THE MONTH IN BUSINESS.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Toyota dealers new Eugene car lot meets green standards

Kendall Toyota of Eugene was planning to open on July 1 the first auto dealership on the West Coast to achieve LEED gold certification for green building standards.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings.

At least two other buildings in the Eugene-Springfield area have earned a LEED gold rating: the Wayne Morse Courthouse in downtown Eugene and Royal Caribbean's call center in Springfield's Gateway area.

The new Toyota dealership at 373 Goodpasture Island Road incorporates numerous energy- and water-saving systems. For example, on the roof are photovoltaic panels that will generate 30 percent of the dealership's energy needs, and cisterns to collect rain water for landscaping and for the dealership's car wash.

Monaco Coach pays 18th straight quarterly dividend

COBURG - Monaco Coach Corp. paid a quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per share on June 13 to anyone who owned its stock as of May 30.

The payment marks the company's 18th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since February 2004.

City to take up issue of density in older, core neighborhoods

Apartment building developer Dean Pickett recently worked out a compromise with neighbors, agreeing to scale down a planned seven story building near 19th Avenue and Alder Street to four stories.

But despite that resolution, the broader issue of building high-density projects in the older neighborhoods of Eugene as an alternative to sprawl remains unresolved.

The City Council asked the planning commission to consider height and parking restrictions even in neighborhoods long since designated to receive the highest-density construction.

Local land use attorneys, the Lane County Home Builders Association and city center property owners are concerned. One property owner has warned he may sue if the city adopts restrictions. The proposed rule changes would require builders in core neighborhoods in south and west Eugene to increase the number of parking spaces included on-site at apartment developments. That puts the squeeze on the shape of potential buildings, developers said.

The City Council plans to take up the proposals on July 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the council chamber. For more information contact: Alissa Hansen at 682-5508 or alissa.h.hansen@ci.eugene.or.us

Budget crisis has LTD?reviewing its options

Lane Transit District Board members reviewed a list of potential fare increases - beyond those already approved and slated to go into effect July 1 - as the fiscally struggling district looks for ways to minimize expected cuts in service.

The potential increases include the cost of a monthly bus pass climbing to $45 from the current $38.

LTD blames its budget crisis on several factors, including skyrocketing fuel prices. The district also points to payroll taxes that could flatten in a poor economy, and to the growing cost of RideSource, a curb-to-curb bus service for people with disabilities that the federal government mandates.

City of Eugene buys corridor for Ridgeline Trail expansion

Eugene officials paid $3 million for a 2-mile corridor that will expand the Ridgeline Trail southeast of the city, nearly to Lane Community College.

The city bought the 200-acre corridor from Eugene-based developer Arlie & Co. The parcel is the largest single addition to the Ridge line Trail that skirts the south side of the city, officials said.

As part of the deal, Arlie, the developer of Crescent Village residential/commercial complex in north Eugene and other projects, agreed to give the city $600,000 to build and maintain a trail on the corridor.

County raises its building, planning fees

If you're building in Lane County, the costs just went up. As of July 1, the county land management division raised planning, building and sanitation fees to cover the cost of those services, Manager Matt Laird said.

"The fees were last increased in 2006 and the costs of providing these services have outpaced the revenue generated," Laird said. "This adjustment will sustain our programs and our ability to serve the community."

Taxpayers don't subsidize planning and building services for new development and developers cover the full cost of permit-application processing, he said.

Rural areas seeing tougher housing downturn

Springfield real estate broker Dick Sage has specialized for almost 30 years in rural properties, and he has learned a key truth about the business: Don't count on it.

Sage wasn't a bit surprised when sales of outlying homes took the hardest hit in Lane County's most recent monthly market report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service.

"It's the fuel prices," he said Monday. "The further away (from town) you get, the more that's going to be a (factor)."

The RMLS report for Lane County showed that median sales price fell 3 percent in May, when compared with May 2007, to $227,900, while new listings dropped 11.2 percent, pending sales declined by 32 percent and closed sales fell by 36.1 percent.

Outside the Eugene-Springfield area, the numbers got worse.

Boston concierge company looking at Eugene for call center

A Boston company that sells high-end concierge services to corporate clients is considering Eugene as a home for a call center employing up to 350 workers.

The company, Circles, is looking at Eugene and four other cities for a call center, Jack Roberts, executive director of Lane Metro Partnership, a business development agency, said. Roberts said Circles hopes to make a decision by August, and to open a new call center by next May. It is looking for an existing building with about 30,000 square feet, he said.

Eugene scanner maker fires low-performing employees

A bar-code scanner company in Eugene said it is terminating about 15 employees with the lowest performance ratings in order to reward its highest performing employees, in some cases with double-digit raises.

"We've gone through a very stringent review of performance within the organization," said Rhone Lee, vice president of human resources at Datalogic Scanning. "People who are doing a good or acceptable job in the organization aren't being asked to leave."

Datalogic, which is based in Italy, bought PSC Inc, a Eugene-based scanning company, in 2005. Datalogic Scanning makes fixed retail scanners and had about 445 regular employees and 32 temporary employees in Eugene at the end of April.

If McKenzie-Willamette wants downtown site, city will help

All eight Eugene city councilors said they favor giving public help to Mc Kenzie-Willamette Medical Center if its officials want to build a new hospital in the downtown core.

Councilors voted 8-0 in support of helping Mc Kenzie-Willamette acquire property in a 13-acre, four-block section of downtown that is now home to several businesses including the Eugene Clinic property owned by PeaceHealth Medical Group.

City gets five proposals for pit across from public library

The city of Eugene received five proposals to redevelop the city-owned downtown pit north of the Public Library on West 10th Avenue.

WG Development proposes a $28 million apartment and office building covering the nearly half-block site, ranging from two to five stories.

Most of the office space could be leased to Pacific University, which currently rents on East Broadway, the proposal said. The Opus Development plan calls for a $40 million, six-story apartment complex geared for student renters. The Canterbury Group wants to build a five-story, 120-room hotel on the city owned site.

Each of the developers is asking the city for subsidies - such as discounts on the price of the land, property tax breaks, parking and reduced development fees.

Less unconventional proposals came from Jim Wilcox of the Bike Lane Coalition, and Susanna Joy Meyer of the "Energy Village." Wilcox's plan calls for a solar-powered recharging station for electric vehicles, along with housing and retail and office tenants. Meyer's "Connections Center" would be a "mixed-use facility" for arts, education, healing, stores, restaurants and housing.

Food prices, scares boost sales of shares in local organic farms

NOTI - Consumer worries over food quality and origin have made this spring a boom time for local organic farmers.

Shares in community supported agriculture programs, or CSAs, have sold out at record speed this year. At Wintergreen Farms in Noti, all 550 shares in its weekly box delivery program were snapped up by April 24, and several people have already paid deposits on shares for 2009.Only 285 Wintergreen shares had been sold by the same date last year, said Linda Davies, farm office coordinator.

Arlie refines plans for next phase of Crescent Village

Arlie & Co. says it is moving ahead with building up the third and fourth city blocks of its 11-block "urban village" in northeast Eugene.

The Eugene-based company says it plans to add 118 living units in that phase. The company initially earmarked those blocks for condominiums, but is reconsidering that plan in light of the flagging condo market.

The new urban-style blocks will hold multiple three- and four-story buildings totaling 118 new living units and a quarter-acre park. The company has not yet projected a completion date for that section, but the entire 40-acre Crescent Village development is slated to be finished in 2012.

Lithia Motors says it plans to sell up to 15 dealerships

Lithia Motors announced a major restructuring, including divesting itself of 10 to 15 stores, because of lower sales. The company did not disclose the affected dealerships. Lithia has 110 stores in 15 states.

Lithia said it also is selling all unnecessary property and assets and adjusting inventory mix to meet consumers' preference for smaller, more fuel-efficient new and used vehicles.

OSU asks state to help fund urgent study into honeybee decline

Oregon State University has asked the state for $250,000 in emergency funding to find out why honey bees are dying at an unprecedented rate and to find a solution.

OSU said it is a crisis that threatens many Oregon food producers and agricultural companies.

More than $457 million worth of Oregon crops are dependent on pollination, OSU said, citing federal figures. If there aren't enough bees to pollinate crops such as blueberries, cherries, pears and speciality seeds, yields of major Northwest crops are expected to diminish by 25 to 100 percent in a single season, OSU said.

Oregon beekeepers say there's no question that there are fewer bees throughout the state and nationwide. They also say it's hard to pin down facts and figures, cause and effect.

Oregon probably in a recession, but perhaps mild, economist says

Oregon has probably slipped into a mild recession, economist Tim Duy said in releasing his monthly University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators.

Duy said one of the more compelling pieces of evidence among those he examines is a second monthly decline in the state's labor market.

However, he sees some evidence, too, that the economy may begin to stabilize later this year.

Government officials want to help get veneer plant running again

CRESWELL - Representatives of fire-damaged Bald Knob Veneer Co. met with nine officials from state, county and city agencies who offered to help the plant resume operations as quickly as possible.

The mill has been closed since about one-third of the plant was destroyed in a late-night fire May 20.

Officials said they will recommend that Cres well consider waiving permit fees for rebuilding and making the plant's property part of an existing Cottage Grove enterprise zone.

Outlook for continued federal payments to counties looking dim

The chance of Congress quickly approving county timber payments for Lane County and other rural counties faded sharply.

Under the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, a county payments bill being pushed by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., failed to gain the necessary votes. The last-chance infusion of federal funds for Lane and 600 other rural, forested counties in 42 states now is in an emergency supplemental bill in the U.S. Senate that President Bush has threatened to veto.

Developer said to be planning Florence time share

FLORENCE - The site of an abandoned middle school may host a four-story, luxury timeshare resort, built by a company that calls itself the largest vacation ownership business on the planet: Wyndham Worldwide.

Timeshare owners are posting comments on message boards, saying Wyndham brokers have begun to market the 120-unit project. Wyndham has filed an application with the city, seeking to build on eight acres of a 12-acre site on Quince Street, across from the Florence Events Center.

UO neighborhood sees a construction boom

While the pace of residential construction was generally sluggish this spring, the neighborhood on the University of Oregon's west flank is undergoing rapid gentrification block by block by block.

In the 400, 500 and 600 blocks of East 14th Avenue, for example, developers are putting shiny new seven- or nine-unit apartment buildings onto generous old home lots.

Over the last three years, the 10-block area next to campus saw $30 million to $40 million worth of new construction, said Terry Shockley, whose property management company leases much of the new construction to students.

Register-Guard offers buyouts to trim payroll; layoffs possible

The Register-Guard is cutting 30 positions, 11.5 percent of its full-time work force, in response to what Publisher Tony Baker said is an un precedented shortfall in revenue.

The national economy is tremendously weak, Baker said, adding that "Lane County has not been excluded from that pain. Coupled with a run-up in newsprint prices, that combination forced our hand."

Baker said 13 vacant positions at the newspaper will not be filled. The newspaper also is offering buyout and early retirement incentives to employees throughout the paper.

If the company does not meet its payroll reduction target through those options, layoffs will be necessary, he said. The planned cuts account for about $1.7 million in pay and benefits, he said. The company has about 260 full-time and 140 part-time employees.

In a letter to employees, Baker said the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first five months of 2008 "have been the most painful financially in my 20 years plus as publisher." So far this year, newspaper revenues have been $300,000 to $400,000 below budget projections each month, Baker said.

The Register-Guard job cuts follow a series of reductions at newspapers across the nation. Long-term, Baker said, he is confident that if The Register-Guard provides information, commentary and advertising that people trust "and keeps its focus on local coverage, there will be a market for that regardless of how it is distributed."

Halsey pulp mill reopening under new ownership

HALSEY - The former Pope & Talbot pulp mill in Halsey was set to reopen under new ownership, and the new owners were hoping to have pulp to sell in early July, the mill's manager said.

A small crew of about 20 workers, mostly mechanics, went to work on the mill before it restarted production, said Wayne Henneck, mill manager under Pope & Talbot and now under the new owner, Wayzata Investment Partners, based in Minnesota.

Henneck said Wayzata plans to hire 180 workers - the same number laid off when the mill closed on May 9. Wayzata has not assumed the bankrupt Pope & Talbot's former union contracts, and the company has drafted new terms and conditions of employment, Henneck said. In general, wages are slightly lower and benefits are structured differently under the new owners, he said.

Pope & Talbot, a 159-year-old wood products company, filed for bankruptcy in November.

Biodiesel also putting a squeeze on motorists

While motorists are gnashing their teeth over skyrocketing gasoline prices, the price of biodiesel - the greener cousin of petroleum diesel - has gone up even more.

And that is testing the resolve of motorists and fleet managers who buy biodiesel in an effort to lighten their carbon footprint.

And that means SeQuential Biofuels - the Portland fuel company born in a Eugene garage - is feeling the pinch, even as it embarks on a major expansion of its production facilities.

The cost of 99-percent-pure biodiesel is hovering around $5 per gallon. The cost of petroleum diesel is about 10 to 15 cents less.

Two new restaurants open in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD - Pork ribs and submarine sandwiches have found new homes east of Interstate 5.

Hole in the Wall Barbecue, which has operated on West 11th Avenue in Eugene since the early 1990s, has added a second location in an extensively remodeled building on Olympic Street, just off Mohawk Boulevard.

At about the same time, local Quiznos franchisees Flavio Chicarino and Gary Spalter opened their seventh outlet overall and fifth in Eugene-Springfield, in a renovated car wash building at 58th and Main streets.

Brothers' new restaurant venture to be a '50s-style burger joint

Think In-N-Out Burger, with more variety and amenities.

Jim and Phil West of Eugene, whose growing portfolio of restaurants has been based on Mexican themes, are indulging in a half- century time warp for their latest venture.

DickieJo's Burgers - "definitely a '50s diner type of concept," Jim West says - is expected to open its initial location late this year in a former Cougill & Hansen real estate office on 13th Avenue near Pearl Street.

"Compared to these other (burger restaurants) ... we're going to provide a much nicer dining experience. It's very retro '50s," West said. The restaurant will blend in the simplicity of California's In-N-Out Burger chain. Dickie Jo's starting price point will be about $5 for burgers.

Lowe's plans home improvement store on West 11th Avenue

Lowe's, the nation's second- largest home improvement retailer, expects to begin construction in Eugene by this fall on what will be either its first or second Lane County location.

A Springfield Lowe's near Marcola Road and 28th Street is also in pre-construction stages.

The Eugene store - at the former site of a Safeway supermarket and a ShopKo department store, at West 11th Avenue and Bailey Hill Road - will be just around the corner from a Home Depot outlet.

Lowe's spokeswoman Maureen Rich in Wilkesboro, N.C., said the company expects to open the store in the first quarter of 2009.

State safety regulators warn manufacturers about dust danger

Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Division is sending letters to more than 2,000 employers warning of the dangers of combustible dust in a variety of industries, from food processors to furniture makers and mills.

The division also will offer no-cost consulting on how to control industrial dusts.

A U.S. Chemical Safety Board study released in 2006 identified 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers, injured 718 others and extensively damaged industrial facilities.

Downtown drugstore shutting down after nearly 75 years

Tiffany's Gold Cross Drugs is closing its store in downtown Eugene next Tuesday after more than three- quarters of a century in business.

Tiffany's other stores in Florence, Veneta and Bandon will remain open, Dale Engel, president of Tiffany- Davis Drug Co., said Tuesday.

In a letter Engel sent to the pharmacy's customers, he states that Tiffany's Gold Cross, now at 960 Oak St., has been in business in downtown Eugene since 1925, and Engel and his wife, Melva, have owned the store for the past 20 years. The letter gives no reason for the closure but suggests that Engel, a working pharmacist for 42 years, is retiring.

Country Coach develops motorhomes with balcony

JUNCTION CITY - Country Coach Corp. officials have unveiled the company's new Veranda line of coaches that offer a retractable balcony.

The company hopes the new feature will help spur sales and give the company an edge as the national RV market is suffering a deep slump.

On a Veranda coach, a panel on the right exterior side folds down and turns into a 13-foot-long, 4-foot-wide deck that connects to the interior through sliding glass doors.

SkyWest to begin North Bend to San Francisco flights

NORTH BEND - Twice-daily direct flights to San Francisco will begin July 7 out of Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend.

The SkyWest United Express Service means south coast residents won't have to fly or drive to Portland, or drive to Eugene, before getting on a flight to San Francisco. Tickets are on sale now; Expedia.com showed round-trip flights starting at $406.

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Title Annotation:	Business
Publication:	The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:	Jul 1, 2008
Words:	3334
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