A profitable Kennewick technology business is being closed by its parent as part of a global reorganization blamed on the pandemic.Bruker Inc. is merging Bruker’s Nano Handheld-Mobile Portable XRF unit, which employs about 50, with a sister company in Berlin and closing the office at the end of December. It...
L&I proposes 6% hike for contractor feesThe Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is considering raising the fee to register, renew or be reinstated as a contractor by 5.79% for 2022.L&I is required to charge a fee and to revise the fees at least once every two years. The...
More than a year-and-a-half into the pandemic, it’s clear that Washington manufacturers are contending with two issues that appear likely to remain with us for some time: supply chain disruption and a growing labor shortage.Those two issues came up at nearly every stop during the Association of Washington Business’ annual...
“Corporation, n., an ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”–Ambrose Bierce, the Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Regrettably, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) were not included in Ambrose Bierce’s popular quote from 1910 because LLCs didn’t exist in most states until the 1990s.Still, the quote applies to LLCs in the same...
Washington Policy CenterGovernment Reform DirectorJason MercierWhat is the Washington Policy Center?Washington Policy Center (WPC) is an independent, nonprofit think tank that promotes sound public policy based on free-market solutions.WPC improves lives of Washington state’s citizens by providing accurate, high-quality research for policymakers, the media and the general public. Headquartered in...
If you are the CFO, treasurer or accountant for any organization, you are excused if you hit the panic button over a year ago. The outbreak of Covid-19 brought unprecedented worry that the machinery of our economy would grind if not to a halt, then stagger forward.Those worries were understandable...
Recreational cannabis sales in Benton County reached more than $39.6 million in fiscal year 2021.That’s up 16% from $34 million in fiscal year 2020.The increase over the previous year shows a slower rate of growth compared to the nearly 43% growth rate in fiscal year 2020 over the previous year.Statewide,...
Tim Arntzen, longtime CEO of the Port of Kennewick, narrowly survived a job challenge during a stormy performance review by the port’s divided commission.The performance review was conducted in public session during the commission’s Nov. 9 meeting, held virtually because of the pandemic. The commission voted 2-1 to accept the...
Scott Keller, the Port of Benton’s retired executive director, is seeking appointment to the seat vacated by Commissioner Bob Larson, who retired on Oct. 28, four years into a six-year term.The port’s remaining two commissioners, Roy Keck and Jane Hagarty, intend to appoint Larson’s replacement on Nov. 29. Keller is...
It’s not the typical narrative for small business owners.When statewide shutdowns in the wake of Covid-19 closed the Richland Public Library’s doors, its café, Novel Coffee + Teas, shut down with it.Though many businesses took advantage of the lull to re-imagine their brands, spaces and business models, few were faced...
