Fall and winter weather in most of the state was unpredictable and dramatic, resulting in record lows and severe storms that posed health and safety risks to people caught in its path. Record rains churned up rivers and caused landslides and floods around Western Washington. read more »

In business for more than 87 years, one of Kitsap County’s most venerable firms, Parker Lumber Co., has fallen victim to the economy, and a severely depressed lumber market.

General Manager Tim Lundberg, a 25-year employee, said 16 people will lose their jobs after the company winds down over the next two months. read more »

Many of the Kitsap-based nonprofit foundations are run by women, who love their jobs as a way of giving back. Here are some of these successful women who work to make the community a better place to live:

Joan Hanten is the executive director for Olympic College Foundation, overseeing the foundation while managing its endowments, totaling more than $7 million. She works with the donors and sets up the gifts, and is one of three employees of the foundation, which has a 21-member volunteer board.

Hanten, who has been the director for more than seven years, has a law school degree and worked for an appeals court before she joined the foundation. She uses her legal background frequently read more »

In his last comments as city manager, published in the Nov. 30 edition of the Bainbridge Review, Mark Dombroski said the City is in its current position on the general fund side because of decisions made by the citizens on the image of the island. He noted, “Poulsbo decided they were going to be the home of Wal-Mart and The Home Depot; they made that decision, and they’re benefiting from that sales tax… We decided we want the rural feel and now we have to pay for that.” read more »

American Marine Bank reopened Monday, Feb. 1 as Columbia State Bank. Federal regulators closed Bainbridge Island-based American Marine Friday, Jan. 29 and turned it over to Columbia State Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Banking System Inc., in a competitive bid process. Branches with business hours on Saturdays changed the name Saturday, Jan. 30. read more »

Chris Fassett of the financial services firm Edward Jones opened a new office at 423 Sedgwick Rd SW, Suite 121, in Port Orchard. The new office opened for business on Jan. 11

Fassett, who has served the area since 2006, can be reached at (360) 876-4709.

Job cuts in technology were fierce in 2009. Last year saw 174,629 jobs lost in the sector, catapulting up 12.3 percent from the 2008 cuts of 155,570 jobs, according to outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks industry numbers on announced layoffs. Technology — still considered by the Department of Labor to be one of the most promising industries for future job creation — has not seen that many layoffs since 2005. read more »

Senate Democrats have introduced a bill that would delay needed reforms this year to the state’s workers’ compensation system.

SB 6775 would set up a task force to determine what reforms to consider to the system with a report due to the Legislature next year.

WRA supports HB 2950 that offers steps to improve the financial performance of the system while reducing costs. read more »