Don Brunell

Washington slips in best states ranking

The famous baseball pitcher Satchel Paige used to say, “Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.” With all due respect to Satchel, Washington should glance over its shoulder because something is gaining on us. Competing states are coming after Washington’s economic powerhouse: aerospace.

One of those competitors recently received a big boost from Forbes magazine. For the third year in a row, Forbes ranked Utah the Best State for Business. Meanwhile, Washington slipped from seventh to 11th.

Forbes’ rankings are based on six business factors: c...