ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ●Main drag. The iconic Portland drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace will continue to operate in 2025, though under new management. The children of Walter Cole, who performed as Darcelle XV for six decades, sold the business in December, having operating it themselves since Cole died in 2023 at age 92. EDUCATION ●Digital switch. The Oregon Department of Education has released new cellphone policy guidance recommending all 197 school districts in the state limit or restrict cellphone use during school hours. APPAREL ●Putting the brand back together. Nike has welcomed back former CEO Elliott Hill, who oversaw some of the troubled company’s most prosperous years in the 2000s and 2010s. Hill, 60, has already rehired several familiar faces and shuffled top executive positions. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ●Auction off. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management halted a planned offshore wind auction on the Southern Oregon Coast due to lack of interest. The announcement came after Gov. Tina Kotek wrote to pause the offshore project, which for years was opposed by tribes, local governments, businesses and landowners. ●Fruit suit. PacifiCorp was sued again for fallout from the devastating 2022 wildfires, this time by vintners alleging wildfire smoke tainted several crops of wine grapes. ●Big as life. Bob Sallinger, a leading figure in Oregon’s environmental community, died unexpectedly in late October. Over his career — which included stints as executive director of Bird Conservation Oregon, which he founded, and Willamette Riverkeeper — Sallinger, 57, advocated on behalf of natural resources and wildlife. ●Cut-rate. Residential customers of gas utility NW Natural saw a rate increase of 4.5% on their November bills — a much smaller than the 17% increase the company originally sought. The utility hoped to raise $154.9 million to replace aging meters and other infrastructure, update its information technology systems, and perform seismic upgrades. FARMS AND FORESTS ●Lightning in a bottle. An Oregon wine was named Wine Enthusiast’s best wine of 2024. The publication selected Roco Winery’s 2013 RMS Brut 10-Year Delayed Disgorgement, one of five Oregon wines to make the annual top 100 list. ●One sick pig. A Crook County pig was found to be MANUFACTURING ●Cheap as chips. Communications chip manufacturer Qorvo announced it will move some production to Hillsboro from Greensboro, N.C. Qorvo said the move will aid efficiency as it works to adjust to a diminished business outlook. ●Strike a bargain. Boeing factory workers voted to end their strike and accept a new contract. The seven-week labor action hobbled the troubled U.S. aerospace giant as 33,000 machinists stayed off the assembly line. ●Out of office. The State of Oregon will reduce its office footprint by half to save money. Nearly half of the State of Oregon’s more than 45,000 employees rarely go to their offices, and the state’s top administrator has asked departments to adapt to new work-from-home realities. RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL ●Uncommon crops. Imperfect Foods, a subscription service that delivers discounted produce deemed too unattractive for produce departments, plans to close its Clackamas warehouse at the end of the year and lay off all 64 workers. The brand’s parent company is consolidating operations in Southern California. ●Beard market rally. After two decades of delays, developers say the James Beard Public Market will at long last open next year near Pioneer Courthouse Square in 2025. Named for the Portland-born culinary icon, the market will feature more than 40 small businesses including bakers, butchers and cheesemongers, as well as a teaching kitchen. the first known case of avian flu in swine. The animal was one of five tested at a backyard farm operation where poultry and pigs were housed together and shared water. ●Heir a-pear-ent. Rogue River Valley-based holiday box company Harry & David filed a formal protest against Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand for being too similar to its Royal Riviera brand of luxury pears. Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is attempting to trademark her American Riviera Orchard food product and lifestyle brand. HEALTH CARE ●Call it a Knight. Dr. Brian Druker resigned abruptly from his position as director of Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute, saying the center had forgotten its mission. ●Zipper merge. State regulators finally gave the green light to a plan by Oregon-based St. Charles Health System to acquire a chain of doctor- owned neurosurgery centers, known as The Center. The nonprofit health system, which runs four Central Oregon hospitals, encountered pushback from the state when it tried to fast-track the merger. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ Walter Cole’s heirs sold Darcelle XV Showplace, which will operate in 2025 under new management. PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN 6
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