Setbacks and drowned expectations, most notably the sinking of a test buoy off Newport in 2007, have stalled Oregon’s quest to be the leader in wave energy from the beginning. Now there’s another: The first energy buoy will not be installed off Reedsport in August as planned.
Dick Sass, 67, recently partnered with medical devices expert Brian Brandell and longtime Portland investors Wayne Embree and Brock Metcalf to launch the Biomed Innovation Fund. His goal is to raise $20 million to help young companies that have developed “extraordinary technologies.”
Butterfly bushes love the Oregon rain — a little too much. These popular purple plants have become the bullies of wet Oregon regions, pushing out indigenous species and landing themselves on the noxious weed list. In response, Oregon became the only state to ban Buddleja Davidii in January.
The TV show Leverage has brought Portland more than fame and the fun factor of having Timothy Hutton walking around downtown. It put $20 million into the local economy. The show’s second season, which filmed in Portland in 2009, employed 397 Oregonians for 150,000 hours, and contracted for services with more than 400 vendors and agencies.
Wine enthusiasts have been trying to boost exports of Oregon wine to Hong Kong since the island powerhouse eliminated wine taxes in 2008. A new, largely symbolic agreement between Hong Kong and Oregon and Washington is the latest attempt to jump-start a trade that has yielded little.
An old sign, discovered in an antique shop, hangs over the front of Dr. George Brown’s desk: “A deposit of $5 is required on all hospital cases.” Brown is prone to hypotheticals, as in “if I knew the answer to that” and “if I had a dollar for every meeting I went to.” So one such as “if a hospital visit were $5” amuses him.
