*Photo Courtesy Olympia Oyster House, @teasecakes_by_francesca, $5 Mini Cheesecake’s made in Olympia, available Valentine’s Day weekend Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so if you’re looking to make dinner plans or need to buy a unique…
The popular ScaleUp Training Series is now available to businesses located throughout Washington state at no cost, thanks to a grant from Washington Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration. ScaleUp will help business owners master finances for greater profitability, marketing effectiveness and learn how to optimize operations for long-term growth. ScaleUp includes online…
by Emily Sixta As we all look forward to the new year and what it will bring, employers should also be looking to the WA Department of Labor & Industries to stay up-to-date on changes coming in 2021 that affect their business. Minimum Wage The state minimum wage will rise to $13.69 per hour…
by Doria Maselli The author Bill Hybels once said: “The mark of a community is not the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of a reconciling spirit.” ver the last nine months, we’ve watched Thurston County’s resilience as the community collectively came together to construct a safety net when COVID-19 hit businesses hard. The creation…
by Doug Mah, Doug Mah & Associates, Thurston Chamber Public Policy Advisor We have until September 30, 2020, to make sure every person in Thurston County is counted. An accurate U.S. Census is critical for each of us because the foundation of public policy is based on 1) how many people there are, and 2)…
Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health John Wiesman yesterday announced changes to “Safe Start,” Washington’s phased approach to reopening. The changes target activities that data have shown provide a higher risk of COVID-19 exposure. It has been four months since the governor announced the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. Since then, cases in…
In early June, the Thurston Chamber surveyed its members to gather data about reopening our community. One of the questions we asked was whether the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order would permanently change their company’s policy around telecommuting? What we learned is not statistically significant, but anecdotally, we learned that quite a few Thurston County-based…
Intercity Transit will resume scheduled bus service beginning June 21, 2020. Local bus service will follow normal routes with reduced schedules. Temporary bus schedules, effective June 21, are available at intercitytransit.com/bus/routes. Most local routes will run hourly between 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a couple exceptions. Route 94, service to Yelm, will run approximately every…
Leadership Thurston County (LTC) and the Thurston County Chamber Foundation are pleased to announce the graduating members of the LTC Class of 2020! They began their journey in September of 2019 and have wrapped up their program year virtually over the course of the last several weeks. Though not the traditional full day Challenge Day…
Chad Redinbo and his wife Cat first learned of hyperbaric therapy while exploring treatment options for their six-year-old daughter, who was experiencing health challenges. “We were so impressed with the results that we decided this was something we needed to share,” says Redinbo. They did research, put a team in place and opened New Leaf…