The sun came out today! So by the time this hits the internet and the airwaves – can I still call it the airwaves or was that only for TV? Anyway, the long Fourth of July weekend is upon us, and boy do we need it. It has been a long, wet, long, wet winter and spring. The river is so high you could fish from the deck at Joe’s crab shack. Unfortunately, so is the unemployment rate in our little slice of heaven.
While manufacturing and home prices saw slight upticks this past month, jobs continue to be MIA. As we celebrate another birthday of this great country – and it is, even with all its faults and problems – we need to keep the focus on jobs. The only thing that is going to pull us out of the doldrums is putting people back to work.
Usually, I’m not a big fan of giant government projects because they often wind up being years late and millions of dollars over budget. However, I believe one project the government could invest billions in that would have a lasting effect on jobs and the economy is fixing the power grid. Most of you have heard bits and pieces about the grid (it’s hard to miss with the Bonneville Power Association right here in our backyard), but understanding it is something else. I don’t profess to be an expert; I just know what I know.
First, I know that the grid is archaic and overloaded. Wind farms in the Gorge and other points east are shutting down at night because the river is so high the dams are putting out all the electricity the grid can carry; it just can’t take any more input. Second, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to build those wind farms east of the mountains (the wind farm owners have sued BPA over the shutdown issue). Third, relatively cheap and reliable power that would come with a fixed power grid would lead to investment by manufacturers and other businesses, which will result in jobs.
Why not take the same $700 billion we spent on saving the banks and a couple thousand jobs, and use it to upgrade and/or replace the power grid? The actual upgrading and replacing of the grid will create tens of thousands of jobs and allow us to take full advantage of the abundant power that can be produced by our wind farms and the dams. We could finally provide sufficient power for manufacturers, server farms and high tech companies, as well as small businesses and homes.
The grid needs to be upgraded/replaced or the jobless recovery may last longer than any of us can afford.
Friday Fish Wrap (with the usual homage to Herb Caen)
Sharon Pesut never slowing down and going to get faster soon… Speaking of races, Troy Van Dinter running again… Ralph Stevens, celebrating Nick’s graduation at Beaches… Kathy Corwin winning the Pepsi challenge… Will we see Paul Montague now without his camera?? Good luck Paul… Al Schauer leaving us with one of the best corporate citizens in the state, Thanks Al… Courtney Barker always a gracious host and the food I hear was pretty dang good… Suzy Taylor, providing a Celtic atmosphere in the commander’s bar… Bob Durgan like a boy scout – always prepared and offering to buy! …K.C. Fuller helping out the college kid and getting ready for summer fun… Eric Golemo following through and submitting on time… Elson Strahan and gang putting on a party for 60,000 of their closest friends this weekend… Happy Birthday!!!
