Articles by Jennifer Drey
Turbulent trade: State’s exports remain steady
Washington’s agricultural exports held steady in 2018, demonstrating both strength and missed opportunity, as some industries suffered under new trade policies while others made gains during the year. Exports of Washington-produced agricultural goods totaled $6.7 billion in 2018, the same amount exported in 2017. The flat growth followed a roughly 10 percent increase in exports…
Looking for laborers: Guest worker program seeks funds
With a growing number of Washington farm owners turning to the H-2A guest worker program to meet their labor needs, the cost of administering and providing oversight of the program now exceeds the federal funding provided for it. It’s a scenario that pushed the state Employment Security Department to turn to the Legislature this year…
Small businesses tap into government work
The U.S. Department of Energy’s prime contractors awarded nearly $785 million in subcontracts in fiscal 2018, a figure representing more than 30 percent of Hanford’s roughly $2.4 billion budget that year, according to a recent Department of Energy report. While most of the prime contractors have aggressive small business subcontracting goals written into their contracts,…
DOE explores methods to treat waste that could cut expenses
Cleanup of the nuclear waste-contaminated Hanford site will cost another $323.2 billion to $677 billion and continue until at least 2078, according to the latest projections released by the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s why the Department of Energy is exploring new approaches that could reduce both the timeline and costs associated with the cleanup…
