When I was growing up, my family must have moved a dozen times. After the first few moves, we had it down to a science: timed out, scheduled, down to the last box. Despite our best efforts, plans would change, move-out and move-in days would shift, and the experience would stress the entire family out. Despite the stress, we always managed to settle in our new home and sell our old one before...

Hawaii’s economy offered a mixed bag of growth in the fourth quarter of 2018. Employment declined 1.4% but the unemployment rate was a healthy 2.3%. Over the past year, the economy has shed 9,300 jobs, and annual job gains have been negative for the past three months. On Maui, employment growth dropped 1.9% and was negative for the whole of the fourth quarter. That said, there are 78,600...

According to the Labor Department, Montana added 4,700 new non-agricultural jobs in 2018, representing an annual growth rate of 1.5%. For perspective, the U.S growth rate is running at about 1.7%. State employment growth was a little frenetic last year, with monthly employment dropping in three of twelve months. I do not see this as a trend but I don’t expect to see any rapid rise in...

Hawaii’s economy offered a mixed bag of growth in the fourth quarter of 2018. Employment declined 1.4% but the unemployment rate was a healthy 2.3%. Year-over-year, the economy has shed 9,300 jobs, and annual job gains have been negative for the past three months. On the Big Island, employment growth dropped 2.6% and has been negative for the past five months. That said, there are 85,800...