Archive for August 2019
Oregon Businesses Report 51,600 Vacancies in Spring
Tuesday, July 2, 2019 Oregon’s private employers had 51,600 job vacancies in spring. That was 21 percent below the spring 2018 vacancy total of 65,100. This is the second consecutive quarter we’ve seen job vacancies at notably lower levels from the same time one year earlier. Still, spring 2019 vacancies remained slightly above the number…
Read MoreU.S. utility-scale battery storage power capacity to grow substantially by 2023
Utility-scale battery storage units (units of one megawatt (MW) or greater power capacity) are a newer electric power resource, and their use has been growing in recent years. Operating utility-scale battery storage power capacity has more than quadrupled from the end of 2014 (214 MW) through March 2019 (899 MW). Assuming currently planned additions are…
Read More5 Ways To Make the Missing Middle Less Missing
A July 2019 report from Bloomberg explores the decline in Missing Middle housing in the United States—and it turns out it’s more missing than ever. This graphic from Bloomberg using Census data shows the decline in the share of missing-middle (blue) housing among all multifamily housing construction, even as very large apartment buildings (light gray)…
Read MoreFlying Lessons: How stories from Aviation can make us better Managers – Improve
In this, the fifth installment of our six part series, we look at the role of Improvement in business value creation and examine, through the lens of lessons learned, and example of improvement from the field of aviation. The picture of Boeing’s iconic 737 airliner represents a culmination of aviation lessons for business managers. …
Read MoreOregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 50 percent of the electricity Oregonians use come from renewable resources by 2040.
Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard sets a requirement for how much of the electricity we use must come from renewable resources. “Renewable” means the source of power can be used repeatedly because it is replaced naturally, like wind or the sun. The original RPS was adopted in 2007, when just 2 percent of Oregon’s electricity needs were met with renewables.…
Read MoreRenewable natural gas demand to increase with UPS purchase agreement
On May 22, 2019 United Parcel Service (UPS), a global provider of shipping and delivery services, announced that the company would increase its use of renewable natural gas (RNG) in the United States. UPS purchased 170 million gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) from fuel supplier Clean Energy Fuels to meet this commitment, which supports UPS’s sustainability…
Read MoreA Bridge to the Future: Jordan Cove Project Benefits
Creation of 6,000+ good-paying construction jobs and ~8,500 spin-off jobs. Building a safe, clean natural gas pipeline – with an export terminal in Coos County – the Jordan Cove Project will create more than 6,000 good-paying construction jobs at peak construction in addition to an estimated 8,500 jobs in sectors like hospitality, retail, tourism and…
Read MoreJordan Cove will provide economic benefits to Southern Oregon
by Todd Goergen Those who have lived in Southern Oregon for most of their lives know that $10 billion private investments don’t come along very often. Well, never, to be exact. Slightly less rare is a business investment that has the ability to provide economic benefits to so many Oregon communities for generations to come.…
Read MoreWhat is the E2E Network?
Inspired by communities from Bend to Boulder, management consultant Cynthia Scherr and financial consultant Linda Ganim, along with other local entrepreneurs, started E2E three years ago. They challenged their friends and clients, most of whom own businesses, to come together as a loose group of entrepreneurs to focus on promoting, developing and enhancing a sustainable…
Read MoreBlackstone Publishing: A Page Turner
by Cynthia Scherr Traffic snakes along at 5 mph, horns honk, the smell of asphalt and exhaust mix in the air. Ever found a traffic jam inspiring? Craig Black, founder of Blackstone Publishing, did. Thirsty to continue his education, Craig started reading classic literature and history in his 30s while driving L.A. freeways. After several…
Read MoreLead Like a Lion: Lessons from The Lion King
With Disney’s new, reimagined version of the The Lion King movie set to release this week, it’s the perfect time to look to the original 1994 classic for leadership insight! From overcoming obstacles to staying true to yourself to reaching your full potential, this movie is full of life lessons. Check out these timeless quotes…
Read MoreLearn to Live! – a TEDxAshland Talk
Learn to Live – a TEDxAshland Talk Trever Yarrish and I had the opportunity to present at the first TEDxAshland in May. Our “Learn to Live” talk focused on a new idea we have for applying agile principles that we both use everyday in our own software companies, to your own personal education. We spent…
Read More