The Columbian's 20th annual Economic Forecast
During upturns and rough patches, The Columbian's panel of economic forecasters has predicted the direction of Clark County's economy. Each year for the past 20, our experts have wrestled with the...more

Experts see chip sales growth
The Semiconductor Industry Association reported in its 2005 annual report that this past year, more transistors were produced -- and at a lower cost -- than grains of rice. That's an astounding numbe...more

4,000 jobs in 2006?
Job growth in Clark County was pretty decent in 2005: around 5,000 new jobs, a 4 percent annual growth rate. Job expansion in 2006 is expected to be moderately lower, closer to 4,000 jobs or 3 per...more

$500 million in new roads
Transportation is the foundation of our economy and quality of life. Our Southwest Washington region should settle for no less than an integrated regional transportation network that can economically...more

Oregon discovers county
A friend once asked Seattle weatherman Harry Wappler why he attracted crowds at parties. He said people always want to know tomorrow's weather. Wappler then asked my friend, who is a Washington na...more

Wind power, conservation ahead
It is not news that energy prices were very high during the last half of 2005. The price of gasoline is easy to see on the sign at the local gas station and it was higher recently than many of us can...more

Land costs rising
Clark County's positive growth in new jobs and continued population increases supported a banner year in 2005 for new retail construction, and 2006 will continue the trend of significant retail constr...more

Look for higher mortgage rates
After forecasting for three years in a row that interest rates would rise, the prediction in 2005 was half right, but only marginally so. Rates of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most popular pr...more

Paper, rock and a hard place
Through a process Georgia-Pacific calls "footprinting" we've identified what the mill does best and focused on those segments of the consumer products and fine paper businesses. This could be a year i...more

More choices for shoppers
As long as Clark County's housing industry continues to explode, population growth and new retail development will follow. Based on that expected continued expansion, countywide store-only retail...more

Bubble will gradually shrink
There are signs of weakness for our area's housing market. From 1991 to 1998, residential sales increased yearly, peaking at 8,347. In 1999 and 2000, sales of new and pre-owned homes dropped to 7,...more

Health care-- jobs, projects
Among the most visible 2006 Clark County health care trends will be the continued expansion of facilities to serve the county's rapidly growing population. Last year the county's (and state's) fir...more

Networking powers telecom
Clark County has always been a hotbed of telecommunications. A number of local entrepreneurs, such as John Warta with roots in Pacific Telecom (now CenturyTel), have launched multiple telecom comp...more