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Snowstorms And Freezing Rain Affect Local Economy

Rachael McDonald

It will take time to determine the long-term economic impacts of the extreme weather that hit the region this past week. But there are some immediate effects we can observe.

Monday was the first day many area residents were able to emerge from their homes after two snowstorms and freezing rain caused downed trees, power outages and treacherous road conditions. Dave Hauser, President of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, says a lot of people waited out the storm and businesses and events lost revenue.

Hauser: "Spending on potentially perishable goods and services like ticket sales, hotel rooms, and meals-- that's were you really feel it. I read somewhere and I think it's true that somebody said, well if you don't sell somebody a lunch today, you're not likely to sell them two lunches the next day."

Hauser says the good news is the bad weather was short lived. He says the local economy is clicking along again. The Chamber hosted an economic forecasting conference this week. Hauser says the takeaway from that is that that Lane County's economy is recovering from the recession… slowly.

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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