Local Business

Ridgefield energy consulting firm earns $150K federal grant

Rappaport Energy Consulting of Ridgefield will receive a $149,900 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a geothermal-solar thermal pilot plant on the Oregon Institute of Technology campus in Klamath Falls, Ore., Acting Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced Thursday.

Clark County's taxable retail sales growth exceeded state growth in 2012

Taxable retail sales in Washington reached $109.1 billion in 2012, up 5.1 percent compared to 2011, the Washington State Department of Revenue reported Thursday.

Some Northwest coal efforts fade

Three of six projects proposed for region have been scuttled

The Pacific Northwest is no longer as big a target for global energy companies looking to export coal from the West Coast to energy-hungry China and other countries.

Report: Housing sales increase statewide in 1Q

The housing market improved statewide in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington.

Clark County Skills Center plans to add a new building

It would house aviation, cosmetology programs, if legislators OK $7.15M

The Clark County Skills Center is preparing to add a new building to its campus to house both its cosmetology program and a new program to train students for jobs in the aviation industry, in anticipation of $7.15 million in state construction dollars.

Oil boom in N.D.

A report doubling the estimate of how much oil is under the state feeds a sense of long-haul optimism

WILLISTON, N.D. — Two days after a rosy government report doubled the estimate of how much oil is tucked beneath North Dakota, four men hop out of their vehicles into the soft dusk light atop a rock-strewn hill north of town.

Energy company drops St. Helens coal terminal plans

PORTLAND — An energy company has dropped plans for a coal export terminal downstream of Portland along the Columbia River and will look for another site in the Northwest, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Liquor Control Board keeps 20-mile exception for smaller stores

TACOMA — You shouldn't have to drive more than 20 miles to buy your whiskey and gin.

Federal spending cuts to lower Washington unemployment checks

SEATTLE — State officials say federal automatic budget cuts will lower an unemployment benefits program for people in Washington.

Washington had 3rd-lowest workplace fatality rate

Sixty workers were killed in Washington State in 2011, giving the state the third-lowest worker fatality rate in the country at 1.9 workers per 100,000 workers, according to a new AFL-CIO report, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.

WSU Extension to host stormwater workshop

Washington State University Extension is offering a free workshop in Vancouver called " Low Impact Development and Green Stormwater Strategies for Real Estate Professionals." The workshop will describe stormwater management techniques to meet new requirements for construction and redevelopment. Development and green industry professionals will present the workshops, along with experts from the WSU Extension.

Clark College upgrades adult basic education

Effort designed to streamline program

Clark College is leading the way in a national push to upgrade adult basic education programs in order to eliminate current overlap in class content, shorten the length of the program and, hopefully, lower the nearly 50 percent annual dropout rate.

Dow sets record, closes over 15K

Growing optimism in economy has fueled 14% rise in 2013

NEW YORK — Just two months after recovering the last of its losses from the financial crisis, the Dow Jones industrial average punched through another milestone Tuesday, closing above 15,000 for the first time.

Pro-union protesters set up river picket at Port of Kalama

Boats block grain ship in response to lockout at Port of Vancouver

A Vancouver dockworkers dispute spilled over to Kalama on Tuesday morning as protesters in boats tried to impede a grain ship bound for the Port of Kalama. The ship is now listed as “delayed” and is at anchor across from the port on the Oregon side of the Columbia River.

Internet sales tax bill faces tough sell in House

WASHINGTON — Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet.