Movers and Shakers February 11, 2011
Owens and Crandall announce two additions to law firm
Owens and Crandall PLLC, a Hayden law firm, announced it has made Regina M. McCrea a partner.
McCrea joined the firm in 2007. Before then, she practiced insurance defense litigation in Spokane.
She currently handles general civil litigation, including contracts, property, insurance, business, administrative, professional malpractice and employment law.
As a former editor-in-chief of her law school's law review, McCrea is an accomplished writer and is available to work on or take over cases on appeal. She is admitted to practice in both Washington and Idaho.
The firm said Daniel K. Sheckler has joined the firm as an associate to handle criminal defense, family law and bankruptcy.
He earned his law degree at the University of Idaho.
He started his legal career at the Bonner County public defender's office, and then joined Powell and Reed in Sandpoint, handling real estate, family law and criminal matters.
Sheckler is admitted to practice in Washington as well as Idaho.
Sengupta joins EPA's
Coeur d'Alene Basin project team
Caryn Sengupta has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Coeur d'Alene Basin project team.
Sengupta now is serving as one of two EPA community involvement coordinators for the site, along with longtime staffer Debra Sherbina.
She has been with the EPA for nearly seven years, and has a background in risk communications and public outreach.
The EPA also will soon be adding an Idaho-based community liaison to the team. The hiring process for that position is currently in progress.
Andrea Lindsay, who has served as one of the site's community involvement coordinators since 2004, has accepted a temporary assignment with the Puget Sound Partnership through December.
Avista renovation honored by
U.S. Green Building Council
The first phase of replacing the 54-year old heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system in Avista's Spokane headquarters building has earned the company a LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Dennis Vermillion, president of Avista Utilities, said, "The energy savings work that has earned this recognition will also be implemented as the work continues on the remaining four floors of our building."
Renovating the company's signature five-story headquarters building is a five-year project that includes complete HVAC system upgrades, asbestos removal, controls upgrades, replacing ceilings, installing energy efficient lighting and windows. The redesigned interior layout incorporates daylight harvesting that ensures employees have access to natural light and existing windows.
When completed, the work is expected to save more than 1.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 66,000 therms of natural gas and reduce Avista's annual energy costs by $149,000 a year. The energy savings are enough to power 116 homes for a year and serve about 80 homes with natural gas.
Contributing to the certification for the fifth floor HVAC upgrade is the existing energy efficient 1958 system that uses well-water to heat and cool the building.
The new system continues to use the existing well-water system rather than a mechanical system. After the cooling process, the water flows into a landscaping water feature where the unaltered water cools before being released into the nearby Spokane River.
About 56 percent of all construction waste from the fifth-floor upgrade was recycled or salvaged, some of which was processed through Avista's on-site Investment Recovery Center for additional cost savings. Some of the other aspects of the project that contributed to the fifth floor LEED Gold Certification include installing solar water heating, refurbishing more than 35 percent of all furnishing in the space and purchasing used office furnishing for an 87 percent savings over new equipment, and purchasing renewable green e-certified credits.
Spokane design-build firm McKinstry designed and constructed the improvements, and consulted on the certification.
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