Cascadia Report

Category: Cascadia not cities

  • Cascadia needs infrastructure and ideas

    California is exploring partnerships between the government and private industry as a way to meet its staggering need for roads, railways and other infrastructure. Why can’t parts of Cascadia aspire to the same thing? The new Narrows bridge in Tacoma will be the first highway in the Puget Sound area with tolls. Why not explore deeper use of the market to solve some of the transportation problems?Images_3

    The Seattle Times printed yesterday’s Neal Peirce column on the issue here. He concludes that public-private partnerships are the way to go. But here’s a final takeaway point:

    It sounds like a good deal, as long as the new partnerships with business are negotiated professionally, with an eye to long-term sustainability — a reminder that we do need quality people in government! Add in transparent terms, clear performance standards and protection of the public against unfair charges, and the tapping of pools of private investment capital could prove one of the best deals of the century.

  • Tight BC economy means pre-Olympic boom

    Header_logo
    A building boom for the 2010 Winter Olympics may squeeze British Columbia, which already has one of Canada’s tightest labor markets. The energy boom has pushed the unemployment rate down to 5.1 percent, making it difficult to find good workers. Apparently they’re paying cashiers C$19 an hour in Northern B.C.

    Long-term growth requires broadening the economy beyond natural resources and developing a more educated workforce. Meanwhile the tight market in B.C. may mean business opportunities throughout Cascadia in the run-up to 2010.

  • Alaska Airlines calm about recent troubles

    A series of safety problems and one of the industry’s worst on-time records has fliers reconsidering their support of Cascadia’s top airline. But Chairman Bill Ayer doesn’t seem worried because traffic is still growing:Overview_739mtn

    “So I wouldn’t say from a reputation standpoint we have lost a lot, at least from the people I talk to anecdotally. And also the numbers, statistics show growing traffic, growing load factors.

    “But it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to get back to an on-time operation, a reliable operation with good baggage delivery. We need to get back to those standards, absolutely.”