April 2007: Dispatches
STATEWIDE — Oregon joined four other Western states in
signing the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative,
signaling a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases. Governors
from Oregon, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Washington
agreed to identify specific greenhouse gas reduction levels and
design a market-based approach toward reduction levels. Both of
these goals will be met by August, sending a message that, as
Gov. Kulongoski puts it, if Congress will not establish
national polices, the states will make and enforce their own.
While California has led the way in reducing greenhouse gases
for the last several years, the states banded together to
ensure that shared policies would prevent businesses from
leaving one state for another with fewer restrictions.
STATEWIDE — Everything’s bigger in Texas,
including the grocery chains. Whole Foods Market announced plan
to purchase Wild Oats Markets, based in Boulder, Colo., for
about $700 million. Wild Oats has seven stores in Oregon along
with another in Southwest Washington. It operates 110 locations
in the U.S. and Canada. Whole Foods has two locations in Oregon
and 191 stores in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
Although the company’s aim is to convert all Wild Oats
stores to Whole Foods stores, it remains to be seen what will
happen with locations that are neighbors, as is the case at the
Bridgeport Village shopping center in Tualatin. Kate Lowery, a
spokesperson for Whole Foods, says the company will make a
decision regarding the conversion of Wild Oats stores later
this month.
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