Space tourism nears reality
SPACE.com: A spaceship designed for high-flying tourists made its first rocket-powered flight and broke the sound barrier in preparation to bring space travel into the commercial realm.
Year: 2013
NBA center Jason Collins comes out
Sports Illustrated: NBA center Jason Collins is the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport.
Ashland gets three new business enterprise zones
Ashland created three enterprise zones to give property tax exemptions to companies that build there.
Seattle firm considers 280-unit development in Portland
Seattle-based Harbor Urban LLC is considering building a 280-unit building with retail storefronts in Portland’s South Waterfront.
Oregon software jobs growing quickly
Software jobs are growing quickly in Oregon despite the sluggish state economy.
Oregon’s preschools second most expensive in nation
Oregon’s public preschools are the second most expensive in the nation, at a cost of more than $8,500 per child for a half-day program.
Oregon Tech gets new optoelectronics program
The Oregon Institute of Technology’s newest program in Wilsonville focuses on optoelectronics.
Sanyo Solar latest to cut operations
Sanyo Solar of Oregon is laying off 52 of its 200 Salem workers in June, coming on the heels of bad news from SolarWorld AG and SoloPower.
New Relic has more experience than many other Portland startups
San Francisco-based New Relic employs about 70 in Portland, and expects that number to grow to 200 in the next couple years.
Pop-up businesses get started in small spaces
Pop-up shops, temporary businesses in borrowed or rented spaces, are gaining traction in Eugene and elsewhere.