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Washington, D.C.- The Interstate Commerce Commission refusEd Jaly 23 to cancel an order blocking a cut -in west coast riitroaa lumber rates but scheduled a public hearing at San Francisco, Aug. 18, on- the projected rate reductions. The proposed reductions on lumber moving into California and Ariiona from Oregon and California producers were blocked by a 3-man ICC panel after California and Arizona lumber producers complained the reductions would give Oregon mills an advantage..

San Francisc6.-The Pabco Industrial Insulations division of Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. has re-entered the industrial insulations -ontracting field throughout southern California. Pabco for many years conducted contracting business there and in Arizona.

North Pacific Lumber Co., Portland, has been appointed exclusive sales agent for the entire production of Downer Lumber Co., Livingston, Montana, manufacturers of the trademarked "Bird's*-eye Pine," which is 70/o of the mill's production of 230,000 b.f. per daY.

' The Escondido (Calif.) -Lumber Co. was burglarized recentlv with loss of $3 in cash and about $7 in tools'

Oav;a S. Perry, president of Filon Plastic,s Corp', was elected a directoi of-the llome Improvement Council.

Modesto, Calif.-Harold V. Pederson, industrial manager of the Greater Modesto C. of C', reveals this city is one of three California locations being surveyed by the Formica Corp. for a western plant in w-hich ffi0-,7Q.persons would be employed. It is reported that Marysville in Yuba county has a slight edge for the location.

West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. has started pr.oduction at Tyrone, Fa., in a plant that can produce 25 million- sq' ft. of flakeborid "ttttu"lly. The new material. designed to compete with plyrvood ind particle board, is made from Aspen wood and will be sold through building material deilers under a "Westvaco" label.

Plywood & Lumber Corp. of America, new ^wholesaling and brokerage service, has opened in Portland, Ore., as sp€: cialized buy'er for lumber purchasers and users and as a direct sales service for plywood, pine and fir mills, J":B L. Cutsforth is president-of the hew company. He said primary interest of the firm is commission buying and selling.

Weber Showcase & Fixture Co. celebrated its 60th anniversary in Los Angeles last month with s-ale-s- currently running "siightly above" 1957's record $30,375,852, revealed PresidJnt Kirl Weber. The event in the pioneer firm's plant at 57C0 S. Avalon was attended by 250 southern California business and civic leaders, and a commemorative plaque was presented by the Chamber of Commerce. The nationwide hrm started-in 1898 when Fred Weber, Sr., a young Swiss cabinetmaker, opened a small shop in downtown Los Angeles.

Puckett & Scherer of Klamath Falls was successful bidder over two competitors for an estimated 8,046,000 board feet of timber ofiered by the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Managemeni recently' The timber is located in a tract near Pinehurst in southeast Jackson county. The winning offer included bids of $36 per thousand for the Douglas nr, $52 for the sugar pine, $10.60 for the white fir, and a total of $238,004.

Colbert Coldwell, founder of Coldwell, Banker & Co., was honored July 8 by his partners at a luncheon in the California. Club, Los Angeles, on completion of more than a half-century in California real estate. The realtor entered business in San Francisco in lX)2, formed his own company in 1906, shortly after the fire, and was joined Uy gr -4. Banker some ylars later. In 56 years Mr. Coldwell and his firm have hanilled millions in realty transactions. One of its recent large enterprises was the shopping center on the Stanford &mpus that pours $600,000 a year into the university's treasury.