Green Aluminum? Complex Deal Seeks To Restart The Last Aluminum Smelter In The NW And Cut Pollution

By Tom Banse
The potential restart of the Intalco Works smelter near Ferndale, Washington, calls for millions in taxpayer dollars and a cheap power deal.
A complex deal is taking shape to revive the Pacific Northwest's last remaining aluminum smelter. Alcoa idled its Intalco Works smelter near Ferndale, Washington, a year-and-a-half ago and laid off virtually all the workers there. The plan to bring this industry back involves a new owner, cash from taxpayers and an uncertain new contract for cut-rate wholesale power. Read More

It’s Pedal To The Metal As Washington State Lawmakers Push Ahead With Pandemic-Era Agenda

By Austin Jenkins
Washington state Capitol building in Olympia, March 10, 2021. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3
Washington’s 105-day legislative session has crossed the halfway point and a key deadline for policy (non-budget) bills to clear their chamber of origin has passed. Majority Democrats are moving swiftly to enact a pandemic-era agenda focused on issues like tax reform, police accountability, racial equity and global climate change. Minority Republicans, meanwhile, are Read More

‘The Game Is Rigged’: How Fury Over The Great Recession Fueled The Reddit Trade

By NPR News
Occupy Wall Street march in 2012
WallStreetBets started as an investment forum — and its moderators continue to insist it is just that as the group has now grown to boast nearly 9 million members. But interviews with some of its members and an examination of its threads also show something else — that it's morphed into a movement of sorts, riding a giant wave of unresolved anger from the Great Recession. Read More

The Spectacular Rise Of SPACs: The Backwards IPO That’s Taking Over Wall Street

By NPR News
The Wall Street bull statue
Shaquille O'Neal's got a SPAC. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan's got a SPAC. Famed investor Bill Ackman launched a $4 billion SPAC. And a 25-year-old became the youngest self-made billionaire thanks to — you guessed it — a SPAC. So what is a SPAC? A "special purpose acquisition company" is a way for a company to go public without all the paperwork of a traditional IPO, or Read More

President Trump Signs COVID-19 Relief Deal After His Criticism Threatened To Derail It

By NPR News
President Trump, seen here at the White House on Dec. 12, has signed the coronavirus relief package. CREDIT: Al Drago/Getty Images
President Trump on Sunday night signed a massive coronavirus relief and spending package, relenting on a measure he had called a "disgrace" days earlier. The legislation, which combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid with government funding through September 2021, was passed by large majorities in both houses of Congress on Dec. 21 — only to see Trump blindside legislators Read More

Here Is What’s In Congress’ COVID-19 Relief Package

By NPR News
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak Sunday following a press conference on Capitol Hill after Republicans and Democrats finally came to an agreement on the coronavirus relief bill. CREDIT: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Congress plans to pass on Monday a bipartisan $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill after intense negotiations over its final details. Leaders of both parties are lauding the agreement, claiming victory for provisions they were able to get in — and keep out. The measure includes up to a $600 relief check for many Americans as well as an assortment of aid for small businesses Read More
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