By Dr. Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC, In graduate school I was taught to distrust surveys of consumer behavior.  “Look at what they do, not what they say,” was the lesson.  The Wall Street Journal reinforces that training with an eye-opening article about people lying to poll-takers.  One striking […]

[Multnomah County Chronic Disease Prevention Program Recommendation. 6/08 .] Fast Food & Chain Restaurant Nutrition Labeling Policy Recommendation Drawing from input from community stakeholders, the policy was informed by the following guiding principles: • Enable point-of-purchase decision-making, • Avoid undue burden on small business owners, • Present information in easy […]

Howard Schultz, Starbucks Release:  I want to acknowledge from the outset some of the difficulty that many of you may be experiencing given the tough operating environment we are facing.  But let me assure you that there has been a relentless focus on making the decisions necessary to put us […]

Below is the summary from teh Portland City Auditor’s Report “HOUSING TAX ABATEMENTS: Oversight inadequate to ensure program goals” The City’s current tax abatement programs have evolving goals, incomplete reporting and monitoring, and poor verification of either the overall social goals or the specific project benefits that the pro¬grams were […]

PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Integra Telecom Inc., a facilities-based, integrated communications carrier for business, released the following statement regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to deny Qwest Corporation’s petition for forbearance: “Integra Telecom applauds the FCC’s decision to deny Qwest Corporation’s petition for forbearance,” said Dudley Slater, CEO of Integra Telecom […]

By Dr. Eric Fruits, Econinternational Eric Fruits was invited by Oregon’s Revenue Restructuring Task Force to compare Oregon’s state and local government expenditures with other states. In his presentation, Dr. Fruits reported that: Oregon’s per capita state and local expenditures almost doubled between the 1998-99 fiscal year and the 2004-05 […]

From Oregon Small Business Administration, Small Business Person of the Year Susan Webb, President, Glass Alchemy, Ltd. The Premier Manufacturer of Borosilicate Art Glass. Small Business Administration Oregon District Director, Harry DeWolf, announces that Susan Webb, President of Glass Alchemy, Ltd., is the SBA 2008 Small Business Person of the […]

By Eye on Business, Portland A New York man was sentenced to more than two years in prison for sending out over 1.2 million spam emails.  Adam Vitale was also fined $180,000.  This judgment is a relief for business in more ways than the obvious reduction of junk emails.  Advanced […]

From Portland Business Alliance, Portland, Ore. – Downtown Portland continues to add businesses and jobs according to the seventh annual Downtown Business Census and Survey conducted by the Portland Business Alliance on behalf of Portland Downtown Services, Inc. (PDSI). Thirty-six more businesses opened their doors in 2007 for a total […]

From Dr. Eric Fruits, EconInternational A recent LNG terminal building boom has, in turn, produced a natural gas pipeline building boom.  Terminals bring in shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG).  Through a regasification process, the LNG is changed back into gaseous natural gas.  Pipelines transmit the natural gas (in gas, […]