Records reveal Vancouver, state's efforts to court Nike
Gregoire, CREDC, port were part of campaign to entice sportswear giant
The city of Vancouver aggressively sought an expansion of Nike Inc. in Clark County, offering at least $8.1 million for the project and pitching the company on expanding at the former Hewlett-Packard site now owned by SEH America, public records obtained by The Columbian show.
Barrett Business Services reports strong financial results
Vancouver-based firm outsources human resources services
Barrett Business Services Inc., the Vancouver-based supplier of staffing and outsourced human resources services, reported solid financial results Wednesday, raking in fourth-quarter net revenues of $113.7 million — a 34 percent increase year over year.
Program helps local women learn trades
Training can lead to blue-collar jobs
Not long ago, Bree Smith found herself stuck in a pit of a job, rapidly going nowhere on a bottom-rung paycheck.
Port of Vancouver to extend potash push
Commissioners expected to OK continuing exclusive lease talks with BHP Billiton
The Port of Vancouver is expected to continue to keep a key piece of property off the market in hopes of landing a potash export facility planned by a global mining company.
Nike's Vancouver threat weighed on Oregon
Company pressured state heavily before receiving tax deal
Three business days before Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber called lawmakers into a rushed special session to hand Nike a sweetheart tax deal, an attorney for the company told the state Nike would keep looking elsewhere to expand if Oregon didn't meet its needs, records obtained by The Columbian show.
Strictly Business: Wall Street shenanigans hit home
You've probably never heard of Jeff Connaughton.
Tidewater barges ahead water transportation firm focuses on growth
It's a chilly and unrelentingly gray Tuesday, but the belly of the tugboat Chief is warm as the crew prepares to feast on a pork roast.
WaferTech site subject of speculation
Rumors focus on possible expansion in Camas
Rumors fly again about the future of WaferTech in Camas, with speculation suggesting the company's global parent is considering the site for expansion
Ethanol business with local ties bought for $95 million
A sprawling crude oil and ethanol facility with ties to Clark County businesses has been acquired for $95 million by a corporation that says the transaction will enable it to serve energy markets on the West Coast.
ZoomCare clinic set to serve Clark County
Nonemergency health care offered at flat fee, no wait
ZoomCare, the Portland-based chain of medical clinics, said Monday it has opened its first primary care clinic in Vancouver, at 164th Avenue and Mill Plain Boulevard. It's the privately held company's 17th such clinic since it launched six years ago.
Recovery crawls along in Clark County
Local economy maintains slow pace, adding 400 jobs in Dec.
Clark County's economic recovery maintained its trudging pace in December, an analysis released Wednesday showed, adding 400 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis from November.
County halts funding to economic development council
Madore, Mielke break contract over council's support for light rail
Commissioners say they'll reinstate funding if CREDC changes position on light rail
Vancouver muffled on Nike talks
City staff can't say whether company was playing games over Oregon taxes
Five months after Nike Inc. approached Vancouver about expanding in Clark County, city officials still can't tell anyone what they offered the athletic apparel goliath to try to land some tantalizing Nike jobs here.
Kaiser to enter hospital deal with Legacy Salmon Creek
Longtime relationship with PeaceHealth to end this fall
About 100,000 Clark County residents who receive health insurance through Kaiser Permanente will go to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center for hospital services under a sweeping new agreement between the two medical giants.
Communities vie to woo Clark College campus
Sites in Ridgefield, B.G. among those considered for planned north county location
As north Clark County grapples with growth, Clark College is emerging as a key player in how that region will look and feel for decades to come.
HP disclosure raises fresh questions about future of local operations
Tech giant considering selling assets, businesses
Hewlett-Packard Co., whose workforce includes an estimated 500 employees in Vancouver, is considering jettisoning assets and business units, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said in its year-end financial statement.
Outgoing utilities commissioner: We always put customers first
After 30 years of helping oversee Clark Public Utilities' power and water decisions, Carol Curtis is stepping down from her post as one of the utility's three elected commissioners.
Trellis Growth thrives on the vine
Camas woman finds success helping winemakers promote their products
It was late in the summer of 2008 and, not long after launching a wine consulting company, Dixie Huey had already reached her limits.
Hands-On & Hopeful: Woman opens massage studio after MS diagnosis
Regina Swartz is living proof that the human spirit is no abstract concept.
Vancouver flirted with Nike on expansion
Oregon tax law enacted to stave off possibility of development elsewhere
When Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber called the Oregon Legislature into a rushed special session last week, he said the state needed to give tax assurances to Nike in order to keep the company from expanding out of state.
Vancouver-based Northwest Pipe Co. sets pay for board chairman, CEO
Northwest Pipe, manufacturer of steel pipe, sets compensation for incoming executive board chairman, and president and CEO
State's jobless rate dipped below 8 percent in November
Washington's estimated unemployment rate has declined below 8 percent for the first time since January 2009, reaching a seasonally adjusted 7.8 percent in November.
UPDATE: Showdown looms in grain export dispute
Terminal operators give union until Dec. 24 to accept, reject offer
One of the four operators of grain export terminals battling union dockworkers over a new contract is not on the operators' latest statement rejecting a union offer
PeaceHealth, Catholic Health seek OK for regional system
PeaceHealth and Catholic Health Initiatives are asking the Washington State Department of Health for permission to launch a massive new regional health care system with operations based in Vancouver.
Former Riverview Bancorp worker files $1.4M suit
She claims she was fired for uncovering, reporting illegal acts
A former employee of Vancouver-based Riverview Bancorp Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging she was retaliated against and wrongfully fired for uncovering and reporting multiple cases of fraudulent activity at the bank.
Port of Vancouver approves prep work for industrial site
$5.3 million worth of improvements aimed at luring employers
Port of Vancouver Board of Commissioners unanimously approves hiring Rotschy Inc. to install infrastructure at 58-acre portion of Centennial Industrial Park
Strictly Business: Green jobs here, worth cultivating
Turns out, green jobs — those future jobs that will help underpin a sustainable economy — are already here. What's more, greener industries grow faster than the overall economy, and states in the U.S. that possess a greater focus on green industries have fared better in the economic crash.
Jobless aid to end for 2,600 in Clark County
Thousands statewide to exhaust all benefits by year's end
Clark County remains a tough place to find work, and figures showing that thousands of long-term job seekers have run out of jobless benefits — with many more to come — only punch home the problem.
Rumors of WaferTech's doom dismissed
Camas plant is valuable to parent, officials say
The semiconductor industry is pulsating with rumors that the global parent of WaferTech -- one of Clark County's biggest employers -- wants to expand elsewhere, raising questions about the future of the 16-year-old, Camas-based manufacturer of computer chips.
Owners of grain terminals set deadline
Union dockworkers given until Dec. 8 to accept contract
Operators of six grain export terminals — including United Grain Corp.'s facility at the Port of Vancouver — struck an aggressive tone Thursday in giving union dockworkers until Dec. 8 to accept their "last and final offer."
Grain handlers, dockworkers still talking
Owners say they'll respond today to longshoremen's comments about 'final offer'
With a midnight deadline looming for a possible lockout at six grain export terminals — including United Grain Corp.'s facility at the Port of Vancouver — terminal owners said Wednesday they'll take more time to respond to union dockworkers' request for further negotiations.
Local companies to work on unmanned vessel
It is aimed at stalking enemy submarines
A global defense company has received a $58 million contract to build an unmanned vessel that stalks enemy submarines, and two companies in the Portland-Vancouver region will benefit.
Columbia Machine defies prophets of doom through its creativity, flexibility
Ostensibly, Vancouver-based Columbia Machine Inc. shouldn't be here.
A welcome bounce for Clark County jobs
Job growth stronger than expected in second quarter
Clark County, mired in an agonizingly slow recovery, got a jolt of good news Tuesday as the region's labor economist reported that the local economy performed better than expected in this year's second quarter.
Local utility aids Sandy recovery
Clark Public Utilities' crew back home after emotional, exhausting 15-day tour
Uprooted homes. Hollowed-out lives. Misery on a staggering scale.
Washington adds 6,700 jobs in October
Gains in private sector are offset somewhat by government losses
Washington state added a net 6,700 jobs in October, the state Employment Security Department reported Thursday, and posted an initial unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, down from 8.5 percent in September.
Port of Vancouver's budget $16M less than this year's
Commissioners cut back on capital projects, opt against property tax hike
The Port of Vancouver will head into 2013 with a slimmed-down spending plan but with expectations it will rope in more revenue to plow into infrastructure projects and jobs, thanks to a decision by its Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
Water aplenty for Clark County
Department of Ecology approves largest water right in recent state history for Clark Public Utilities, and a smaller one for Ridgefield
While much of the world, including the U.S. West, struggles over how to maintain a sustainable supply of water, communities across Clark County on Friday received a reassuring message: Your access to that crucial and finite resource is guaranteed for decades.
Clark Public Utilities wins new water right to serve growth for decades
The Washington Department of Ecology approves significant new sources of water for utility's service area
Economic development group trying to lure two biotech firms to Camas
One company has submitted preliminary plans to build facility
The Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association is pursuing two biotechnology companies in hopes of landing them -- and the jobs they'd bring -- in Camas, the head of the association said this week.
Port of Camas-Washougal aims to transform former lumber site
Plan would redevelop former lumber mill property into business, recreational hub
Aiming to secure public access to a waterfront property and then revitalize it for commercial purposes, the Port of Camas-Washougal Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the acquisition of about half of the 26-acre former Hambleton Lumber Co. site.
Nautilus records third-quarter profit, introduces new products
Although its retail sales have been flat so far this year, Nautilus Inc. on Monday reported a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 million. The company's top executives, meanwhile, said they're working on several initiatives, including rolling out new products at lower prices to reach more consumers and to expand the business.
Clark Public Utilities aids Sandy recovery
Utility crews join effort to restore power in N.J.
Clark Public Utilities crews have arrived in New Jersey to help restore power on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, joining electric companies across the U.S. in the recovery effort.
Sharp subsidiaries strong as parent flails
Camas operations healthy; solar branch largely dismantled
Half a world away, the giant Japanese electronics company Sharp Corp. is in a world of trouble.
Clark Public Utilities to send crews to help restore power on East Coast
Utility serving Clark County joins other electric companies in relief effort
Expert takes aim at economic 'myths'
He discusses global economy, America's role in it at WSUV
Leo Panitch, an expert in political science and economics, came to Washington State University Vancouver on Tuesday looking to capsize conventional wisdom about the global economy and America's role in it.
Port of Vancouver, growers nervously monitor grain talks
Failure of dockworkers, shippers to reach deal would have big impact
The continuing negotiations between regional grain shippers and union dockworkers might seem, at first glance, like a limited contract dispute — another bump along the way to smoothing out the lines of international commerce.
Strictly Business: Acting on climate change
When James Hansen says he was too hopeful about the potential impacts of climate change, you know it's time to pay attention -- and to act.
Port of Vancouver ponders slimmed-down 2013 budget
$64M proposal 20% less than 2012 plan, includes no 1% property tax hike
Facing global economic and political headwinds, the Port of Vancouver is proposing a smaller spending plan for 2013. It also expects to forgo taking the 1 percent property tax hike it's allowed under state law.
Port of Vancouver, city team up to enhance job growth
Port commissioners OK their part of interlocal pact for economic development
When opportunities arise to help businesses grow and to create jobs, the Port of Vancouver and the city of Vancouver want to be able to move quickly to grab them.
