Morning Roundup


PGE suspends natural gas permitting, SolarWorld keeps on ticking and cyberattack hits Portland company.

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Environmental groups score win in Boardman

PGE is suspending the permitting process for its two natural gas plants in Boardman, Oregon Live reports.  The move is a coup for environmentalists who didn’t want another fossil fuel to replace the coal plant the utility plans to close in 2020.

SolarWorld keeps on ticking

The SolarWorld plant in Hillsboro is still up and running, despite the fact that parent company SolarWorld AG moved toward insolvency last week. Pete Danko of the Portland Business Journal reports.

As policy makers debate transportation package, link between traffic and economic growth questioned

A Willamette Week storydebunks a few assumptions about traffic and economic growth. From 2004 through 2015, Oregon’s total personal income grew from $112 billion in 2004 to $176 billion in 2015.  During that same period, population increased by 12 percent, as the state added more than 430,000 people. Yet during that same period,the number of vehicle miles remained virtually unchanged. In sum: A growing population doesn’t necesarily mean increase in traffic or a decline in economic output.

OB Original: Get on the Bus!

In other transportation coverage, in this preview from our June issue, Moovel North America CEO Nat Parker describes a childhood shaped by transit.

Down to the wire

A mere six weeks until the legislative session closes, and policy makers have yet to finalize legislation on the big issues such as the budget gap and the transportation package. The Salem-Statesman Journal provides a rundown of six bills to watch. 

Cyberattack hits Portland cloud computing company

The hack knocked out several French news sites, Le Monde and LeFigaro, Oregon Live reports.

Springfield continues to densify

Downtown Springfield continues to evolve, with the pending renovation of  the 106-year-old Stevens-Perkins Building. The developer, David Loveall, is renovating another downtown building, and the combined projects will yield 20 market rate apartments, the Eugene Register-Guard reports.