Port ends container service contract, lawmakers weigh CCO options and wolf management budget on chopping block.
Port takes back Terminal 6
The Port of Portland is ending its contract with ICTSI Oregon to lease Terminal 6, the Oregonian reports. The Port will receive $11.45 million from ICTSI and the company will return $10 million in container equipment purchased when it began managing the terminal in 2011. The contact was for 25 years, but Terminal 6 has sat at a standstill since a labor strike took place last year. The Port intends to find another carrier service in the next year.
Oregon lawmakers weigh healthcare CCO options
Lane County’s Trillium Community Health Plan led other state for-profit health insurers in opposing a plan to make Oregon’s 16 Coordinated Care Organizations non-profits at a hearing on Monday, the Register Guard reports. Legislators are reviewing 2011 rules coordinating medicaid dollars within the broader system to provide health care for low-income residents. Current law places no limits on for-profit health providers sending Medicaid windfalls to their shareholders.
Department of Agriculture considers cuts to predator control budget
Two budget scenarios cut funding for both predator control and compensation for livestock depredation, Capital Press reports. Ranchers made their opposition known at the recent legislative committee meeting last week. Wolf depredation has been an increasing issue in Oregon as the wolf population continues to grow. It’s certainly not the first time ranchers have been outspoken about their frustrations. When Washington took out an entire wolf pack last fall, Oregon ranchers were quick to advocate for policy changes. The proposed budget eliminates $460,000 in funding to kill problematic predators, and reduces rancher compensation for livestock losses from $233,00 to $211,000.
Electric vehicle tech spreads to Klamath Falls
Tesla Motors has installed eight supercharging stations for its electric vehicle at the Klamath Fred Meyer, Herald and News reports. Few residents own Tesla’s themselves, but the city is proximal to two major highways. A Fred Meyer spokesperson says eventually all of its stores will have the charging stations.
Oregon Business hosted a Hot Topics discussion this morning on the future of Oregon transportation infrastructure
Look for an online recap tomorrow.
Great discussion this morning about transportation and infrastructure, thank you for hosting @OregonBusiness #hottopics pic.twitter.com/vJBMbtIzRo
— Tobias Read (@tobiasread) February 28, 2017
Think tank uses Bend in case study on economic recovery
The Milken Institute named the Bend-Redmond region the best-performing small metro in the U.S. last year. The California organization then released a case study this month examining the region’s ability to recover faster than other small metropolitans, the Bend Bulletin reports. The study noted Bend’s new residents are of working age and have at least a bachelor’s degree or more.
Nike wants to make basketball popular internationally
Portland’s athletic giant signed an 11-year deal with the International Basketball Federation to increase the sport’s popularity, the Portland Business Journal reports. Basketball is Nike’s second largest product category, after running.
