The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

The good news is Washington’s cherry crop is projected to be as good as 2018; however, absent tariff relief from the ongoing U.S.-China trade tiff, a key market will remain limited. When China’s tar...

By Don C. Brunell While many eyes are on trade talks between our country and China, America’s port leaders are positioning their seaports to compete for increasing volumes of container traffic. A...

By Don C. Brunell The good news is Washington’s revenues continue to grow and projections for the next couple of years appear promising. That is welcome news, but it is sprinkled with caution about in...

By Don C. Brunell While massive wildfires are historic, they are more dangerous today. As our population grows, they are a greater threat to communities adjacent to wildlands. This year, with nearly...

By Don C. Brunell Shipyard workers in Portland are building the first commercial-scale wave energy buoy which, if it works, could be part of a system providing electricity to communities along our...

Give Gov. Jay Inslee and backers of Initiative 1631 credit. They are persistent in their quest to invoke a fee on carbon emissions. Voters will decide its fate on Nov. 6. Since Inslee was first...

Last spring, Boeing revealed its proposed hypersonic passenger airliner, which would fly much higher and faster than the Concorde-the only previous supersonic commercial airplane. For reference,...

Last April, Washington wheat, apple and cherry growers hoped U.S. and China trade negotiators would resolve differences and prevent imposition of damaging tariffs on our state’s leading crops. U...

While most of our attention in the Pacific Northwest these days is on trade wars, tariffs and wildfires, there are critical talks underway between the U.S. and Canada over future allocations of the...

Since 2002, the U.S. Dept. of Energy has funded construction of a $17 billion project to encase radioactive wastes in solid glass logs. It is scheduled to start operations in 2022 and treat more than...

Any trade war between the United States and China is worrisome, but if it escalated and tariffs are imposed, it will hit Washington particularly hard. Avoiding that possibility should be our primary...

By Don C. Brunell Our parents drilled into our heads that saying “please” and “thank you” were not only part of everyday life, but were essential to operating a successful business. They are the basic...

By Don C. Brunell Curbside recycling bins are packed with cardboard shipping boxes from Christmas online shopping. The uptick in consumer shipments is not only good news for the U.S. Postal Service,...

by Don C. Brunell Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was...

During the holidays, our thoughts naturally turn to giving — not just giving gifts, but donating our time and money to charities, disasters and community programs. We’re reminded that, with all our...

Recently, the Institute for Justice (Institute) determined state licensing barriers for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs not only hurts people trying to establish themselves in a...

The announced shutdown of the communications paper arm of Georgia Pacific’s Camas pulp and paper mill maybe the harbinger of what’s to come. Consumers are buying less paper, production costs are inc...

Twenty-five years ago, Business took a beating in Olympia. The swing to the left in the 1992 general election was swift and potent. It drove higher costs to employers and more government regulations....

Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts...

While Seattle is growing rapidly, our rural areas continue to struggle. They don’t have the corporate giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing creating jobs and economic opportunities. Farms are p...

Last month, Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates wrote about the similarities and differences between Boeing’s corporate office move to Chicago and Amazon’s plan for a second hea...

In Washington, the legislative stalemate over permitting new household wells and the state’s construction budget has not only delayed needed funding for public projects, but triggered yet another s...

At last count firefighters were battling 82 major wildfires in 10 western states. The fires have already scorched 2,300 square miles of forests and range lands, dislocated thousands of people, and...

Two days before last year’s presidential election, Frank Luntz walked away from a CBS 60 Minutes focus group leaving people uncontrollably screaming at one another. He couldn’t stop it. Nobody could....

When President Trump spoke to Boeing workers at its South Carolina production facility, he reiterated his campaign promise to bring jobs back to America. It is a goal we collectively desire, but it...