At Tacoma Water, Linda McCrea is about to move from deputy superintendent to superintendent, beginning Feb. 1. She replaces John Kirner, who has served as the superintendent since 2004, and has worked for Tacoma Public Utilities for 27 years, according to a release today from Tacoma Public Utilities.

“Linda has proven herself as an outstanding leader at Tacoma Water and in the water industry for many years,” said Tacoma Public Utilities Director Bill Gaines. “She is well prepared to serve as superintendent and has the skills needed to continue the utility’s history of clean and safe water, excellent service, financial …

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It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with Brown & Haley – and here’s what I’ve missed.

• Macadamia Roca. Joining the Roca family (Almond, Cashew, Candy Cane and Mocha) it’s on the model of the brand-parent, Almond Roca, but uses the rare macadamia nut.

Sales are going well, says a B&H spokesman, but the product is not available yet in the continental U.S.
Well, it’s almost not available in the continental U.S.

You can find it in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan – and the only place you’ll find it between here …

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Tacoma’s Russell Investments today launched a new campaign to spark an electronic dialogue about investment innovation.

The campaign, Conversation Yields Innovation, includes a Web site seeded with videos from financial professional, investors and some sort of ordinary folks discussing their views on investing, the financial crisis and ideas for creating new financial ideas.

Along with the videos, the site includes a blog from Russell Investment CEO Andrew Doman from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Through working with the most sophisticated institutional investors and financial advisors, Russell has a broad and global perspective on the issues that matter most,” …

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From The Associated Press:

McClatchy Co., owner of The News Tribune and 27 other dailies, reported a profit for the fourth quarter on Wednesday.

It also said that most of its lenders have agreed to give the newspaper publisher more time to repay its debts.

In addition to maneuvering through an advertising slump that has lasted for two years, McClatchy took on most of its $1.95 billion debt in 2006 when it bought Knight Ridder. A part of that was scheduled to be paid back by 2014, but like a homeowner refinancing a mortgage, McClatchy is reworking the deadlines.

CEO …

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From The Associated Press:

McClatchy Co., owner of The News Tribune and 27 other dailies, reported a profit for the fourth quarter on Wednesday.

It also said that most of its lenders have agreed to give the newspaper publisher more time to repay its debts.

In addition to maneuvering through an advertising slump that has lasted for two years, McClatchy took on most of its $1.95 billion debt in 2006 when it bought Knight Ridder. A part of that was scheduled to be paid back by 2014, but like a homeowner refinancing a mortgage, McClatchy is reworking the deadlines.

CEO …

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Boeing Co. expects a solidly profitable 2010 with no additional production cutbacks, Boeing Chairman James McNerney said this morning as the company announced lower earnings for 2009.

Despite analysts’ predictions that Boeing might have to throttle back is 31-per-month production rate at its Renton 737 assembly line, the Boeing chief executive said there are no plans to cut the production at the plant.

Customers already have reduced their own talk of deferrals or cancellations, he said, as the economy warms up.

Boeing took a big hit last year because of write-offs on its 787 and 747-8 programs due to longer …

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The Northwest Multiple Listing Service is out today with its year-end tally of real estate activity in Washington. In 2009, the state saw more than 52,000 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums, which works out to 3.7 percent fewer closed sales than in 2008.

The 2009 sales marked a value of more than $17 billion.

The MLS reports 45,222 sales of single-family homes in 2009, totaling more than $15.1 billion; and 6,883 condo sales, valued at nearly $1.9 billion.

The numbers represent sales activity in 19 Washington counties that comprise approximately 80 percent of the state’s population. Among …

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Another Pacific Northwest company has joined the hundreds of companies worldwide making a donation to Haiti’s earthquake relief effort.

Bellevue’s PACCAR, maker of heavy-duty Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF and Foden trucks, said it is donating $250,000 to the American Red Cross for the relief effort.

The company said it will also donate a Kenworth dump truck to the earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

Demolition of thousands of collapsed buildings in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince is just beginning. The truck will also help in the several-year rebuilding efforts in the poverty-stricken nation.