BUSINESS NEWS
2 • April 2020
Coast River Business Journal
Publisher’s Notebook
April 2020 Matt Winters
Preserve our brilliant people to rebuild post-covid
T
he dire emergency spawned by a need to shut down
wide swaths of the world economy will play out for
years. How well we cope in the communities on the
Columbia estuary and the surrounding seashore will
depend as much on our own actions as from any
outside aid.
We’ve had such pride in recent years as entrepreneurs have fixed
up old buildings and spaces, and building new ones — going on to
launch specialty stores, restaurants and other enterprises.
The comparison that’s often come to mind are scenes from “It’s
a Wonderful Life” in which Jimmy Stewart’s character provides the
gumption and ideas to lift Bedford Falls out of a deep funk, and
then gets to see what it would have become without him. In our
local communities, it wasn’t one person but many who have brought
dreams to life. Their courage and creativity have made these small
fishing, logging and old seashore resort towns into successful
economic hubs, attracting hometown kids and urban pioneers to
pursue unique paths to success.
We must do everything in our power to hold onto the gains we’ve
made. We are in some ways well positioned to do so. We don’t live
in a place where anonymous corporate investors might zealously
squeeze top dollar from every square foot of space. While in some
cases limited by their own need to pay the mortgage, landlords here
can and should try to accommodate lease adjustments to keep alive
the potential for businesses to reopen after this immediate crisis has
passed. The lending institutions here can and must avail themselves
of federal programs designed to create lifelines to small business.
With flexibility and ingenuity, we can keep the aspirational
businessmen and women here in our communities, ready to pick
up the pieces. Make no mistake — some were under-capitalized or
too deep in debt to begin with. This disaster will only hasten their
financial ruin. But for many or most enterprises, we should endeavor
to make this painful time a hibernation, not corporate demise.
Will the economy come roaring back after a vaccine is put into
wide use? Many have their doubts. A long economic expansion was
beginning to sputter before this came along. It might already have
GET PAID TO
GO SOLAR !
“If you
nted
ever wa is
w
solar, no
!”
the time
e
-Stan th
n
a
M
Solar
stalled had it not been for enormous corporate tax cuts — money
that sure would have been useful to have as a rainy-day fund in the
U.S. treasury today.
Almost no matter what happens elsewhere in the nation and the
world, if we’re smart and conserve our human assets through this
With flexibility and ingenuity, we can
keep the aspirational businessmen and
women here in our communities, ready
to pick up the pieces.
tough time, our area’s toughness and resiliency can see us through
to the other side. We will be well positioned to once again host
vacationers, provide delicious seafood, produce high-quality wood
products and inspire dreams about what it must be like to live in
such a beautiful, friendly and vibrant place.
Precision Heating customers in Washington
EARNED over $2,000 on average
for their first year.
Did you
know?...
SOL
SAL AR
E 2
OFF 5%
!
... that the federal government will give
you up to $15,000 in a dollar for dollar
tax refund in your first year?
IC
PACIF #1
TY’ V S ICE
COUN
R
L SER
E
FUL
O V ID
R PR
SOLA
CALL (360)642-4272
FREE NO OBLIGATION
HOME ENERGY AUDIT
PRECISION
HEATING
& Indoor Air Quality
360-642-4272
stan.tussing@gmail.com • www.usa-heating.com