economy

The doors to the Washington State Library in Tumwater could close to the public later this year. That’s because the Washington Secretary of State’s Office will likely be reducing staff; 47 employees have received notices that they could be laid off due to reductions in state and federal funding. If that happens, the public won’t be able to access rare items stored in collections at the library.

(Runtime 1:01)Proposed federal Medicaid cuts could have consequences for Washington state, hitting rural communities hard. More than 1.8 million residents…

(Runtime 1:01) This year, Washington state faces a significant budget shortfallsomewhere between $10 and $12 billion. As lawmakers meet for the…

Months after a nearly century-old paper mill closed in Tacoma, the same company, WestRock, is closing a packaging plant in Seattle. About 87 employees at the Seattle plant will lose their jobs come March, when the plant closes. The company notified the Washington State Employment Security Department of the layoffs on Jan. 19.

By Jeanie Lindsay / Northwest News NetworkAs federal lawmakers race against the clock to keep the government running, officials are bracing for impacts in…

With the impending closure of the WestRock Paper Mill in Tacoma, about 400 workers could be displaced. “It's really significant,” said Chelsea Mason-Placek, who is the workforce development director for the Washington State Labor Council. “This is a much larger layoff than we typically see.”

WestRock, a Georgia-based corrugated packaging company, announced that its paper mill on the Tacoma tideflats will close up shop at the end of September. The mill has been in operation for nearly 100 years, processing wood fibers into paper and emitting sulfurous scents infamous for contributing to the Tacoma Aroma.

Companies large and small around the Pacific Northwest say they are excited by growth opportunities that may flow from the climate, healthcare and tax package signed by President Biden on Tuesday. Turbocharged federal spending could benefit the region’s green energy sector in particular, although congressional Republicans remain dubious that Americans on the whole will come out ahead.

There’s a deadline fast approaching for the cannabis industry in Washington. By September 1st, cannabis producers must sell all their goods produced before April of this year — or throw it out. Micah Sherman, co-owner of Raven Grass in Olympia, has settled on this fate.“We're probably going to end up with quite a bit of product that we're going to have to throw away,” Sherman said.

NWPB's Lauren Gallup reports on a popular Tacoma store hit by online sales and post-pandemic return to work / Runtime - 2:06For Trina Davis, the past 30…