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Inslee Issues Series of Rollback Orders on Several Businesses Statewide

OLYMPIA — Governor Jay Inslee announced Thursday a series of rollbacks and restrictions on bars, restaurants, fitness centers, weddings and funerals as new confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise statewide.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the changes:

Weddings and funerals — Effective Aug. 6

  • Receptions are prohibited (ceremonies permitted)
  • Occupancy is limited to 20 percent capacity or 30 people, whichever is less. People must be able to maintain physical distance of six feet.

Restaurants and bars — Effective July 30

  • Alcohol sales must end at 10 pm
  • Table size reduced to five people and total occupancy to 50 percent capacity in phase 3
  • Game areas must close
  • Bars will close indoor service
  • Limiting indoor dining at restaurants to members of the same household. People meeting from different households can still dine outdoors.
  • No indoor service at any bar, brewery, tavern, winery or distillery, regardless of whether food is being served.
  • For counties in the third phase of the four-part plan, restaurant table sizes must be reduced to five people, and indoor occupancy to 50 percent.
  • Restaurants must also close down game areas, such as for video games, pool tables and darts, until their county has reached the fourth phase.

Gyms and fitness centers — Effective July 30

  • Phase 2: Indoor fitness services limited to 5 people (not including trainers and staff)
  • Phase 3: Total occupancy limited to 25 percent capacity

“We do not take these steps lightly,” Inslee said. “We know every prohibition is a challenge for individuals and business owners. But we know that if we fail to act, we will expose thousands of people.”

Inslee
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Secretary of Health John Weisman also announced today new guidance on face mask requirements.

His new order mandates that face coverings are worn in all indoor common areas, not just public spaces. His new mandate includes elevators, hallways, apartment buildings, college dormitories, hotels, motels, universities, assisted-living facilities and adult family homes.

The new mask mandate goes into effect Saturday.

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A Beer at a Time Temporarily Closes After Customer Drives Through Wall

Camas, Wa — A Beer at a Time is temporarily closing its doors after its west side wall was hit by a car  over the weekend.

“A 15 year-old driver, with her learner’s permit, thought her car was in park, but it was in drive so she went through the side of the building,” said A Beer at a Time’s owner, Shelby Piersol. “Her mom was with her. We bordered up the hole and decided it was best to close until it’s inspected by a structural engineer. I would be devastated if our customers or employees got hurt.”

The car punched a hole through the brick wall, but nobody was hurt. 

Piersol doesn’t have an estimated timeline on the inspection, repairs or when the popular craft beer taproom will reopen.

“Our biggest concern is public safety,” said Piersol. “Our customers have sustained us through the pandemic and we hope to reopen as soon as possible. I hope in 20 years she’ll look back on this and laugh. Their family is one of great customers.”

Beer
www.artfuljuxtaposition.com
Beer
Punched hole in the wall.
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ERC Report: Retail Trade Helps Lead Washington’s Economic Recovery

This past month, Washington state revenue collections came in $260 million higher than the June forecast, according to a Economic and Revenue Forecast Council report.  The higher collections are not due to deferred payments being paid back (as those came in on target), but show greater economic activity, primarily in retail trade.  

A key part of the economic report says:

Non-retail trade payments were down about 20%, similar to the forecasted decline in total collections for the period. During May, a majority of counties reached Phase 2 of the state’s pandemic reopening plan, which allowed non-essential retail establishments to open on a limited basis. In June, most of the remaining counties reached Phase 2 and several reached Phase 3, so next month’s retail trade activity could also be higher than forecasted. It remains to be seen, however, if the higher activity is sustainable or if it represents a one-time response to several months of pent-up demand.   

  • U.S. employment increased by 4.8 million jobs in June; the unemployment rate declined to 11.1%.
  • Light vehicle sales improved for a second straight month but remain 24.1% below June 2019 levels.
  • Housing units authorized by building permits and housing starts both increased in May but were below May 2019 levels.
  • Washington employment continued to recover in June following the historic decline in April.
  • Washington manufacturing activity improved in June for the first time since February.
  • Major General Fund-State (GF-S) revenue collections for the June 11 – July 10, 2020 collection period came in $260.7 million (14.8%) higher than the June forecast.
  • Revenue Act tax collections were $247.0 million (19.7%) higher than forecasted and other tracked revenue came in $13.6 million (2.7%) higher than forecasted.
  • Most of this month’s surplus was from higher-than-expected taxable economic activity in retail trade, the result of the allowed May opening of non-essential retail establishments in a majority of counties. While increased June openings may bring another month of stronger-than-expected activity, it remains to be seen if the activity is sustainable or merely a temporary release of pent-up demand.

“I see people in our district working hard everyday to bring their businesses back to pre-COVID-19 levels, and this report shows the results of so many efforts,” said Senator Ann Rivers, 18th Legislative District. “I support them, and we need to keep a balance in our state as we continue to recover from the effects of this pandemic.”

Employment Outlook

The council has just one month of new Washington employment data since the June forecast was released. The report says employment continued to recover in June following the historic decline in April. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose 86,500 (seasonally adjusted) in June, which was 34,600 more than expected in the June forecast. Private services-providing sectors added 74,600 jobs in June. Construction employment increased by 10,100 jobs and manufacturing added 1,700 jobs despite the loss of 3,000 aerospace jobs. Government payrolls were unchanged in June. Washington’s unemployment rate declined to 9.8% in June from 15.1% in May and 16.3% in April. The April rate was an all-time high in the series that dates back to 1976.

Tax Payments

The report also says total tax payments as of July 2 from electronic filers who also filed returns for May activity in the June 11 – July 10, 2019 period were down 9.0% year over year (payments are mainly Revenue Act taxes but include some non-Revenue Act taxes as well). Last month payments were down 14.4% year over year. Some details of the payments:

  • Total payments in the retail trade sector increased 6.3% year over year. Last month, payments were down 7.1% year over year.
  • Payments from the motor vehicles and parts sector were down 4.1% year over year. Last month, payments in the sector dropped 54.3% year over year.
  • Retail trade sectors showing strong year-over- year growth were miscellaneous retailers (+77.8%), electronics and appliances (+32.2%), nonstore retailers (+28.9%) and building materials and garden supplies (+12.4%).
Economic
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Doing Business During a Pandemic: Dave Sobolik’s Story

Everyone has had to adjust to life during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some it’s been incredibly challenging, and for others it hasn’t, but everyone’s had to make changes.

Meet Dave Sobolik, a local real estate investor with Homevisor (website: www.homevisor.pro) whose work life was turned upside down when Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order went into effect in March. The order halted all residential construction, and limited how real estate brokers conduct business.

“In Washington, we can show houses, but we have to call a few hours in advance, because they don’t want people crossing paths,” he said. “I can show clients of a party of two, but one at a time. I can take one through the property practicing social distancing. There are notes saying ‘don’t touch anything, leave shoes at doorways, wear masks,’ etc.”

And, like so many others, Sobolik just stayed home during the quarantine.

“A big part of my time was spent connecting with people in my sphere to check in and see how everyone is doing,” Sobolik said. “I like to do whatever I can to help with their needs. I have offered to do grocery shopping for people. Anybody who needs something I pair them up. I did a lot of research for clients.”

Creatively, as a small business owner, he worried about tenants who weren’t able to pay rent so he reached out to local business owners and community members to record their experiences. It became a fascinating video series — available on his personal Facebook page.

“I call it the SOB Experience. I don’t want to offend anybody I just want to draw attention to what they’re doing. I’m doing 5-15 interviews with each of these people. I released an interview with Jeff Snell, Superintendent of Camas Schools. And, the whole purpose was to get behind the scenes. I’ve interviewed local fitness instructors and therapists. There are many people being creative on how to keep their doors opens. I hope to create awareness.”

The experience, and temporary change of pace, taught Sobolik a lot.

“I’ve learned lots of things,” he said. “Namely, the strength of the human spirit. I’ve had 175 people that I reached out to over three to four weeks.”

And, he found that people are in three buckets:

  1. People who are financially secure that are enjoying their home time, and enjoying this increased focus on family time.
  2. People with short-term income loss, or permanent income loss, who are determined to use this time to improve themselves and are very positive thinking. 
  3. People who lost their job who have no savings and don’t know what to do next, and are in a fear and retreat space. 

“Technology helps us cope,” said Sobolik. “Thank goodness for that. We have to help people, lift them up. Let me know we care.”

Sobolik
www.vixoncabinets.com
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Inslee Addresses Face Masks, Virus Spikes, Returning to ‘Where We Were in March’

OLYMPIA, WA — Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday reaffirmed his support for the updated face covering mandate, which requires businesses to refuse service to any customer not wearing one, saying it will help curb growing COVID-19 infections rates, which have been reported as spiking throughout the state.

Inslee made his comments during an afternoon news conference and was joined remotely by Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state’s public health officer during the session.

“It’s hard to believe how far we have come, and we’re only half way through 2020,” Inslee said. “This fight has been tough, it’s been unpredictable. And we know it has been very tiring for all of us — for our families, for our workers and our businesses, as well. Last week, I announced a pause on reopening phases because of the increasing COVID-19 activity … We have made progress in this fight and that’s good news. I want to reopen our economy. I want to reopen our businesses. I want for people to be able to go back to work.”

Some highlights from the address:
• Regarding COVID-19 spikes: “If these trends were to continue we could have to be prepared to go back to where we were in March. But, there is good news: We have made great progress in this fight but there is more to do …”
• Some other points Inslee made: “The rate of positivity is increasing in regions. It had been at 3.8% but now it’s at 5% or higher. According to the WHO, if it’s higher than 5% a country shouldn’t lift restrictions. We will keep that in mind.”
• The state is imposing a two-week pause on all county requests to advance to a higher phase.
• Some counties still in phase 1 would be allowed to move to a modified version of phase 1, allowing for private construction projects to resume and more customers can be served at restaurants and bars. The order will apply to Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties.
• He also blasted President Trump several times: “We have a president who tries to deceive Americans about this topic. Six days ago he said this virus is going away. He said a version of that 19 times. This virus will only go away if we make it go away.”
• Bar service would be removed for those counties in phase 3, although establishments can still provide bar seating areas for their customers.
• In response to a reporter regarding cases spiking, he said: “We might have to go back and close some of these businesses, and we do not want to do that. We want to continue opening.”

Inslee
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Innovation During a Pandemic: The Arktana Live Stream Viral Watch Party

What came about as an idea to expand their business, Arktana is bringing product to the people— quarantine style.

“We’ve worked through this pandemic as best we can but we needed to do something different before we get to Phase 2,” said Ann Matthews, owner of Arktana.

So, what is it?

The party requires an enthusiastic leader who lets Arktana deliver their products to their driveway or backyard.

Once the store’s live event begins, these quarantine pods can touch and feel product while team Arktana livestreams the event at their store.

“It gives our customers the opportunity to touch and feel product during the live feed and order on the spot through the website: www.arktana.com and if the item happens to be on the rack at that time they can take it home.”

It’s an idea that is starting off with a bang. The next watch party is scheduled for Friday at 5:30.

Tune in a their Facebook page to watch!

If you’d like to host your own watch party, contact Ann at ann@arktana.com

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New Rules: Businesses Defying Closure Orders Can Be Cited, Fined

TUMWATER, WA — Washington businesses that decide to open or operate in direct violation of Gov. Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order may be cited and fined for unsafe workplace conditions under emergency rules filed today by the state Department of Labor & Industries. L&I filed these new rules at the direction of Inslee.

”The closure order and the Safe Start Plan to reopen businesses are in place to keep workers and the public safe and to prevent the spread of the easily transmissible coronavirus,” said L&I in a statement today.

The emergency rules take effect immediately. They give the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) the authority to cite businesses for being open or for operating in a way that is purposely defying the phased-in approach and, as a result, putting their workers at risk.

“We’re all in this together, and most businesses are doing the right thing for our state and our communities. Unfortunately, there are some that are choosing not to,” said L&I Director Joel Sacks. “The coronavirus is a known workplace hazard and businesses must follow the requirements to keep their workers and the public safe.”

Protecting Worker Safety

L&I said they will work with the state Emergency Operations Center to take in and respond to complaints about businesses that are operating illegally. If employers are found to be defying the Governor’s order, they’ll be informed and directed to close or adjust operations immediately. If they do not, they’ll face a workplace safety citation that could carry a fine of nearly $10,000 or more.

Along with contacting businesses by phone and in writing, L&I will perform in-person spot checks on some of the businesses to make sure they are following through and complying with the Safe Start requirements.

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The State Of Clark County’s Housing Market: Is It Boom or Bust?

Notably we are in uncharted times — and economically speaking — very uncertain times. Statistically, the housing market in February 2020 over last year was even, however, sales will be noticeably be down during the months of April and May, which is due to the government-imposed lockdown, and not the normal economic cycle. With the economy shut down we will get negative figures on some of the activity.

Local home prices have still been rising — the economy was very strong before the COVID-19 — and unemployment has spiked, but this is temporary. Once everything is open again, you will see most businesses back at full speed and see people going back to work therefore unemployment will drop and people will get back to work.

The bigger hit like the cruise lines and the airlines will be the hardest and slowest to recover from this pandemic. People fear we are going to have a housing market crash again, and it is very easy to presume, however, when you look at the2008 situation it was completely different then.

WHY?

Well, the facts are:

  • The mortgage industry structure of loans is now completely different, and housing lenders are not giving the subprime loans to anyone anymore. There are strict lending guidelines in place to prevent this.
  • This time people must really qualify now to get a loan.
  • Homebuilders overbuilt back then, too, and now there is an industry shortage of homes. In fact, there has been a shortage for some time for both new homes and resale.
  • During the pandemic, residential construction was halted, and fewer homes were listed, which has created even more of a shortage. We do not expect the mortgage interest rates to blow up, either.
  • The Federal Reserve went all in back in 2008/09, and it took them eight months to reduce the rate.
  • This time they went in all at once and they reduced the rates altogether.
  • Homeowners are sitting on wealth. There has been a great appreciation for homeowners over the last three years. Even if there is a five percent price correction in the housing market, most homeowners will absorb that. If there is a decline it will be very temporary, even as we are in an inventory shortage this is still healthy for homeowners.
  • Buyers and sellers are sitting waiting for the economy to be opened once that happens I see a surge in listing inventory and buyers will be back out shopping for a home, then it will even back out in the following months to a steady strong Clark County real estate housing market.
  • Even though home prices have risen, the interest rates are historically low, so still affordable for buyers.
  • Buyers will continue to move to affordability, benefiting mid-sized markets.

We came into this in a strong market and I believe there is great cause for optimism coming out. I hope this gives you an insight on the real estate market. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me anytime or visit www.clarkcountyrelocations.com

Written by Louise James

Housing
Louise James shows the new way finder signs in downtown Camas.
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COVID-19: Inslee Issues Guidance for Resuming Dine-In Restaurant Service

Gov. Jay Inslee issued guidance today for partially resuming the dine-in restaurant and tavern industry for counties granted variance under the Safe Start Phase 2 recovery plan laid out last week.

Through the Washington “Safe Start” plan, more businesses and activities will re-open in subsequent phases with adequate safety and health standards in place. Each phase will be at least three weeks — metrics and data will guide when the state can move from one phase to another. 

Through the Safe Start approach, counties with a population of less than 75,000 that have not had a new case of COVID-19 in the past three weeks can apply for a variance to move to Phase 2 of “Safe Start” before other parts of the state. County variance applications will be approved or denied by the secretary of the Department of Health. Eight counties have received the variance. 

For counties granted variance to move to Phase 2, restaurant operations may resume with limitations after meeting specific criteria, effective May 11, 2020.

“No restaurant or tavern may operate indoor or sit-down services until they can meet and maintain all requirements, including providing materials, schedules and equipment required to comply,” the guidance states. 

Guidance documents: 

Support
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COVID-19: McKean Smith Offers Immediate Arbitration and Mediation Services

McKean Smith Law Firm, with offices in Vancouver and Portland, offers arbitration and mediation services that are tailored to deal with the current COVID-19 restrictions.

“We have all experienced the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all businesses and the legal industry alike,” said Collin McKean, co-founder of the firm. ”With the recent closures of county courts and with many hearings and trials being rescheduled, the ability for the court to take part in any arbitration matters may be limited for the unforeseeable future.”

McKean and attorney Deanna Rusch are available on short notice for mediation and arbitration, with secure hosted remote videoconferencing and document collaboration capabilities, including arbitrating any hearing that the court is unable to handle based on court limitations. They offer:

  • Virtual meetings from the convenience of your own office space;
  • Private break-out sessions during mediation;
  • Document collaboration during mediation;
  • Arbitration recording; and
  • Electronic signatures using Adobe Sign.

Fees for Deanna’s mediation or arbitration services may be reduced where participants have lost their jobs or are first responders.

Questions?  Email them at clientservices@mckeansmithlaw.com, or call them at 360-502-7022.

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