By Eric DegermanThere’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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The coronavirus pandemic has shown us how easy it is to take things for granted. Family barbecues, baseball games and kids going to school are just a few examples.As some of our old way of life comes back, it’s worth noting another thing that’s easy to take for granted: Washington’s...
The past year and a half has not failed to provide society with various crash courses on industry and science.During March and April 2020, our first lesson was on the unreliability of lean supply chains during the Great Toilet Paper Shortage. It seems appropriate that we have now come full...
By National Association of ManufacturersNow that all American adults are eligible for vaccination and largely have easy access to vaccines, it’s even more important to convince those still on the fence about getting their shots.To help manufacturers convince their hesitating employees, The Manufacturing Institute has partnered with the Center for...
Sometimes being first isn’t good.Such is the case with legislation making Washington the only state to ban natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings. Thankfully, the legislators ended their session in Olympia and left that bad idea on the table. However, it is destined to come back next year.The issue...
