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The News Tribune Business Team will keep you updated on what's happening in the South Sound and beyond. Check here for news about economic development, aerospace, shopping and much more.

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Contributors

Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.

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Get the most up-to-date news, insights and analysis of Tacoma, Pierce County and South Puget Sound business.
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
Posted by C.R. Roberts @ 06:11:25 pm

Without actually announcing a date, this is about as close as you can get to the news that the LeMay Automobile Museum will break ground in Tacoma within the next four months.

“The board did approve the financing plan we put together, and they did approve the contract price and authorize a small committee to negotiate a final contract,” said museum President and CEO David Madeira late this afternoon.

The LeMay board met this weekend in Colorado.

“They’ve authorized us to go forward and plan to break ground pending our ability to pull the financing plan together,” Madeira said.

That plan comprises two elements – finalization of Department of Housing Development Section 108 loan, which has been approved by the Tacoma City Council, and approval of funding from the federal New Market Tax Credit program. Authorization of this second element is being finalized by US Bank.

“The board told us that if you close those things in the next 30-45 days you can get the executive committee to give you the final authorization,” Madeira said. “We’re proceeding on the assumption that we will. We’ll be meeting with the city this week to close on the land.”

The board meeting, he said, “Was the most productive we’ve had in six years. Everybody was gearing up – the building committee, the collection committee, every committee, development and marketing – each committee was unanimous in going forward.”