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Head of U.S. Economic Development Agency to meet with Regional Business Plan Leaders
Sandy Baruah, head of the Economic Development Agency (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will travel to the Portland/Vancouver region on Monday, July 10, to meet with private and public sector leaders about local efforts to foster
economic development.
While in the region, Baruah will meet with the steering committee of the Regional Business Plan to discuss the objectives of the plan and how we can advance its initiatives. EDA has investment policy guidelines that match up very well
with the economic development goals in the plan, particularly as it applies to retaining and expanding core businesses and nurturing innovation and start-up opportunities. Central to the plan is ensuring that the private sector - in
concert with local public officials - is driving the economic development and that the initiatives are market-based and results driven.
This criteria is critical since the EDA's policy is to work with organizations that have strong organizational leadership, advance innovation and entrepreneurship, and anticipate economic changes to diversify a local economy. At the top of
its criteria is that the organization must possess a market-based approach to economic development.
The leaders of the Regional Business Plan will meet with Baruah to talk about opportunities for the region to partner with EDA on specific projects to advance the plan's initiatives.
Scott Andrews Takes Over as Chair of Regional Business Plan Steering Committee
Scott Andrews, President of Melvin Mark Properties, has taken over as Chair of the Regional Business Plan Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is comprised of over 40 business leaders from throughout the region and oversees
the development and implementation of the Regional Business Plan. "I am looking forward to continuing the good work that was done to create the Regional Business Plan, including implementing the initiatives and updating the Plan for 2007.
This is an important effort to ensure this region acts strategically and remains focused on creating quality jobs," said Andrews.
Manufacturing 21 Coalition Touts Success, Looks Ahead
Manufacturing 21, a coalition of Oregon and SW Washington manufacturers, has as its mission to plan and advocate for a Center of Manufacturing and Infrastructure Engineering and to make manufacturing a pillar of Oregon's economic
development strategy. In 2005, MFG 21 built an industry consensus about the center's education, training, and R&D programs and has finalized a financial analysis of the center's operations. It is also part of a statewide partnership
working to gain new federal funding for the priorities of the manufacturing cluster.
Click here for more information.
Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition: A Growing Influence
The Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition (PNDC) is a newly formed membership group dedicated to establishing a cluster of defense-related companies based in Oregon and Washington to foster regional collaboration and economic development.
The PNDC is supported by it's membership, through monthly events, as well as through annual sponsorships from agencies and corporations.
PNDC is mounting an aggressive effort to win Pentagon contracts for defense-related businesses in our region. It is all part of a coordinated economic development strategy to bolster the defense cluster and, in particular, federal funds
for defense companies. Oregon was recently ranked 48th out of 50 states in the amount of money it receives through the Department of Defense budget. To read a recent article about PNDC and their drive to bring home federal dollars, go
to:
http://www.pndc.us/news.html
Genentech will build site in Hillsboro
Genentech, the California-based biotech company, announced this spring that they'll be building a new packaging facility in Hillsboro that will eventually employ 200 to 300 employees.
While the addition of good, family-wage jobs is a positive, another major benefit is recruiting a leading player in the biotechnology industry. Given the research and development done at places like Oregon Health Sciences University and
the Oregon Nanotechnology and Microsciences Institute, attracting new businesses in this field is a plus. While Genentech will not have any manufacturing or research operations at the new Hillsboro location, the "footprint" it creates
could lead to future investment. To read the article about the Genentech facility click
here.
Help achieve the education initiative by providing educator internships
Make Learning Real. These are the words that shape the services provided by the Business Education Compact. For more than 20 years, this local nonprofit organization has connected the classroom and the workplace through Student and
Educator Internships.
The BEC acts as employer of record taking care of all payroll related issues during the internship period while supporting both hiring managers and interns during the process. You provide the work to be done, the BEC provides the qualified
intern to satisfy your workforce needs.
"It would have taken two consultants at significant cost to perform the work of one skilled teacher intern and without the downstream benefits to students. It is an enriching experience for businesses, schools, teachers, and students!"
- Maureen Shaw, PGE
Participation is easy. The impact is AMAZING. Learn more about the BEC at
www.becpdx.org or call Stephanie Lambert at 503-646-0242, x23.
Complete the online survey to inform the statewide Big Look Process
The Oregon Task Force on Land Use Planning invites you to complete a web survey to tell the Task Force what you think about land use issues in Oregon. In 2005, the Oregon Legislature and Governor Kulongoski established the Oregon Task
Force on Land Use Planning (the Big Look). The Task Force is charged with completing a comprehensive review of Oregon's land use planning program and drafting recommendations to submit to the 2009 Legislative Assembly.
To help accomplish this task, the Task Force is conducting an evaluation of Oregon's present land use planning program. One of the Task Force's first steps is to survey Oregonians to identify major land use issues that the Task Force
should study. This survey is designed to help the Task Force identify issues of importance to Oregonians.
Click here to complete the survey.
The deadline to complete the survey is Monday, July 10 at 5 pm.
Regional funding mechanism for planning identified
Metro Council adopted an ordinance to raise money on a regional basis for concept and comprehensive planning of areas brought into the urban growth boundary in 2002 and 2004. Currently, over 6,000 acres remain unplanned, meaning this land
is unavailable for development to accommodate the identified housing and employment needs in the region.
The Expansion Area Planning Fund will generate $6.3 million over approximately three years by imposing a 0.12% tax on the value of new construction for which a building permit is required. The fee will be collected by local jurisdictions
at the time a permit is issued. All new construction valued at less than $100,000 and the construction of low-income housing will be exempted. In addition, the tax will include a fee ceiling for permits valued greater than $10 million,
capping the tax at $12,000. The tax will sunset once the $6.3 million is generated to cover current planning requirements.
Regional Freight and Goods Movement Task Force established by Metro Council
Metro Council recently adopted an ordinance creating a Regional Freight and Goods Movement Task Force, charged with advising the development of Metro's Regional Freight and Goods Movement Plan. Task Force members will work in
collaboration with the New Look and 2035 Regional Transportation Plan Update to form recommendations for the region's multi-modal freight transportation system, which will be integrated into the Regional Transportation Plan. The Joint
Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) and Metro Council will consider the Task Force recommendations. The Charter for the Task Force uses the Regional Business Plan as a core source document that will inform issue
identification and policy development.
Regional Partners leads the effort to certify sites as shovel ready
A task force of the Regional Partners, a public-private partnership that focuses on shared economic priorities, has undertaken the initiative aimed at providing certified shovel ready industrial sites over 5 acres throughout the region.
This will be a powerful business recruitment and marketing tool. Site listings must meet minimum threshold criteria and will have in-depth information on site attributes. Criteria have been developed to judge the readiness of each site
and applications are being processed. The goal is to have the inventory in place and posted online by August 1st. For more information, please contact the Regional Partners at 503-823-0432.
Open Book$ Web site shines light on school spending
Oregonians now have an innovative way to learn how their tax dollars to support K-12 public schools are used. A new first-of-its-kind Web site allows citizens to easily see how their local school district spends money, and compare spending
to other districts and the state average - all without having to decipher complicated spreadsheets.
Called Open Book$, the site
www.openbooksproject.org tracks the spending of each of Oregon's 198 school districts in five categories, and shows that spending in simple charts. Visitors also can compare their local district to others
of similar size, access achievement data, and learn about any circumstances that make their local district spending patterns unique.
The Web site, now in its public demonstration phase, was created by the Chalkboard Project, in partnership with the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, Citizens for Oregon's Future, Oregon School Boards Association, Oregon
Department of Education and Oregon Education Association.
Open Book$ is one of several Chalkboard projects currently underway to enhance K-12 education in Oregon. Other efforts are in progress to help parents and businesses get more involved in schools, and Chalkboard is soliciting public input
on 13 specific proposals to improve school quality, increase accountability and stabilize funding. For more information and to take Chalkboard's online citizen survey, visit
www.chalkboardproject.org.
ON Semiconductor Acquires Gresham LSI Wafer Fab
Arizona-based ON Semiconductor Corp. (
www.onsemi.com) has completed a $105 million acquisition of LSI Logic Corporation's Gresham facility. Acquisition of this facility will give ON Semi the ability to expand their manufacturing capabilities,
and enable more rapid in-house development of high-performance submicron analog and digital power products.
ON Semi has hired substantially all of the LSI manufacturing employees currently working at the Gresham facility (over 480 employees). Acquiring this facility in Gresham will allow ON Semi to bring production back to the United States
from some current overseas locations, and have plenty of room to expand.
Gresham officials were particularly pleased by the seamless transition between LSI and ON Semi, which allowed the current workforce to stay in place and the plant to keep operating. Once this type of facility is vacated, it becomes
increasingly possible for it to be dismantled and never used for semiconductor manufacture again. So, having successful transitions for both the Microchip (former Fujitsu) and ON Semi facilities is a big win for Gresham and Oregon.
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