Year 19 No. 10 $2
OCTOBER 2011
Dashi Noodle Bar, Page 3
Bellingham workers earn 7% below national average
Profile | Whatcom Women in Business
BBJ STAFF editor@bbjtoday.com
SEE STORY ON PAGE 8: Whatcom Women in Business will hosts its annual banquet Oct. 25 and announce the winner of the Professional Woman of the Year award. Besides honoring local women business leaders, the annual fundraiser also supports the organization’s scholarships. The group awarded 15 $1,000 scholarships this year to women attending college, said vice president of publicity Sheila Connors (right), pictured with president Tally Rabatin (left). Isaac Bonnell | BBJ
WWU opens new dorms, remodeled Miller Hall BBJ STAFF editor@bbjtoday.com The major renovation of Western Washington University’s Miller Hall and the five-story addition to the Buchanan Towers residence hall were completed just in time for classes to start Sept. 28. The $51.5 million Miller
Hall project, funded by the state Legislature, renovated the 134,000-square-foot building, located on the university’s Red Square. The project included renovations to classrooms, computer labs and offices. All building systems such as heat and electricity, elevators, roofing and windows were also replaced. “This significant renovation
of Miller Hall, one of our campus’ most iconic buildings, will result in a substantially improved educational facility and place of learning for our students,� Western President Bruce Shepard said in a press release. Miller Hall, originally WWU’s Campus School, was built in 1943 and enlarged in 1968. Since then, no major renovation work
had been done to the building prior to this project. The building renovation had a strong green focus and was designed to achieve a rating of LEED Silver or higher. Where possible, the project team used recycled and recyclable prod-
SEE WESTERN | PAGE 2
A new study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average Bellingham worker in May 2010 earned $19.92 per hour, about 7 percent less than the national average of $21.35. The study also includes employment counts and average wages separated by industry. Some of the highlights: t 5ISFF PDDVQBUJPOBM HSPVQT each had more than 10 percent of the total employment in the area: office and administrative support (15.7 percent), sales (11.5 percent), and food preparation and serving (10.8 percent). t .BOBHFNFOU PDDVQBUJPOT JO the area were the highest paid at $46.42 per hour, followed by architecture and engineering occupations at $38.83 per hour. t $POTUSVDUJPO BOE FYUSBDUJPO jobs averaged $24.47 per hour in the area, above the U.S. average of $21.09 per hour. t 1SPUFDUJWF TFSWJDF PDDVQB tions also earned more locally than nationally, $26.31 per hour compared to $20.43 per hour.
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