The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a new web page and blog to help small businesses understand the impacts of the Affordable Care Act. The SBA’s new web site — www.sba.gov/healthcare — spells out the key provisions of the…

A population concerned about rising inequality, prices and pollution … sounds like America, right? Well, yes, there’s no doubt we’re concerned about those things. But this time, according to a new Pew Research Center report, those concerns are coming out…

It’s no secret the Vancouver-based Columbia River Economic Development Council isn’t a fan of certain rules state government uses to soften the environmental impacts of land development. Last week, the nonprofit issued a position paper calling on state officials to…

When he grew tired of new customers expressing surprise at finding his hardware store in the heart of Woodland, Tom Golik figured it was time to raise downtown’s profile. He pulled together a small group of civic-minded citizens, talked to…

A buddy in my Saturday morning running group has been sidelined for weeks, and his iPhone is partly to blame. While fiddling with the phone one day, he ran headlong into a fire hydrant. That kicked up an old foot…

My 10-year-old niece, Elizabeth, tossed the pebble into the pond, and the ripples it made were impressive. In fact, as Elizabeth — who always seems to have a book in hand or a drawing she’s working on — remarked that…

Wealthy Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman and his wife Susan appear to have switched political labels, according to a Tuesday blog post by Brad Shannon of The Olympian. He pointed out the longtime Democratic supporters hosted a lucrative fundraiser for President…

There’s something unsettling in hearing that a company’s success is tied to tragedies like the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the long conflict that has followed. Residents in our region, with its scant military presence, can easily put back…

The word “museum” conjures a sense of the static — a place to look at but not touch, offering little to our nonvisual senses. That notion has diminished in recent times as many museums have added interactive elements, sometimes spectacularly…

Vancouver-based Barrett Business Services Inc.’s financial performance has won the company the No. 5 spot in a ranking by the Seattle Times of publicly traded companies in the Northwest. The company provides human resource outsourcing and professional management consulting services.…