Northwest Gold Coast

Bird Guy, Chris Caviezel

Winter is here in most places.  Birds need food to stay warm so be sure to feed the birds first thing in the morning after a cold night or late in the day just before a cold night.  Birds will need more calories to stay warm and consequently your birds that come to your feeders, Cardinals, Chickadee, Nuthatches and House Finches will want Black-Oil Sunflower seeds — its like an electric blanket for the birds!

Click to read a full article on how birds stay warm in the winter.

And get more tips from the Bird Guy, Chris Caviezel when you sign up for his newsletter.

Tags: Northwest Wildlife by Chris Caviezel
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By Elizabeth Paulsen in the style of Chuck Gallozzi

We are thankful for:

• Long hours because even though they’re long, we set them and we are not likely to lay ourselves off.
• Work stress because it gives us an excuse to reach for the dark chocolate or go work out.
• Payroll taxes, vacation pay and medical premiums because it means we have employees to help do the work.
• Tech savvy employees because they prompt us to update our hardware, software and selfware (personal skills and knowledge).
• The customer who owes us money because it means the project is complete.
• The customer who tells stories or makes puns, because he makes us laugh.
• The customer who complains because it means she cares enough about our work to tell us how we can improve.
• The customer who includes a smiley face on his check and emoticons in his emails because it reminds us we are more than business owners.
• Commercial loans because they make us less attractive to hostile buyouts.
• Auditors because they give us critical information and feedback.
• Business advisors, mentors and strategic business partners because they sharpen us.
• Business networking groups because they help us refine our elevator speeches.
• Non-profit organizations because they challenge us to be philanthropic.
• Our families who say that they like life better as small business owners than when we worked for large corporations.

Tags: Business Advice by Elizabeth Paulsen
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Two boutique retailers countdown to launch the holiday season with new stores at The Landing in Renton.

Poggi Bonsi of Burien and C’est la Vie of Edmonds are launching new stores at The Landing in Renton in Mid November, 2009 with a joint grand opening celebration scheduled for December 4. Both stores are #1 winners in King 5’s “Best of the Northwest” contest 2009—C’est la Vie won for best gift store and Poggi Bonsi won for best housewares store. The two retailers, who share a common customer demographic, business philosophy and promotional savvy, will remain separate entities but will team up to plan advertising, promotions and in-store events. This creative partnership will provide their customers with a varied and unique destination shopping experience.

Poggi Bonsi specializes in kitchenware, Italian and French ceramics and linens, specialty foods, home décor and “Gifts with European Flavor.” C’est la Vie is an intimate and sophisticated artisan boutique featuring contemporary jewelry, clothing and home furnishings. Each store will occupy approx 2,800 square feet with a connecting doorway so customers can stroll between the two with ease.

The Landing in Renton was chosen as the location to launch this new partnership because of its commitment to attracting boutique retailers to an under-served area of South Lake Washington.

About Poggi Bonsi

Poggi Bonsi (www.PoggiBonsiGifts.com) is a direct importer of Italian ceramics, French pottery, Italian olive wood utensils, and fine European linens. In addition to its imported goods, Poggi Bonsi features an assortment of European kitchenware, specialty foods and home decor celebrating the Mediterranean lifestyle. The name Poggi Bonsi is taken from the village “Poggibonsi” in central Tuscany. Owners Michelle Codd and Keli DeRitis have traveled hundreds of miles in the European countryside seeking out suppliers who practice their centuries-old crafts.

About C’est la Vie

C’est la Vie (www.clvcatalog.com ) is a one stop gift, clothing, jewelry, furniture and wall art store based in Edmonds, WA. C’est la Vie features brands such as jewelry from; Trollbeads, Heather Moore, and David Tishbi, clothing from Michael Stars, Jag and many more. C’est la Vie also showcases a constantly changing selection of handcrafted artisan works. The store’s focus is on unique, trendy products for the discerning boutique customer. C’est la Vie, which translated means “such is life” is a favorite saying of the owners; Colleen Bowman, Susan Dunn and Michael Bowman. This ownership team, with the essential help of a phenomenal staff of sales associates, combine their talents to make C’est la Vie a one of a kind shopping experience.

About The Landing

The Landing (thelandinginrenton.com) is a 46-acre mixed-use development located in Renton, WA that sits at the base of Lake Washington conveniently located just off Interstate 405. The $300 million project will offer a unique combination of housing, restaurants, entertainment options, national retail chains and regional boutiques to create an urban village with all of the desired options for area residents. When finished, the project will include 900 plus residential units and more than 614,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. The Landing is a joint venture between Harvest Partners a Dallas-based commercial real estate development firm and Transwestern Investment Company, L.L.C, a Chicago-based principal investment company.

Tags: Community Involvement, Shopping by admin
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Puget Sound Skills Center (PSSC) unveiled a new Building and Construction Trades curriculum at an event hosted with the Building Trades Leadership. The pilot program, dubbed “multi-craft core curriculum,” has been a joint project, under development over the last 18 months, between PSSC’s Construction Technology Instructor Ken Pierson and the Seattle Pipe Trades, Local 32, and sanctioned by the Building and Construction Trades of the AFL-CIO.  Instruction will take on a unique format with instructors from the Seattle Pipe Trades, Local 32, and PSSC staff.

On-hand for the kick-off were Sean McGarvey, Executive Director Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO from Washington, D.C., and Dave Johnson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council.

The new curriculum is a pre-apprenticeship program, and successful students will earn three college credits from the National Labor College and two national certifications; one in OSHA 10 and the other CPR-First Aid. PSSC’s Ken Pierson noted, “These national certifications make students imminently more employable upon graduation. They leave here with more tools in their toolboxes than other candidates competing for the same jobs.”

Students who successfully complete the full Construction Technology program at PSSC can earn 40 college credits for one year and up to 113 college credits for the two-year program.

This new, multi-craft core curriculum is the second teaming of Puget Sound Skills Center and the Seattle Pipe Trades. In 2008, PSSC introduced a welding program, with classes actually taught at the Local 32 facilities.

Interested students should contact the Skills Center at 206-631-7300 or pugetsoundsc.org

Puget Sound Skills Center, located at 18010 – 8th Avenue South in Burien, is a free, public high school serving students from Highline and Federal Way Public Schools, Fife, Tahoma, and Tukwila School Districts and is hosted by Highline Public Schools.

Tags: Education by admin
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20 Ways to Keep Search Engines from Listing Your Website in Their Search Results

In ten years of optimizing websites for the search engines, I’ve often been called in to remedy business websites that have had disastrous results in the search engines. In each case a prior webmaster or search engine optimization (SEO) service provider had employed abusive and/or neglectful strategies. 20 of these abuses and neglectful practices are listed below.

1. The first thing on the home page is a link to another business’ website.
2. The website has no original text (all text is copied from other websites).
3. The website is built in frames which prevent search engine robots from accessing the actual text content.
4. Important text is built into graphics, Adobe Acrobat PDF files and/or Flash files which search engine robots can’t read.
5. The web pages include hidden text (text that is in the same color as the web page background color).
6. The web pages include hidden links (such as links from unseen graphics).
7. The web pages are built in a dynamic platform and employ a linking strategy that results in endless loops in which the same text content reappears with different web addresses (duplicate content).
8. Web page names include lots of code language such as “&” (ampersands), “?” (question marks) and “=” (equals signs).
9. The web pages have no metatags.
10. The same exact metatags are used on every page in the website.
11. Keyword phrases are based on guessing what people search for rather than on actual search data.
12. The website’s text hasn’t been updated in years.
13. The website’s code doesn’t meet current international standards.
14. The navigation links are different on every page.
15. There is no sitemap (page that lists links to all the website’s pages).
16. The navigation takes visitors forward to lots of dead ends (pdf files and graphics with no navigation links that take people back to the website).
17. The website includes many links to missing pages and graphics (broken links).
18. The domain name changed and the webmaster failed to set up proper redirects.
19. The web language changed and the webmaster failed to set up proper redirects.
20. A competitor’s website has optimized its website for the business’ name and trademarked names without any challenge to the legality of this action.

In many cases, the business’ leadership didn’t even know that abusive and/or neglectful strategies had been employed.

If you suspect that your business’ website may suffer from inappropriate or outdated strategies, please feel free to contact me at info@4cesi.com or 206-244-9092.

Tags: Business Advice by Elizabeth Paulsen
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17^th Annual Arts Alive Exhibit: 35 pieces of art by 19 artists display now at the Federal Way City Hall 33325 8^th Ave. S. | The public is invited to vote for the People’s Choice award through November 28. | Federal Way City Hall, 2^nd floor, Monday – Friday 8am-5pm | For more info: www.federalwaynews.net

Bodies: Kids will explore the human body through interactive exhibition, Sesame Street’s Muppets. | Children’s Museum, Seattle | October 03 – January 31 | Monday – Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday – Sunday 10am-6pm | For more info: www.thechildrensmuseum.org

Peter Pan: Fall into a childhood dream through musical based on the play by James M. Barrie | Seattle Children’s Theatre | November 13 – January 10 | For info: www.sct.org

Holiday Home Accessory Swap:  Seattle’s Phinney Neighborhood Center is helping you decorate your home for the holidays while being easy on the wallet.  | November 21 | 10am-12pm |  Come with 3 or more items and the entrance fee is $10.  Everything at the swap is FREE!  Replace all your unused decor with something fun and new | For more info: www.exploitseattle.com

Dickens Festival: Experience Dickens novels, walk the streets entertainment and activities. Welcome to dressed in Victorian attire. | November 21 | 11am-5:30 pm followed by a ball from 6:30pm-11pm | For more info: www.dickensfestival.net

Click! Family Flicks: Come see family movies on the third Saturday of every month presented by Cable TV and the Grand Cinema. | 606 S. Fawcett, Tacoma, WA 98446 | November 21 – January 16 | Third Saturdays at 10:30am | For more info: www.grandcinema.com

Macy’s 24^th Annual Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting:  Beginning on 7^th Ave. and Pine, the parade starts its route through downtown Seattle.  This is a free event for the entire family.  Come early to get a spot with a good view.  Parade begins at 8:45am | November 27 |  Tree lighting, Macy’s star lighting and fireworks show begins at 5pm that evening. |   For more info:  call 206-506-7555 or visit www.macys.com

Christmas Ship Festival: The Argosy Christmas Ship festival has been a Northwest tradition for 60 years.  Come enjoy the festivities with choirs on board singing 20 minute performances broadcasted via state of the art speaker systems.  | Lake Union in Seattle | November 28 – December 23 |  For more info including daily schedules: www.argosycruises.com

Jack and the Beanstalk: English Christmas pantomime. High energy musical designed for kids from age 5 to 105. | Kuntzen Family Theater, 3200 SW Dash Point Rd. | November 28 -December 20 | Friday and Saturday 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 2pm | For more info: www.centerstagetheatre.com

Tree Lighting Ceremony:  SeaTac’s City Hall is having their annual tree lighting ceremony with live entertainment, refreshments and surprises.  This is a free event for the whole family.  | December 3 | 6:30pm |  For more info: www.ci.seatac.wa.us

Jingle Bell Brunch: Enjoy brunch, create holiday crafts, have pictures with Santa and enjoy music and entertainment.  | Federal Way Community Center, 876 S. 333^rd St. | December 5 | 7:30-9:30am or 10am-12pm | Cost is $6-8 |  For more info: www.cityoffederalway.com

Santa Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony: Family fun at this festive children’s parade followed by community caroling and the lighting of the Christmas tree | Auburn City Hall | December 5 | 4:30pm | For more info: www.auburnwa.gov

Kids Cookie Decorating Party:  Kent Station’s Zephyr Grill is inviting you to make some fun holiday memories with your kids with free cookie decorating of ginger bread and sugar cookies.  Parents can relax and enjoy free appetizers while the kids have fun decorating. | Free admission | December 5 | 2pm |  For more info:  www.zephyrgrill.com

Seattle Center Winterfest: Seattle Center hosts Winterfest with 5 weeks of free and affordable fun-filled activities and entertainment. | November 27 – December 31 |  The Winter Train and Village returns, along with the region’s best music and comedy, jazz and dance, ice sculpting, ice skating and fireside sing-alongs |  For more info: www.seattlecenter.com

Federal Way Chorale: Sink into the Christmas spirit with winter concert, “Traditional Sounds of Christmas”. | St. Luke’s Community of Christ in Federal Way | December 11 7:30am & December 13  6pm | For more info: www.fwchorale.com

The Singing Christmas Tree: Come enjoy the traditional the singing Christmas Tree by Life Center in Tacoma | December 20 | 3pm | For more info: www.life-center.org

Model Train Festival: Learn about the history of railroads in Washington State. See train sets and permanent model train layout. Hands-on kids activities. | Washington State History Museum | December 26 – January 02 | Daily 10am-6pm | For more info: www.washingtonhistory.org

Victorian Country Christmas: 22^nd Annual Victorian Country Christmas Festival at the Puyallup Fair Grounds has transformed this location to a Victorian Village featuring old fashioned streets lined with 530 Victorian stores. | December 2 – 6 | Wednesday – Saturday 10am-9pm, Sundays 10am-6pm.  | For more info: www.puyallupmainstreet.com

Open Gym: Play on the gym equipment at Metropolitan Gymnastics | Monday – Friday, 12pm-2pm ages 8 and up | Saturday, 12pm-2pm all ages | Ongoing event | For more info: www.metropolitangym.com

Tags: Events by Michelle Leonard
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