SPORTS ●Athletic support. The Portland Thorns have a trio of new owners who should be familiar to Oregon sports fans. Olympic couple Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton and former University of Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington became the women’s soccer club’s latest investors. ●French connection. Several athletes from Oregon made their mark in the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, including Oregon high school grads Ryan Crouser (track and field), Cameron Brink (basketball) and Pieter Quinton (rowing). Olympians with college ties to Oregon included Sabrina Ionescu (UO, basketball), Dillon Brooks (UO, basketball), Cole Hocker (UO, track and field) and Jade Carey (OSU, gymnastics). ●Hellgate and high water. Five people were injured on the Rogue River when a tour boat operated by Hellgate Jetboat Excursions collided with a private boat that sank and floated downriver. Hellgate conducts high-speed tours of the canyons outside Grants Pass. RESTAURANTS & RETAIL ●Chef of chefs. Portland culinary figure Naomi Pomeroy drowned while tubing the Willamette River in Corvallis. A cookbook author, Top Chef contestant and businesswoman, Pomeroy founded leading restaurants including Beast and Expatriate. At the time of her death, Pomeroy, 49, was developing a new restaurant in Southeast Portland called L’Echelle; it opened in late August. ●Comic con. An Aumsville man is accused of selling more than $300,000 in comic books he was paid to restore. Authorities in Linn County spent months trying to locate the 57-year-old, man who owned a business called “Hero Restoration.” ●Serial Killer. Portland burger chain Killer Burger is making a big push into the Puget Sound with six new restaurants planned over the next five years. The 14-year-old chain, with 20 locations in Oregon and Southwest Washington, has targeted Puyallup, Olympia and Tacoma. FARMS & FORESTS ●Up with the chickens. A plan for a massive poultry farm outside Scio survived a challenge by a coalition of farmers and residents. State regulators proposed a provisional permit for the plan by J-S Ranch to raise 3.4 million broiler chickens per year in an 11-barn facility in Linn County. ●Cease, fire. By early August, Oregon set a record for acres burned by wildfire with 1.5 million — more land than any other year since reliable recordkeeping began in 1992. But rains in the latter half of the month doused dozens of active fires and brought fire danger to historic lows. ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ●Kelp wanted. A new report by the Oregon Kelp Alliance found that Oregon has lost more than two-thirds of its coastal kelp canopy in the past decade. A die-off of ocean life was exacerbated by 2014’s “Blob” heat wave in the Pacific Ocean, in which temperatures 4 to 10 degrees higher than average lasted more than 700 days. ●Too much fiber. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation has sued CenturyLink’s parent company, alleging the telecom giant has trespassed for more than a decade by running fiber-optic cable across tribal land in Central Oregon. MANUFACTURING ●Processing loss. Hillsboro chip maker Intel announced it will lay off 15,000 company- wide, including around 3,000 of 23,000 employees in Washington County. ●Just Duplo. Beaverton-based Nike and toy maker Lego announced a multiyear partnership. Co-branded products are expected to hit the market in 2025. EDUCATION ●Passing the baton. Self Enhancement Inc. president Tony Hopson Sr. announced his retirement, 43 years after founding the youth service organization. Hopson, 70, hands off to SEI’s chief program officer, Trent Aldridge. ●Food for thought. Portland Public Schools announced it will provide all students free breakfast and lunch in the 2024-25 school year. REAL ESTATE ●Change, agents. One of the biggest shifts in the history of the real estate industry took place this summer. New rules that relate to seller compensation and public disclosure went into effect Aug. 17. The rules are the result of a landmark $418 million antitrust settlement between the federal government and the National Association of Realtors. POLITICS ●Courtney love. The longest-serving state politician in Oregon history, Peter Courtney, who served in both Legislative bodies and presided over the Oregon Senate for 20 years, died at 81, less than two years after he retired. Gov. Tina Kotek ordered flags flown at half-mast to honor the Salem-area leader. ●Spoiler alert. Three days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent run for president, Oregon-based supporters nominated him to appear on the state ballot. The head of the newly formed We the People party says he hopes to siphon votes away from Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ Bull kelp fronds in a tidal pool in Newport SHUTTERSTOCK 10
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