Business
Gas price point to tapping oil reserves at home | Don Brunell
As the price of gas passes $4 on its way to $5 a gallon, the finger pointing in…
Business
Fixing the federal health reform law | Don Brunell
The projected cost of Obamacare is going up — again. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates…
Business
Hiking fees are a tax by another name | Don Brunell
Washington voters have made it more difficult for state lawmakers to hike taxes by requiring a two-thirds majority…
Business
Tourism too important to let wither due to budget cuts | Don Brunell
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in these tough economic times, as…
Business
Private sector stepping up for tourism | Don Brunell
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in these tough economic times, as…
Business
Time to think about renewable energy policy | Don Brunell
In his state of the union address, President Barack Obama stated he wants 80 percent of our electricity…
Business
Fixing Washington’s pension problems | Don Brunell
You see a lot in the news these days about public employee pension costs pushing cities and states…
Business
Paychecks beat unemployment checks | Don Brunell
The hardest thing an employer has to do is to call someone into the office and tell them…
Business
Legislature must reform workers’ compensation system | Don Brunell
State Auditor Brian Sonntag reports that our workers’ compensation system is unsustainable ― that huge premium increases are…
Business
California is bleeding manufacturing jobs and Washington may be next | Don Brunell
State lawmakers convening in Olympia are looking under every pebble for new money. They must write a budget…
Business
Global competition the new certainty | Don Brunell
Remember the old saying: The only things certain in life are death and taxes? You need to add…
Business
U.S. innovation the answer to safer oil production | Don Brunell
President Obama’s most recent drilling moratorium along the East Coast and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico…
Business
A bitter pill to swallow is only cure for both Washingtons | Don Brunell
Both Washingtons are in a financial bind. In our nation’s capital, President Obama and Congress are running trillion-dollar…
Business
The pros and cons of electric cars | Don Brunell
Electric cars are the new wave in automobile technology. Many see them as the way to cut greenhouse…
Business
Washington’s workers’ compensation at a crossroads | Don Brunell
Even though voters rejected Initiative 1082, which would have allowed private insurers to write workers’ compensation insurance in…
Business
Neighbor helping neighbor is the spirit we need today | Don Brunell
For too many Americans, the last three Thanksgivings have been pretty lean. Our nation is suffering from the…
Business
Return of the sockeye and the legacy of Lonesome Larry | Don Brunell
In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia…
Business
A loud and clear message sent on Election Day | Don Brunell
Over the last month, France has been wracked by a series of protests and strikes that threaten the…
Business
State income tax never a good idea | Don Brunell
The question Washington voters should ask themselves before voting on a state income tax this fall is, “Will…
Business
Still time to avoid a national health-care train wreck | Don Brunell
Portions of the new national health-reform law are just now going into effect, but the impact is already…