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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2015)
4 | DECEMBER 4, 2015 COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS BRIEFS Decision coming on Bumble Bee purchase Clatsop added 380 jobs in year ending in October BANGKOK — Thai Union Group said Nov. 24 it expects U.S. regulators to decide Dec. 18 whether to approve its proposed $1.5 billion acquisition of rival Bumble Bee Sea- foods, according to Reuters news service. Thai Union is the world’s largest canned tuna producer, already owning the Chicken of the Sea brand, which it will divest if the Bum- ble Bee deal goes through. Bumble Bee is the largest canned tuna and sardine producer in North America. Now based in San Diego, the company was found- ed in Astoria in 1899 as the Columbia River Packers Association. The Bumble Bee acquisition by Thai Union has been in the works for a year, but has been delayed by a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation. ASTORIA — Seasonally adjusted unem- ployment rates edged downward in October in northwest Oregon, after months of slight increases as the summer busy season wound down, according to data from the Oregon Em- ployment Department. Clatsop County employers cut 470 jobs in October, 90 fewer than expected. The chang- es left total nonfarm payroll employment at 17,540, 380 more than the same point last year, for a growth rate of 2.2 percent. The county had a seasonally adjusted un- employment rate of 5.9 percent in October, GRZQRQH¿IWKRIDSHUFHQWIURPWKHSUHYLRXV PRQWKDQGGRZQWKUHH¿IWKVRIDSHUFHQWIURP a year ago. Clatsop has the ninth-lowest un- employment rate of Oregon’s 36 counties. Pacific County joblessness notches upward /21* %($&+ ² 3DFL¿F &RXQW\¶V HVWL- mated jobless rate rose slightly to 7.8 percent in October, up from a revised 7.1 percent in September and down from 10.0 percent in October 2014. Based on statistical modeling, UXUDOFRXQW\UDWHVUHÀHFWJHQHUDOWUHQGV All eight of Washington’s farther western FRXQWLHV VDZ XQHPSOR\PHQW VLJQL¿FDQWO\ higher than the statewide rate of 5.0 percent in this latest report from the employment Se- curity Department. The northeast corner of the state was Washington’s other pocket of higher joblessness. 3DFL¿F &RXQW\¶V FLYLOLDQ ODERU IRUFH ZDV estimated at 8,067 in October, compared to a record of 9,140 in October 2003. Borrow from your own backyard. Unlike national banks, we’re in the business of helping local businesses. That’s what neighbors are for. Columbia Bank takes pride in supporting Northwest communities and making sure that decisions affecting your business are made right here, with you. Get local with your loans. Clatsop college hosts career- exploration event ASTORIA — Clatsop Community Col- lege will host “an opportunity to explore new career options” on Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Columbia Hall, 1651 Lexington Avenue, Astoria. Dinner will be provided for registered participants. Register for this free event at www.clatsopcc.edu/newcareer. “Take this opportunity to identify career paths that make the most of your skills and interests,” according to a press release from the college. “Learn about what’s hot on the regional career front. Consider new training at CCC to help launch your new direction. In- formation about CCC admissions and student support programs will also be available.” For more information, call 503-338-2411. CMH nurse honored by March of Dimes ASTORIA — Nurse Laura Brown was named the 2015 Nurse of the Year in Women’s Health for Oregon and Southwest Washington by the March of Dimes during an award ceremony in Portland on Nov. 13. Brown is a labor and delivery nurse and an In- WHUQDWLRQDO %RDUG &HUWL¿HG /DFWDWLRQ &RQVXOWDQW (IBCLC) with the Columbia Memorial Hospital Family Birthing Center. She was one of 15 Nurse RIWKH<HDU¿QDOLVWVHPSOR\HGE\&0+ “We are truly blessed to have a nurse of Laura’s caliber among our CMH family,” said Trece Gur- rad, CMH’s vice-president of patient care services. Brown joined CMH in 2006 to establish an inpatient lactation program. She has expanded the program to include two nurses with seven-day-a- week phone consultation cover- age. “She has been instrumental in expanding the resources avail- able to breastfeeding women in Clatsop County by developing Laura Brown them at CMH and by partnering with regional organizations, in- cluding Bras2Moms and the Northwest Mother’s Milk Bank,” the hospital said in a press release. &0+¶VRWKHU1XUVHRIWKH<HDU¿QDOLVWVZHUH Ingrid Boettcher, Colleen Fletcher, Kendra Gohl, Lisa Harris, Jenny Jacques, Amy Karsten, Shan- non Lackey, Rose Larson, Mihaela Lebo, Jamee Meier, Zachary Melton, Brooke Roberts, Sarah Salerno and Becky White. You’ll notice the difference. Find out more at columbiabank.com or call 877-272-3678. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender