Choose Washington Blog
Portal Space Systems: An out-of-this-world meetup of people, ideas and location
At the 2025 Paris Air Show, Portal Space Systems announced a 50,000-square-foot facility expansion, and corresponding job growth, in Bothell. Their good news reverberated throughout the Puget Sound region. It’s especially celebrated in Bothell, where the company will...
Community collaboration sparks economic growth in Forks
Forks Prairie spans 3,000 acres at the northwest tip of Washington. It is located at the fork, or confluence, of the Bogachiel, Callawah and the Soleduck rivers. The Hoh and Quillayute tribes made their livelihood by fishing, hunting and harvesting what they...
Director Joe Nguyễn leads Washington’s Paris Air Show delegation
Held from June 16-22, this biennial event is the largest exhibition in the aerospace industry, and has served as a platform for announcing new products, services, partnerships and expansion plans for more than a century. Washington was represented by 78 delegates from...
The Next Big Thing–A Tribute to Robb Zerr
Last month, the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness (OEDC) experienced a tremendous loss with the passing of our colleague, Robb Zerr. At his death, Robb was the managing director of OEDC’s Rural and Marketing Services at the Washington State Department...
(Mass) Timber!
Planting the seeds for industry innovation and growth by Jacquie Goodwill, OEDC MarCom Manager Washington has always been inspired by our forests. In an age where sustainability and stewardship are as crucial as yield, Washington continues to build on its legacy of...
Celebrating Accomplishments — a “New” New Year Tradition
Lafarge & Egge Celebrates New Facility Expansion Celebrate what you want to see more of.Tom Peters, Author of In Search of Excellence. by Jacquie Goodwill, OEDC MarCom Manager New Year tradition holds that it is a time to begin work toward our ambitions, not a...
As easy as A, B, V.
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketing Services Anyone who plans to travel to an event knows the story well. If the event is here, how far is the nearest affordable hotel? And, if I need to get to the event and back, what will that cost me? Viata, a...
Microsoft new data centers to use CLT.
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketing Services Cross-laminated timber has been around for some time now, but it’s finally getting some love from the technology industry that is dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint. Microsoft has announced that...
UW joins Northwest Region Hub.
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketingn Services A new innovation hub dedicated to commercializing and deploying technologies in medical tech, energy, clean test, agricultural and food tech and maritime is coming to the University of Washington. The UW...
One way or the Otter…
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketing Services There are a lot of satellites floating around the Earth. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, there are 11,300 satellites in orbit. Nearly 3,000 are no longer in service, and...
Small businesses embrace AI.
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketing Services The artificial intelligence industry as a whole may still be figuring out how to make AI profitable, but small businesses are already using it to boost their bottom lines while reducing costs. A recent...
Group 14 gets $200 million to expand.
By Robb Zerr, Managing Director, Rural & Marketing Services Chalk up another win for advanced battery production in Washington State. Group 14 Technologies landed a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The grant will allow the company to build a...