McCaw estate gets Schweitzer resort

The estate of Keith McCaw – one of four Seattle brothers who made their fortune in cell phones – is now the sole owner of Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

Harbor Properties and the estate, which had jointly owned two ski resorts, parted ways last week. Harbor Properties became the sole owner of Stevens Pass near Leavenworth, Wash., and Keith McCaw’s estate retained ownership of Schweitzer in Sandpoint.

Keith McCaw died in 2003. He made his fortune as a stock holder in McCaw Cellular Communications, a company built by his brother, Craig McCaw. AT&T purchased McCaw Cellular for $11.5 billion in 1994.

Sandy Chio, marketing director for Schweitzer, said Keith McCaw’s estate and business interests are represented by McCaw Investment Group, which is affiliated with a larger holding company, Seattle-based MIG.

“As far as I know, we are their sole ski resort,” she said.

Harbor and McCaw Investment purchased Schweitzer in 1998.

U.S. wants to encourage farming competition

Washington The Bush administration is carrying an olive branch into trade negotiations next week in China, saying the U.S. is serious about cutting subsidies that help farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who departs for Beijing this weekend, said the administration sent a strong signal this week by asking Congress to kill a cotton subsidy program that was ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization.

“We have been saying all along we’re very anxious to get a reform-oriented WTO round,” Johanns told reporters Wednesday. “We believe that our farmers and ranchers can compete with anybody in the world.”

Farm subsidies are critical in the WTO talks. Developing nations want subsidies cut in wealthy countries to allow competition from farmers in poor countries.

President Bush, attending a summit with leaders of other wealthy nations, said Europe and the U.S. should agree jointly to abolish subsidies through current WTO negotiations.

“For us, the president’s challenge is right on target,” Johanns said. “Let’s move together, and let’s eliminate subsidies. We’re ready to do that.”

He noted that China has become a major buyer of U.S. crops since joining the WTO in 2002, with Chinese purchases of U.S. cotton growing from $68 million to $1.7 billion in 2004.

When they say “subsidies,” administration officials do not mean all government aid to farmers. They mean some programs that help farmers export their crops and other subsidies defined by WTO as trade-distorting.

For example, Step-2, the U.S. cotton marketing program cited by the WTO, accounts for only about 10 percent of the $3.5 billion the government expects to spend this year on marketing loans, payments to growers and other cotton programs. Step-2 compensates exporters and domestic mills for buying higher-priced U.S. cotton.

Bitterroot asks permission for rate increase

Bitterroot Water Co., which serves 116 households in the Hayden Lake area, is asking Idaho regulators for permission to increase its metered base rates for water from $20 per month to $45.

The water provider said it needs additional revenue to offset the higher costs. In the last year, the system was upgraded to comply with tougher government standards, according to Bitterroot Water.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission expects to conduct a workshop for customers. More information is available on the IPUC Web site, www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on “File Room,” then on “Water Cases,” and scroll down to case No. BIT-W-05-1.

EBay to offer PayPal services in China

EBay Inc. will offer its online payment service PayPal in China by the end of this year, the company said Wednesday, continuing its push to grow there.

PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires declined to give specific details about the launch.

With growth in the United States and Germany slowing, eBay has looked for other growth opportunities. In the past, Chief Executive Meg Whitman has pointed to several characteristics that make China an appealing market, including that its online population is expected to exceed that of the United States by 2009.

EBay, which is based in San Jose, Calif., announced in January that it would increase its investment in China this year.

EBay’s Chinese site is called EachNet and offers items in both auction and fixed-price formats.