Rudy Crew takes on education reform.

He runs a successful business growing and selling exotic coral from around the world. He gets fabric from China and has it sewn into cloth flowerpots at a factory in the Philippines, which he then imports and sells nationwide. And yet 26-year-old Ian McMenamin failed his international distribution class at the University of Oregon three times.

Ron Gandy and his son, Justin, were well into the development of their ladder-safety device, Ladder-Tite, in 2011 when Justin unexpectedly passed away at age 21. The loss nearly derailed the entire endeavor.

During the dangerous days of World War II, U.S. Navy ships in need of a resupply would motor up to a supply depot at the Port of Seattle, likely dumping spent rounds and unneeded munitions overboard to expedite the process.

Over the past 20 years, Pete Newport has worked as a kayak instructor, marketing manager for Pepsi-Cola and owner of Bend-based Breedlove Guitar Company, which he grew to $10 million in sales before selling the company in 2010. Now Newport is embarking on yet another venture, as president of Talent-based Sawyer Paddles & Oars.

A recent Pew Center on the States report found that most states are struggling to meet the long-term costs of their public-employee pensions and retiree health care benefits, largely due to the lingering effects of investments made before the financial crisis.

Doctors today face increasing regulatory documentation requirements that involve entering every lab test and prescription into a computer, a cumbersome process that often means leaving the patient alone.

Emily Powell always knew she wanted to run her family’s namesake bookstore.

If you were king or queen, and had either your own millions or control of the state treasury, where would you put the money for maximum economic impact?

Our annual ranking of the state’s largest private companies, the Private 150, turns 30 this year.