Tagged: Business

As we continue to expand our regional news coverage here on Northwest Public Radio, we are pleased to offer a new segment. In conversations with editors, reporters and others covering the news, we’ll be taking a closer look at the people, issues and events shaping lives across the Pacific Northwest. We call it Front Page. Here’s our news director John Paxson with this week’s featured publication, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Character is quickly becoming a key issue in the race for Washington State Auditor. Republican James Watkins and Democrat Troy Kelley sparred Wednesday over the question of honesty as they debated before a business audience.

Watkins reiterated his attack from last week: that Kelley can’t be trusted because of past civil allegations that he misappropriated millions of dollars. Watkins told the debate audience about a deposition Kelley gave in a 2001 wrongful termination lawsuit in California.

The latest jobs report for Washington state contains a paradox. It shows strong job growth in the private sector. But at the same time, the state unemployment rate also rose.

Washington's Employment Department Wednesday reported a May jobless rate of 8.3 percent, up slightly from the revised 8.2 percent rate of April.

State labor economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman said in a conference call that the higher unemployment rate was caused primarily by once-discouraged workers resuming their job hunts.

The state of Washington has officially bid good riddance to its state run liquor stores. About five times as many stores will now sell hard liquor, and the new law that went into effect Friday means shoppers can head to supermarkets to buy vodka or rum. It’s a welcome change for some people, but not for everyone.

Shoppers gave their reactions outside of a Costco warehouse in Seattle.

Alyssa Royse was loading up bottles.

"I came here just to by liquor. We've got tequila, vodka, gin and of course vermouth."

Since the 1970s, U.S. policy toward American Indian tribes has been to encourage economic independence. Tribal casinos are probably the most visible symbol of that policy. These days, tribes are diversifying into other businesses. In 2005, the Chehalis Indian tribe in southwest Washington partnered with a Wisconsin-based water park chain to build a destination resort. The state of Washington, in turn, granted the project tax exempt status. But now, correspondent Austin Jenkins has obtained internal state documents that question whether Great Wolf Lodge really is a tribal entity and eligible for favorable tax treatment.

This month's auction of state-run liquor stores in Washington raked in nearly $31 million. The state liquor control board revealed the winning bidders Monday.

The Port of Coos Bay is negotiating with three companies interested in building a coal export facility on Oregon’s South Coast. Through interviews and records requests, EarthFix has learned the identities of two companies involved in the deal. Amelia Templeton reports.