The board of directors elected Jay Clemens as president and CEO of Associated Oregon Industries, the largest business lobby.

Positioning the facility to make the flash memory that powers iPods and digital cameras, Hynix Semiconductor announced plans for a $250 million upgrade to its Eugene plant.

The Murphy Co. will build a laminated veneer lumber plant in Sutherlin.

The Southern Oregon pear harvest will be exceptionally strong this year according to officials at the Fruit Growers League of Jackson County.

Construction will likely begin next year on an office and retail complex planned for the eastside of Medford.

The National Science Foundation announced $19 million in research funding for a new Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction.

It’s been a disastrous season for Oregon’s commercial salmon trollers. The National Marine Fisheries earlier this year closed 700 miles of Oregon and California coastline to protect decimated wild runs of Klamath River fall Chinook. What wasn’t protected were the pocketbooks of those who make their living off the salmon.

Renewable or clean energy development has been growing rapidly in parts of Central and Eastern Oregon, as large wind turbine farms sprout up. Rural communities see the economic benefits of some job growth and property tax revenue.

Remembering my sole run for public office 43 years ago still makes my stomach lurch. It was a tough, dirty campaign, friend turned on friend, the authorities got involved. I turned my back on true love for a few grubby votes.

Look to Colorado to see what impact Measure 48 could have on Oregon’s higher education.