The Columbian

Clark County Business

Restaurants are suffering from staff shortages and Skippers in Hazel Dell has had trouble retaining staff over the summer, as seen on Sept. 9. Food services is one sector that saw gains in August.

Job report: Clark County fares better than state, Seattle

September 20, 2022, 6:04am Business Subscriber Exclusive

Eight hundred jobs were added to Clark County’s local economy in July, according to seasonally adjusted statistics from Scott Bailey, regional economist for the Washington Employment Security Department. Read story

A house on Northeast 118th Street with a Hasson Company Realtors "For Sale" sign out front in September 2021, in north Vancouver.

Clark County housing costs remain high

September 20, 2022, 6:03am Business

Drops in new real estate listings and inventory continued limiting the options of potential homebuyers in Clark County last month. Read story

Little Conejo Norte employee Jacob Brill hands a bag of chips to a customer at Carts by the Park in Ridgefield.

Food trucks are not idling in Clark County

September 19, 2022, 6:04am Business Subscriber Exclusive

It’s been 10 years since Steve Valenta founded the Mighty Bowl food truck and ushered in a new era of mobile food units. Read story

As lead designer, Raiden Gorby works constructing the shape and form of Luna's Puppets' creations. While his wife Andrea Gorby is the seamstress, assembling the characters' felt, fur and clothing.

Working in Clark County: Raiden Gorby, owner of Luna’s Puppets

September 17, 2022, 6:02am Business

Whether it’s the brightly colored and comforting citizens of Sesame Street, or the terrifying and deadly creatures on display in Jurassic Park, everyone has a favorite TV show or movie that was helped brought to life by the art of puppetry and animatronics. Read story

Rate hike expected for NW Natural customers

September 17, 2022, 6:00am Business Free

NW Natural customers will likely see their rates go up starting in November. Residential customers using an average of 57 therms per month will see rates go up by about $11.75 per month. Small commercial companies using an average of 242 therms per month will see an increase of about… Read story

Clark County health inspections, Sept. 7-13

September 16, 2022, 6:05am Business

Clark County health inspections, Sept. 7-13 Read story

General manager Brian Taylor loads a pellet stove at Morton's Stoves, Pools, and Spas. Russia contributed 2 million tons of wood pellets to the global market in 2020, according to the Pellet Fuels Institute. This made the country the second largest producer of wood pellets globally, second to American manufacturers. But sanctions and restrictions from the war in Ukraine mean there will be a large gap in the market.

Clark County pellet stove owners urged to get orders in soon as pellet shortage looms

September 16, 2022, 6:01am Business Subscriber Exclusive

Wood pellet producers in the U.S. are encouraging pellet stove owners to get their pellets early this year. Read story

Kirkland Development has submitted plans to the city of Vancouver to build a four-building, mixed-use development where Who Song & Larry's and the former Joe's Crab Shack building now stand.

Parking lots and green areas to trade places along Vancouver waterfront

September 15, 2022, 6:00am Business

Two grassy fields north of Who Song & Larry’s near the railroad tracks are going to become construction staging and parking lots, and two existing parking lots near the river are going to eventually be turned into lawns. Read story

A train moves past United Grain at the Port of Vancouver. Railroad companies have raised their rates twice in the past year, adding to the rising cost of business at United Grain.

Vancouver’s United Grain executive warns damage from rail strike could be swift, severe

September 14, 2022, 4:43pm Business

The economic damage of a rail strike would be swift and severe, a top local executive warned in a letter to Southwest Washington’s congressional delegation Wednesday. Read story