Facebook couldn't finish connecting a trans-Pacific telecommunications cable before a key permit was set to expire.The company ran smack into a state-imposed March 26 deadline as it sought to connect the cable to on-shore facilities on a residential lot it owns in Tierra del Mar.The social media giant originally hoped to finish the project last spring, but its effort to drill a horizontal shaft to a "punch-out" spot half a mile offshore met with failure.Facebook's contractor belatedly told state permitting agencies it had left 1,100 feet of drill pipe, 6,500 gallons of lubricating...…Facebook couldn't finish connecting a trans-Pacific telecommunications cable before a key permit was set to expire.The company ran smack into a state-imposed March 26 deadline as it sought to connect the cable to on-shore facilities on a residential lot it owns in Tierra del Mar.The social media giant originally hoped to finish the project last spring, but its effort to drill a horizontal shaft to a "punch-out" spot half a mile offshore met with failure.Facebook's contractor belatedly told state permitting agencies it had left 1,100 feet of drill pipe, 6,500 gallons of lubricating...WW…

One of the nation's leading voices on racial justice recently had his new children's book pulled from the shelves of Safeway's Oregon stores.of the bestsellers Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, and How to Be an Antiracist, among others, last year wrote a board book for young children titled Last month, that book, which its publisher, Penguin Random House, says is a New York Times bestseller, mysteriously disappeared from Safeway shelves across Oregon.In an emailed statement, Safeway Oregon spokeswoman Jill McGinnis explained to WW...…One of the nation's leading voices on racial justice recently had his new children's book pulled from the shelves of Safeway's Oregon stores.of the bestsellers Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, and How to Be an Antiracist, among others, last year wrote a board book for young children titled Last month, that book, which its publisher, Penguin Random House, says is a New York Times bestseller, mysteriously disappeared from Safeway shelves across Oregon.In an emailed statement, Safeway Oregon spokeswoman Jill McGinnis explained to WW...WW…

A big contributor to the shortage of housing in the Portland metro region is the fact that developers stopped building during the Great Recession even as population growth continued.One of the striking pieces of information taken from  is that graphs show the phenomenon is happening again. New housing construction has tanked. (For an interactive version of this chart, .)Meanwhile, people are still moving to Portland (and to Bend, but not to Seattle). The chart below shows quarterly migration by number of households.Analysis of the data, compiled for the PBA by the consulting firm...…A big contributor to the shortage of housing in the Portland metro region is the fact that developers stopped building during the Great Recession even as population growth continued.One of the striking pieces of information taken from  is that graphs show the phenomenon is happening again. New housing construction has tanked. (For an interactive version of this chart, .)Meanwhile, people are still moving to Portland (and to Bend, but not to Seattle). The chart below shows quarterly migration by number of households.Analysis of the data, compiled for the PBA by the consulting firm...WW…

There's a lot of discussion these days about whether Portland is finished or will rebound after the pandemic ends and the plywood comes down.State economist Josh Lehner, whose job it is to advise lawmakers on how much money they might have to spend, is not taking sides in that debate—but he is spending a lot of time looking at data that will help him and his colleagues predict how tax revenues will flow in the future.Lehner pointed to a key factor in Oregon's ability to pay for vital services this week: the state's ability to attract migrants, specifically the young, well-educated workers...…There's a lot of discussion these days about whether Portland is finished or will rebound after the pandemic ends and the plywood comes down.State economist Josh Lehner, whose job it is to advise lawmakers on how much money they might have to spend, is not taking sides in that debate—but he is spending a lot of time looking at data that will help him and his colleagues predict how tax revenues will flow in the future.Lehner pointed to a key factor in Oregon's ability to pay for vital services this week: the state's ability to attract migrants, specifically the young, well-educated workers...WW…

House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) introduced a bill this week for which she is sole sponsor to address a contentious issue in Oregon and nationally: the criminalization of homelessness.would prohibit towns and cities from arresting or citing people for sleeping outside when no alternatives are available.The new bill follows litigation in Grants Pass last year over whether that city could cite people for sleeping in city parks. The case echoes a high-profile federal ruling in Martin v. City of Boise, which found people could not be punished for sleeping outside unless they were offered...…House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) introduced a bill this week for which she is sole sponsor to address a contentious issue in Oregon and nationally: the criminalization of homelessness.would prohibit towns and cities from arresting or citing people for sleeping outside when no alternatives are available.The new bill follows litigation in Grants Pass last year over whether that city could cite people for sleeping in city parks. The case echoes a high-profile federal ruling in Martin v. City of Boise, which found people could not be punished for sleeping outside unless they were offered...WW…

Located southeast of Portland International Airport, the hulking Owens-Brockway glass plant looks like a pair of enormous hands, open to the sky, as if praying for relief.Inside, crushed glass, called cullet, speeds along conveyor belts and is color-sorted by optical scanners. Glass from brown Breakside bottles is separated from Heineken green.The cullet pours into a furnace, where it's soon hotter than lava—nearly 3,000 degrees. Presto: new bottles for Oregon beer- and winemakers.Every day, the plant recycles the equivalent of 440,000 beer bottles.For the plant's 115 remaining workers,...…Located southeast of Portland International Airport, the hulking Owens-Brockway glass plant looks like a pair of enormous hands, open to the sky, as if praying for relief.Inside, crushed glass, called cullet, speeds along conveyor belts and is color-sorted by optical scanners. Glass from brown Breakside bottles is separated from Heineken green.The cullet pours into a furnace, where it's soon hotter than lava—nearly 3,000 degrees. Presto: new bottles for Oregon beer- and winemakers.Every day, the plant recycles the equivalent of 440,000 beer bottles.For the plant's 115 remaining workers,...WW…

The U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for Oregon today made a final in the bankruptcy of Cylvia Hayes, the former first lady of Oregon, bringing the legal part of a long-running saga to a close.Hayes rose to prominence in 2010, when her then-partner and later fiancé, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, ran for governor for a third time, having previously served in that position from 1995 to 2003.During the 2010 campaign, Hayes' work as a renewable energy consultant made news after the Oregon Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding her firm's obtaining a...…The U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for Oregon today made a final in the bankruptcy of Cylvia Hayes, the former first lady of Oregon, bringing the legal part of a long-running saga to a close.Hayes rose to prominence in 2010, when her then-partner and later fiancé, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, ran for governor for a third time, having previously served in that position from 1995 to 2003.During the 2010 campaign, Hayes' work as a renewable energy consultant made news after the Oregon Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding her firm's obtaining a...WW…

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today a request from Pembina, the developer of the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline and the Jordan Cove Energy Project, to overturn the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's denial of a crucial clean water permit. has sharply divided groups with a stake in the outcome. Trade unions that would do the construction work and energy interests that want a gas export facility in the Pacific Northwest are eager to build it. Environmentalists, native tribes and many affected landowners oppose it.At issue in Washington, D.C., today...…The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today a request from Pembina, the developer of the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline and the Jordan Cove Energy Project, to overturn the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's denial of a crucial clean water permit. has sharply divided groups with a stake in the outcome. Trade unions that would do the construction work and energy interests that want a gas export facility in the Pacific Northwest are eager to build it. Environmentalists, native tribes and many affected landowners oppose it.At issue in Washington, D.C., today...WW…

Facebook's botched attempt to connect a trans-Pacific telecommunications cable to the Oregon Coast has spurred legislation that would place more stringent requirements on such companies.sponsored by state Rep. David Gomberg (D-Otis), would require telecommunications companies to file specific plans with the state for the removal of drilling equipment and the cables themselves when they are no longer in use and make them put a financial guarantee in place to ensure the proper cleanup and removal work gets done.The bill comes after a Facebook subsidiary, Edge Cable Holdings,...…Facebook's botched attempt to connect a trans-Pacific telecommunications cable to the Oregon Coast has spurred legislation that would place more stringent requirements on such companies.sponsored by state Rep. David Gomberg (D-Otis), would require telecommunications companies to file specific plans with the state for the removal of drilling equipment and the cables themselves when they are no longer in use and make them put a financial guarantee in place to ensure the proper cleanup and removal work gets done.The bill comes after a Facebook subsidiary, Edge Cable Holdings,...WW…

State Sen. Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) will be sworn in Jan. 4 as Oregon's next secretary of state.It's a big job: The secretary is responsible for elections, auditing state agencies, registering all businesses operating in Oregon, and serving alongside the governor and state treasurer as a member of the State Land Board.And, as set out by the Oregon Constitution, the secretary of state automatically becomes governor should the sitting governor leave office for any reason. (That last happened in Oregon in 2015, when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid an influence-peddling scandal and was...…State Sen. Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) will be sworn in Jan. 4 as Oregon's next secretary of state.It's a big job: The secretary is responsible for elections, auditing state agencies, registering all businesses operating in Oregon, and serving alongside the governor and state treasurer as a member of the State Land Board.And, as set out by the Oregon Constitution, the secretary of state automatically becomes governor should the sitting governor leave office for any reason. (That last happened in Oregon in 2015, when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid an influence-peddling scandal and was...WW…