Sawmills report record year
Idaho sawmills increased lumber output by 3 percent last year, surpassing 2 billion board feet of production for the first time in 15 years.
Washington mills also had a record year, producing 5 percent more lumber for a total volume of 5.7 billion board feet, according to figures from the Western Wood Products Association in Portland.
The best housing market in more than three decades generated record demand for lumber, said Butch Bernhardt, WWPA spokesman.
2005 was the fourth straight year of record demand for lumber in the United States. Nearly 28 billion board feet of lumber was used nationally in home construction. Another 20 billion board feet went into home remodeling and repairs. The two markets account for about 75 percent of U.S. lumber consumption.
Higher demand also brought record lumber imports into the U.S. market last year, with most of the volume coming from Canada. Prices were down about 3.3 percent.
Spokane
Science leaders slated for talks
Noted scientists and researchers from both sides of the state will be the featured speakers in the second Spokane Science and Technology Discovery Series, which starts Sept. 22 in Spokane.
All events are presented at the downtown Spokane Athletic Club. Scheduled speakers this year include:
Sept. 22: Dr Lee Siwek, cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Oct. 27: Daniel Malarkey, founder of Washington Biodiesel, speaking on his company’s plan to develop commercial biodiesel production in Warden, Wash.
Dec. 8: Dr. Leroy Hood, founder and president, Institute for Systems Biology, based in Seattle.
For the full schedule plus more information and registration, go to www.technology- alliance.com.
Chicago
‘Living-wage’ bid falls short
The so-called “living-wage” ordinance that would have required mega-retailers here to pay their workers higher wages was successfully turned back Wednesday as supporters on the City Council could not muster enough votes to override Mayor Richard Daley’s veto.
Daley, who vetoed the ordinance this week, saying it would cost the city jobs and hurt people who need those jobs the most, was able to persuade enough aldermen who voted in favor of the ordinance in July to change their votes. The vote was 31-18 in favor of overriding the veto – three short of the necessary votes to do so.
During a 2 1/2 hour hearing, proponents of the measure reiterated their contention that the measure would guarantee employees a “living wage.” But they were outnumbered by aldermen who said the measure would prompt such businesses to open outside the city and take their jobs, desperately needed by residents of some of the city’s most economically depressed areas, with them.
Some of the nation’s largest store operators, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., warned the measure would discourage them from opening their doors within the city’s limits.