Good news, bad news

There was some bad news, some really bad news, and some not-so-bad-at-all news last night, at the Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

After a buffet dinner (catered by Galway Bay), Dennis Long of the Bank of the Pacific gave a Powerpoint presentation that was part horror show, part “light at the end of the tunnel.” Slides on Treasury Yield Curves, First Time Jobless Claims and other national trends brought forth pained grimaces from the audiences.

Then, the good stuff: job growth in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties — “The people that come here and spend money. ”Sometimes I feel we look at things as worse than they really are,” Long noted.

Also on the panel were Bill Wolfenbarger of Jodesha Broadcasting (“Sunny 102.1″) and Chris Rush of The Daily World (and North Coast News publisher), both urging businesses not to cut back on advertising in tough times. 

Barb Smith of Grays Harbor Tourism said her agency will continue to push “stay-cations,” or local vacations to places like the North Beach.

And Dianne Hansen, president of the Chamber and owner of the Dusty Trunk, encouraged an informal slogan for this area: “Just beachy.”