2013 Archives

In retrospect, it seems almost inevitable that a supremely innovative, self-confessed “gearhead” like Craig Bramscher would eventually conceive the idea of building the world’s most advanced electric-powered motorcycle.

Portland may soon mandate that all businesses with more than six employees provide paid sick leave, joining Seattle, San Francisco and Washington D.C., as one of the few cities to offer the benefit.

Getaround, a personal car-sharing startup, kicked off a three-month Portland ad campaign last month, with print, online, radio and TriMet bus ads aimed at raising the company’s profile in the city’s expanding but increasingly crowded car-sharing market.

“How may I light your world?” asks Kay Newell as a potential customer walks through her door. Newell, also known as the Light Bulb Lady, is the founder and owner of Sunlan Lighting.

For many people around the country, Portland sounds like a place where the streets are paved with bacon-maple doughnuts, meticulously roasted coffee and artisan charcuterie. Yes, the city has a vibrant culinary scene, but it also is a hub of food banks, stores and eateries touting local- food sourcing, farmers markets and community gardens.

On a recent Tuesday morning, the Southeast Portland office of Living Room Realtors feels more like a Pearl District art gallery than, well, a real estate company. About 30 people are milling about a warehouse-style space featuring an open-cubicle environment, exposed brick walls and a collage series made of recycled packaging labels resembling brightly colored flowers.

In December a 12-member public safety commission convened by Gov. Kitzhaber delivered its final report, which is expected to impact budget decisions in the current legislative session. The report zeroed in on the Department of Corrections and recommended sentence reductions and cost-effective alternatives to incarceration. The goal is to reduce the state’s rising prison population and prevent an estimated $600 million increase in costs over the next 10 years.

Bullivant Houser Bailey Managing Shareholder Beth Skillern balances life, work and play.

Parasitic infections are a huge public health problem around the world. Now NemaMetrix, a startup out of the University of Oregon, has built a device to accelerate the development of drugs that kill off or paralyze such parasites.

Eighty percent of young adults eat one snack bar per day, the gluten-free category is growing at about 30% a year, and growth in the organic and natural foods market outpaces the food market as a whole. Collectively, these developments are driving rapid growth at Bridgetown Natural Foods.