The recession has taken its toll on another long-lived South Sound car dealership.

Puyallup's Conforth-Campbell Buick-Pontiac-GMC, a business that began 71 years ago as H.O. Wylen Buick-Pontiac, has sold its business to the Harnish Dealership Group.

The sale has triggered a musical chairs-like rearrangement of auto showrooms.

The former Conforth-Campbell operation has moved from its dealership north of the Puyallup River to the former Harnish Subaru showroom at 820 River Road.

The Subaru dealership in the meanwhile consolidated its operations into the Harnish Lincoln Mercury store next door.

The former Conforth-Campbell dealership quarters, built in 2001, will soon go on the market, said Dave Conforth, former co-owner of the Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership.

Conforth-Campbell's Auto Body and Collision Center at Pioneer Avenue and Second Street in downtown Puyallup will continue to operate independently, Conforth said.

Conforth's co-owner, Dave Campbell, has joined Harnish along with many other Cornforth-Campbell employees at the new River Road location.

Conforth said the acquisition makes sense for Harnish, which is consolidating as many nameplates under one ownership as possible to weather the sales downturns that have devastated the auto industry.

"They didn't have a truck in their lineup, so this is a good thing for them," he said. GMC is a separate line of trucks made by General Motors.

Both Chrysler and General Motors have told their dealers they are drastically cutting back on the number of dealerships to cope with declining sales.

General Motors has said it may kill off its Pontiac line and sell its Hummer, Saab and Saturn businesses.

The ideas might be big at Big Ideas Direct, but State Attorney General Rob McKenna says they’re also illegal. McKenna announced today he has sued the owners of the Woodinville LLC in Pierce County Superior Court alleging they violated consumer protection and prize/promotion laws.

Last month, McKenna sued Smart Automotive Group of Metairie, La. in Thurston County Superior Court for similar reasons.

According to a release today, the accusations include:

• The defendants advertised fictitious bank repossession sales and thus created a false sense of urgency. They variously used fictitious entities and claims such as “National Automobile Clearing House” and “Forced Liquidation.”
• The defendants advertised false savings. One claimed prices 75 percent off the MSRP for used vehicles (even though Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price is not related to used vehicles), and the other suggested vehicles would be sold at 95 percent off the “original price” – without defining the original price.
• False claims concerning financing, such as “O Down Delivers” and “pennies on the dollar.”
• Advertising “free” merchandise and prizes when the items were not actually free.

The state, according to McKenna’s office, is seeking court orders to stop deceptive practices and also asking for civil penalties and reimbursement of legal costs and restitution for any consumers affected by the alleged schemes.

Attempts to reach both dealers were unsuccessful this afternoon.

Eight Puget Sound area businesses and governments have been recognized by the American Heart Association as “Start! Fit-Friendly Companies” for spring 2009.

The City of Tacoma joins AAA Washington, Savers Inc./Value Village and Swedish Medical Center of Seattle with a “gold level” award for “achievements in improving the health of their employees.”

The City of Tukwila, King County, Physio Control and Premera Blue Cross have received “platinum level” recognition, according to an announcement today from the association.

Nationwide this spring, 445 companies and other organizations received the fit-friendly awards – given for a commitment to physical activity, nutrition and other healthful initiatives.

For more information, visit www.startwalkingnow.org.

If you haven't flown out of Sea-Tac Airport lately, you'll be surprised to see the progress the airport is making on several major projects.

The replacement of the 1944-vintage main runway appears to be moving swiftly toward completion. The construction on the light rail station on the International Boulevard side of the terminal is taking shape rapidly, and initial work on the airport's rental car terminal is moving quickly.

The three projects will add considerable capability to the airport when they're finished.

The main runway is being reconstructed from the ground up. The nearly 12,000-foot runway couldn't be taken out of service until recently because it was needed to service airport traffic. The completition of the airport's third runway last fall and the decrease in air traffic because of the recession has provided the airport a window of opportunity to close the runway for complete rebuilding.

The main runway, the easternmost of three at the airport and the airport's longest, was last overlaid with new asphalt in 1992. With this rebuild, the old runway is being completely removed, not just overlaid. The old asphalt and concrete is being ground up and recycled for use in other projects and as a base for the new runway.

The runway will also receive new electrical and drainage systems including advanced capability lighting and traffic control systems.

Both the main runway and the light rail station are expected to open this fall. The light rail line will connect the airport with downtown Seattle.

The rental car terminal is farther down the road. Its construction will allow rental car companies to vacate part of the existing garage.

Port of Tacoma Commissioner Ted Bottiger announced today that he will not run again for his commission seat. He has been on the commission since 1997.

"I’ve had a great public life and enjoyed it very much and now it’s time to slow down," Bottiger, 76, said.

Bottiger represented the port on the Tri-County Salmon Recovery Task Force and on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Transportation Commission. He also volunteered as the Associate Supervisor of the Pierce County Conservation District.

Prior to the port, Bottiger served in the state Legislature from 1964 to 1987. He was the Majority Leader of the State Senate his last five years there.

He said today that's he particularly proud of his effort to get the port to include the cost of its conservation programs in its financial reporting.

"This is the fourth time I've retired," Bottiger said.

He has no specific plans for his upcoming free time. He lives near Frederickson with his wife, Darlene.

The Boeing Co. gained orders for five more 787 Dreamliners last week, but lost orders for an identical number of 767s.

The airlines involved in the orders and cancellations weren't named by Boeing.

Last week's order activity leaves Boeing with a net gain of exactly 0 orders this year. The company has recorded 65 new orders this year, but lost an identical number of existing orders.

With no new net orders for the year so far, 2009, could be Boeing's worst order year ever. Just two years ago, the company recorded more than 1,400 net orders.

The nation's third largest auto parts retailer, O'Reilly Auto Parts, is bringing up to 400 new jobs to Puyallup.

Those workers will be employed at a new auto parts distribution center the Springfield, Mo.-based company is setting up at 1602 Industrial Park Way.

The company operates more than 3,200 auto parts stores in 38 states. Among the company's brands are Schuck's Auto Supply, Checker Auto Parts, Kragen Auto Parts and Murray's Discount Auto Stores.

"When we acquired CSK in July 2008," said Ed Randall, O'Reilly's director of property, "we knew we needed a distribution center in the Seattle area.

The company recently acquired the vacant warehouse near Levee Road to house that distribution center.

O'Reilly is already advertising for distribution center supervisors, route drivers and material handlers for its Puyallup location. Job descriptions and applications are available on the O'Reilly Web site at http://www.oreillyauto.com.

O'Reilly was founded in 1957 by a father-son team in Springfield, Mo. The company has grown rapidly in the last decade through acquisition of rival auto parts chains throughout the country.

It already has distribution centers in a variety of cities throughout the country including Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Houston, Dallas, Little Rock, Nashville Indianapolis and Detroit.

In the West, the company has distribution centers in Phoenix, Dixon, Calif., and Mendota Heights, Minn.

"In the current economy, it's a credit to the Puyallup community that O'Reilly chose to make such a substantial investment of capital and jobs here," said Puyallup City Manager Gary MeLean.

"As we've done with other businesses, city staff is working closely with O"Reilly to get plans and inspections approved quickly so the company can stay on schedule and open by the end of the year," he said.

Puyallup has had a run of good fortune in the economic development department in recent months despite the recession.

A French-owned high technology plastics company, Saint Gobain Performance Plastics, announced in February it was moving to Puyallup from Seattle. it brings 115 jobs to the area.

South Hill Mall earlier this year began a multi-million dollar renovation to celebrate its two decades in business in Puyallup, and a Seattle real estate firm the Benaroya Companies, bought a former microchip plant on South Hill and began a $45 million renovation to attract new businesses.