
Sometimes honesty pays. Midway through his public-funding pitch to a committee of angel investors, Peter Hixson described his company as “a three-man baseball team,” then shrugged and said, "I have no experience with taking a company from $1 million to $5 million."

Despite a potentially devastating year for wine grape growing because of erratic weather, early word from Oregon vineyards is that the 2008 crop is shaping up to be better than expected.

On a windless morning this past September, Oregon State University researchers towed a prototype wave energy buoy off the coast of Newport and dropped anchor.