4 | APRIL 2018
Pacific County, Astoria highly
rated in different ways
LONG BEACH — SmartAsset, a finan-
cial technology company that provides per-
sonal finance advice on the web and which
performs interesting comparisons of how
counties and states perform in terms of tax
efficiency and other measures, said in March
that Pacific County ranks ninth among Wash-
ington’s 39 counties for getting the most
“Bang for their Buck.”
In addition to property taxes, the study
analyzed the quality of local schools and the
local crime rates to find where people were
seeing the most value, SmartAsset said. Oth-
er Western Washington counties in the top 10
were San Juan, Clark and Island.
Clatsop County ranks 26th among Ore-
gon’s 36 counties for effective use of proper-
ty tax dollars, the firm said.
On the other hand, SmartAsset ranked
Astoria one of the 10 best places to retire in
Oregon, based on taxes (both income and
sales), the number of doctors’ offices and
opportunity for recreation and social life. As-
toria ranked ninth, behind number one Rose-
burg, followed by Hood River, Brookings,
Florence, Ontario, Grants Pass, Ashland and
Dallas.
Learn health insurance basics at
local workshop
SEASIDE — The Oregon Health Insur-
ance Marketplace will sponsor “Building
Blocks of Health Insurance,” a free 90-min-
ute workshop on understanding health insur-
ance, this month in Seaside.
The event, which is open to the public,
will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday,
April 26, in the community room at the Sea-
side Public Library, 1131 Broadway.
Attendees will receive information to help
them be confident health coverage consum-
ers. An experienced health-insurance educa-
tor from the Marketplace will present on:
• Types of health insurance, including
Medicare, the Oregon Health Plan, and indi-
vidual and family plans
• Summary of Benefits documents
• Explanation of Benefits letters
• Eligibility for financial assistance
To attend, register in advance by calling
855-268-3767 (toll-free) or emailing info.
marketplace@oregon.gov.
County jobless rate up slightly
from 2017
LONG BEACH — With a rate of 8.1 per-
cent, Pacific County was one of 10 of Wash-
ington’s 39 counties with joblessness above 8
percent in February, most of the other being
east of the Cascades.
All the Washington coastal counties were
close to being in the same boat, with average
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
BUSINESS BRIEFS
joblessness of about 7.8 percent on the outer
coast, plus neighboring Lewis and Wahkia-
kum.
Pacific County’s rate declined from 8.3
percent in January, but was slightly higher
than it was in February 2017.
Washington’s statewide rate was 4.7 per-
cent. “Job growth remains strong,” said Paul
Turek for the Employment Security Depart-
ment. “A growing labor force is supplying
workers to meet labor demand while unem-
ployment remains low.”
Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1 per-
cent in January and February. For 14 consec-
utive months, Oregon’s unemployment rate
has been close to 4.1 percent, its lowest level
since comparable records began in 1976. The
U.S. unemployment rate was also 4.1 percent
in both January and February.
Rates for Oregon counties were not avail-
able by CRBJ’s press time.
effects and fallout for coastal communities
puts us ahead of the curve in terms of consid-
ering those impacts in planning and manage-
ment decisions.”
The new model estimates the future losses
associated with fisheries closures based on
the way fishermen reacted to previous clo-
sures. It anticipates, for instance, that many
fishermen will simply quit fishing rather than
shift their efforts to another fishery instead.
In this way, the model accounts for the diffi-
culty fishermen face in entering other fisher-
ies with limited permits, Richerson said.
The study estimated that the closure led
to a loss of $12.8 million to $19.6 million
in sales. Richerson noted that the model es-
timates only the economic consequences of
the closure to the commercial ocean salmon
fishery and does not include the toll on rec-
reational fisheries or in-river fisheries, which
would make the total losses even higher.
New study reveals cost of 2017
salmon fisheries closure
Forest stewardship short-course
aims to aid families
LONG BEACH — Last year’s closure of
the commercial ocean salmon troll fishery
off the West Coast is estimated to have cost
$5.8 million to $8.9 million in lost income for
fishermen, with the loss of 200 to 330 jobs,
according to a new model that determines the
cost of fisheries closures based on the choices
fishermen make.
Scientists hope the model, described for
the first time earlier this month in Marine
Policy, will help policy makers anticipate
the economic toll of fisheries closures. Such
foresight may be especially useful as condi-
tions in the California Current off the West
Coast grow increasingly variable, leading to
more potential closures, said lead author Kate
Richerson, a marine ecologist with NOAA
Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Cen-
ter and the University of Washington.
“We’re probably only going to see more
of these closures in the future,” she said in a
press release, “so being able to predict their
ABERDEEN — Is your forest healthy?
How do you know? When harvesting timber,
what is your fair share? Is a handshake good
enough? How do you enhance wildlife habitat
and protect your land from wildfire? How do
you harvest timber sustainably without harm-
ing your land? A Forest stewardship short-
course will help answer these questions.
From April 23 through June 18, a series
of weekly classes will be conducted in Aber-
deen for owners of small-scale family forests
(typically 5 to 500 acres) in Aberdeen.
This award-winning program is known
as the “Forest Stewardship – Coached Plan-
ning Shortcourse,” and is conducted by WSU
Extension and the Washington Department
of Natural Resources. It is called “coached
planning” because a major part of this train-
ing involves “coaching” participants as they
develop simple management plans for their
forests that are tailored to fit personal land
management goals.
SUB-BIDS REQUESTED
Seaside School District-
New Middle/High Schools
Bids Due: April 26th • 2:00pm
805 SW Broadway, Suite 2100
Portland, OR 97205
Phone (503) 221-8811
Bid Fax (503) 221-8888
BIDS@hoffmancorp.com
Hoffman is an equal opportunity
employer and requests sub-bids
from all interested firms including
disadvantaged, minority, women,
disabled veterans and emerging
small-business enterprises
OR CCB#28417
LIC HOFFMCC164NC
SALEM — The Committee for Family
Forestlands will meet Friday, April 20, from
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The meeting will be in the
Tillamook Room at the Oregon Department
of Forestry Salem Headquarters, 2600 State
St. Board of Forestry Chairperson Tom Ime-
son and State Forester Peter Daugherty will
offer comments to the committee.
In addition, the committee will receive
updates about and discuss the Private Forests
Division, the marbled murrelet rule process,
rulemaking related to food plots and land-
owner assistance.
For more information, call Susan Domi-
nique at 503-945-7502. More information on
the committee can be found at www.oregon.
gov/ODF/Board/Pages/CFF.aspx.
Pacific EDC offers Internet
marketing workshop
RAYMOND — The Pacific County Eco-
nomic Development Council is hosting an
internet marketing workshop in Raymond all
day April 25.
“As Millennials become an ever greater
percentage of the market, businesses must
adapt their marketing strategy to the media
these customers rely upon,” the EDC said.
The workshop presenter will be Misty
Lambrecht, owner of Webfoot Marketing &
Design. For more information, call or email
360-875-9330/360-642-9330 or edcpcog@
pacificedc.org.
Over 20 years combined experience serving the local area.
Bid Package: #1
Site Work & Utilities
Bid Documents: www.hoffmancorp.com/subcontractors
Family forestlands committee
meets April 20
Astoria’s Premier Insurance Agency
Seaside, Oregon
(Includes Site Work, Utilities & Retaining Walls,
Underground Electrical & Telecom,
Grading & Surface of the Gravel Road)
Course fee is $75 per person, family or
land parcel. Participation is limited to 15
registrants on a first-come, first-served ba-
sis upon receipt of the registration and fee.
Classes will be held weekly on Monday eve-
nings from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room 4330 of the
Schermer Building of Gray’s Harbor Col-
lege. To register or for more information, call
the WSU Extension office at (360) 740-1213
or email at patrick.shults@wsu.edu.
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appreciated at your job...
but here at Farmers, we
ALWAYS appreciate you.
Ask about our
Affinity Program.
Discounts for
Teachers, Police Officers,
Fire Fighters, Accountants,
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1007 Marine Drive
Astoria, OR 97103
503.325.4410