennett comes to OIA with nearly 10 years of experience within the outdoor industry, most recently with K2 Sports.

Western Washington University women's basketball point guard Corinn Waltrip has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference co-Player of the Week for Feb. 12-18.
The 5-foot-6 junior from Tigard, Ore., scored 33 points, connecting on seven of 12 3-point attempts (58.3 percent) and 11 of 22 overall in helping the Vikings to two home wins. They clinched no worse than a tie for second place in the league after defeating Northwest Nazarene 75-48 and Central Washington 75-64.