Oregon must get better at tracking the unemployment benefits it pays out, the U.S. Department of Labor says. Last year, Oregon managed to get back only $20 million of the $44 million it overpaid in unemployment benefits.
Portland General Electric expects to spend up to $12 million to replace power lost from unplanned shutdowns of its coal-fired plants. It is still unknown how long the repairs will take.
The only homeless shelter in the Eugene-Springfield area, the Eugene Mission, is retooling to deal with an “overwhelming number of homeless people in town,” Executive Director Jack Tripp says. The shelter is cutting down on the number of people it lets in and toughening its drug and alcohol rules.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted rules to amend the state’s Wolf Management Plan. It will make Oregon the only state in the West where killing wolves can be a last resort after they attack livestock.
Mission, Oregon startup Cayuse Technologies has grown to 298 employees by outsourcing rurally instead of going to India. For tax purposes, the company is located on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Portland General Electric’s Boardman coal-fired power plant is down for at least a month after a temperature shock July 1 in a 36-inch steam pipe made the pipe fall out, creating a “thermal water hammer.” The company hasn’t released cost estimates yet, but the accident comes at a bad time during peak air conditioning season.
Pacific City’s Pelican Brewing is opening a $1.4M brewery in downtown Tillamook. Gov. Kitzhaber’s office helped with a $150,000 forgivable loan.
The Oregon Legislature approved new regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, part of a larger effort to legitimize hundreds of dispensaries that are currently operating in a legal gray area.
Last winter, 40% of beehives in the Portland urban area died, similar to losses around the country. Now, two Northeast Portland beekeepers are working to breed a queen bee that can survive harsh Portland winters.
Northwest Natural Gas reached an agreement with the Oregon Public Utility Commission on how to charge ratepayers for Portland Harbor cleanup costs. The gas company manufactured gas near the St. Johns Bridge between 1913 and 1956, and now has to recover pollution cleanup costs from current ratepayers.