Posts Tagged ‘Eastern Washington University’
January 17th, 2013
Things you can count on each and every year:
1. The World Series (well, not in 1994, at least).
2. The Academy Awards.
3. Spokane business leaders converging on Olympia to brag about our great region and to advocate for its businesses.
From Jan. 23-25, Greater Spokane Incorporated (that’s us!), and the Greater Spokane Valley and West Plains chambers of commerce will lead a delegation of 80-plus business and community leaders to our Capitol and keep our region in the minds of our elected officials.
This should be an interesting year in Olympia. We have a new governor and some new elected officials that need to know about Spokane. Education funding will be one of the top issues our leaders will have to tackle, and transportation funding looks to be atop the agenda as well. How the state deals with health care reform and the overall business climate will also be debated.
But what about our region? How will the elected officials from this side of the state work on behalf of us? Last fall, we heard from a number of community leaders – as we do every year. The result of those meetings was our 2013 State Agenda, a document outlining the various projects in our region we’ll be advocating for next week.
Here’s a sampling, along with some thoughts and details:
No elimination of tax incentives for manufacturers
Giving tax incentives to manufacturers is a key ingredient for keeping them in our state. Eliminating those incentives could create an unwanted incentive – the incentive for them to seek relocation in another state.
Reforms to the state’s regulatory policies and other small business issues
Streamlining the permitting and regulatory process and eliminating regulations that are a burden to small businesses is one thing we’ll talk to legislators about. We’ll also push for further reforms in Workers Compensation and lower unemployment insurance costs. Small businesses need to be given the opportunity to thrive.
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June 28th, 2012
Babe Ruth signs autographs for children
at Spokane’s Hutton Settlement*
(click for a larger view)
When you think of Spokane’s history, what comes to mind first? Expo ’74? The Great Spokane Fire of 1889? The time Babe Ruth hit a home run at Natatorium Park (it happened, according to this)?
A lot has happened in Spokane’s life. Eastern Washington University’s Public History program, under the leadership of Dr. Larry Cebula, has developed a smartphone app called “Spokane Historical,” a fine, free app with loads of information on Spokane’s past. It also has a nifty website – www.spokanehistorical.org. (more…)
February 1st, 2012
What do kids do in high school nowadays?
That is a question many of us ask ourselves whenever talk of supporting education and public schools arises. We did some digging and found the answer to this question…. robots have taken over.
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November 22nd, 2011
As we give thanks this week around the dinner table, we thought it’d be a nice time to reflect on all the great things we have here as an organization. We have it so nice in Spokane, we don’t know where to begin, but we’ll mention a few things we’re thankful for here at Greater Spokane Incorporated.
Let’s get to it.
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November 3rd, 2011
A big part of our job here is to advocate on behalf of the businesses of all sizes and industries. To do that, we form relationships with local, state and federal governments and meet with representatives year-round.
Each January, we take a delegation of business leaders to Olympia in conjunction with the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and the West Plains Chamber of Commerce for three days to meet with our state legislators, discuss issues, advocate for business-friendly laws, policies and projects, and much more.
We also bring our State Agenda, which outlines our region’s priorities. Let’s take a look at how it’s developed.
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July 27th, 2011
Updated – July 28
The United States government found that those with a college education receive on average $51,206 a year while those with just a high school diploma earn $27,915.
The region is filled with money making opportunities by being home to more than 13 different higher education institutions. Some of these universities include Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga, Washington State University Spokane, Whitworth and the Community Colleges of Spokane.
Let’s take a look at some local universities… (more…)
May 26th, 2011
Now that the special session in Olympia is finished and budgets have been passed, it’s time to see how our capital priorities fared (spoiler alert: very well!).
Granted, the operating budget isn’t something anybody we know is celebrating. Cuts to K-12 and higher education, as well as social services and various other programs will hurt a lot of people. We’re all hoping our economy improves so everyone can prosper in all sectors.
As for funding for regional capital projects, let’s see the good news for the greater Spokane region.
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February 2nd, 2011
Spokane has again proven to be an affordable place to live when compared to other cities in the country by staying below the national cost of living average.
Every year the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) produces an ACCRA Cost of Living Index to provide a useful and accurate way of measuring the cost of living differences in urban areas. The national average composite index is 100, making it easy to compare cost of living. If a city’s cost of living is above 100 then it costs more than the national average, so the lower the number the better. For example, the composite index for Spokane for 2010 is 93.8, which is 6.2% lower than the national average.
Thanks to Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis and the staff at GSI who helped collect the prices of certain goods and services around Spokane, we can compare our cost of living to cities around the country.
GSI compares Spokane’s Cost of Living with “peer cities” which are similar in population, employment and major industry sectors. The peer cities include: Mobile, AL; Tucson, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Raleigh, NC; Albuquerque, NM; Reno, NV; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; and Tacoma, WA.
Here are the quick facts:
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