Business
Ebey Bowl back in action with new partnership
November 21, 2013 7:05 pm

After taking a break, Ebey Bowl is back in action.

The bowling alley was closed for about a month, and re-opened mid-October.

On Sept. 22, Traci Wisdom received a phone call from Matt Iverson and Mimi Johnson, the siblings who own Ebey Bowl. They asked her if she wanted to become a partner.

The siblings own an Allstate Insurance Company branch in Oak Harbor as well. Between the business in Oak Harbor and the bowling alley, they were not getting to spend as much time with their families, Wisdom said.

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Minimum wage in Washington raises in 2014
Minimum wage in Washington raises in 2014
October 4, 2013 5:37 pm

Washington’s minimum wage will increase to $9.32 per hour beginning Jan. 1.

The state department of labor and industries calculates the state’s minimum wage each year as required by Initiative 688.

The 13-cent-per-hour increase, from $9.19 to $9.32 an hour, reflects a 1.455 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI‑W) over the last 12 months ending August 31.

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Owner Vanda Coleman shows off a dance outfit at Fantasia Boutique
Oak Harbor shop offers dance clothes, practice wear...
By Sara Hansen • October 3, 2013 1:58 pm

Business owner Vanda Coleman is dancing her way to a new location in downtown Oak Harbor.

Her store, Fantasia Boutique, moved to 665 Southeast Pioneer Way two weeks ago, and Coleman is excited to be there.

“At the old location, we were upstairs and it wasn’t working,” Coleman said. “We wanted to make sure everyone could reach us.”

The boutique supplies island residents with quality dance equipment, such as shoes, practice wear, performance outfits and more.

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Wild bird store is music to owners’ ears
Wild bird store is music to owners’ ears
By Ron Newberry • September 25, 2013 7:20 pm

As pretty as some birdhouses go, the ones that make Mike Dessert cuckoo are those outfitted with a tiny stick poking out of the front.

“If you ever see a birdhouse that has a perch, it’s not a real birdhouse,” Dessert said. “You don’t find perches around cavity holes in the wild. There’s a reason for that. It’s so predatory birds don’t eat the young birds.

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The orginial Koetje office on Pioneer way in 1942
Oak Harbor’s Koetje Real Estate celebrates 70th year
By Janis Reid • September 19, 2013 1:07 pm

Koetje Real Estate has come a long way from its beginnings in 1942.

After selling his Crescent Harbor farm to the Navy in 1940, Neil Koetje started the first real estate and insurance offices in Oak Harbor.

After passing down through the family for more than 60 years, including long-time Oak Harbor mayor Al Koetje, the real estate business recently split and sold half of the agency to Rick Schutte, a broker with the agency since 1995.

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Puget Sound Energy hosts open house to celebrate five years in Freeland
Puget Sound Energy hosts open house to celebrate...
September 19, 2013 12:57 pm

Puget Sound Energy is celebrating its five-year anniversary of its office with an Energy Fair 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 1794 Main St., Freeland.

Experts will be on hand to explain PSE’s rebates and incentives for improving energy efficiency in homes or businesses.

Whidbey-based Energy Advisor Brian McCleary will be available to answer questions.

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After 26 years as a flight attendant for American Airlines
Flight attendant gets lift from opening his own...
By Ron Newberry • September 18, 2013 11:19 am

Chris Reissner’s career in the airline industry is going to the dogs.

The cats, too.

After 26 years of traveling the world and living all over the country as a flight attendant for American Airlines, Reissner is hitting the brakes and settling into life as a small business owner in historic downtown Oak Harbor.

In May, he opened the pet boutique, A Paw in Hand, on Pioneer Way.

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Store collects new owner
By Nathan Whalen • September 13, 2013 5:21 pm

A new face is behind the counter of a Coupeville boutique.

Oak Harbor resident Cheryl Nunn took over Collections Boutique last month from previous owner Rita Hart, who still works at the popular shop on a part-time basis.

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Owner of chocolate-themed store in Langley ‘pulls them...
By Celeste Erickson • September 8, 2013 9:00 am

At the store, people are drawn in by the wafting scent of chocolate in the air. Online, word-of-mouth has garnered a significant following around the world.

Marie Lincoln, owner of the Chocolate Flower Farm in Langley, has developed a successful retail store, online product business and farm based on chocolate.

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Third-generation gemologist Matt Fikse plans to take over the family business Gerald’s Jewelry when his parents retire.
Third-generation gem expert continuing a family tradition in...
By Janis Reid • September 5, 2013 12:53 pm

Matt Fikse became a third-generation gemologist last month keeping with family tradition.

Grandson of Gerald and Janet Fikse, founders of Gerald’s Jewelry on Midway Boulevard in 1958, Matt Fikse said he plans to take over the family business after his parents Dave and Jane Fikse retire.

“I’m so proud to be a part of what my grandparents and parents have built,” Matt Fikse said. “It will be an honor to carry on the tradition they have been known and respected for.”

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Active-duty Navy volunteers Kaelyn Hall and Jenna Sowers arrange showroom furniture.
Oak Harbor habitat store big success for humanity
By Janis Reid • September 2, 2013 12:00 pm

When Whitey Kirschenmann took over management of the Habitat Humanity Store in Oak Harbor six years ago, it was a sleepy business run by eight volunteers.

Since then, the store has increased its revenue by five times and is run by an army of 107 volunteers.

Paired with the income from its sister store in Freeland, Habitat for Humanity of Island County has built 36 homes on Whidbey and Camano islands.

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Port to consider cash machine at Coupeville Wharf
Port to consider cash machine at Coupeville Wharf
By Nathan Whalen • August 23, 2013 12:43 pm

Visitors to downtown Coupeville might find an easier time trying to find a cash machine in the future.

Officials for the Port of Coupeville are considering a plan to place an ATM on port property.

The small port district received a proposal from Premier Merchants Group, based in Kearney, Neb., to place the cash machine in the breezeway of the Coupeville Wharf.

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Employers eligible for incentive to avoid layoffs
Employers eligible for incentive to avoid layoffs
August 22, 2013 2:35 pm

A new Employment Security Department program offers a layoff-avoidance incentives to Washington employers.

The program allows them to participate through June 2015 with little effect on their unemployment taxes.

Since 1983, Washington’s Shared-Work Program has allowed employers to temporarily reduce the hours of their workers, and the employees can claim partial unemployment benefits to help bridge the difference.

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