The City’s parks and recreation department is in the middle of developing a 15-year plan for its facilities and programs. Council members will hear updates and discuss the plan’s progress during a special session 5:00 p.m. Monday. The City hired GreenPlay Inc. last year to inventory and assess the City’s current facilities and programs, gathering public input to develop a roadmap for the department’s future.

Incoming Heartland Community College President Keith Cornille says the college laid a lot of important groundwork in its first 25 years. Now the relatively young institution can focus in the coming decades on finding innovative ways to meet the community’s changing needs.

Clay Dooley started his auto business, Clay Dooley Tire and Auto Service, in July 1917. In 1965, he incorporated the business and several employees owned a percentage of the company. Later, Vernon Trower would gain 100% ownership after Clay Dooley died in 1968. Today, Vernon’s sons, Brian, David, and Steve, and his daughter Ruth all work at the business and share joint ownership.

Last week District 87 completed the first major component of nearly $8M in planned improvements at Bloomington High School.The district spent $994,000 to replace the school’s grass athletic field with artificial turf that, according to district officials, will see far more use from students and community members.

The Bergner’s department store at Eastland Mall will close, mall owner CBL Properties confirmed Thursday.Parent company Bon-Ton Stores announced Wednesday that a liquidation firm won the bid for the company in a bankruptcy court-supervised auction Tuesday. Bon-Ton issued a press release late Wednesday that the court had approved the sale.

The Bergner’s at Eastland Mall in Bloomington is among hundreds of Bon-Ton stores likely to close after a liquidation firm won the bid for the company in a bankruptcy court-supervised auction Tuesday.

The City of Bloomington’s Senior Budget Manager Scott Rathbun will now serve as Interim Finance Director. Before joining the City Rathbun spent 13 years as Chief Financial Officer for Kahuna Business Group, a Bloomington-based information technology and services company, and has over 30 years of professional financial management experience.

By 2025, the e-commerce market will balloon to nearly $88 billion in sales, more than 8X the size of the current e-commerce market. Multi-million dollar snack food manufacturer Beer Nuts is enlisting Kristin Rae, a local business owner, to help establish a strong presence on e-commerce giant Amazon.

The classrooms in the Olympia school district will soon be the recipients of on-site generated solar power.The district’s five schools--Olympia High School, Olympia Middle School, Olympia North Elementary, Olympia South Elementary, and Olympia West Elementary--will receive solar panels to offset the energy demands of their facilities.