COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
JANUARY 2020 • 5
BUSINESS BRIEFS
States rated on family-
friendly traits
For more information and
to enroll in HAZ 101, contact
Nancy Estergard at Grays Harbor
College, 360-538-4012 or nancy.
estergard@ghc.edu.
Washington is the nation’s
10th-best state to raise a fam-
ily and Oregon is 27th, accord-
ing to an analysis by WalletHub,
a financial services website.
The rankings are based on a
variety of economic and social
criteria.
Washington was rated particu-
larly high for overall affordability
but was slightly below average in
terms of health and safety.
Oregon did well in terms of
“family fun,” but was significantly
below average in “education and
childcare” and affordability.
The full report is available at
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-
states-to-raise-a-family/31065/.
DePledge hired at
Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
Home prices surge in
Clatsop County
CLATSOP COUNTY —
Shaking off a brief autumn lull,
Clatsop County home prices
rebounded in December 2019,
with an increase to an average
of $465,000, 14.1% more than
in December 2018, according
to Flex Multiple Listing Service
data.
The median sales price —
meaning half of sales were for
more and half less — hit $389,000
in December, a gain of 9.6%.
Homeowners were more opti-
mistic in what they think their
homes are worth. The average list
price increased to $633,000, or
8.7% higher than a year earlier.
Houses also sold at a brisker
pace in December, spending a
median of 102 days on the mar-
ket, 19% less time than a year
before.
Looking at 2019 as a whole,
there were 818 home sales, a
decline of 4.6%. The average sale
price was $405,390, a decline
of 2.9% from 2018. The annual
average days on the market was
88, down from 89 in 2018.
Active housing inventory
tightens in Pacific
PACIFIC COUNTY — Poten-
tial home buyers in Pacific County
continued to butt up against a
tight inventory in December
2019. There were 127 active list-
ings for single-family residences,
down 26.6% from a year before,
according to the Northwest Mul-
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Linh DePledge is the new director of sales and marketing at Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria.
tiple Listing Service.
The number of pending sales
totaled 33 in December, a 17.5%
decline from December 2018.
Pacific’s December median
home sale price was $205,000,
down 9.7%.
Remaining WA crabbing
areas open Jan. 25
WASHINGTON COAST —
The entire Washington coastline
from Klipsan Beach in Pacific
County to the U.S./Canada border
(excluding Special Management
Areas) will open to state crab-
bers on Jan. 25, shellfish manag-
ers announced Jan. 9.
Crabbing along the Olympic
Peninsula is managed in consul-
tation with local Indian tribes.
Quinault and Washington Fish
and Wildlife Department manag-
ers reviewed catch data from the
first 31 days of the Quinault fish-
ery on Jan. 8. Per the terms of
our co-management agreement,
Quinault fishers get a 45-day head
start in the area from Point Che-
halis north to Destruction Island,
which results in the state sea-
son opening in the area north of
Klipsan Beach on Jan. 25.
WDFW’s
co-management
agreement with the Quileute Tribe
uses different criteria to open the
state fishery between the Queets
River and Destruction Island and
for the area north of Destruction
Island. Considering a low ear-
ly-season catch for the Quileute,
this area will also open Jan. 25.
Crabbing north of Destruction
Island requires that the Quileutes
get 20 “fishable” days between
Dec. 1 and Jan. 15. As of Jan. 8,
there had been 15 fishable days
and five more were likely, so that
area also can open Jan. 25.
Clatsop residents rated
good at budgeting
CLATSOP COUNTY —
Looking at factors such as
expense-to-income ratios, bank-
ruptcy rates and comparing net
worth to income, Clatsop County
residents are ranked 10th best
budgeters in Oregon by the finan-
cial services firm SmartAsset.
Clatsop residents do partic-
ularly well at keeping expenses
in line with income and avoid-
ing bankruptcy, according to the
analysis. Overall, Clatsop earned
an index rating of 50.78 on a zero
to 100 nationwide scale.
Clackamas was rated first
among the state’s 36 counties and
Columbia County was second.
Pacific County was ranked
fifth among Washington’s 39
counties. It gained a 60.57 rat-
ing on the 100-point scale. Pacific
County was particularly strong
in terms of its wealth-to-income
ratio of 130.2%, compared to
75.2% in Clatsop.
San Juan County was rated
first in Washington. Jefferson at
second and Clallam at seventh
were other outer coast counties
high in the ratings.
Need HAZMAT
certification?
ABERDEEN — Grays Har-
bor College is offering a two-
day class in Hazardous Materials
Certification Jan. 17 and 18 from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the college
campus. Eligible students must
have Commercial Learners Per-
mit or Class A license to enroll;
they must also be 18 years of age.
Cost of the 1.5 credit course
is $181.49, plus $13 for a book
available at the GHC Book-
store. The HAZMAT endorse-
ment course provides instruc-
tion for any driver seeking to
obtain, renew or transfer a haz-
ardous materials endorsement on
a Washington State-issued com-
mercial driver’s license.
ASTORIA — The Cannery
Pier Hotel & Spa, owned and
managed by Vesta Hospitality,
announced in December hiring
Linh DePledge as the new direc-
tor of sales and marketing. The
iconic 46-room hotel rests on his-
toric pier pilings 600 feet over the
Columbia River.
DePledge will oversee all
aspects of marketing, sales pro-
grams, public relations, and the
annual budget in the hotel’s con-
tinuing mission to deliver out-
standing guest service and reve-
nue growth. She joins the hotel’s
management team with more
than 25 years of experience in
brand development, product
launch and sales and marketing
for diverse businesses from inter-
net start-ups to insurance. Most
recently, DePledge was the direc-
tor of operations and public rela-
tions for Adrift Hospitality, where
she was responsible for managing
four hotels in Oregon and Wash-
ington state.
“We are excited to have some-
one of her caliber and experi-
ence right here in Astoria join our
team. DePledge has significant
experience with her career con-
centration in sales and marketing
and leading effective teams. Her
leadership and creativity, com-
bined with community involve-
ment and her own-it and think-
ahead values will be essential to
the ongoing success of the Can-
nery Pier Hotel,” said Don West,
the hotel’s general manager.
DePledge is involved in the
Astoria Downtown Historic Dis-
trict Association and serves on its
Business Development Commit-
tee. She lives in Astoria, and the
Cannery Pier Hotel has always
been an aspirational property
with a special place in her heart.
“I’ve always loved the Can-
nery Pier Hotel from afar, and
now I get to be a part of this dis-
tinctive property and the people
who make it so beloved in our
community and to our guests,”
DePledge said.