The Columbian

Clark County Business

Hamilton Excavating fined for water quality violations

January 29, 2022, 6:52pm Business

Battle Ground’s Hamilton Excavating was fined $136,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology for violating water-quality and Construction Stormwater General Permit conditions during construction of the Highland Terrace Subdivision in La Center. Read story

CREDC launches business accelerator

January 29, 2022, 5:36am Business

Columbia River Economic Development Council announced this week that it is starting a pilot program for new entrepreneurs to learn strategies for success and to grow their businesses. Read story

Mother-daughter duo Laurie Hanahan and Christy Dunbar are the owners of the new Little Gym of Vancouver.

Working in Clark County: Christy Dunbar and Laurie Hanahan, The Little Gym

January 29, 2022, 5:14am Business

Christy Dunbar fell in love with The Little Gym when she got the opportunity to serve as an instructor at a location in Gainesville, Va. Read story

Fleur Chocolatte & Wine is offering the traditional heart-shaped boxes of chocolate for Valentine's Day.

Fleur Chocolatte & Wine opens on Main Street in Vancouver

January 28, 2022, 6:04am Business

Kendra Zern and Kurt Van Orden are preparing for their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple — and as owners of a chocolate shop. Read story

Sam Sugarman, patient service representative for Northwest Medical Associates-Praxis Health, takes a call while working at the front desk on Thursday afternoon. Praxis Health, Oregon's largest independent medical group, has expanded into Vancouver after recently acquiring Northwest Medical Associates, a 35-year-old clinic in east Vancouver.

Oregon medical group Praxis Health buys Northwest Medical Associates in east Vancouver

January 27, 2022, 6:27pm Business

Praxis Health, Oregon’s largest independent medical group, acquired a 35-year-old Vancouver clinic this month, marking the group’s first expansion into Washington. Read story

Larry Witzel, founder and president of SermonView, joins mailhouse technician Hannah Gill as they prepare invitations to be mailed from their Vancouver office. SermonView was among those impacted by the early end of a federal aid program to pandemic-hit businesses.

Clark County businesses feel pinch from early closure of pandemic aid program

January 27, 2022, 6:01am Business

It was a throwaway message in a newsletter from QuickBooks, but it caught Larry Witzel’s eye: the Employee Retention Tax Credit. Read story

Stephen Chan of Mighty Bowl, left, serves up a lunch order as owner Steve Valenta chats with a customer in downtown Vancouver. In the fourth quarter of last year, Valenta's costs for food increased 24 percent. They had been steadily rising throughout the pandemic. His costs for to-go packaging rose 60 percent.

Clark County restaurant profits sink as omicron surges

January 25, 2022, 6:43pm Business

Steve Valenta has spent 10 years pouring his life’s savings, his energy and his care into his Mighty Bowl restaurant in downtown Vancouver — to great success. But it’s not enough. His restaurant is running out of money. Read story

Vancouver-based ZoomInfo expands operations into Europe

January 25, 2022, 6:05am Business

Vancouver’s ZoomInfo recently announced the company, which specializes in market software, data and intelligence, will expand its operations into Europe. Read story

Devin McFeron of Desert Society, left, chats with Emma Fraser of Farrar's Bistro inside Farrar's Bistro in Felida. Both business owners are just in their 20s, and they encourage other young adults to take a chance on their career dreams.

Young female entrepreneurs call the shots in Felida

January 24, 2022, 6:00am Business Subscriber Exclusive

The pandemic was in the back of their minds when Emma Fraser and Devin McFeron, both women in their 20s, decided to buy their own businesses last year. But that fear did not stop them, nor did their age. Read story