Latest news with #Helfrich
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hood River-White Salmon Bridge project secures Washington funds, eyes $105M from Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge replacement project is seeing progress after Washington approved additional funding to replace the 100-year-old bridge, with eyes on Oregon to match funds. In a late May press release, the lauded Washington state lawmakers who committed another $50 million to the project, which was signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson on May 21. The $50 million from the Evergreen State adds to the state's previous commitment of $75 million in 2023 for a total of $125 million dedicated to building a safer bridge. 'Something was not right': Oregon Coast safari park received complaints for nearly a decade 'We deeply appreciate the strong backing from lawmakers in Olympia, especially Senator Curtis King, whose long-standing commitment to this project has been instrumental,' said HRWSBA Co-Chair Jacob Anderson. 'We're also thankful for the leadership and advocacy of Senator Paul Harris, Representative David Stuebe, and Representative Kevin Waters, and statewide leaders on transportation policy like Senator Marko Liias, Representative Jake Fey, and Representative Andrew Barkis.' 'This funding shows that Washington is stepping up for this critical bi-state connection and the communities that rely on it,' continued Anderson. 'With Oregon matching that commitment, both states can send a unified message to federal partners: this project is a priority, and we're ready to deliver.' As Washington's legislative session has come to an end, the authority is now eyeing Oregon House Bill 2184, which would allocate $105 million to the project and would help the state match Washington's financial commitments. CC Slaughters, one of Portland's oldest LGBTQ+ bars, to close for good in August Led by Oregon Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) and Rep. Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River), the bill passed the Joint Committee on Transportation in April and is now being considered in the Ways and Means Committee. In the meantime, the bridge authority is urging Oregon lawmakers to pass the funding. 'We truly appreciate the great support from Senator Bonham and Representative Helfrich, and applaud the Transportation Committee for their support, especially committee co-chairs Representative Susan McLain and Senator Chris Gorsek,' said Mike Fox, HRWSBA co-chair. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'Time is of the essence,' continued Fox. 'Construction costs are rising and demands on our transportation system are growing. Our local communities and broader region rely on this crossing every day. The new Hood River-White Salmon Bridge will only get built on time and within budget with all partners contributing their share.' During an April 1 Joint Committee on Transportation hearing in the Oregon legislature, Rep. Helfrich described the bill as a 'critical lifeline for our bi-state communities.' The state representative also highlighted his previous service as a police officer for 25 years, explaining that a new bridge would be a 'vital link' in emergencies such as wildfires or earthquakes or other life-and-death situations. Candlelight vigil marks 15th anniversary of Kyron Horman's disappearance 'The time to act and build this new bridge is now,' Helfrich urged the committee, noting further federal funds for the project hinges on Oregon committing the funds to the project. In written testimony, submitted to the transportation committee, HRWSBA Co-chair Fox detailed the need for a new bridge, telling committee members, 'Most of you have crossed the old bridge yourselves—perhaps gripping the wheel a little tighter as a semi passes just inches away in the opposite lane. You've seen firsthand the condition of the bridge, which was built in 1924 for cattle and Model Ts—not for the demands of today's traffic, commerce, or safety standards.' 'The current bridge is too narrow, with no shoulders or space for emergency vehicles, let alone bikes and pedestrians. At just 9½ feet per lane, trucks routinely straddle the centerline. It's weight-restricted, unable to handle modern freight, and poses growing safety and mobility risks. We've long known it wasn't built to withstand a major earthquake—but recent geotechnical surveys revealed that many of its foundations aren't even anchored to bedrock. Instead, they rest in compacted gravel now known to be vulnerable to liquefaction. Out of a score of 100, ODOT's sufficiency rating for this bridge is a 7,' Fox stated. According to the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Replacement Project website, the new bridge design aims to address concerns over river navigation for vessels, while improving vehicle, pedestrian, bike and transit access. The design features a 12-foot lane in each direction with eight-foot shoulders, a 12-foot walking and biking path, more space for barges, earthquake safety improvements and improvements to eliminate direct runoff from vehicles from entering the Columbia River. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dogs Bite More Postal Workers in L.A. More Than Any Other City, with California as No. 1 State
Dogs Bite More Postal Workers in L.A. More Than Any Other City, with California as No. 1 State originally appeared on L.A. Mag. It's rough out there — or 'ruff,' some might say — for postal workers making deliveries in the City of it's no laughing matter. This week starts National Dog Bite Awareness Week — yes, that's real — a campaign by the US Postal Service, which kicked off June 1, encourages #dogbiteawareness be used to show USPS counted over 6,000 dog-related attacks on mail carriers reported in 2024 alone. 77 of these happened here in Los Angeles, and hundreds more in California crowned the state number-one in the rankings. The runner-up, Texas, hit 438, while Californian incidents reached a whopping 701.'I strongly encourage all dog owners to take precautions to make sure their dog is secure when mail is being delivered,' says Jonah Helfrich, a letter carrier and spokesperson for the USPS campaign. 'Customers may not consider their dog a danger to others, however, to a letter carrier like me, all dogs can be considered a threat when delivering the mail.' Helfrich said he recently received medical attention after a dog barged out from inside the home he was delivering to and bit him on the USPS affirms that their employees are trained to deliver mail safely, even in the presence of pets, listing out verified rules, such as: 'Never startle a dog,' 'Never assume a dog will not bite' and 'Never attempt to pet or feed a dog.'If a carrier feels unsafe, the USPS said, mail delivery can be suspended and patrons may be required to receive all mail from the post office until the situation can be resolved.'Dog bite attacks on postal employees are preventable,' says Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager. 'The most important message for our customers to remember during the 2025 USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign is keep your dog secured and away from the carrier as the mail is being delivered.' This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 roasters tell BI why your cup of coffee is getting more expensive — and it's not only because of tariffs
The coffee market has never been so volatile. Coffee prices are climbing due to a trifecta of climate factors, geopolitical turmoil, and tariffs. Your cup of coffee may only increase in price, as cafés have yet to feel the full effects of tariffs. In February, Cooperative Coffee Roasters founder Matt McDaniel emailed his wholesale clients announcing price increases — two varieties went from $11 a pound to $13, while another two went from $12 a pound to $14. He also increased prices at his coffee shop attached to the roasting facility. About 125 miles east of Cooperative's roastery in Asheville, North Carolina, you'll find Summit Coffee's flagship location in Davidson, where the price of coffee increased by $0.10 a cup in February. That's a relatively small adjustment, said Summit Coffee CEO Brian Helrich. However, Spencer Ford knows of many coffee shops that have had to increase prices by more than a dime a cup. Ford is a trader at Royal Coffee. He buys green coffee from all over the world, imports it to the US, and sells it to coffee roasters. Most of his clients, recently, have been "kind of freaking out," he said — and for good reason. "In my career, this is the most volatile time, in terms of just the commodity price of coffee, that we've ever seen," he told BI. When Ford first started trading coffee, the commodity price was less than $1 per pound. The previous commodity market high hit a little over $3 back in 1977. In the fall of 2024, it started to spiral upward and traded up to $4.40 a pound in the new year. And that was before President Donald Trump's tariffs entered the picture and further rattled the coffee industry. Due to a trifecta of climate factors, geopolitical turmoil, and tariff uncertainty, coffee producers are paying more and passing on these costs to consumers. The average price per pound of ground coffee sold to consumers was about $7.54 in April, a record high and up from $6.06 a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ever since Helfrich started buying coffee in 2014, the coffee market has been "pretty stable and low," he said. "It's been minor fluctuations, up and down 20 cents, 30 cents." The spike to above $4 in early 2025 can be attributed to a confluence of factors. "Everything that could be a variable has become a variable," said Helfrich. For starters, there's the impact of climate change. Helfrich points to Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, which has dealt with frost and severe drought in recent years. Extreme weather can hurt coffee plants and result in a smaller crop yield. If Brazil expects to produce 30 million tons of coffee but, in actuality, produces 27 million, "all of a sudden supply demand happens and people start freaking out." Remember that previous commodity market high of about $3 in 1977? That was due to the so-called Brazilian black frost, where freezing temperatures kill plants without forming any visible white frost. "We've seen frost in Brazil like two out of the last five years," Ford said of the once-rare phenomenon. And then there's general global unrest. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, for example, have disrupted key shipping routes. Helfrich said he had to send some of his coffee shipments on a more southern route to avoid attacks, which led to additional shipping time and costs. As supply has been decreasing, demand has been increasing, added Helfrich: "There are a lot of new coffee drinkers in the developing world." The commodity price of coffee has dipped since its peak — it's around $3.70 per pound, as of May 2025 — but that's still higher than it's ever been, and Helfrich expects it to remain in the $3.70s. Tariffs have added another layer of complexity to the already volatile coffee market. Cooperative and Summit haven't felt the side effects of tariffs yet, since they purchase their raw green coffee beans so far in advance. "That's the interesting thing. Coffee that was already on the water was not subject to tariffs," said McDaniel. "And so it'll definitely be a downstream effect. It's something that we'll start seeing in coffee that arrives in June and July." Helfrich has a coffee supply that will last through about November and said he isn't putting anything new under contract right now: "This usual six-to-12-month runway we have, we're letting that get shorter and shorter and shorter in hopes that maybe that coffee market goes down, maybe the tariffs go away." There's risk in sitting and waiting, too. "It'll come time for us to decide if we want our partner in Peru to send us a shipping container of coffee," he said. "If we locked it in right now, we'd be paying a 10% tariff fee. If we decide to wait a little bit and be patient, they might sell their coffee to somebody else, and then, while we might be able to get coffee at a lower price, the coffees we've always relied on are not going to be available." Helfrich hasn't completely avoided tariffs. At the peak, when tariffs on Chinese imports hit 145%, he owed an extra four-figure bill on his coffee bags, which are manufactured in China. "We had already paid our 50% deposit on the bags — they were produced — and in order to receive the shipment, we had to pay an over $8,000 instant tax bill. We couldn't switch to a US producer because we didn't have enough time," said Helfrich. "It more than doubled the price of our bags, which, across 20-something thousand bags, hurts." Ford's company is just now starting to pay the 10% tariff on all imported goods. Time will tell how that extra cost impacts the business and, ultimately, consumers. "Right now, we can still average some of the untariffed stuff that we have already, so we don't have to raise everything so dramatically," he said. "But eventually, we're going to run out of untariffed inventory." Chances are, your cup of coffee or bag of beans will start to cost even more, potentially as early as this summer. Especially if tariffs persist, roasteries and cafés "don't have a choice," said Helfrich. They rely on importing because most parts of the US cannot grow coffee. "The reality is, everybody's going to raise prices a little bit since I don't think it's going back down. I think we need to get used to a slightly new normal." Before you start complaining, keep in mind that coffee might cost closer to what it always should have. "Coffee has historically been undervalued. We take it for granted in the US as this cheap pick-me-up, and that neglects the reality of coffee and what it takes to even have it," said McDaniel. "This is an agricultural product that's only grown in the tropics, and high-quality coffee is only grown in really high elevations. There is so much human labor associated with growing coffee, harvesting coffee, processing it, preparing it to be exported, and then bringing it into the country." How big a price jump will vary from business to business. "It's the coffee companies that don't roast their own coffee that are going to get hurt the hardest — because roasters have to increase prices," said Helfrich. Cafés like his that roast in-house have more control. For the shops that outsource, "If a roaster needs to raise its prices, then the coffee shop just has to deal with that accordingly." Another factor is how much a business first raised its prices pre-tariffs. "Depending on whether the roastery or the business raised their prices enough initially to cover the tariff increase as well, then maybe they won't have to raise them again," said Ford. "But my thinking is that, in a couple of months, as roasters and importers start running out of untariffed inventory, the price will go up again because they're going to be buying everything at the new, higher price." He's less sure about how consumers will react. So far, he hasn't seen any drop-off in demand. "People might be upset, but it might not stop them from buying," said Ford. "Coffee consumption in the US has been pretty resilient to price rises. Now, how much they go up before people start saying, 'this is crazy,' I don't know." Read the original article on Business Insider Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Business Insider
25-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
3 roasters tell BI why your cup of coffee is getting more expensive — and it's not only because of tariffs
In February, Cooperative Coffee Roasters founder Matt McDaniel emailed his wholesale clients announcing price increases — two varieties went from $11 a pound to $13, while another two went from $12 a pound to $14. He also increased prices at his coffee shop attached to the roasting facility. About 125 miles east of Cooperative's roastery in Asheville, North Carolina, you'll find Summit Coffee 's flagship location in Davidson, where the price of coffee increased by $0.10 a cup in February. That's a relatively small adjustment, said Summit Coffee CEO Brian Helrich. However, Spencer Ford knows of many coffee shops that have had to increase prices by more than a dime a cup. Ford is a trader at Royal Coffee. He buys green coffee from all over the world, imports it to the US, and sells it to coffee roasters. Most of his clients, recently, have been "kind of freaking out," he said — and for good reason. "In my career, this is the most volatile time, in terms of just the commodity price of coffee, that we've ever seen," he told BI. When Ford first started trading coffee, the commodity price was less than $1 per pound. The previous commodity market high hit a little over $3 back in 1977. In the fall of 2024, it started to spiral upward and traded up to $4.40 a pound in the new year. And that was before President Donald Trump's tariffs entered the picture and further rattled the coffee industry. Due to a trifecta of climate factors, geopolitical turmoil, and tariff uncertainty, coffee producers are paying more and passing on these costs to consumers. The average price per pound of ground coffee sold to consumers was about $7.54 in April, a record high and up from $6.06 a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The climate crisis and global unrest: A volatile market pre-tariffs Ever since Helfrich started buying coffee in 2014, the coffee market has been "pretty stable and low," he said. "It's been minor fluctuations, up and down 20 cents, 30 cents." The spike to above $4 in early 2025 can be attributed to a confluence of factors. "Everything that could be a variable has become a variable," said Helfrich. For starters, there's the impact of climate change. Helfrich points to Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, which has dealt with frost and severe drought in recent years. Extreme weather can hurt coffee plants and result in a smaller crop yield. If Brazil expects to produce 30 million tons of coffee but, in actuality, produces 27 million, "all of a sudden supply demand happens and people start freaking out." Remember that previous commodity market high of about $3 in 1977? That was due to the so-called Brazilian black frost, where freezing temperatures kill plants without forming any visible white frost. "We've seen frost in Brazil like two out of the last five years," Ford said of the once-rare phenomenon. And then there's general global unrest. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, for example, have disrupted key shipping routes. Helfrich said he had to send some of his coffee shipments on a more southern route to avoid attacks, which led to additional shipping time and costs. As supply has been decreasing, demand has been increasing, added Helfrich: "There are a lot of new coffee drinkers in the developing world." The commodity price of coffee has dipped since its peak — it's around $3.70 per pound, as of May 2025 — but that's still higher than it's ever been, and Helfrich expects it to remain in the $3.70s. Tariffs add to uncertainty in 2025 Tariffs have added another layer of complexity to the already volatile coffee market. Cooperative and Summit haven't felt the side effects of tariffs yet, since they purchase their raw green coffee beans so far in advance. "That's the interesting thing. Coffee that was already on the water was not subject to tariffs," said McDaniel. "And so it'll definitely be a downstream effect. It's something that we'll start seeing in coffee that arrives in June and July." Helfrich has a coffee supply that will last through about November and said he isn't putting anything new under contract right now: "This usual six-to-12-month runway we have, we're letting that get shorter and shorter and shorter in hopes that maybe that coffee market goes down, maybe the tariffs go away." There's risk in sitting and waiting, too. "It'll come time for us to decide if we want our partner in Peru to send us a shipping container of coffee," he said. "If we locked it in right now, we'd be paying a 10% tariff fee. If we decide to wait a little bit and be patient, they might sell their coffee to somebody else, and then, while we might be able to get coffee at a lower price, the coffees we've always relied on are not going to be available." Helfrich hasn't completely avoided tariffs. At the peak, when tariffs on Chinese imports hit 145%, he owed an extra four-figure bill on his coffee bags, which are manufactured in China. "We had already paid our 50% deposit on the bags — they were produced — and in order to receive the shipment, we had to pay an over $8,000 instant tax bill. We couldn't switch to a US producer because we didn't have enough time," said Helfrich. "It more than doubled the price of our bags, which, across 20-something thousand bags, hurts." Ford's company is just now starting to pay the 10% tariff on all imported goods. Time will tell how that extra cost impacts the business and, ultimately, consumers. "Right now, we can still average some of the untariffed stuff that we have already, so we don't have to raise everything so dramatically," he said. "But eventually, we're going to run out of untariffed inventory." The future of coffee Chances are, your cup of coffee or bag of beans will start to cost even more, potentially as early as this summer. Especially if tariffs persist, roasteries and cafés "don't have a choice," said Helfrich. They rely on importing because most parts of the US cannot grow coffee. "The reality is, everybody's going to raise prices a little bit since I don't think it's going back down. I think we need to get used to a slightly new normal." Before you start complaining, keep in mind that coffee might cost closer to what it always should have. "Coffee has historically been undervalued. We take it for granted in the US as this cheap pick-me-up, and that neglects the reality of coffee and what it takes to even have it," said McDaniel. "This is an agricultural product that's only grown in the tropics, and high-quality coffee is only grown in really high elevations. There is so much human labor associated with growing coffee, harvesting coffee, processing it, preparing it to be exported, and then bringing it into the country." How big a price jump will vary from business to business. "It's the coffee companies that don't roast their own coffee that are going to get hurt the hardest — because roasters have to increase prices," said Helfrich. Cafés like his that roast in-house have more control. For the shops that outsource, "If a roaster needs to raise its prices, then the coffee shop just has to deal with that accordingly." Another factor is how much a business first raised its prices pre-tariffs. "Depending on whether the roastery or the business raised their prices enough initially to cover the tariff increase as well, then maybe they won't have to raise them again," said Ford. "But my thinking is that, in a couple of months, as roasters and importers start running out of untariffed inventory, the price will go up again because they're going to be buying everything at the new, higher price." He's less sure about how consumers will react. So far, he hasn't seen any drop-off in demand. "People might be upset, but it might not stop them from buying," said Ford. "Coffee consumption in the US has been pretty resilient to price rises. Now, how much they go up before people start saying, 'this is crazy,' I don't know."
Forbes
03-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
‘Forced Joy': The New Corporate Mandate Of Employees Gone Too Far?
Some big businesses are peddling "forced joy," mandating that employees put on a happy face even if ... More they're not feeling it. First it was return-to-office (RTO) mandates, forcing the American workforce out of remote working and back into the office, causing a huge back lash, especially among younger workers. Now, there's a new movement afoot called 'forced joy"--acting 'as if' on steroids, smile or else, if you will--a simple, yet powerful tool that says you can lift your mood by acting as if you already feel better than you actually do. According to Beth Kowitt, Bloomberg opinion columnist, 'forced joy' is a new job requirement that Starbucks Corp. is imposing on their baristas. She adds that as other corporations end their remote work policies, 'they want butts back in seats--and they want employees to be happy about it.' She calls 'forced joy' a miserable corporate trend at companies like Starbucks and Tiffany where fun has become a job requirement. Kowitt raises a larger question of why corporate America feels the need to force anything upon employees in today's job market--given that the American workforce is so disengaged. It's one thing to mandate workers back into the office. But mandating specific feelings is quite another, treating employees like robots, expecting them to manufacture feelings on cue while selling products. I asked Dr. Jason Helfrich, co-founder of 100% Chiropractic, to identify some of the signs of 'forced joy' in the workplace. "Any savvy consumer can tell sincere joy and appreciation from forced," he told me. 'The tell-tale signs are insincere smiles and laughter, work attitude doesn't match (i.e. name on a cup with a heart and then slams down the pen). The message is not consistent, one consumer may get a smile while the next three do not and finally the way the employee treats their coworkers does not match up with the forced smile and gratitude they show to customers. ' Helfrich points out that his organization tries their best to provide a culture where "forced joy" isn't needed, but we all have those days . . . put on a smile, turn up the music and watch that mood turn around. I asked Helfrich about 'forced joy's' purpose, and he explains it as twofold. "The owner or manager wishes to create an environment conducive to first class service and experience for their customer. Or the owner or manager strives to provide an enjoyable work environment leading to happier and more productive employees.' By nature, joy is drawn, not driven. I asked Helfrich how employees can handle 'forced joy' when it's dictated from top down. He explains first of all, it's important to understand the purpose is to create an environment that promotes business and financial success, leading to job security, promotions and competitive pay for employees. 'Sometimes the 'fake it till you make it' mentality works and often changes one's mood by simply smiling or saying something nice to a customer.' And he's right. I have written for about the research on how a simple smile tricks your mind into a positive workday mood. Smiling can change your attitude, even if you don't mean it, tricking your mind simply by how you move your facial muscles. When you smile, you feel good not just because it reflects how you feel, but the facial expression contributes to how you feel. Neuroscience shows when we 'force joy,' it stimulates the amygdala—the emotional brain center, which in turn releases neurotransmitters to encourage an emotionally positive state. Although there's a science behind 'forced smiling,' it's doubtful that it's part of corporate America's rationale. The major difference is that the 'forced smiling' is an authentic technique that draws from within, not coerced from an outside force. Kowitt points out that the 'forced joy' directive comes from CEO Brian Niccol. She asserts that the underlying message to employees is this: 'It's not enough to manufacture a product for customers; they must also manufacture a feeling. And if Niccol can't motivate workers to do so organically, he'll decree it by edict.' And that's the bigger issue. The American workforce is tired of decrees and edicts that resurrect dinosaur leadership practices that we already know don't work. The old fashioned hatchet-boss leadership style destroys employee engagement and the company's bottom line. Younger employees are unwilling to crouch behind the potted plant in the corner or pay the price of coercion, humiliation or burnout from iron-fisted leadership to climb the career ladder. 'The power of making someone's day is often overlooked,' Helfrich says. 'You may be the best part of someone's day. Take the responsibility seriously, one smile can change someone's day, and in turn they treat everyone in their life a little bit differently. Some research suggests the average person passes 1,000 people per day. Imagine the impact you can have by showing a smile.' We all want to put our best foot forward in our jobs. But workers want authentic joy in supportive work environments where empathy, inclusion and compassion are expressed--not mandated--by leaders. According to Kowitt, 'In the age of forced joy, employers are requiring positivity and passion because workers aren't voluntarily producing a whole lot of either right now.' Bringing joy back to the workplace is critical, especially with RTO mandates, massive layoffs, 'boreout syndrome" sweeping the country and 50% of workers 18-34 feeling burnt out. Vickie Chen, CEO and co-founder of the mobile gaming company Avia, believes authentic strategies bring joy to the workplace. Her company placed two foster cats in its office, and employees collaborate to take care of them. More than 75% of Avia's employees believe the office cats have strengthened team cohesion, and the animals have become like mascots in the office. Paycom, a leading HR tech software and payroll provider, has created an employee campus that more closely resembles a college campus than a corporate office. The company has created spaces where people go to relax, work away from their desk or even take time for themselves. Also included are a fitness center, a courtyard with fountains, cafes, zen rooms and sound-proofed privacy booths. When steps are available that draw authentic joy, it's begs the question why companies need to demand or manufacture 'forced joy' when they can have the real thing. Plus, it's more effective for employees, customers and company profitability .
