Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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The good news is Washington’s cherry crop is projected to be as good as 2018; however, absent tariff relief from the ongoing U.S.-China trade tiff, a key market will remain limited. When China’s tariff went from 10 percent to 50 percent last July, right in the middle of the harvest, exports to China went from the most profitable to the pits, Fox News reported. “Growers in Washington State, by far the largest producer of sweet cherries in the U.S., saw their bumper crop lose $86 million in value...
By Don C. Brunell While many eyes are on trade talks between our country and China, America’s port leaders are positioning their seaports to compete for increasing volumes of container traffic. After container shipments surged in November---primarily from pre-tariff contracts—they plunged by year end--impact of U.S. and China trade war. Outbound container volume at the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell 11.8 percent in November from the same month in 2017. It was a decline aft...
By Don C. Brunell The good news is Washington’s revenues continue to grow and projections for the next couple of years appear promising. That is welcome news, but it is sprinkled with caution about introducing new taxes. Our state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) quarterly update shows a whopping 17.3% increase in state income for the current biennium. That welcome announcement comes just in time for Christmas. For background, Washington’s budget is on a two-year cycle. The current...
By Don C. Brunell While massive wildfires are historic, they are more dangerous today. As our population grows, they are a greater threat to communities adjacent to wildlands. This year, with nearly 4.8 million acres already burned in the U.S. and wildfires finally contained in California, is shaping up to continue a trend that has seen the 10 worst fire seasons since 1960 in terms of acres burned, U.S. News reports. AccuWeather predicts the total economic loss to California when everything is...
By Don C. Brunell Shipyard workers in Portland are building the first commercial-scale wave energy buoy which, if it works, could be part of a system providing electricity to communities along our nation’s coastline. Vigor’s shipyard has a $6.5 million contract to construct an 826-ton buoy which can generate 1.25 MW (megawatts) of electricity. Its principle selling point is it generates electricity without CO2 or other greenhouse gas emissions. Vigor estimates each buoy would offset 3,000 ton...
Give Gov. Jay Inslee and backers of Initiative 1631 credit. They are persistent in their quest to invoke a fee on carbon emissions. Voters will decide its fate on Nov. 6. Since Inslee was first elected, he pushed to reduce CO2 discharges---a laudable goal. Two years ago, carbon initiative backers drafted a “revenue-neutral” ballot measure which voters rejected by a 59-41 percent margin. Today’s Initiative 1631 simply adds a new fee without cutting any state fee or tax, particularly on gasol...
Last spring, Boeing revealed its proposed hypersonic passenger airliner, which would fly much higher and faster than the Concorde-the only previous supersonic commercial airplane. For reference, supersonic jets fly over the speed of sound (660 mph or Mach 1), while hypersonics surpass Mach 5 or 3,800 mph. Boeing told the annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference held in Atlanta that its sleek new airplanes would travel at Mach 5, enabling them to cross the Atlantic...
Last April, Washington wheat, apple and cherry growers hoped U.S. and China trade negotiators would resolve differences and prevent imposition of damaging tariffs on our state’s leading crops. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and the costs are adding up. Thousands of Washington farmers now find themselves on the front lines of a battle between the two largest economies in the world. Here’s what has happened so far. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34...
While most of our attention in the Pacific Northwest these days is on trade wars, tariffs and wildfires, there are critical talks underway between the U.S. and Canada over future allocations of the Columbia River system’s water. The two countries are renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, which went into effect in 1964. It is a 50-year agreement which both nations can redo, providing there is a 10-year advanced warning. That occurred, and negotiators are now busy meeting. A new agreement w...
Since 2002, the U.S. Dept. of Energy has funded construction of a $17 billion project to encase radioactive wastes in solid glass logs. It is scheduled to start operations in 2022 and treat more than 56 million gallons of hazardous liquids which are stored in tanks on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. It is called vitrification, a process by which the State of Washington and federal government agreed in 1989. It is complicated, time consuming and very costly. To speed up treatment and reduce...
Any trade war between the United States and China is worrisome, but if it escalated and tariffs are imposed, it will hit Washington particularly hard. Avoiding that possibility should be our primary goal. Our state is our nation’s third largest exporter, with more than half of the containers leaving Puget Sound heading to China. The Port of Seattle estimated that China trade alone accounted for $18 billion last year and 40 percent of our state’s jobs are now tied to trade. President Trump has...
By Don C. Brunell Our parents drilled into our heads that saying “please” and “thank you” were not only part of everyday life, but were essential to operating a successful business. They are the basic ingredients of “Good Manners.” For more than 30 years, our family owned and operated the garbage collection business for Walkerville, a small incorporated Montana city north of Butte. It was part-time operation, which required about 8 hours a week. In the early 1950s, our family posted a $100 bond...
By Don C. Brunell Curbside recycling bins are packed with cardboard shipping boxes from Christmas online shopping. The uptick in consumer shipments is not only good news for the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS, but our nation’s papermakers. According to Mastercard Spending Pulse, U.S. year-end holiday retail sales rose nearly five percent compared to the same period last year while online purchases shot up more than 18 percent. USA Today reported “despite thousands of store closings this yea...
by Don C. Brunell Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was killed while serving in uniform. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors and volunteers, more than 1.5 million wreaths were laid on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen on December 16. The panoramic v...
During the holidays, our thoughts naturally turn to giving — not just giving gifts, but donating our time and money to charities, disasters and community programs. We’re reminded that, with all our frailties, we, Americans, are a pretty generous lot. According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 88 percent of our households donate to charity. In 2015, our total was more than $375 billion in cash to non-profit organizations. Cash contributions are only part of the story. Man...
Recently, the Institute for Justice (Institute) determined state licensing barriers for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs not only hurts people trying to establish themselves in a profession, but annually drives consumer prices up by $203 billion. Washington requires people in 77 jobs, including driving school bus, well-drilling and operating cranes, to be licensed. That means applicants must successfully complete education and training, pass their exams, and pay licensing fees....
The announced shutdown of the communications paper arm of Georgia Pacific’s Camas pulp and paper mill maybe the harbinger of what’s to come. Consumers are buying less paper, production costs are increasing, and competition is fiercer. GP will lay off as many as 300 workers next year when it shifts production of paper used for printers and copiers elsewhere. The southeastern states will benefit as future pulping centers at its Louisiana facility. People working at paper mills are well paid and...
Twenty-five years ago, Business took a beating in Olympia. The swing to the left in the 1992 general election was swift and potent. It drove higher costs to employers and more government regulations. Warning: Today’s political winds are blowing in that same direction. In the 1992 election, Democrats across America scored big wins promising a new health care system and bigger government. Bill Clinton upset George H.W. Bush for president and Congressman Mike Lowry knocked off Republican A...
Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts memories of the brutal treatment of American POWs and 1,350 who were listed as missing in action after the war ended. Some remain lost today. Among the 571 American prisoners released in the winter of 1973 was U.S Army Maj. Ed Carlson, whose last assignment was senior Army advisor to the Washing...
While Seattle is growing rapidly, our rural areas continue to struggle. They don’t have the corporate giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing creating jobs and economic opportunities. Farms are predominantly family-owned. Today, there is a rejuvenated effort to bring prosperity to Washington’s rural communities. While agriculture is the largest sector, timber, manufacturing, high tech and energy provide opportunities as well. Rural jobs and economic revitalization are national in scope. Wri...
Last month, Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates wrote about the similarities and differences between Boeing’s corporate office move to Chicago and Amazon’s plan for a second headquarters. Boeing wanted to leave Seattle in an effort to separate its corporate leadership from manufacturing sites while Amazon, with an unusual strategy, plans to keep its headquarters here but set up a parallel operation elsewhere. Boeing hoped to find a more conservative business climate while Amazon wan...
In Washington, the legislative stalemate over permitting new household wells and the state’s construction budget has not only delayed needed funding for public projects, but triggered yet another salvo in the wider conflict over future supplies of fresh water for people, fish and farms. At immediate risk is $4.2 billion in state funding for local water and sewer projects, school construction, mental-health facilities, colleges and universities, and, other construction. While there is general a...
At last count firefighters were battling 82 major wildfires in 10 western states. The fires have already scorched 2,300 square miles of forests and range lands, dislocated thousands of people, and burned hundreds of homes and buildings. This has been the third worst forest fire season on record prompting western congressional members to add billions to emergency hurricane relief legislation It isn’t over yet. The cost of fighting fires already broke this year’s U.S. Forest Service budget. It...
Two days before last year’s presidential election, Frank Luntz walked away from a CBS 60 Minutes focus group leaving people uncontrollably screaming at one another. He couldn’t stop it. Nobody could. America’s political frustration has boiled far beyond anyone’s ability to listen and find common ground. Our country’s polarization now is to the point where people are shooting one another. Luntz is the best in the business. He is a pioneer in the field of communications and public opinion research...
When President Trump spoke to Boeing workers at its South Carolina production facility, he reiterated his campaign promise to bring jobs back to America. It is a goal we collectively desire, but it is much more complicated than his campaign slogan would have us believe. If it is not carefully implemented, it could hurt the very workers and communities the president intends to help. Unlike America in the 1950s, today it is rare to find a product that is made exclusively in one country,...
