ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA ●Pyro genesis. Portland’s new WNBA franchise now has a name — the Fire, in honor of the WNBA team that played in Portland from 2000 to 2002 — and a new general manager in Vanja Cernivec, whom the team plucked from the Golden State Valkyries. ●Panda suit. In mid-September the Trail Blazers announced the team had reached a deal to sell the team to an investment group that includes Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and the Cherng Family Trust. As this issue went to press RAJ Sports, which owns the Portland Thorns and Portland Fire, sued to stop Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who own the Panda Express restaurant chain, from participating in the deal, arguing they violated an earlier agreement with RAJ Sports. ●Folding the paper. The Portland Tribune ended publication in June and laid off most of its staff. The newspaper was launched in 2001 by industrialist Robert Pamplin, who eventually added about two dozen other newspapers around the state to his chain, all of which were sold to Carpenter Media Group last year. Pamplin started the Tribune in the wake of an Oregonian investigation into one of his other companies, Ross Island Sand & Gravel. REAL ESTATE ●Bargain-basement tower. The Big Pink sold this summer for a modest $45 million to Jeff Swickard, owner of Swickard Auto Group. Formally the U.S. Bancorp Tower, the state’s second-tallest building last sold in 2015 for $375 million. ●Dashboard revelation. The city of Portland’s new building permit dashboard reveals some alarming data on development. A new commercial- building permit in the Rose City takes on average 147 days, i.e., two times the city’s target and nearly five times that of the city of Vancouver. HEALTH CARE ●Mother Mary Jane. Oregon Health & Science University was awarded $6.7 million by the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of cannabis on pregnant women with HIV. ●Flip the ’scrips. Five major pharmaceutical companies filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Oregon to stop a new law intended to help safety-net providers acquire discounted prescription drugs. HB 2385 was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek this summer. EDUCATION ●School’s out forever. Concordia University’s parent organization settled a lawsuit with tech contractor HotChalk for $300 million. The defunct Northeast Portland school closed in 2020 in large part due to its relationship with HotChalk, which it hired to expand its online learning opportunities. ●Classroom agreement. The state of Oregon signed a $10 million agreement with NVIDIA to teach “AI literacy” to K-12 students. ●Cafe revival. Beloved Portland chain Jim & Patty’s Coffee, which closed amid financial difficulties, reopened a location on Northeast Fremont. APPAREL ●Name claim. Oregon-based hockey equipment-bag manufacturer Mammoth is being sued for copyright infringement by Utah’s new pro hockey team of the same name (formerly the Arizona Coyotes). POLITICS ●Die, death tax! Petitioners want to ask voters to repeal Oregon’s estate tax. Supporters include Republican state Rep. Kevin Mannix, the architect behind Measure 11, the state’s mandatory minimum sentencing law approved by voters in 1994. ●Aging in place. Oregon has joined half of U.S. states with deaths here now outnumbering births for the first time. Demographic data also shows seniors outnumber children in the Beaver State. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ●At this rate. The Bonneville Power Administration, which operates 75% of Oregon’s high-power transmission lines, announced that next year ratepayers will see an average increase of 8.9%. TECH ●Fiber source. AT&T purchased CenturyLink’s residential internet service in Oregon as well as 10 other states. It made the deal with L.A.-based Lumen. ●School ties. Stanford University announced its next athletic director is former Nike CEO John Donahoe. The 65-year-old Stanford MBA alum was said to be a “unicorn candidate” because of his business experience and ties to the school. RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL ●The Wright vision. Rick Wright, the CEO of the Eugene-based grocery chain Market of Choice, died in June at 62. ●Single origin. Beaverton- founded Black Rock Coffee is now valued over $1.27 billion after a successful initial public offering in September. The Arizona-based chain has 158 corporate-owned locations with a goal of 1,000 by 2035. ●So long, farewell, goodbye. Portland’s last Orange Julius location, in the Lloyd Center mall, closed in June, shortly after the death of franchise owner Bob Slayton, who started working at Lloyd Center shortly after it opened in 1960. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ Jim & Patty’s Coffee reopened its location on Northeast Fremont and still features its signature Black Tiger coffee. JOAN McGUIRE 8
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