Bill Thorndike’s Legacy
William "Bill" Thorndike Jr., a prominent Southern Oregon business leader and dedicated community servant, passed away unexpectedly on February 15, 2025, at the age of 71. He suffered a heart attack while vacationing with his wife, Angela, at their family cabin on Whidbey Island in Washington's Puget Sound. Born in Medford, Oregon, Bill graduated from Medford Senior High School in 1972 and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Lewis & Clark College in 1976. He joined his family's business, Medford Fabrication—a custom steel fabrication company founded in the...
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What's happening in Southern Oregon
Dutch Bros Brews Up Retail Expansion with Consumer Packaged Goods Launch
Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS), the rapidly expanding drive-thru coffee chain, has announced its entry into...
Lithia & Driveway (LAD) Announces Chief Operating Officer Transition
MEDFORD, Ore., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithia & Driveway (NYSE: LAD) has announced today that Adam Chamberlain will transition...
César E. Chávez Leadership Conference returns to SOU
Southern Oregon University’s Youth Programs department brought local high school students to the university campus recently...
Unorthodox path: recent SOU graduate bound for Oxford
(Ashland, Ore.) — Achieving success wasn’t the issue for Taran Cross. He had risen to the...
New Study Illuminates Business Expansion Dynamics in Oregon
A recent study conducted by Business Oregon, in collaboration with Oregon Business & Industry and the...
Oregon’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Announces Entities that are Prequalified to Apply for Grants Starting April 22, 2025
Oregon will invest $689 million from federal BEAD funding to provide all unserved and underserved Oregonians...
Oregon’s Innovation Strategy Aims to Counter Workforce Crunch
Across the United States, a demographic shift is quietly reshaping the economy—and Oregon is no exception....
Oregon’s Trade Patterns
by Damon Runberg, Business Oregon Economist There has been a lot of extra attention on Oregon...
Spotlight: Oregon Trade and Tariff Impacts
Trade in Oregon Trade is a critical component to Oregon’s economy and the state’s businesses. By...
Focus on Manufacturing : NIC Industries
NIC Industries, Inc., headquartered in White City, Oregon, is a prominent manufacturer of advanced coatings, distributing...
Southern Oregon’s Housing Crunch: A Growing Threat to Our Workforce and Local Economy
Southern Oregon’s Housing Crunch: A Growing Threat to Our Workforce and Local Economy In Southern Oregon,...
Oregon’s Multiple Jobholders in 2024
by Anna Johnson, Senior Economic Analyst, Oregon Employment Department April 8, 2025 In 2024, 127,000 Oregonians held...
Difficult to Fill Job Openings in 2024
by Anna Johnson, Senior Economic Analyst, Oregon Employment Department April 8, 2025 What can employers do to...
Oregon’s Wood Product Manufacturing Industry Is Still Important, Especially in Rural Areas
by Brian Rooney, Regional Economist, Douglas and Lane counties, Oregon Employment Department April 18, 2025 Once Oregon’s...
My thoughts on Tariffs
By Jim Teece I recently saw a video clip of Donald Trump from 1988 where he...
Oregon lawmakers share $38 billion budget framework amid federal uncertainty
Proposed federal cuts could blow a multi-billion-dollar hole in the state’s budget Oregon is in a...
