News

The Service Employees International Union reached a tentative agreement with the State of Oregon, averting a strike.

The number of both home sales and new home listings showed double-digit increases in Lane County compared to last year.

Construction firms and trade unions foresee hiring many new young workers in the next few years.

Pacific Continental Corp. reported $3.7 million earnings in the second quarter, a 19% gain over last year.

LaCrosse Footwear president Robert Sasaki left the company “for personal reasons.”

Beaverton-based Dialsmith makes a small device called a perception analyzer that helps in marketing research in 45 countries.

Nike, one of the few sponsors that stuck by Tiger Woods through his adultery scandal, renewed an endorsement deal with the golfer.

Oregon’s ex chief education officer, Rudy Crew, billed the state for thousands of dollars in personal travel expenses. He took more than nine weeks of paid time off during his year on the job, including six weeks of paid vacation along with sick time, holidays and personal time. Crew was the second-highest paid state employee with a salary of $280,000.

PeaceHealth is facing a major budget gap and needs to save $30 million in the next two months, on top of the $100 million in savings it already identified. Lane County’s largest health care provider is suspending hiring immediately and reviewing vacant positions to see if they can be cut.

Many middle-class families in Oregon are struggling, the newly updated Family Budget Calculator for 2013 shows. A two-parent, two-child family in Salem needs $63,978 annually to achieve basic economic security. Yet a family of four earning $23,550 is considered to be at the federal poverty threshold.