WASHINGTON'S LEADING BUSINESS MAGAZINE

April 2011/FEATURES

Contents

Departments

Commentary

Virgin on Business: Gateway to What?
The 100-year-old Port of Seattle needs to decide the role it will play in the new global economic scheme.
CEO Adviser: Building Buzz
Three brand strategies that work.
Commentary: Going Global
Leverage the world to grow your business.
Final Analysis: Pay to Play
Ante up a little extra and you’ll always find yourself at the head of the line.

Law

Legal Brief: Washington Jobs and Investment Act
It’s time to bring real tax increment financing to Washington.
Law: Sweet Spot in Spokane
Lee & Hayes pursues patents at the intersection of business, law and technology.

Made in Washington
Retail & Services

Made in WA: All Fired Up
Wood Stone, manufacturer of stone-fired cooking equipment, finds the right recipe in Bellingham.

Green
Real Estate
Retail & Services

Real Estate: Prefab Redux
As housing recovers, prefab homes could set off a new, green wave of home construction.

Green
Retail & Services

Green: Rethinking Recycling
Everyone loves the idea of recycling, so why are we sending tons of plastic to China?

Green
Technology
Bright Idea: No Fuel. No Crew.
Harbor Wing casts off with an unmanned, wind-powered vessel.

Real Estate

On Reflection: Bucking the Trend
Developer thinks the time is right for a multiuse development in Vancouver, Wash.
Feature: Signs of Life
Washington's residential construction market is inching back.
Remaking Master Plans
The changing future for planned communities.
Spotlight: Northwest Population Boom
Since 1990, Washington’s population has grown faster than the rest of the country’s.

Profiles
Technology

Talking Points: Fred Brown, Founder/CEO, Next IT
Fred Brown, a calf roper turned entrepreneur, founded Spokane-based Next IT, a leader in using technology to provide “virtual assistants,” computer software that provides human-like interactions to “staff” telephone support systems for such customers as Aetna, Alaska Airlines and the U.S. Army.

Finance

Feature: Pensions in the Red
State struggles to fund retiree benefits.

Retail & Services

Feature: Flying High
How Alaska Air charted a course through turbulent skies to become an industry leader.