Must Reads

The latest numbers show that Oregon’s support of higher education has crumbled, faculty pay lags behind other states and graduation rates have crept below the national average.

The last time I interviewed Matt Chapman was nearly a decade ago, when he was finalist to run the Port of Portland. He didn’t get the job but he did end up getting the office. Chapman and his team at Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) recently moved into the building downtown vacated by the port, bringing new energy and jobs into Old Town, with big potential for expansion.

The founders of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods are giving $5 million to Oregon State University to establish an academic center that will boost the school’s research in areas such as nutrition and childhood obesity.

Oregon State University changed the name of its Office of Technology Transfer on Monday, a seemingly minor step but one university officials call a major shift in philosophy that could also prove lucrative. The new Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development will take a more proactive approach in finding and selling research projects.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced it will defer for three years any greenhouse gas permitting requirements for biomass, potentially boosting the industry that Oregon advocates say can create thousands of jobs, provide a renewable fuel source for the state, and propel thinning projects in national forests.

State economic development officials have certified three large industrial properties in an attempt to brighten the jobs outlook in Prineville, The Dalles and Ontario.

A military authorization law signed by President Obama on Friday could boost Oregon’s solar industry. That’s because a provision buried deep within the document requires the Department of Defense to buy American solar panels.

A longtime staple of pubs in England, alcoholic cider also has a long tradition in the U.S. That is why Johnny Appleseed planted his seeds, after all. And now the nation’s first modern ciderhouse has landed smack dab in brewery-centric Portland.

Attorney General John Kroger has banned a major national telemarketing firm from operating in Oregon. Sadly, the agreement has no impact whatsoever on the annoying fundraisers who stalk pedestrians in downtown Portland.

Economist Bill Conerly tackles the challenges that business leaders will face in 2011. Up first: sales representatives get discouraged in a recession. Sales staffs may have been reduced, and sales reps are spending too much time taking orders from repeat customers. What should a manager do?