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January Business Journal will be
delayed; Happy holidays
Ouch. Our computer that contains
all the material for the January
Chamber Business Journal crashed
and is being repaired, so the
January Journal will arrive in
mailboxes a week late. Look for
it on or around January 11.
Thanks for your understanding,
and we apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause. In
the January 4 Weekly E-News,
we’ll fill you in on any events
that will be held from the 4th
through the 11th.
Also, this will be the final
E-News of the year, so the Bend
Chamber staff would like to take
this opportunity to thank all of
you for helping make this one of
the best years ever for the
Chamber in many ways. And thank
you for all the compliments
about how you enjoyed our many
events this year. As always, let
us know how we can make things
even better in 2007.
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Council accepts Bend 2030 Vision
Action Plan
The Bend City Council on
Wednesday accepted the final
version of the Bend 2030 Vision
Action Plan. The 52-page
document includes more than 100
suggestions on how to shape
Bend, in the categories of “A
well-planned city,” “A vibrant
economy,” “A quality
environment,” “Safe, healthy
people,” “A strong community”
and “A creative, learning
culture. Bend 2030 planners
received more than 2,500
comments during the process.
Applications will be accepted
until Dec. 29 for anyone
interested in serving on the
board of a new non-profit,
public-private organization that
will oversee implementation of
the action plan. A board
outline, job description and
application, as well as a copy
of the final action plan, are
available at
www.bend2030.org, or call
598-3942 for more information.
Two related events are coming
up: Bend 2030 participants are
invited to the Bend City Council
meeting at the Tower Theatre on
Jan. 3 as new and re-elected
councilors are sworn into
office. And a Bend 2030 Town
Hall meeting will be held at the
theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday,
Feb. 22 to introduce the new
Bend 2030 board.
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Reaction to Les Schwab move
mainly positive
Last week’s survey question was,
“What do you think of Les Schwab
Tire Co. moving its headquarters
from Prineville to the city of
Bend’s Juniper Ridge?” Responses
were mainly positive. Some
comments:
“The announcement was the best possible scenario
Central Oregon could possibly
hope for in retaining both the
headquarters and
warehousing/distribution
operations of one of the state’s
biggest and best employers.
Apparently Les Schwab Tires very
seriously looked at Reno for
relocation as the company’s
future market growth will likely
be in the Southwest.”
“Great first move to get someone in Juniper Ridge, but
does anyone really think that
development could even be near
ready by 2008?”
“It was a critical tactical move to retain this major
employer in Central Oregon. The
Chamber and EDCO would have a
terrible time justifying that
loss to other organizations they
are trying to entice to move
here. If we can’t motivate our
own to stay, why would they want
to come?”
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Unemployment rate in Deschutes
County ties for state’s lowest
Statistics released today show that Deschutes County’s
unemployment rate in November
increased to 4 percent in
November from 3.8 percent in
October, but the rate still is
the lowest on record for a
November and ties Deschutes
County with Benton County for
the lowest November 2006
unemployment rate in the state.
Deschutes County lost 360 jobs
in November and has shed 1,180
jobs since the high point in
August, but adjusting out
seasonal fluctuations, the
county continues to grow each
month and has nearly 2,500 more
jobs than in January. Declines
in November were led by leisure
and hospitality (-530), but
retail trade gained 220 jobs.
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Drop off your tree for free
From Tuesday, Dec. 26 through
Monday, Jan. 31, you can get rid
of your dried-up Christmas tree
for free by taking it to Knott
Landfill, 61000 SE 27th
Street in Bend, from 7 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., or take it to
Deschutes County transfer
stations off Negus Way in
Redmond, Fryear Road in Sisters,
and South Highway 97 between
Sunriver and La Pine. Transfer
stations will receive trees from
8 a.m. through 4 p.m. Fridays
through Mondays. Please only
bring trees that are stripped
from their stands with
decorations removed. All trees
will be recycled.
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This week’s survey question
What’s the best or worst thing
that happened to you or your
business in 2006? Please e-mail
your responses to:
jeff@bendchamber.org.
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