Roberta Shoemaker runs a family-owned company that has produced rugged men’s work boots for 92 years. But as the first woman to run West Coast Shoe Co., she has itched to produce a feminine boot line.

James Martin has his hands full these days. On the heels of an ambitious redevelopment of a downtown historic flour mill into a new wine-tasting room and cultural center, the 46-year-old entrepreneur from The Dalles is pushing a first-of-its-kind new product into the California market, hoping to pioneer the largely untapped “ready-to-drink” market for wine.

Three navigation locks along the Columbia and Snake rivers will close in December for the longest period ever, prompting the grain industry to adapt and the barge lines to plan layoffs.

Oregon Business magazine has been named one of the top 10 small business publications in the country by the national American Society of Business Publication Editors, which also awarded five additional honors to the magazine for excellence in writing and design.

The IFC TV show Portlandia will do more than parody and exalt the city’s quirky nature: Its production has created jobs and further raised Portland’s status as a film-friendly city.

The list of billionaires agreeing to give the bulk of their fortunes away to charity is growing: Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Paul Allen.  Bryan Sims. If you’re unfamiliar with that last name compared to the ones preceding it, that’s understandable.

Intel, Greenbrier, FLIR and Vestas: this month’s Dealwatch column includes some major Oregon businesses. We round up the big transactions, mergers and deals of the month.

Many of Oregon’s largest festivals and fairs reached record-breaking attendance this summer, a sign that many Oregonians decided on staycations this year.

Despite a minimum wage adjusted for inflation each year since 2004, Oregon experienced the smallest percentage gain in private sector pay between 2001 and 2009 when compared to neighboring states — 22.1% versus Nevada’s 27.7%.

A long-simmering conflict over individual versus public rights has converged on the banks of the rivers of southwest Oregon, stirring resentment between gold miners and environmentalists. In question is whether suction dredging poses a threat to river wildlife and if the long-standing individual right to mine in the state should be amended.