ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ●Fired Up. An Oregon jury decided PacifiCorp — the parent company of Pacific Power — is liable for at least $62 million in damages to nine victims of wildfires that tore through the state in 2020, the latest in a series of verdicts that have put the utility on the hook for more than $600 million related to the fires. Two more trials are scheduled this year. ●Iced Out. A series of mid-January storms throttled Oregon, taking out power for more than 165,000 Portland General Electric customers and more than 45,000 Pacific Power customers — with thousands of Oregonians in the dark for five days or more. At least 14 deaths were reported in connection with the storms. ECONOMY & FINANCE ●Steady Jobs. According to the Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% in December, with the health care, construction and retail sectors adding the most jobs that month. ●Jump Cuts. Nike announced an up to $2 billion cost-cutting initiative that will take place over the next three years. That plan includes layoffs, though the sportswear giant has not said how many jobs will be affected. POLITICS ●Withdrawn. Democrats in the Oregon Legislature unveiled a bill that would repeal portions of Measure 110, the 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized small amounts of illicit drugs. The new bill would recriminalize those drugs, but make it easier to access medications that treat withdrawal symptoms and funnel more money to drug courts. ●Blocked. The City of Portland filed a lawsuit against Oregon Public Broadcasting and one of its reporters in an attempt to block the public release of information about which businesses were required to pay into the Portland Clean Energy Fund in 2022. MANUFACTURING ●Terror in the Sky. An Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX departed Portland for Southern California and returned to the airport abruptly after a large door plug ripped out of the plane, causing a rapid drop in pressure. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all 737-9 MAX flights and ordered an inspection of possible manufacturing defects in the Boeing-built planes. ●Down Beds. The Arlington, Va.-based Treatment Advocacy Center released a study breaking down the number of psychiatric hospital beds in each state. According to the paper, Oregon has just 704 beds statewide, and 16.6 per 100,000 residents. That number is higher than the national average of 10.8, but the study noted that 93% of Oregon’s beds are occupied by forensic psychiatric patients, leaving few available for patients with other needs. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ●New Movement. All Classical Radio received a $750,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust — the largest grant in the station’s 40-year history — to support the network’s relocation to downtown Portland. ●Kickoff. RAJ Sports — which also holds ownership stakes in the NBA’s Sacramento Kings as well as two other sports teams and multiple venues — announced that it has taken controlling ownership of the Portland Thorns Football Club. FARMS & FORESTS ●Ag Administrator. Lisa Charpilloz Hanson, the former director of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, was hired as the interim director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. EDUCATION ●Hats Off. More than four out of every five high school students in the Class of 2023 — the cohort of students who were freshman during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — graduated on time, tying with the class before them and marking a gain from 2013-14, when more than a quarter of Oregon students were not graduating on time. RESTAURANTS & RETAIL ●Let ’Em Cook. Eleven O r e g o n restaurants, including Portland’s Langbaan and Han Oak, and five Oregon chefs, including Kann’s Gregory Gourdet and Josh Dorcak of Ashland’s Mäs, were named as 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists. Finalists will be announced in April and awards will be announced in June. HEALTH CARE ●Whistleblower Suit. Joshua Bramblett, a former lead nurse at Portland’s Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, filed a lawsuit against the hospital. Bramblett’s complaint alleges that he was unfairly terminated after warning management of lax security for years prior to a deadly shooting there in May 2022. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ Two more turns in the hot seat Better make that reservation. The NWSL’s Portland Thorns have been sold to RAJ Sports. The team will continue to play at Providence Park but seeks a new training facility. Langbaan 10
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