Regional Economic Development

"There is no question but that the economic transformation in the West is historic," Williams said. "The West has now moved from an extractive economy to a conservation, restoration and service economy. And service does not mean hamburger flippers. It means health care workers and architects."

The efficiency, equity, and political economy of modern place vs. person policy trends, and their implications for urban development, deserve an updated literature and policy review.

"The challenge for all of us is to make certain that when new schools are being built they are being built with the understanding that even if we do not have the joint uses together right now, in the future they will become joint-use facilities simply out of necessity."

The annual conference provides the forum where professional economic developers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Alaska, Alberta, and British Columbia can network and learn to make the overall region stronger economically.

Finding top talent in the technical field will be the major challenge for businesses in 2007, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

If we are to remain a country that rewards innovation and provides incentives for technological advancement, then we must be willing to make intellectual property enforcement a priority.

Create Community encapsulates a goal Sopris cherishes. In the face of certain trends (sky-high real estate values removing homes for locals — or — thousands of temporary homes for oil and gas workers) how do full time neighbors retain their foothold in the place they helped create? How do we gather in order to empower community revitalization?

Education is the key to prosperity. There’s simply no way to sugarcoat that fact. Communities without a strong educational foundation — good public schools, community colleges, a local college or university — are at a severe disadvantage in the competition for good-paying jobs with a future.

"His labs generated the protein sequencer, the DNA sequencer and a number of other groundbreaking biotechnology innovations."

Executive editor Executive Editor Leslie Helm travels to Portland to learn about a new business plan Oregon has put together to create jobs and increase the competitiveness of its economy.