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Business & Economy

‘It’s A Difficult Place To Be’: Yakima Construction Firm Preps For Mass Layoff — Just Like 2008

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa March 26, 2020

PaintSmith does business in Yakima (pictured) and Seattle with around 130 employees. Most have been laid off since Washington Gov. Jay Inslee mandated stringent measures to slow coronavirus spread. Courtesy ofPaintSmith does business in Yakima (pictured) and Seattle with around 130 employees. Most have been laid off since Washington Gov. Jay Inslee mandated stringent measures to slow coronavirus spread. Courtesy of PaintSmith Co. PaintSmith Co.

Like many decades-old businesses, Yakima and Seattle-based PaintSmith has had experience with layoffs. After the 2008 recession, the company went from 80 employees to just 10. It taught Smith that his company can survive financial downturns. Read More

Northwest States See Unprecedented Surge In Unemployment Claims

By NWPB News March 26, 2020

File photo. Porter Hahn makes an iced coffee drink in November 2019 in a Seattle coffee shop. U.S. services companies grew at a faster pace in February 2020 than the previous month. Then the coronavirus outbreak in the region shut down much of the service industry. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Mirroring the national trend, Washington, Idaho and Oregon are experiencing an unprecedented spike in unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Read More

How To Avert Economic Catastrophe: Ideas From 5 Top Economists

By NPR News March 24, 2020

Economists say helping the health care sector, including through emergency financing to states and cities, is one of the steps urgently needed to weather the coronavirus crisis. CREDIT: Michael Conroy/AP

Avoid layoffs at any cost. Set up emergency financing for states and cities to help health systems. Cut regulations to speed medical response. Those are some recommendations from leading economists.Read More

U.S. Economic Slowdown In Coming Months May Be Worst On Record

By NPR News March 21, 2020

Forecasters say the government's aggressive efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus will trigger the sharpest slowdown in the U.S. economy on record. John Minchillo/AP

Forecasters say the government's aggressive efforts to curtail the spread of the virus will trigger the sharpest slowdown on record. Some see the economy shrinking a staggering 24%.Read More

Federal Tax Deadline Extended To July 15 Over Coronavirus Pandemic

By NPR News March 20, 2020

The U.S. Treasury Department says the tax filing deadline has been extended to July 15, 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

U.S. taxpayers will have a three-month extension to file their taxes because of the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday. He said that at the president's direction, "we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15."Read More

From Symphony Orchestras To Wedding Bands, Musicians Cope With The Coronavirus Cancellations

By NPR News March 18, 2020

Left to right: Jennifer Koh, Molly Kirk Palier and Rory Ferreira Juergen Frank, Liz Rhode/Courtesy of the artists

Bigger artists may count on fan support and labels to carry them through canceled tours, but working musicians — from orchestra members and wedding singers to indie rappers — are looking elsewhere.Read More

White House Pushes For Quick, Direct Payments To Americans In Response To Coronavirus

By NPR News March 17, 2020

President Donald Trump speaks Tuesday during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force at the White House. Evan Vucci/AP

"We want to go big," President Trump said as his administration seeks to boost the now stalled economy.Read More

Coronavirus Prompts New Mandatory Work Measures At Washington State Agencies

By Austin Jenkins March 16, 2020

Visitors to Western State Hospital and other state facililties are being screened for coronavirus before they are allowed to enter. CREDIT: PHIL THOMAS / ASYLUMPROJECTS.ORG - TINYURL.COM/J28OGDB

Even as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee uses his emergency powers to restrict gatherings of more than 50 people and orders the closure of bars, restaurants and other gathering spaces for at least the next two weeks, state agencies are scrambling to implement emergency measures to protect their employees and those they serve from the rapid spread of coronavirus. Read More

Stocks Go Into Shock. Dow Plunges Nearly 3,000 Points

By NPR News March 16, 2020

Markets are falling sharply, even after the Federal Reserve aggressively cut interest rates to near zero. CREDIT: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. stock indexes fell sharply Monday, a day after the Federal Reserve aggressively cut interest rates to near zero in a bid to stop the economy from crashing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,997.20 points, or about 13%, as coronavirus measures rapidly expanded. The S&P 500 index lost nearly 12%.Read More

Fed Cuts Rates To Near Zero As Coronavirus Rips Through Economy

By NPR News March 15, 2020

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has been a frequent target of President Trump, who has urged the central bank to slash interest rates more aggressively. CREDIT: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate to near zero — a dramatic move not seen since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. President Trump — who has slammed the Fed — praised the move.Read More

Dow Plunges 2,300 Points, Market Moves Into Bear Territory With Biggest One-Day Drop Since ’87

By Scott Leadingham March 12, 2020

After weeks of turmoil over the economic toll of the coronavirus, U.S. stock indexes entered a bear market, signaling an end to their 11-year winning streak. CREDIT: Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 10% — its biggest one-day drop since 1987 — as the coronavirus pandemic continued to rattle markets. Trading was temporarily halted earlier in the day.Read More

PepsiCo Seeks Boost In Energy Drink Market With Purchase Of Rockstar

By NPR News March 11, 2020

PepsiCo's move to purchase Rockstar reflects shifting consumer tastes, which have steadily moved away from soda to other offerings such as tea-flavored beverages and low-calorie drinks. Read More

Oil Prices, Stocks Plunge After Saudi Arabia Stuns World With Massive Discounts

By NPR News March 9, 2020

Oil prices and stock indexes were in freefall Sunday after Saudi Arabia announced a stunning discount in oil prices — of $6 to $8 per barrel — to its customers in Asia, the United States and Europe.Read More

U.S. Added 273,000 Jobs Last Month, But Economists Brace For Coronavirus Impact

By NPR News March 9, 2020

Economists warned that business and consumer caution about the virus is likely to weigh on job growth in the months to come.Read More

Wells Fargo Officials Resign Days Before They Were Set To Testify Before Congress

By NPR News March 9, 2020

Wells Fargo, which has endured a cascade of scandals in recent years, announced Monday that two board members have resigned. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Elizabeth Duke and James Quigley were scheduled to testify. Democrats last week said Wells Fargo was slow to "correct serious deficiencies in its infrastructure for managing risks to consumers."Read More

Dow Dives, New York Stock Exchange Temporarily Halts Trading As Stock Indexes Plummet

By NPR News March 9, 2020

A trader reacts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Major U.S. stock indexes plunged 7% before trading was temporarily halted. Richard Drew/AP

New York Stock Exchange trading was halted temporarily after indexes plunged 7% in reaction to Saudi Arabia's oil price cut amid increasing fears over the coronavirus epidemic's economic impact.Read More

President Trump Appoints Mike Pence To Lead Government’s Coronavirus Response

By NPR News February 26, 2020

President Trump speaks as Vice President Pence listens during a Wednesday news conference about the U.S. response to the new coronavirus. CREDIT: Evan Vucci/AP

"Mike is going to be in charge," Trump said in an evening news conference, as officials said a case in the U.S. may have been transmitted within the community.Read More

‘Gives Me Hope’: How Low-Paid Workers Rose Up Against Stagnant Wages

By NPR News February 26, 2020

Low-paid workers push back and speak out against stagnant wages.Read More

The Curious Case Of A Big Company (Boeing) That Wants To Give Up A Tax Break

By Tom Banse February 25, 2020

The Boeing Company is bringing an unusual request to state lawmakers in Olympia: please take away our airplane manufacturing tax break. The Washington Legislature seems likely to oblige, but possibly will add some strings to the deal.Read More

An Airbnb For Cropland Hits A Snag, As Farmers Raise Data Privacy Concerns

By NPR News February 24, 2020

A mix of barley, peas and flax grows in a field at Casey Bailey's farm near Fort Benton, Mont. Bailey sells this crop to Montana dairy farmer Nate Brown, who has been feeding it to his goats.

American farmers spend about $32 billion each year to rent land, and Tillable CEO Corbett Kull thinks his company could be farmland's AirBnB or Zillow. "This is one of the beauties of digital marketplaces, where you can bring two parties together that otherwise might never meet," he says.Read More

To Address Homelessness, Spokane Is Starting To Put Relationships Before Punishments

By NPR News February 19, 2020

Julia Garcia started the nonprofit Jewels Helping Hands, which began by operating mobile shower units to serve Spokane's growing homeless population. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

There's a growing consensus that a more punitive approach hasn't worked for Spokane. Nationwide, the homeless population is rising. In many communities, it can feel like an intractable problem. Yet cities like Spokane are starting to show some incremental progress with some prevention programs. Read More

Lobbying Pays Off: Washington Health Insurers Benefit From Change To Consumer-Focused Bill

By Austin Jenkins February 18, 2020

Kaiser Permanente’s Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington is among the largest insurance plans in the state, along with Regence BlueShield and Premera Blue Cross. Together they’ve amassed nearly $4.5 billion in surpluses. At the same time, consumers have faced double-digit premium increases.

Strong opposition and intense lobbying by Washington’s health insurance industry has resulted in a key change to a consumer-oriented measure designed to address rising premium costs.Read More

Ah, Shuck: Oysters, Cherries, Other Northwest Ag Products Back Up As Coronavirus Quarantines Trade

By Anna King February 18, 2020

Amy Skillings of Oysterville, Washington, wheels the day's shucked oysters into a large cooler to await pickup. The oysters will be flown quickly across the country and to China.

Right now, all sorts of products aren’t reaching the U.S. because of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China. Reciprocally, many U.S. agricultural and forestry products aren’t shipping back into China and other Pacific Rim countries. Global trade watchers say backed-up trade is building up on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Read More

Ron Wells Helped Develop Spokane, Moscow, Lewiston. He’s Been Sentenced In Federal Fraud Scheme

By NWPB News February 5, 2020

The former Ridpath Hotel in downtown Spokane was vacant for several years before developer Ron Wells and other got involved to help restore and convert it into affordable apartment housing. ARCHSPOKANE CC BY-SA TINYURL.COM/Y45W6Z2M

Prominent Inland Northwest architect and developer Ron Wells was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for his role in staging a car crash to defraud insurance companies. He was sentenced to a year of home confinement and must pay $240,000.Read More

What Is The Toll Of Trade Wars On U.S. Agriculture?

By PBS Newshour January 27, 2020

Larry McMillan drives a combine as he harvests barley Friday, Aug. 24, 2007, near Moscow, Idaho. The region's warm and dry weather has provided optimal conditions for the continued harvest season. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The recently signed Phase 1 U.S.-China deal promises some relief. Details remain unclear, but the United States government’s interpretation of this deal is that China will purchase $40 billion of agricultural goods in 2020. Some analysts have questioned how realistic those estimates are, given that the highest level of farm products the United States has ever exported to Read More

Bigleaf Maple Syrup Flows As Profits Drip From A Once-Maligned Northwest Tree

By Anna King January 27, 2020

Plastic tubing strings like fairy nets through the University of Washington's Pack Forest in the foothills of Mt. Rainier. Eventually it will carry bigleaf maple tree sap to make syrup.

The bigleaf maple has a broad canopy and is native to the West Coast. It grows from San Diego, California all the way north to British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. But the West Coast timber industry is largely set up to harvest Douglas fir. The tree, with its broad-shading canopy, is often eradicated so more Douglas fir will grow.Read More

Do Kids Have A Right To Sell Lemonade? Washington Lawmakers Want To Guarantee It

By Austin Jenkins January 23, 2020

File photo. Bills in the Washington Legislature would prohibit local governments from regulating kid-run lemonade stands. CREDIT: EvinDC/Flickr tinyurl.com/EvanDCLemonade

Washington lawmakers are tackling a variety of weighty issues this year from homelessness to prescription drug pricing to transportation funding to …. the legality of kids’ lemonade stands. That’s right, lemonade stands are on the agenda for the 2020 legislative session in Olympia.Read More

Does The China Trade Deal Move The World Away From Free Trade?

By NPR News January 19, 2020

Containers are stacked at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province. A new trade deal dictates that China buy more from the U.S., but that has other trading partners worried. CREDIT: STR/AFP via Getty Images

While the new deal with China lowers some trade barriers, it leaves many tariffs in place. And it dictates that China buy more from the U.S., but that has other trading partners worried.Read More

Labor Shortage And Fall Weather Stack Up To Leave Apples Rotting In Orchards

By Anna King January 15, 2020

Apples remain unpicked in December 2019 in an orchard near Wallula, Washington. CREDIT: Mike Denny

For the love of Johnny Appleseed! Why are so many apples left hanging (and rotting) on trees in Northwest orchards after the fall harvest? Industry experts and growers says it’s a combination of factors – but really not due to tariffs, as some people think.Read More

‘We Won’t Build It’: Northwest Tech Workers Struggle With Company Ties To Immigration Enforcement

By Esmy Jimenez January 14, 2020

Notecards handwritten by Tableau employees from a recent rally at Gas Works Park reveal what personally motivated them to 'draw a line', are shown on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, in Seattle.

The Southern border may be far from Washington state, but software used by immigration officials is built in Seattle. Now tech workers are grappling with their responsibility as the creators of that technology. Some have become unlikely activists.Read More

New Law Aims To Help Americans Without Retirement Plans. Will It Work?

By NPR News January 11, 2020

The U.S. Capitol Building CREDIT: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The most powerful way to get people to save for retirement in recent decades has been through benefits offered at their job. But a lot of people — about half the American workforce — don't get that from their employers.Read More

Dams Vs. Salmon: Workshops Aim To Get Past ‘My Study Can Beat Up Your Study’ On Snake River

By Courtney Flatt January 8, 2020

Protesters call for the removal of dams on the Snake River to help salmon spawn — and consequently feed Puget Sound orcas. The protest came outside a meeting of the governor’s orca task force in Wenatchee on Tuesday. CREDIT: ELLIS O'NEILL/KUOW/EARTHFIX

More than 300 people showed up to hear speakers talk about why it’s important to either keep or alter the dams. The panel stems from a Washington state study that will guide the state’s position on dam removal.Read More

Unemployment Pushes More Men Into Jobs Fields Dominated By Women

By NWPB News January 7, 2020

Men make more money in women-dominated fields, such as teaching. CREDIT: Getty Images/File

In the last few decades, many high-paying jobs that are mostly done by men – like manufacturing – have contracted or disappeared. At the same time, many jobs in fields dominated by women – like education and health care – have significantly increased.Read More

Public Invited To Clarkston-Pasco-Vancouver Workshops On Question Of Snake River Dams

By Courtney Flatt January 4, 2020

The Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. CREDIT: BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

Upcoming public workshops will examine a draft report that gauges how people in Washington want to deal with the fate of the dams. At the workshops, officials will present the report’s findings, followed by a panel discussion. People can submit written and online comments on the draft report through Jan. 24.Read More

2020 Census Kicks Into High Gear Next Month With State Taxpayer Assist

By Tom Banse December 26, 2019

This coming spring, U.S. Census workers will follow up with households that do not respond to questionnaire mailings.

The once-every-ten-years census count of everyone living in the United States starts next month, beginning with remote villages in Alaska. West Coast states are spending local tax dollars to boost the response when their turn comes beginning in March.Read More

New Energy Storage Project On Upper Columbia Brings Jobs — And Concerns From Colville Tribes

By Courtney Flatt December 23, 2019

Chief Joseph Dam is on the Columbia River in eastern Washington at Bridgeport. CREDIT: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A new energy storage project is in the works near eastern Washington’s Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River. The project is expected to bring construction jobs to the region. But the nearby Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation worry it would harm important cultural areas.Read More

After 2 Years, GOP Tax Cuts Prove More A Lump Of Coal Than A Shiny Economic Gift

By NPR News December 21, 2019

President Trump prepares to sign the tax legislation in the Oval Office on Dec. 22, 2017. The GOP tax cut did not pay for itself, as promised, nor did it deliver a sustained boost to economic growth. CREDIT: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Two years ago, Republicans in Congress passed a sweeping tax cut. It was supposed to be a gift-wrapped present to taxpayers and the economy. But in hindsight, it looks more like a costly lump of coal.Read More

After Impeachment, U.S. House Gives President A Victory In New U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal

By NWPB News December 19, 2019

Trucks pass along a border wall as they get into position to cross into the United States at the border in Tijuana, Mexico, on Friday. Companies had been rushing to ship as many goods as possible out of Mexico to get ahead of possible tariffs threatened by President Trump. Hans-Maximo Musielik/APv

One day after its historic impeachment votes, the Democratic-led House gave President Donald Trump an overwhelming bipartisan victory Thursday on a renegotiated trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. By a 385-41 vote, the House approved a bill that puts in place terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.Read More

U.S. House Passes Bipartisan Bill For Relief To Undocumented Farmworkers, Farmers Short On Labor

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa December 13, 2019

Sarbanand Farms farmworkers demonstrate after coworker's death in August 2017.

The possible impeachment of President Donald Trump is not the only thing moving through the U.S. House of Representatives. On Wednesday, the House passed a bipartisan bill that could give undocumented farmworkers a path to legal residence and relief to farmers short on labor. Read More

If You’re A Salaried Worker In Washington, You May Soon Be Eligible For Overtime With New Rules

By NWPB News December 11, 2019

Victor Duran, a co-manager of a sports apparel store at the Southcenter mall, south of Seattle. Duran is one employee who could benefit from new overtime rules in Washington, which will allow hundreds of thousands of workers who have been exempt to begin collecting when they work more than 40 hours per week. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

The Department of Labor and Industries finalized the rules Wednesday and will phase them in by 2028. By that time, salaried workers making up to about $83,400 a year will be entitled to time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours per week.Read More

3 Unusual Gifts From Northwest Businesses For The Person Who Has Everything Else

By Tom Banse December 9, 2019

Find the locally-grown spice online and at farmers markets in Seattle and Portland. CREDIT: Cyrus Saffron

In this season of holiday shopping, now is about the time when many of us get stuck and don't know what to get for someone on our gift list. There are at least three Pacific Northwest companies who may come to your rescue with ideas for unconventional presents. A hint: they involve used dolls, a precious, exotic spice and a different kind of gift card.Read More

Suspicious Haystack Fires In Central Washington Means Major Export Is Up In Smoke

By Anna King December 3, 2019

A haystack on fire in Franklin County, north of Pasco, Washington, on Saturday, Nov. 30. CREDIT: Mike Harris / Franklin County Fire District 3

More than a dozen haystacks have been burned under suspicious circumstances in central Washington since early October. It’s concerning to the hay industry and law enforcement. Read More

Lower Columbia River Methanol Refinery Halted By Washington Regulators For Environmental Review

By Monica Samayoa November 24, 2019

The proposed site at the Port of Kalama where NW Innovation Works is proposing a 90-acre methanol plant. CREDIT: NW INNOVATION WORKS

A $2 billion methanol project proposed for the Lower Columbia River town of Kalama, Washington, hit a new roadblock Friday, when the Washington Department of Ecology said the environmental review did not adequately assess its greenhouse gas emissions and contributions to climate change.Read More

Tensions Rise In Olympia As People With Few Options Park RVs Outside Washington Capitol

By Austin Jenkins November 22, 2019

Austin Hall, left, his fiance Victoria Swan and a man who identified himself as Mark Goddard sit in one of the RVs parked on Deschutes Parkway on Washington's Capitol campus. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

The state of Washington now finds itself grappling with an issue that’s been front and center in Seattle, Portland and many other cities -- people who are homeless living in dilapidated recreational vehicles parked on public streets.Read More

Fans Getting Charged Up To See Ford’s New Electric Mustang SUV

By NPR News November 17, 2019

Ford's Mustang Mach-E will be unveiled Sunday, Nov. 17. It's part of the Detroit-based company's $11 billion investment in electric cars. CREDIT: Ford

For nearly two years, car enthusiasts have been trying to figure out what Ford meant when it said its new electric SUV was "Mustang inspired." On Sunday, they'll find out. Read More

Two Washington Tech Giants Do Battle In ‘The Other Washington’ Over Pentagon Contract

By NPR News November 15, 2019

Amazon is alleging "unmistakable bias" on the government's part in awarding a massive military tech contract to rival Microsoft.This begins a new chapter in the protracted and contentious battle over the biggest cloud-computing contract in U.S. history — called JEDI, for Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure — worth up to $10 billion over 10 years.Read More

Like Your Hummus Wet? Then You Want Dry Beans. So Do Palouse Farmers Who Grow Garbanzos

By Anna King November 14, 2019

Kyle Hinrichs helps run the family business outside of Pullman, Wash. Right now the company is drying beans as fast as possible with several machines, but it’s an around the clock job. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Heavy rains and even an early fall snow in October matted down the garbanzo bean plants tight to the land. That means Palouse-region farmers are scrambling to dry out beans to get them to silos and co-ops. It's on top of already depressed prices due to international trade wars.Read More

McDonald’s Is Sued Over ‘Systemic Sexual Harassment’ Of Female Workers

By NPR News November 12, 2019

A McDonald's employee holds a sign during a 2018 protest

A former employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's and one Michigan franchise, alleging a "culture of sexual harassment."Read More

Cascadia Bullet Train Proposal For I-5 Corridor Urged On Despite Electorate’s Anti-Tax Mood

By Tom Banse November 8, 2019

After bemoaning that the state's highways, bridges, ferries and rail cars "are on a glide path to failure," Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary Roger Millar laid out the case for building an ultra-high speed railway on dedicated track.Read More

Farm Bankruptcies On The Rise Nationally, Most Pronounced For Northwest Families

By NWPB News November 5, 2019

A tractor plows soil where a failed wheat crop once stood on Matt Isgar's ranch and farm in Hesperus, Colo. Isgar is hoping the soil will get enough moisture in coming months so he can plant pinto beans next season. CREDIT: Kami Engstrom/Courtesy of Matt Isgar

The number of family farms seeking bankruptcy protection grew 24% over the last year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of recent federal court data. The analysis found family farm bankruptcies are rising fastest in the Northwest.Read More