Lincoln
By Joe Cortright How neighborhood stability hinges on expectations: If people don’t believe things are going to get better, many will leave One of the most perplexing urban problems is neighborhood decline. Once healthy, middle-class or working class-places seem to gradually (and then abruptly) fall from grace. As we documented in our report Lost in…
Read MoreThe effective marketing leader of today has to thrive in an environment of barely controlled chaos. If you’re more or less doing things the way you did them three or five years ago, you’re behind. If you’re just getting into social media marketing or content marketing, you’re behind. There has never been a more challenging…
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A recent report said there are over 5,000 construction jobs available in Oregon today. It would appear that anyone meeting qualifications to work in the construction industry can find work. And yet many rural communities struggle to keep the infrastructure operating or young adults from moving to the bigger cities. Simultaneous changes in education, employment,…
Read MoreOur Investment Views, Weekly Market Makers By: Shawn Narancich, CFA Executive Vice President of Research Held Hostage by Trade As first quarter reporting season draws to another constructive close, investors’ attention was ripped away from the earnings scorecard and refocused almost exclusively on trade. Today’s imposition of additional tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports…
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by Daniel Herriges You hear it so often it sounds like a cliché: “Our ancestors used to build things to last. Now we build them to be thrown away.” Sometimes, this sentiment is a cliché or an oversimplification: when it comes to homes, for example, our ancestors built plenty of rickety wooden shacks. They’re just…
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By Joe Cortright Good decisions result only if state officials are transparent and honest City Observatory has been closely following the proposal to spend $500 million widening the I-5 freeway at the Rose Quarter in Portland. In the process, we and others have repeatedly uncovered instances of state agency officials misrepresenting facts, suppressing key data,…
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By: Energy Trust Looking for new ways to trim energy operating costs and increase the bottom line in your facility? Whether you’ve already made energy improvements or are just getting started, an energy assessment can help you determine the largest savings and decide where to focus. Available at no cost to eligible customers of participating…
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by Nolan Gray Since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s, the concept of “exclusion” now figures heavily in the way urban planners do their work. Now more than ever, urban planners are aware of how certain land-use regulations and forms of public process can systematically exclude certain groups of people. These are both good…
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By Alexander Casey Sale prices ticked up sharply in some of the nation’s lowest-income and highest – poverty communities near the end of last year-but mostly in the neighborhoods now eligible for newly created tax breaks. Tucked within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) is a somewhat overlooked, but potentially massive, program:…
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In this, the second installment of our six part series, we look at the role of communication in business and examine, through the lens of lessons learned, an example of communication from the field of aviation and how it can improved enterprise performance. The picture of Boeing’s iconic 737 airliners above represents a culmination of…
Read MoreBy: Matt Sayre reprinted by permission Picture the small villages and towns of early America. The farmers are selling produce and smoked meat in the market square, while the cobbler and sheriff barter four deerskins for a pound of wheat. The local physician atop his soapbox announces the latest ailments and their remedies, and ways…
Read Moreby Sarah Cunningham When looking for a job in your field, determining which region pays the most could be a sound strategy. In 2018, there were 27 occupations where workers in Southwestern Oregon earned higher median wages than in any other region in the state. In 2017, 6 percent of workers in the region, or…
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