Big-box stores and other large retail development would face a new set of hurdles before being allowed to build in Tacoma, under proposed rules presented Tuesday to the City Council.

Tacoma should create a new, “conditional use permit” requirement for development larger than 45,000-square-feet, about the size of Tacoma’s Best Buy store, according to recommendations from the city’s Planning Commission. In addition, such developments also would be required to have more review of parking, site layout, traffic and plans for building re-use should it become vacant.

Finally developers of such buildings could be required to have community meetings about …

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The Green Building Certification Institute has awarded its highest certification – LEED Platinum – to the University of Washington Tacoma’s Russell T. Joy Building.

The Joy Building is the first in Tacoma and first in the University of Washington to achieve a Platinum rating in the “new construction/major remodel” LEED system, the university said in a release Tuesday. It is the second state-funded building to receive this recognition. The downtown Wells Fargo Plaza in July received a LEED Silver designation for existing buildings, and the Pacific Plaza project received LEED Platinum. St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw has received a Silver …

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The lesson is: Don’t send them money via Western Union and don’t give them personal information unless you’ve checked their credentials.

The state Department of Financial Institutions on Tuesday said it has received complaints from consumers regarding Manchester Capital Trust.

The complaints allege that consumers receive an e-mail or a telephone solicitation announcing that they are pre-qualified to receive an unsecured loan. The consumers then contact the company, which confirms that a term of the loan is that a certain number of months of payment must be provided to the company in advance.

Occasionally, the consumers are told that …

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Downtown Tacoma’s largest employer will open a new business prototype this week on Pacific Avenue.

Kidney dialysis leader DaVita Inc. will open its first primary care clinic Wednesday. Denver-based DaVita is expanding into primary care through its subsidiary, Paladina Health.

The Tacoma clinic at 1250 Pacific Ave., which will open a month ahead of schedule, is Paladina’s first. The company also is growing through acquisitions, evidenced by its purchase earier this month of Modern Med, a Wisconsin-based clinic group.

“We had a lot of hard work and a little extra money” to finish early in Tacoma, Rebecca …

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In case you haven’t been in Hong Kong this week, here’s a look at what you would have seen – straight from Tacoma.

To commemorate Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dragon – Tacoma-based Brown and Haley has invested in a high-profile advertising campaign that includes both Roca pink bus wraps and a TV commercial.

The commercial was produced by BANG Agency of Hong Kong, and depicts a young woman contemplating a gift of Almond Roca. As she dreams, she is transported into a pink, breezy fantasy

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Gas prices are slowing moving upward in Tacoma with an increase of almost two cents a gallon in the last week.

According to TacomaGasPrices.com, the average price for gas in the Tacoma area today was $3.51. That compares with $3.492 a week ago and $3.396 a month ago.

A year ago, average gas prices were $3.228 a gallon.

Bargain gas is still available well below the average price at a dozen locations in the Tacoma area include the former Arco station at Portland and Puyallup avenues in Tacoma and at APP in Fife where regular was selling …

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A Seattle-based aviation company, Aviation Partners, whose major product has become a familiar sight at airports around the world has asked a Texas federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by European planemaker Airbus.

That suit asks the court to invalidate patents granted Aviation Partners for its “Blended Winglet” technology. Those winglets are the curved extensions that many aircraft now sport at the end of their wings.

Those winglets reduce drag, save fuel and increase the range of airliners on which they are installed. Almost all new Boeing 737s are equipped with those winglets now.

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A stronger-than-expected air travel business boosted Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to a new record for passengers served last year, the airport announced this week.

The airport served some 32.8 million passengers, a four percent increase over last year. The number surpassed the previous record set in 2008 when the recession had yet to make its full effect felt. The Port of Seattle, Sea-Tac’s owner, had forecast a one percent increase for the year.

Of those 32.8 million passengers, three million arrived or departed on international flight. That’s the most in the airport’s history. Sea-Tac has added several new international airlines …

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