Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from August 2008

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from August 2008

Oregon OSHA awards scholarships to dependents.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Oregon OSHA has awarded Workers' Memorial Scholarships to two Oregon students.The scholarships provide financial assistance to dependents and spouses of Oregon workers who died or were permanently injured on the job. ...

Portland firm's project featured on TV show.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Portland-based TVA Architects' Evo condominium tower in downtown Los Angeles will be featured on the National Geographic Channel Sunday as part of a six-part series called L.A. Hard Hats. The show focuses on the...

Commentary: 'Mismatch' letters leave no room for error or excuse.
August 1, 2008... Byline: Rich Meneghello Problem: Unless you've been living under a rock for the past several years, you know that immigration is a hot topic. However, it's always seemed to be someone else's problem. No one has come knocking on your...

Oregon's SR Design LLC hires Regan Schaller.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff SR Design LLC has hired Regan Schaller as a survey technician. Schaller has five years of experience in land surveying. He previously worked in the survey departments of Clatsop and Lane counties, at Lode Star...

Columbia Bank hires Mark Brandon.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Columbia Bank has hired Mark Brandon as senior vice president, Southwest Washington and Oregon regional manager. Brandon has 29 years of banking experience, having spent 23 years with Seafirst Bank and Bank of...

Pacific Real Estate Partners Inc. hires Ryan Livesay in Portland office.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Pacific Real Estate Partners Inc. has hired Ryan Livesay as an associate broker in its Portland office. Livesay previously worked at Integrated Corporate Property Services and was an assistant bond trader at a New...

Portland Development Commission considers joining urban renewal battle.
August 1, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf As the city prepares to defend its controversial decision to expand the River District Urban Renewal Area and create a noncontiguous satellite district of it surrounding the David Douglas School District, the public...

The Nines hotel in Portland moves opening to October.
August 1, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker From the twelfth floor balcony inside the under-construction Meier & Frank building in downtown Portland, it's easy to see what developers accomplished with the project's $148 million budget. The six-story atrium...

Portland's Opsis Architecture plans future of Mount Tabor Yard.
August 1, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett For Paul Kinley, the Mount Tabor Park Central Yard master plan is a golden opportunity to improve not just a service yard, but the city's whole park system. It's one of those projects that doesn't come along often,...

Oregon Public Utility Commission rules in favor of third-party investors.
August 1, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon Public Utility Commission on Thursday decided that third-party investors in solar energy projects are allowed under PUC rules and Oregon law. In June, Honeywell and Pacificorp asked the PUC to clarify whether...

Portland-based architecture firms prep for slowdown in '09.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett For the last year and a half, Herb Giffin has kept a steady stream of work flowing into his architecture firm, Giffin Bolte Jurgens. Specializing in health care, the Portland-based architecture firm has been busy...

Oregon skies clear for solar projects.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Public agencies and non-profit organizations are basking in the glow of an Oregon Public Utility Commission decision last week that allows solar projects with third-party investors to proceed. Late last week, the PUC...

Garage proposed for Portland's Nob Hill neighborhood still stirring ire.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf The design may have changed, but the Irving Street Parking Garage project, in the Nob Hill neighborhood, proposed by developer Richard Singer remains a contentious project. The City's Historic Landmarks Commission...

Portland church seeks identity through design.
August 4, 2008... Byline: Nathalie Weinstein If not for a statue of St. Vincent de Paul at its entrance, the ambiguous building on the corner of West Burnside Street and Northwest Sixth Avenue wouldn't be easily identifiable as a church. But the building...

Former Portland bathhouse to become McMenamins.
August 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A former Portland bathhouse on Southwest Stark and 12th Street is getting a makeover thanks to the McMenamin brothers and Gerding Edlen Development. McMenamins recently purchased the building from Gerding Edlen...

Portland Water Bureau closes intersection this month.
August 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Beginning this week, the Portland Water Bureau will close the intersection at S.E. 60th Avenue and Lincoln Street for four weeks to perform construction work as part of the Mount Tabor Reservoirs Maintenance and...

Portland company helps Texas energy efficiency.
August 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Portland-based energy efficiency and environmental solutions company Ecos Consulting has been hired by eight Texas utilities to design and implement a statewide Energy Star residential lighting program. The...

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in Portland promotes Peters, Joyce.
August 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Kennedy/Jenks Consultants has named Tom Peters as a new market sector leader for its water sector and Michael Joyce as a new market sector leader for its wastewater sector. Peters has 27 years of experience in...

Contrasting views for Portland's industrial submarkets.
August 5, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Portland's industrial real estate market remains steady overall, but the city's northern submarkets continue to underperform, according to recently released figures for the second quarter of 2008. In the past year,...

Old becomes new for Portland reuse expert.
August 5, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett When Shannon Quimby and her husband, Glenn Hoffinger, bought a house in the southeast Portland neighborhood of Westmoreland last fall, they saw it only as an investment. The couple assumed they could flip the house -...

Students pass project torch to neighbors in Portland community.
August 5, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker College student organizers gave their last hurrah on Friday to rally the Sunnyside neighborhood around a proposed community-owned geothermal energy system. NICE, the student-run Northwest Institute for Community...

University of Oregon index claims state labor market bounces back.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Despite a recent rebound by the Oregon labor market, the University of Oregon's index of economic indicators' author, Tim Duy, suggests that labor market conditions will remain challenged. Oregon's labor market...

Wilsonville tech company moves to Lake Oswego.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Technology company Technocom Inc. has relocated one of its three offices to a new Lake Oswego location. The company's former residential division has moved to 5200 Meadows Road, Suite B-140, in Lake Oswego. It...

New consulting firm launched in Hood River, Oregon.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Scott Keillor has launched a new consulting firm in Hood River. Columbia Planning and Design LLC will focus its practice on project management in the Northwest, including the Columbia River Gorge. Keillor, who...

Lake Oswego cuts ties with Interceptor Sewer contractor.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report The city of Lake Oswego has ended its affiliation with Barnard Construction Co. of Montana, which was supposed to begin work on the city's Interceptor Sewer project in September. The city formally cut ties with...

Portland Metro ponders recycling mandate.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Local governments may soon have to adopt ordinances that would make it mandatory for all businesses to recycle paper and cardboard containers. Metro is considering taking a stronger stand on boosting recycling...

Proposed tax hike opposed by Hood River hotel owners.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A proposed 2 percent increase in Hood River's lodging tax is not sitting well with local business owners. Several hotel owners turned up at a city council meeting on July 28 to protest the tax, which was being...

Oregon City holds open house for code amendments.
August 5, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report The city of Oregon City will hold an open house on Monday at the Pioneer Community Center to review proposed amendments to its city code. The 2008 comprehensive plan amendments include changes to the city's...

Oregon Department of Transportation begins repairs on bundle of gorge bridges.
August 6, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The Oregon Department of Transportation this week began what will be a four-year effort to repair or replace 16 bridges in the Columbia River Gorge. On Monday, Wildish Standard Paving Co. began work to replace two...

Lake Oswego set to rebid interceptor.
August 6, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett A delay in the Lake Oswego interceptor project will cost the city a year, but city officials this week said they're optimistic that the delay could save them money. The $100 million project was scheduled to begin...

Oregon task force wants flexible land-use laws.
August 6, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf In Umatilla County in Eastern Oregon, the smallest parcel allowed for exclusive farm use zoning is 160 acres - too much land, in the opinion of Jill Gelineau, a member of the state's Big Look Task Force on Land Use...

Metro starts climate change action plan for Portland.
August 6, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Metro on Tuesday kicked off development of a climate change action plan for the Portland region. The city of Portland and Multnomah County already have each adopted a plan for addressing climate change, but no...

Sassafras LLC sells Southeast Portland building.
August 6, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Urban Development Partners NW LP has purchased The Richmond from owner Sassafras LLC for $1.165 million, which comes to $197 per square foot. Clay Newton of CV Newton Co. represented both companies in the sale. The...

Hope sinks for second test of buoy in Newport.
August 6, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Once was enough for Finavera, the Canadian energy company that hoped to generate electricity from wave energy off the coast of Oregon. The company's first attempt failed after a $2 million test buoy took on water and...

Heleco Distribution Center in the Sellwood area gains a tenant.
August 7, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Food-distribution company J&D Refrigerated Services this week moved into 23,000 square feet of refrigerated dry storage space in the Heleco Distribution Center in the Sellwood area, representing the latest lease for a...

Girls enjoy construction camp at the University of Portland.
August 7, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker On Tuesday afternoon, 14 middle school girls donned safety glasses and tool belts and gathered around a table for a lesson with a chop saw. They watched closely as teacher Katie Hughes explained how to safely operate...

Portland architect's design helps Hood climbers.
August 7, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett David Byrne can't get enough of Mount Hood. The Portland architect has climbed Mount Hood 40 times in the last 10 years, taking 16 routes up the 11,249-foot-high mountain. Now Byrne wants to make it safer and...

State of Oregon to break ground on solar highway.
August 7, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Gov. Ted Kulongoski today will unveil what the Oregon Department of Transportation is calling the country's first solar highway project at a groundbreaking ceremony at the Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 interchange....

Portland office of JE Dunn picks up contract for college building.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Portland office of JE Dunn Construction will handle general contractor duties for the new Center for Business and Industry building at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. When completed in July 2009, the four-story,...

Columbia River Crossing in Oregon made national priority.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Replacement of the Interstate 5 Bridge was designated as a national priority by the White House on Tuesday. Though the decision doesn't ensure more funding for the $3.5 billion Columbia River Crossing project, the...

Eugene purchases 40 acres near Amazon Creek.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff A 40-acre parcel of land in the Amazon Creek headwaters has been purchased for $1.6 million by the city of Eugene. Owned by Aurora developer Joe Green, the land is located between Dillard Road and Nectar Way near East...

New Corvallis parks director takes over.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department has named city employee Karen Emery as its new director. After working for the city of Corvallis since 1989, Emery took leadership positions at the Chintimini Senior...

Junction City mulls LTD Park & Ride.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff A parking lot on the corner of West Seventh Avenue and Holly Street in Junction City could become a Lane Transit District Park & Ride stop. The Park & Ride program allows commuters free parking as long as they...

Commentary: Oregon's advantage: workers' comp.
August 7, 2008... Byline: Mike Salsgiver Twenty years ago, Oregon was a target for growth. The industry that took aim was high tech. In those days, there were several reasons why investors were looking at Oregon. At the time the state had a well-trained...

Suchara receives Oregon architectural license.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Luma Lighting Design has announced that Zachary Suchara has received his architectural license from the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners. Suchara has 12 years of experience and is lighting certified by the...

LibertyBank names Gorham senior vice president at its corporate office in Eugene.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff LibertyBank has named Todd Gorham senior vice president of relationship banking sales and service at its corporate office in Eugene. Gorham has 20 years of commercial and retail banking experience and has held...

Portland office of Stoel Rives LLP hires Walker.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Stoel Rives LLP has hired Carolyn D. Walker as a partner in its Portland labor and employment group. Walker has litigation and employment counseling experience in retaliation, wrongful discharge claims, sexual...

Bush switches Schawbe practice groups in the firm's Portland office.
August 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has announced that Stephen Bush has moved from the Products Practice Group to the Business Practice Group in the firm's Portland office. Bush specializes in business and corporate law,...

Commentary: Don't underestimate value of listening to your greatest asset.(Survey)
August 7, 2008... Byline: Renee Godwin Business owners would agree that clients are our greatest asset. Yet, when was the last time you asked how well you are serving their needs? When planning for the future, the few companies that take time to listen to...

'Solar highway' breaks ground outside Tualatin, Oregon.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf State officials and Portland General Electric management on Thursday christened a stretch of highway outside Tualatin as the nation's first solar highway. During an overcast morning press conference, Governor Ted...

Eager for a new vision of Portland's Northeast 82nd Avenue.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett As the city prepares to update its comprehensive plan, leaders of neighborhood groups in the Northeast 82nd Avenue area are requesting changes to make the corridor more vibrant and pedestrian friendly. At...

Professionals volunteer skills for REACH in the Portland area.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Dan Carter A group of employees from general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis took up brushes and painted a needy mobile home in Southeast Portland on Friday. The effort was part of REACH Community Development's 2008 Paint &...

Obletz chosen by Multnomah County for East County justice center project.
August 8, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Douglas Obletz of Shiels Obletz Johnsen Inc. has been selected by Multnomah County to be a project manager for the East County Justice Center Project. SOJ, based in Portland and Seattle, specializes in managing...

Holst proposes mixed-use shelter for Chinatown in Portland.
August 8, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A pre-application conference will be held on Thursday, Aug. 21 for a new six- to seven-story mixed-use building containing a men's shelter and resource access center for the homeless. Applicant Holst...

Ground broken on sustainable Eugene facility.
August 8, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Lease Crutcher Lewis broke ground Friday on the Eugene Water & Electric Board's Roosevelt Operation Center in Eugene. The $83.5 million development will include a main electric and water operations center, a...

Commentary: Court clarifies corporation confusion.
August 8, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth A. Semler A recent decision by the Oregon Supreme Court clarifies that directors are not employees when the directors are performing the duties imposed on them by the corporations statute. Payments made to such directors...

Scale of Portland's Skylab tower reduced to 9 stories.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett In designing a building at the corner of West Burnside Street and Southwest 13th Avenue, Portland architect Jeff Kovel has faced the challenge of a tight lot and a tightening economy.His next challenge will be...

Salvation Army Gresham Community Center: Bright and whimsical at low cost.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Nathalie Weinstein Architecture firm CIDA Inc. and general contractor Yorke & Curtis have completed work on the first phase of a new community center in Gresham for the Salvation Army. Working on a tight budget, CIDA designed a...

Quick-rising restaurant in Gresham.
August 11, 2008... Byline: Dan Carter A new Carl's Jr. restaurant is going up in Gresham. The 2,884-square-foot, wood-frame building is at 1762 N.E. 181st Ave. Expected to open in early fall, the eatery is being built by general contractor T.J. Nisbet...

Bend school to be redesigned by district graduates.
August 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Steele Associates Architects has been selected by the Bend-La Pine School District to design an addition and remodel to Bear Creek Elementary School. The design firm plans to relocate the school entry and...

Oregon OSHA class looks at multicultural workforce.
August 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A new safety training workshop focusing on the multicultural workforce will be offered by Oregon OSHA during the next four months. Safety Training and Your Multicultural Workforce outlines practical ways for...

Portland Community College seeking sponsors for golf invitational.
August 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Portland Community College will hold its fifth annual golf invitational on Sept. 18 and its looking for companies in the construction, architecture and design industries to sponsor the event. The hosted event...

Owren and Perkins selected by American Immigration Lawyers Association.
August 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Tonkon Torp has announced that Turid L. Owren and Alan C. Perkins have been selected by the American Immigration Lawyers Association to serve on national committees that work with the U.S. Citizenship and...

Datalocking Company appoints Anderson as regional vice president of Pacific West.
August 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report The Datalocking Company has appointed Bob Anderson as regional vice president of the Pacific West region. Anderson has a background in managing sales, developing distribution channels and making partnerships in...

Commentary: There's no quick fix for this mess.
August 11, 2008... Byline: William Rutherford In the past I have written in this column that it was going to take time and work to solve our present economic problems. We are in the midst of that process now. Still more time and work are needed. After a...

Portland office buildings selling slowly, analysts on alert.
August 12, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf As 2008 moves past the halfway mark, some office investment analysts say they are concerned by slow sales of buildings. This year only seven buildings have sold in the Portland market, something CB Richard Ellis real...

Sacred Heart hospital in Springfield opens.
August 12, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker After five years under construction, the $500 million Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield is complete and open to the public. Owner and developer PeaceHealth began moving patients on Sunday from its 104-bed...

Portland symposium looks into healthy designs.
August 12, 2008... Byline: Sam Bennett Each year, more research confirms that better designed health-care facilities benefit everyone, according to Natalie Zensius, director of marketing and communications for the Center for Health Design of Concord, Calif....

Four Oregon Kohl's stores to get solar panels.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Kohl's Department Stores has announced that it will put solar panels on four of its nine Oregon department stores. The first installation is scheduled for this month at the company's Hillsboro store. The panels...

New look for shopping center in Woodland.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Robertson & Olson of Vancouver has completed a $1 million remodel of an Ace Hardware in Woodland. Developer and founder of Hi-School Pharmacy Inc. Steve Oliva is upgrading his Woodland retail center on 1325...

Remodel planned for historic Fred Meyer store in Burlingame.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Fred Meyer's oldest store, the 58-year-old Burlingame store on Barbur Boulevard, could be looking at a remodel. Preliminary designs presented at a July 2 Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting would expand...

Electric load manager moves to Lake Oswego.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Microfield Group Inc. has subleased 9,693 square feet at 5335 Southwest Meadows Road, in Lake Oswego, from the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund. Microfield is based in Portland and helps companies...

Washington County sends $44 million bond to voters.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A $44 million bond measure to construct and equip the Washington County Fair Complex will be on the ballot this November. The Washington County Board of Commissioners agreed last Tuesday to send the bond to...

Five bridges to be built in Hood River County.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene has begun work on a multiyear project to repair and replace bridges in Hood River County. The work includes replacing two bridges and repairing five bridges between Cascade...

Vancouver overpass project delayed until next year.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Construction of an overpass at West 39th Street, in Vancouver has been postponed by the Washington State Department of Transportation until early next year. The bridge would carry West 39th Street over railroad...

Commentary: Target: financial statement reporting.
August 12, 2008... Byline: Robert Niklos Companies considering an acquisition or merger should be prepared to implement two recent accounting pronouncements requiring fair value reporting effectively starting Jan. 1, 2009. The two pronouncements, issued...

Kleinfelder appoints Loftis as national director of alternative and renewable energy.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Kleinfelder has appointed Blair Loftis as its national director of alternative and renewable energy. Loftis will assist developers in the areas of wind energy, utility-scale solar power, biofuels, geothermal...

CH2M Hill hires Pennington as project manager in its Portland office.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report CH2M Hill has hired Kristen Pennington as a project manager, transportation/land-use planner and sustainability leader in its Portland office. Pennington has 10 years of experience as a long-range planner with...

Earth Advantage Inc. in Portland hires Jones.
August 12, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Earth Advantage Inc. has hired William M. Jones as director of climate solutions. Jones will head the organization's CarbonAdvantage desk and focus on all aspects of carbon mitigation, origination, verification...

One Waterfront Place in Portland precertified platinum.
August 13, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Winkler Naito Development announced last week that its nascent development One Waterfront Place has become the first proposed project on the West Coast to qualify for a new platinum-level Leadership in Energy and...

Students in Portland create theater designs.
August 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff At the very least, professor Hajo Neis wanted his graduate and undergraduate architecture students to design a building that makes a connection with downtown Portland. That could mean something like the Sydney Opera...

Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries asks court to dismiss Local 1 suit.
August 13, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries has asked Lane County Circuit Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the agency 10 months ago by the Oregon bricklayers union. The Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers...

Central Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Conference to focus on safety in workplace.(Conference news)
August 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff A conference focusing on the improvement of workplace safety is coming to Central Oregon next month. The Central Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Conference will be held September 17 and 18 at Eagle Crest Resort...

Michael Willis firm moves into White Stag Block in Portland.
August 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Michael Willis Architects is moving its offices to a new location in the White Stag Block. The architecture firm will move out of its old office at 500 N.W. Ninth Ave. on Friday and relocate to 70 Northwest Couch St.,...