Articles by Guest Contributor
Buying stocks or bonds to earn income? Here’s how that works
One common concern for investors is seeking a reliable source of passive income. Sometimes it is not immediately evident to those investors that an investment account can easily produce passive income. Many investors who are new to investing in the broader stock market like to evaluate the investment alongside other investments for which they have…
Smiles everyone! The American Empress paddleboat is back on the river
Imagine yourself facing a busload of people all wearing masks. You’re wearing one, too, of course. You were tested for Covid-19 on arrival. You’ve been introduced to the bus driver, and you’ve helped the first 45 guests from the American Empress cruise boat board the bus. You take a deep breath. First bus out at…
Mortgage-free home under construction for wounded vet with Tri-City ties
By Annie Charnley EvelandWalla Walla Union-Bulletin A wounded Army staff sergeant with Tri-City ties soon will move into a new mortgage-free home. Ellis “Jerry” Majetich and his family have officially broken ground on their future home in Ponte Vedra, Florida. This is the first PulteGroup’s Built to Honor home donated in a Del Webb 55-and-older…
WSDA fills food pantries with farmer-grown products
By Derek SandisonDirector, Washington State Department of Agriculture As we reach the midway mark of 2021, many of the adjustments made in response to the coronavirus pandemic appear likely to remain with us for some time, from ongoing public health measures, teleworking for many workers who used to report to offices and efforts to recover…
Washington wine industry cheers as shipping revives in early 2021
There’s been a retrenching of the Washington wine industry in recent vintages as a result of overproduction, a slippage in sales and the pandemic. However, reasons for optimism continue to grow even though the state crushed only 175,000 tons in 2020 – its lightest harvest since 2011. For analysts craving statistics, there is economist Chris…
Concord grapes take off with organic approach
The Miller family’s place in the history of Washington wine is secure, and their Airfield Estates tasting room ranks as one of the most iconic in the Yakima Valley. Along the way, however, Marcus Miller positioned Airport Ranch Vineyards into one of the state’s most important producers of Concord juice grapes. It makes sense that…
Will Washington’s new capital gains tax affect you?
On May 4, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a new capital gains tax set to take effect Jan. 1, 2022. This law likely will not impact most people (as explained below). But, for some (the lucky?) the impact could be worth attempting to mitigate through planning. The key to this new law is not…
Columbia Basin Badgers seize a ‘Tiger by the Tail’ in June 17 trade forum
The United States and China are engaged in what appears to many experts to be a battle for supremacy between the world’s two most powerful economies, perhaps with India as the prize. The Columbia Basin Badger Club’s June Forum: “Tiger by the Tail: U.S.-China relations” will offer the perspective of someone who is on the…
Hydropower will anchor Washington’s energy future
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half a world apart, they have lots in common – beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, clear streams and lakes, and vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal,…
Manufacturing in the greater
Tri-Cities is solid but hardly diversified
Unique among nearly all Eastern Washington population centers, the greater Tri-City manufacturing sector doesn’t land in the top five sectors. By headcount, it usually ranks fifth in Eastern Washington. Should we be worried? Perhaps. Perhaps not. One reason for the difference from neighboring economies lies in the presence a large sector known as Administrative &…
