Office of Rural Policy felled by state budget ax
With hope and fanfare, the Office of Rural Policy was created in 2004 by executive order of Gov. Ted Kulongoski. It died last month with no fanfare and dashed hopes after the Legislature refused to fund it. more >
Q&A with economic pundit Bill Conerly
HEADY TIMES if you’re an economic pundit. The economy is getting sour, so TV stations want your sound bite and reporters want your quotes. more >
Demand for sawdust rises as the board market drops
Prices have gone so haywire in the timber industry that Oregon loggers are selling perfectly good Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir logs to be ground into chips for pulp instead of processed into lumber. more >
Lithia Motors hit with loss of $5.1 million
Lithia Motors will slow acquisitions but push on with plans to build a new headquarters despite reporting a preliminary $5.1 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2007. more >
Pot bill fails, new one in the works
Of the business-related legislation that died in this year’s special legislative session, it was a workplace medical marijuana bill that may have had the most mixed support from Oregon’s business community. more >
Ruling muddles Metolius resorts
Central Oregon’s tangled web of destination resorts, land-use laws and regulatory state agencies is no closer to being unraveled following a ruling by the state Land Use Board of Appeals on resorts near the Metolius River. more >
Discovered cannons and the economy of 1846
In 1846, the USS Shark sank near the mouth of the Columbia River, leaving behind cannons that wouldn’t be found until they washed ashore at Arch Cape in February. more >
Sequential eyes Port of Umatilla for future plant
Sequential-Pacific Biodiesel hasn’t even finished expanding capacity at its Salem plant, and it is already looking into building another factory at the Port of Umatilla. more >
John Day Dam open after barge damage
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened traffic on the Columbia River at the John Day Dam sooner than expected after a barge damaged an upstream navigation lock gate. more >
Beaverton gets HP center
Hewlett-Packard, the California-based computer company, has created a 500-employee call center near downtown Beaverton as part of a broad effort to improve tech support. more >
