WASHINGTON STATE

IBM said Tuesday it plans to acquire Bellevue-based Vallent, which makes software for telecommunications companies to monitor wireless networks.

Critical Logic considered several cities for its first branch office, including Salt Lake City, Utah; Reno, Nevada; and Olympia, Wash., and chose Spokane for its low operating costs and abundant labor pool, MacAllister says.

Home prices in the gorge are rising as the area’s abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, like skiing, windsurfing and hiking, attract newcomers and people buying vacation properties. Those same qualities have proven to be a selling point for Insitu’s employee recruitment.

"It turns out that engineers are very much outdoors people,"

The latest round of cuts brings the layoff tally so far to nearly 500 out of 700 jobs at the Bothell company.

Triumph Composite Systems Inc., of Spokane, says it has won a contract from Boeing Co. worth an estimated $49 million, and plans to hire nearly 60 employees here as a result of that work and several other new contracts it’s lining up.

Two of the Seattle area’s best-known venture capital firms are leading a $20 million investment in Bellevue-based Talyst, a four-year-old company that uses bar-coding technology to more efficiently package, label and store medications at hospital pharmacies.

The latest to attract funds include Pelago and Ontela, both of which raised multimillion- dollar rounds from some deep- pocketed and well- known venture capital firms.

"This design means that we can make more electricity for about half the relative space as photovoltaics," said Jim Clyde, Infinia’s vice president of sales and marketing. "It won’t be half the cost when we first get going, but it will be for significantly less capital cost."

"I am committed to improving health care in Washington and ensuring that all patients have access to updated health information technology is a key part of that initiative," said Gregoire. "These awards show our commitment to partner with the public sector and with providers to make this a reality."

"The thinking at the time, which has been validated, is that Seattle is an important venture region,"