Editor's Take: June 02, 2009
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NW Leads out of Recession?
Some economists predict the Northwest may lead the nation out of the recession. The necessary innovation is on display in Oregon, where a house under design will be so energy efficient a hair dryer could heat it. But will it be affordable? A new survey of Vancouver, BC, youth faults the city for expensive housing while a colony of tiny, affordable homes is planned outside Victoria.
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Futurehaus: Blowing away energy standards
Willamette Week
06/03/2009
The Shift House that will break ground in Hood River, OR, has the potential to change the way the Northwest thinks about green architecture. It packs a lot of innovative technology, but one thing you won't find in it is a furnace. That's because, even in winter, you can heat the whole house with a blow-dryer.
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Will NW lead nation out of recession?
Oregonian
06/02/2009
Oregon, Washington and three other states will lead the nation out of recession as Northwest jobs growth resumes toward the end of this year, Moody's Economy.com predicts. Strong high-tech industries will help propel the Northwest - and Idaho and Colorado - out of the slump first, the research company says.
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Tiny, affordable houses get OK in BC
Victoria Times Colonist
06/03/2009
Tiny houses, as small as 400 square feet and separated by as little as millimetres, have been approved for a "pioneering" development near Victoria, BC. It's following a new approach to provide affordable, single-family houses.
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Poverty, housing worry Vancouver youth
Vancouver Sun
06/02/2009
Vancouver, BC, is coming close to failing its youngest citizens when it comes to closing the gap between the rich and the poor and finding affordable places to live, a new survey found.
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Baucus, Kennedy to push health care reform bill
Missoulian
06/02/2009
Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who has spearheaded health reform discussions in the US Senate, and Sen. Ted Kennedy will work toward producing a single, comprehensive bill by August. It will include a government-run insurance plan and reform the private health insurance market to extend coverage to all, attempt to control rising costs and revise how hospitals and physicians are paid, Baucus said.
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WA's 520 bridge tolls to be a first?
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
06/03/2009
Washington is going where no highway tolls have gone before, a transportation consultant said Tuesday. Earlier this year the state Legislature decided to start "early tolling" of the existing bridge at the same time it starts construction of a replacement, rather than waiting for the new span to open.
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Beekeeping economics: How sweet it is
San Francisco Chronicle
06/03/2009
Oakland's Khaled Almaghafi is the rare city dweller whose main source of income comes from "recycling bees." He is paid to capture swarms that have nested in trees, walls and roofs. Later, they become productive members of the honey-producing colonies he's brought back from the brink of collapse.
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Frugal foodies get more mileage out of dinner
Bend Bulletin
06/03/2009
When Oregon credit counselor Linda Young cooks, she thinks of meat as a flavoring instead of the main course. Her habits prove that being a frugal foodie goes beyond being a loyal coupon-clipper and bargain shopper. You have to buy foods that will give you the most mileage in the kitchen.
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NW governors want wind in the grid
Ashland Daily Tidings
06/02/2009
The governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana have signed a letter supporting funding for the Bonneville Power Administration to study technologies for integrating wind and other renewable energy into the Northwest power grid, including a form of hydropower that pumps water uphill to store it in times of low demand.
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CA Senate approves ban on BPA in plastics
Los Angeles Times
06/02/2009
Despite a fierce lobbying effort by the US chemical industry, the California state Senate narrowly approved a proposal Tuesday that would ban the use of a bisphenol-A in baby bottles, toddler sippy cups and food containers that independent scientists say is a threat to childhood development.
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