BUSINESS NEWS
2
Coast River Business Journal
Publisher’s Notebook
Now is the time to go big on 21st century goals
January 2021 Matt Winters
M
any of us looked forward to the end of 2020
in hopes that turning a symbolic corner would
bring real relief for all that ails us, but of course
nothing is ever that simple. We still have plenty
to overcome.
Having acknowledged that fact, there’s also
some brightening on the horizon in nearly every sense. On the sim-
plest level, even though there are plenty of rainy days ahead, the
days are getting longer and the earliest daffodils and crocuses will
bloom this month. On a pure caveman level, hardly anything is more
welcome than these fi rst hints of spring.
Just as more rain is certain, so too are more COVID-19 infec-
tions and political turmoil. Never has it been more important to rig-
orously follow safety guidelines. Vaccinations are underway and
should gradually snuff out the pandemic as 2021 moves forward,
but you don’t want one of your loved ones to be among the last vic-
tims to die in this horrible war against an insidious virus. Nor do
we want anyone to suffer the lingering aftereffects of the coronavi-
rus. Stay safe, get the shot as soon as possible, and be around for the
return to normal.
The incoming Biden administration is certain to produce an
extensive economic stimulus package that will help bandage fi nan-
cial wounds suffered because of COVID-related restrictions. This is
very welcome.
Of potentially greater importance, there’s a good chance that
extensive spending will be authorized on the nation’s infrastructure.
It was just such a program that a decade ago brought tens of millions
of dollars to thoroughly renovate the Astoria-Megler Bridge — work
that might have otherwise required reimposition of a toll.
Infrastructure funding, along with separate funding to address
climate change, will bring large benefi ts, but these won’t be evenly
parceled out. States and regions with well-formulated proposals tai-
lored to align with national priorities will have the best chance to
obtain federal help. What might this include? A few possibilities:
JANUARY
SALE
• Implementing community-wide systems to tap into new satel-
lite-based broadband internet service.
• Designing carbon-sequestration strategies that preserve and
enhance publicly owned forests.
• Advancing 21st century transportation plans, including auto-
mated mass transit between the coast and population centers.
• Preparing for sea level rise by relocating and adapting critical
public assets.
• Funding multipurpose vertical-evacuation structures in tsuna-
mi-prone areas.
As in the 1930s when federal spending brought us the Pacifi c
Northwest hydropower system, and interstate highways in the
1950s, this could be a once-in-a-generation chance to go big and
create assets that will pay dividends far into the future. Now is the
time to get busy deciding what has the greatest support and getting
our congressional delegations enlisted in making our case in Wash-
ington, D.C.
Precision Heating customers in Washington
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