Biz Bits: Palouse entrepreneur launches job placement website

MOSCOW — Andrew Crapuchettes, the former CEO of what is now Emsi Burning Glass in Moscow, has founded RedBalloon, a business that places Americans “into careers that will value their freedom,” according to its website.

Its website has a sortable database with hundreds of job listings from numerous companies all over the country. The positions last week included private school teachers in Los Angeles, an insurance agent in Chehalis, Wash., and a prefab steel structure technician in Sanford, Maine.

Attempts to reach RedBalloon by the Tribune for this story were not successful.

“By registering for RedBalloon’s service, you as an employer commit to neither discriminate against your employees’ personal beliefs, infringe on their constitutional rights, invade their medical privacy, or make vaccination a condition of employment,” according to an employer pledge on the website.

RedBalloon was established this year “as the solution to the ever-growing problem of government overreach and ‘cancel culture’ invading the American workplace,” according to its website.

The business connects “like-minded businesses and Americans who seek the freedom to work without the fear of discrimination against personal beliefs, infringement on constitutional rights, or invasion of medical privacay,” according to its website.

The principal office address of RedBalloon is southeast of Moscow, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s website.

Crapuchettes brought 20 years of experience at Emsi to his new role as RedBalloon’s CEO.

He was the third employee at Emsi and became its CEO, helping the firm grow into a business with more than 200 staff members before it merged with Burning Glass Technologies this year and became Emsi Burning Glass on June 14.

Now Crapuchettes is an adviser to the board of directors of Emsi Burning Glass, who “has no interaction with the company’s day-to-day operations,” said Isaac Lopez, Emsi Burning Glass spokesman, in an email.

Emsi Burning Glass is headquartered in Boston and Moscow, with offices in the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand and India. It has private equity backing from KKR, he said.

The job market analytics company describes itself as “the world’s leading authority on job skills, workforce talent and labor market dynamics, providing expertise that empowers businesses, education providers and governments to find the skills and talent they need and enables workers to unlock new career opportunities.”

Lewiston tissue maker grows in new markets

Clearwater Paper is succeeding in expanding sales of its tissue products at mass merchandisers and club stores.

That update was provided last week by the company’s president and CEO, Arsen Kitch, during a conference call for stock market analysts about Clearwater Paper’s 2021 third-quarter net income of $1.9 million.

One of Lewiston’s largest employers, Clearwater Paper is rebounding from its second quarter this year in April, May and June when it lost $52 million, leaving it with a loss of $37.6 million for the first nine months of this year, despite stronger first and third quarters.

Last year, Clearwater Paper earned $54.5 million in the first nine months of the year.

One area of focus for Clearwater Paper, Kitch said, is diversifying its customers.

Previously more than three-quarters of the company’s private-label toilet paper, paper towels, paper napkins and facial tissue were sold to grocery retailers, but that has dropped to more than half, he said.

“There’s more to go,” Kitch said. “We’re still overweight in grocery.”

Mass merchandisers and club stores are important because the top three customers in that market represent about 65 percent of all private-branded tissue purchases, said Kitch, who didn’t name the stores.

“We’re still more weighted towards grocery, but that’s certainly something we’re working on to make sure we’re aligned with where the growth is taking place,” he said.

Clarkston Walmart gets a makeover

Expanding the pharmacy is part of storewide renovation underway at Clarkston’s Walmart.

The pharmacy will feature a health services room where pharmacists can consult with customers privately and vaccines can be administered, according to an email from Walmart.

The store also is adding a “mother’s room” where women can nurse babies, according to the email.

A larger grocery pickup center for online orders, more cooler space in the dairy department, and updated interior and exterior signs, along with new flooring and self-checkout registers, are part of the work too.

The value of the improvements is $213,795, according to building permits filed with the city of Clarkston.

Internal medicine doctor starts practicing at Gritman

MOSCOW — Dr. Christopher Bullard has joined Gritman Internal Medicine clinic as an internal medicine physician.

Bullard treats adult patients at the clinic and at Gritman Medical Center, focusing on solving complex medical issues, according to a news release from Gritman.

The grandson of a small-town Iowa doctor, Bullard was inspired to enter medicine after witnessing how his grandfather helped patients and developed connections with them, according to the news release.

A graduate of University of Minnesota’s medical school, he is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington.

His wife is Dr. Robin Sautter, a primary care and obstetrics physician, who also just started practicing at Gritman.

Gritman Internal Medicine is at 719 S. Main St. in Moscow. Its telephone number is (208) 883-1152.

U-Haul dealer added to Genesee store

Genesee Supermarket at 216 W. Chestnut St. in Genesee has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer.

The hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to a news release from U-Haul.

The company, which provides services such as rentals of U-Haul trucks and sales of moving supplies, caters to customers such as first responders, delivery companies, college students and families moving from one home to another, according to the news release.

More than 20,000 dealers in the United States and Canada are earning supplemental income through their U-Haul partnerships, according to the news release.

Avista offers tips for staying warm on a budget

Setting the thermostat at no higher than 68 degrees is a way families can help lower costs for electricity and natural gas as colder weather starts to set in.

That advice comes from Avista Utilities, which issued a news release with tips for minimizing heating costs in the colder fall and winter months.

Other suggestions include:

• Replacing furnace filters every one or two months to maintain proper airflow.

• Limiting use of space heaters to small, occupied areas for short periods of time and avoiding using them as a primary source of heat because they are more expensive than other methods of heating.

• Restricting use of wood fireplaces in extremely cold weather and closing the damper when they aren’t in use. Fireplaces can rob homes of warmth provided by heating systems.

• Turning down baseboard heaters in infrequently used rooms and closing the doors to those rooms, as well as vacuuming the baseboards coils to remove dust and improve heat transfer.

• Turning off kitchen, bathroom and other ventilating fans when they are not needed. In one hour, fans can pull all the warm air from a home.

• Wearing a sweater or using an extra blanket instead of turning up the thermostat.

The Tribune wants to hear about what's happening at your business. Send your news to ewilliam@lmtribune.com. Please put "Biz Bits" in the subject line. Williams also may be contacted at (208) 848-2261.