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Previous 12 months about this time, we introduced on a job to glance at the challenges confronting downtown Portland soon after (we’d hoped) the peak of the pandemic and protests. That project, “Downtown in Distress,” incorporated reporting on homelessness, the mood of downtown citizens and the challenges for shops, as effectively as success from an independent poll.
The delta and omicron variants threw a wrench in expectations for a rapid return to regular in 2021. And just a 7 days ago, more undesirable news. A longtime retailer, Margulis Jewelers, announced it was closing its landmark downtown store.
“Customers are reluctant to arrive downtown to shop,” proprietor David Margulis claimed in a information launch. “Employees choose not to do the job downtown.”
It is crystal clear that much more than two several years into the pandemic, Portland has considerable financial worries. And The Oregonian/OregonLive continues to devote in business reporting.
“We’re mobilizing around a aim to address all factors of Oregonians’ economic lives, from the effects of the condition and national economic system, to procuring for merchandise and solutions, to housing, personal finance, and get the job done existence,” claimed Elliot Njus, who sales opportunities our Business enterprise & Economy team.
Njus previously protected authentic estate/housing, transportation and other subjects. Most lately, he led the improvement of podcasts for our newsroom.
Protection of two main enterprises in our region falls to veteran organization reporters Mike Rogoway and Jeff Manning.
Rogoway is Oregon’s indispensable read for information about Intel, just one of the state’s major non-public employers. At the get started of the pandemic, he just about singlehandedly birddogged the troubles the Oregon Employment Office experienced finding jobless advantages to Oregonians.
With politics reporter Hillary Borrud in 2020, he broke the story of how Oregon’s failure to waive a week’s hiatus just before added benefits started would price tag Oregonians much more than $100 million in federal reduction. The governor rapidly vowed to eradicate the “waiting 7 days.”
Rogoway, who has a master’s of company administration from University of Washington, also addresses technology, software and associated firms. He keeps an eye on rising corporations as nicely, these types of as Dutch Bros, the drive-through coffee chain that had its original general public featuring final yr.
Manning handles Nike, as well as associated providers and the intersection of athletics and enterprise. He also stories on well being treatment businesses and specializes in investigative operate with an eye towards white collar criminal offense.
Jamie Goldberg, who experienced covered the Portland Timbers/Thorns and the Portland Trail Blazers for us, transferred to business when sports shut down at the commence of the pandemic in 2020. She has expended the previous two decades masking the unemployed, the plight of tenants and landlords, and the struggles and successes of smaller firms.
Goldberg, who has a master’s diploma in journalism from University of California, Berkeley, is also a breaking information editor portion of the 7 days.
A different relative newcomer to the team is Jayati Ramakrishnan, who joined The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2019 from the Hermiston Herald. She commenced on the breaking information workforce but now handles transportation and housing. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.
Just this month, we’ve extra even more reporting firepower. Kristine de Leon covers retail, modest company and other business enterprise tendencies for us, these as her new explainer on why gasoline charges vary so much relying on which Oregon county you are in.
De Leon was pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology in advance of catching the reporting bug. She attained her master’s in journalism from College of Southern California. She is competent in knowledge evaluation, coding and net advancement, which will serve her effectively as she explores company and economic developments.
When I commenced at The Oregonian in 1983, the Enterprise office, like the relaxation of the newsroom, was predominantly staffed by adult men. What handful of gals reporters we had were being mostly in the options office, crafting for the Residing section. It’s terrific to have a team of Enterprise reporters with these types of assorted everyday living activities, perspectives and pursuits.
The team’s perform is supplemented by other reporters, this kind of as Ted Sickinger, who covers forestry and utilities Borrud, who reviews on state govt and politics and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, who is on the Portland City Hall beat.
We know interest in organization subject areas is solid. We can see that by way of the massive quantities of people who study posts on OregonLive and stick to us on social media (On Twitter, @OregonianBiz has the 2nd most significant pursuing just after our primary account). You can signal up for our Oregon Small business Insights publication at oregonlive.com/newsletters.
The Oregonian/OregonLive’s employees remaining our downtown places of work and went to distant function March 17, 2020. This spring, we hope some journalists will return to our workplaces along Southwest Initially Avenue and some others will go on to work remotely. I hope to see our reporters and editors back traveling to workplaces, covering activities, and assembly resources for coffee confront to deal with, just as generally as we applied to. I’m seeking ahead to spending much more of my time in our downtown newsroom all over again.
Be aware: Longtime Oregon civic chief Gerry Frank was asked to compose a column for The Oregonian back in 1988. His column, named “Friday Surprise” soon after the Meier & Frank profits by that name, appeared in the A section for many a long time.
Additional not too long ago, in the functions segment, his well-known every month column highlighted Oregon vacation and dining prospectiv
e clients for viewers. Frank died March 13 at age 98. We know audience will overlook his educational suggestions and insights, as will we.
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