May 2010 eCon Update

Bloomberg Business Week ranks Bend #4 location for new start-ups
Boulder, Bend, or Boca Raton? asks Bloomberg Business Week. In their April 22nd issue, the publication declares that small cities have become the best places to start new companies. The report’s author, Vivek Wadhwa, a visiting scholar at University of California at Berkeley and a researcher at Duke University, worked with data from location specialist ZoomProspector.com to compile the list. In total, he examined 11 factors – including the number of startups, quality of the workforce, patents per capita, and resources like universities and venture capital – to identify the best locations. Click here to view Bend’s ZoomProspector profile or read the full article.    

T-Mobile Named #24 “100 Best Large Companies” to work for in Oregon
In March, Oregon Business Magazine announced its “Top 100” list of companies to work for in Oregon. Now in its 17^th year, the 2010 annual report calculates the rankings based on confidential employee surveys and benefits reports. More than 20,000 employees of 300+ companies in Oregon participated in this year’s survey. With employment of 1,560 people, T-Mobile’s Redmond and Salem call centers combined to land a spot on the list for companies with more than 250 people. Opening in 2004, the Redmond location has grown to more than 850 employees in 2010. General Manager Joe Morrone shared, “I am pleased to have so many people from the Redmond call center participate in this year’s survey.” The company was the only Central Oregon Company location listed in this category. More

Business & economic news from around the region

Deschutes County leads Regional Economic Opportunity Analysis (REOA) for large-lot industrial sites
Earlier this year, Deschutes County was successful in its grant request to the Land Conservation & Development Dept. (DLCD) for a planning grant to identify future needs for large-lot industrial sites. In April, winning RFP consultant Johnson Reid, DLCD, and county staff coordinated on the final scope of work so the project can begin by mid-May. Completion of the inventory, report and analysis is expected to be finished later this year. The regional analysis will:

• Establish and validate the unmet regional large lot industrial land need;
• Identify community (infrastructure, housing and workforce, etc.) and site attributes necessary to satisfy the unmetland need;
• Inventory areas within and adjacent to UGBs to identify sites that could potentially satisfy the demonstrated unmet regional land need;
• Prepare Development Code provisions (including large-lot retention requirements) and Comprehensive Plan policies that support and protect large-lot industrial land development; and,
• Provide sample UGB amendment findings to support the UGB inclusion of identified and qualifying candidate sites for large-lot industrial development.

The project is important to EDCO because, too often, larger projects bypass Central Oregon since it lacks options when it comes to larger industrial parcels with all the necessary infrastructure and entitlements in place. The project is a first step to help remedy this situation. For more information about the REOA, contact Nick Lelack at (nickl@co.deschutes.or.us).

NW Connectory seeks to link suppliers, OEMs via online database
Oregon is home to an impressive array of world-class companies with state-of-the-art product lines, technical expertise and manufacturing capabilities that are ready and able to supply customers anywhere on the globe. Frequently, our local manufacturers are not fully aware of all the capabilities that may be available just down the street or in the next town. In order to help potential clients identify Oregon companies who can meet their needs,Business Oregon has partnered with the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition to present The Northwest Connectory database.

This robust and detailed buyer-supplier database launched in March and is now available at the Business Oregon website: www.oregon4biz.com/nwconnectory. As a no-cost business-to-business tool, there are no charges associated either with adding your profile to the system or using the tool to identify buyers, suppliers or partners. Online creation of a searchable profile is intuitive and quick, but you can also refer to the attached flyer.  

Business consortium Adopt-a-Business (A2B) initiative launches 
The Central Oregon Business Consortium, comprised of SCORE, the Bend Chamber of Commerce, Central Oregon Community College, the Small Business Development Center, Economic Development for Central Oregon, and Opportunity Knocks, plans to "Adopt a Business" for two years. The business that is "adopted" will be awarded a full range of services offered by each organization (valued well in excess of $25,000).

The adopted business will receive two years of counseling and mentoring services, membership in participating organizations, reduced costs for local business workshops and educational courses, and other benefits to be provided by selected program sponsors. The Consortium will collect applications throughout the month of May and will select the winning adoptee at the end of June. Sponsors include:

• AdFed of Central Oregon
• Bank of the Cascades
• Business Resource Network
• Cascade Business News
• Central Oregon Employer Council
• Centro Print Solutions
• Covenant Technology Solutions
• Jones & Roth CPAs
• Karnopp Petersen LLP
• KBND (Combined Communications)
• Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP)
• Simplicated
• Staples
• Umpqua Bank
• US Bank

To complete an application or learn more about the program, go to http://noncredit.cocc.edu/a2b/ and for questions, contact the Consortium at adoptme@bendchamber.org.

On the capital side  - venture capital, that is

Central Oregon company set to participate in 2010 Willamette Angel Conference
Held on May 13, 2010 at the historic McDonald Theater in Eugene, the 2010 Willamette Angel Conference (WAC) is an all day conference for eary stage and seed businesses to connect with angel and venture investors. Participants include entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, inventors, politicians, and economic development specialists. Difficult decisions, strong competition and a lot of talent sums up this year’s finalists. Following is a list of the finalists competing for the $165,000 investment prize.  

• Delta Point is commercializing a patent-pending cancer diagnostic imaging biomarker licensed from OHSU. (Portland)
• InFuez manufactures a stone like slab product that is green, local and highly refined for the commercial and residential industry. (Portland)
• Arcimoto is developing the Pulse - the first and only quality, enclosed, commute-capable, affordable ($15K) electric vehicle. (Eugene)
• Good Clean Love manufactures high quality all natural/organic intimacy products for healthy relationships. (Eugene)
• ShopDragon provides web-based software for small business e-commerce, offering integrated warehousing, credit card processing, and powerful reports. (Ashland)
• VizMe is a next generation social application, but unlike Facebook and Twitter, has a business model that scales like Google's Adwords. (Eugene)

Six additional finalists were chosen for WAC’s ignite pitch, a fast moving and high energy segment. These companies will have 3.5 minutes to pitch and then the audience will select one winner to move into the 10 minute round above. Root for Bend-based Play Outdoors as they compete for the $165,000 prize!

• PlayOutdoors is a lifestyle e-commerce and retail brand that creates a one stop shopping experience for kids' outdoor apparel, footwear, and gear. (Bend)
• Ugo Furniture aims to change the way the world looks at moving day by producing NO TOOLS portable furniture that can be set up in minutes. (Eugene)
• SureSize, Inc. uses a consumer database to match people with shoes that fit and feel better for when they shop on the Internet. (Lake Oswego)
• Live Solutions capitalizes on the 2008 MIPPA Act that requires 5,000 NW businesses to record their telephone calls; the company’s technology makes recording affordable for small businesses.
• dotCal enables desktop and webtop calendars users to share info across platforms, making calendar advertising possible. (Portland)
• Hydrovolts makes hydrokinetic turbines to generate renewable energy from water power for agriculture, industry and global sustainable development. (Seattle)

The Willamette Angel Conference is $149 per person or $35 for students; see more sign up detail here.

Upcoming events in Central Oregon

Tues May 11 – HiDEC applies visual controls for workplace improvement
Does your company want to communicate information that is needed to make effective decisions? Or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of processes by making the steps more visible? Join executives and management teams from member companies of the High Desert Enterprise Consortium (HiDEC) to discuss visual controls in the workplace. The event is 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room, Bend. Please RSVP to Eric Strobel or call 388-3236. The agenda includes:

• Networking – Light appetizers, beer and wine
• Kleve Kee, OMEP – What are visual controls? Do you need them?
• Kim Flowers, American Licorice Company – Description of ALC’s visual controls program
• JoAnn Miller-Watts and Corey Hammond, St. Charles Medical Center – Visual control examples from St. Charles.
  

Tues May 18 thru Fri May 21 – PREP Profile Systems hosts comprehensive 4-day training
PREP Profile offers certification training at their corporate office, 19800 Village Office Court, Suite 101, Bend. The PREP Pro Personality Administrator and Job Match Certification training will introduce PREP’s easy-to use, fully validated and available online personality reports for fast administration and feedback. PREP’s integrated Myers-Briggs/DiSC Jungian-Quadrant personality research and reports combine with its unique and powerful stress resilience and change readiness indicators to assist organizations and individuals to understand, coach and manage current and prospective employees. For more information please email Kara Johnson or call 541-382-1401.

Tues May 18 – Science Pub: Why some bridges fall down
The collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis and problems with the San Francisco Bridge are unnerving to say the least. Join Professor Chris Higgins, OSU Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, for an analysis of these failures and a look at the contributions of engineering research to state-of-the-art bridge construction practices. The program starts with networking at 5:30. A collaboration between OSU-Cascades and the OSU Alumni Association, Science Pub is free but an RSVP is requested; more info is available at 541-737-2351.

Tues May 18, Wed May 19 & Thurs May 20 – Smart marketing in a down economy
Offered in Sisters, Prineville, Madras, and Redmond, here’s your chance to hear what a small business development expert has to say about capturing market share and being the customer’s first choice in a down economy. The instructor is Robert Sherk, an executive with two Fortune 100 companies, manager of a successful consulting business, and teacher with Oregon Small Business Development Centers for 11 years. Click on the community location below for location, timing, and RSVP details.

• Tues May 18 – Sisters
• Wed May 19 – Prineville
• Wed May 19 – Madras
• Thurs May 20 – Redmond

Fri May 21 – Refine your fundraising resources
This seminar, produced by H. Berkman & Associates, offers creative strategies to improve fundraising efforts for a changing economy. Specific topics include the viability of using benefit auctions as a fundraising tool, creative ideas for supporting fundraising events, and how to make donation and sponsorship requests to media, corporations, restaurants and retailers. Featured speakers are Graham Crow of Graham Crow Benefit Auctions in Bellevue, WA and Michelle Homan of Portland’s Greater Giving. A panel discussion follows and includes five top local business people - see the event flyer for details. This 8:00 – 11:30 am seminar is complimentary but reservations are required; please email Heidi Berkman or call 541-480-8700.

Wed May 26 – Karnopp employment seminar deals with summer employees
With summer nearly here, many employers will hire temporary workers, including some under 18 years of age. Karnopp Petersen suggests that now is a great time to freshen up on best practices and is offering a free session to address the topics below. The seminar will be interactive, with insights and practical advice from Karnopp’s employment law team. A light breakfast is included, but space is limited, so don't wait to RSVP your attendance.

• What are the best practices for working with temporary workers? What are the primary legal pitfalls to avoid?
• What work permits or age verification do you need, how are the break rules different, and what other special rules are there?
• What happened with the recent rule-making activity on working with minors from Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries?
• What other practices should you consider to help avoid, for example, harassment claims, a Facebook posting fiasco, or other possible problems when working with either minors or temps?
  

Sat May 8 to Sat May 15 - Nonprofit business partnership brings Bend Trilogy of Inspirational Theatre to Bend
CORIL has partnered with two other nonprofit organizations, Full Access and Bend Experimental Art Theatre (BEAT), to bring the following three fine offerings to Bend. All ticket information is available at www.towertheatre.org, 541-317-0700 or www.coril.org.

• May 8 - 7:30 pm at the Tower Theatre, $25 and $35 reserved seating and optional VIP Reception the evening prior at the Oxford Hotel with internationally acclaimed actor Jim Jarrett for a once in a lifetime performance of VINCENT. Jarrett has performed this award winning play about the inspirational and often misunderstood life of Vincent Van Gogh all over the world to over 250,000 patrons.
  
• May 14 - 7:30 pm at the Tower Theatre, $10 admission open seating, The Sprout Film Festival comes to Bend from New York City with inspirational, informative and heartwarming short films about people with developmental disabilities that you won’t want to miss.
  
• May 23 - 7:30 pm at Second Street Theatre, Off Broadway hit, The Boys Next Door is a brilliant and hilarious portrayal of four mentally challenged young men who live in a communal residence under the watchful eye of a social worker.

Thurs June 17 – Career & Community Resources Expo hosted by WorkSource Central Oregon
A partnership of workforce agencies have organized the Career & Community Resources Expo to be held at Central Oregon Community College’s Bend campus on June 17. The day-long event is an effort to connect job seekers and employers with prospects of gainful employment, direct access to service providers, and job search tools. The Expo will also feature an opportunity for demobilized Oregon National Guard troops to network with employers who are interested in utilizing their skills, abilities and experience. Free exhibit spaces for employers are available with some restrictions.  Contact Laurel Werhane at Worksource Oregon or call 541-548-8196 ext. 328 for information about exhibiting or attending the Expo.

Legal update

In their May newsletter, Karnopp Petersen also offered several helpful and timely updates on recent legal compliance decisions.

No duty to accommodate medical marijuana: The Oregon Supreme Court recently brought years of confusion to an end for employers. Thanks to a 2005 decision from the Oregon Court of Appeals, many employers thought they might have a duty to accommodate use of medical marijuana by disabled employees—even if the employer had a “no tolerance” policy for use of illegal drugs. The Oregon Supreme Court’s new ruling, however, clarifies that employers do not have to accommodate medical marijuana use even if the employee is disabled under the law.

Broad restrictions on credit checks: Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is expected to sign a new bill into law, effective July 1, 2010. The bill prohibits employers from obtaining or using credit check information for any employment purpose, such as hiring/firing, promotion or pay considerations. Some of the narrow exceptions include jobs in banking or credit unions, law enforcement, and other areas if credit history is "substantially job-related" and the use of the credit check is disclosed in writing. Other background checks such as criminal history searches are not affected. Be sure and update your hiring process before July!

HIRE Act affidavit now available: As you may know, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act into law this March. The new law allows employers to claim a payroll tax exemption and a tax credit when they hire workers through 2010 who, among other requirements, have been out of work for some time. The IRS recently made a new form available that employers can use in claiming the benefits: click here to download the form, which includes a summary of the requirements for eligibility.

If you have questions about workplace issues, contact a Karnopp Petersen employment attorney at 541-382-3011 or at the following email addresses: Ron Roome (rlr@karnopp.com); Jon Napier (jjn@karnopp.com); or Kurt Barker (keb@karnopp.com).

Renewing Members

Our thanks to the companies below who fund EDCO’s efforts to recruit new companies to the region and help local companies grow their operations.

• Individual Level: Atlas Guides, LLC (2009), Corporate Recruiting Solutions (2007), Merlot Mortgage (2005)
• Bronze Level: Best Western Rama Inn (2005), Breedlove Guitar Company (2008), Fratzke Commercial Real Estate (2007), KBNZ TV/ New Vision Television (2008), Newland Communities (2003), Precise Flight (2005)
• Gold Level: Hooker Creek (2004)
• Platinum Level: Central Electric Cooperative (1987)

Feedback
Let us know what you like or dislike about the eCon Update. Or have a story idea? We love your input. Send an email message to Ruth Lindley.