Another initiative qualifies for the ballot, while Bend is open to ridesharing.
OREGON NEWS
— Another initiative has qualified for the November ballot in Oregon. Initiative Petition 65 would require $800 per student for career technical training, college readiness and preventing high school dropouts. Unlike other initiatives, like Initiative Petition 28 which would increase corporate taxes, IP65 would utilize new revenue that has yet to be allocated. The biennium cost estimate for the program is $282 million, or 1% of the state’s budget. The Statesman Journal has more.
— Portland’s downtown Macy’s could be moving or closing. The retail store, which owns the Meier & Frank Building, is reportedly shopping for a buyer. Details are minimal, however. The Oregonian reports it’s unclear if Macy’s would sell the building and lease it back, move the store somewhere else, or close entirely.
— Shipping product to Asia is about to get a little cheaper. Cathay Pacific Airways announced yesterday it will add two cargo flights a week from Portland to Hong Kong. Cathay is the third airline in eight years to try starting a cargo line in Portland. OPB has more.
— Uber and Lyft are readily available in Portland and other parts of Oregon, but not Bend. The city’s regulations still require that anyone offering driving services must be apply to be a taxicab operator, which includes a background check by the police. City officials say they might be willing to bend the rules, if the ridesharing companies are interested in expanding to Central Oregon. Read more from the Bend Bulletin.
— Biketown floods the city with orange. Read my blog about how the program will affect bike parking.
NATIONAL NEWS
— BP issued its final cost estimate stemming from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: $61.6 billion. An oil analyst told the Washington Post BP was lucky to be a large company, who could handle the weighty cost.
— Facebook expects its tax rate to drop 13% to 27% this year — below the 35% corporate tax rate. The accomplishment is being touted as one of Facebook’s biggest and a reflection of the company’s maturity. Read more from the LA Times.
