Panel to discuss Latino business impact

MOSES LAKE – The economic contributions of Latino-run businesses in the state will be the topic of the Grant County Economic Development Council’s next luncheon in January.

Patrick Jones, director of Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis, will be in Moses Lake Jan. 29 to discuss how Latino-owned businesses are helping to shape the local, regional and state economy.

The luncheon takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Big Bend University’s ATEC building. Lunch is $18 per person until Jan. 23, when the cost goes up to $25.

The event is hosted by the EDC and the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Through one of the first surveys of its kind, the Institute has documented the economic contributions of Latinos as entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators in Washington, according to an EDC statement. For example, approximately 75 percent of Latino business owners experienced revenue growth ranging from 1 to 60 percent as the economy was recovering from the 2008 recession, according to the report.