Hart Hodges

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Whatcom wages jump 3.5 percent in second quarter, ranking 30th in U.S.

The fire at BP Cherry Point last February created a host of problems, but one silver lining appears to be an overall boost in local wages.

During the second quarter of 2012, the average Whatcom County weekly wage was $777, an increase of 3.5 percent compared to a year earlier, according…

2013-01-09
Bible software company Logos helps spark Bellingham's downtown revival

At different crossroads during the past three decades, city officials have had to grapple with a dying downtown district. It's quite unlikely that they could have predicted a Bible software company would be one of its saviors.

Logos Bible Software arrived in downtown Bellingham 10…

2012-11-05
Center for Economic Vitality at WWU to shut down

A longtime local business development organization is ceasing operations at the end of the year.

The Center for Economic Vitality, operated through Western Washington University, will cease operations on Dec. 31. The CEV is no longer financially feasible to operate after sustaining…

2012-10-18
Wisconsin's borders

The largest law enforcement agency in the U.S. – Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – will launch a recruiting effort in Wisconsin in September.

This raises concern in light of recent reports by farm worker and immigration rights advocates, local police agencies, and border residents in…

2012-07-30
Southbound border traffic into Whatcom County the highest since 2000

While Whatcom County residents have noted the impact of Canadian shoppers in recent years, traffic numbers indicate 2011 was the first year of significant change.
Last year 14.2 million people traveled southbound across Whatcom County's five border crossings, a 19.9 percent increase…

2012-01-30
Europe on the mind of regional economists at Bellingham forum

While some data points toward slow, steady improvement in the economy next year, a panel of economists are troubled by the credit woes in Europe and whether they might visit the U.S.
The 22nd annual U.S. Bank Economic Outlook Forum, held at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club on Tuesday…

2011-12-12
Waycross Investment Management Company adds Hart Hodges

Hart Hodges recently became a partner at Waycross Investment Management Company in Bellingham. Hodges is an associate professor in Western Washington University’s economic department and the director of the Center for Economic Business Research.

He will refine the Waycross proprietary…

2011-12-08
Europe on the mind of regional economists at Bellingham forum

The 22nd annual U.S. Bank Economic Outlook Forum, held at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club on Tuesday, Dec. 6, has traditionally focused on what is happening in the national, regional and local economy. That was still the main focus this year, but the discussion kicked off with what's…

2011-12-08
Don't be too picky in courting new Whatcom jobs, says WWU economist

Whatcom County business and government leaders should welcome any environmentally friendly sources of new jobs, rather than rely on narrowly focused strategies based on buzzwords instead of economic realities.

So says Hart Hodges, director of the Center for Economic and Business Research…

2011-12-02
The Coal Pipeline: In Pacific Northwest, A Local Battle Has Global Fallout

The flyer and I landed in Matt Krogh's Bellingham office on the same October afternoon. I had stopped by to hear why he thought building the country's largest coal port just north of town was a bad idea; the four-page full-color mailing had arrived to try to convince him otherwise.…

2011-11-23
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