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 Bend Chamber
 777 NW Wall St, Ste 200
 Bend, OR 97701

 Phone: (541) 382-3221
 Fax: (541) 385-9929
 info@bendchamber.org
 www.bendchamber.org

Bend Chamber Weekly
August 29, 2008
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator

This Week's Highlights....

• Economic Update

• Candidates announced for City Council

• County seeks help on Transportation Plan

• New radio station in Central Oregon

• In the News

• Leadership Bend Session Sponsorships available

• Upcoming Chamber Events

Economic Update

    According to LibertyBank’s Small Business Index for Oregon, the U.S. economy’s growth was less than expected at a 1.9 percent real annual rate in July. This was a disappointing number as many experts expected the growth to be at least 2.3 percent.
     The Gross Domestic Product did receive some strength from stimulus checks and “booming export activity,” the report stated.
     According to the report, “The LibertyBank Small Business Index for Oregon registered 78.1 in July 2008, down from a revised 78.9 in June 2008.”
     The perspective of a small business owner or manger is used by the Index to measure business conditions.
     The unemployment rate also played a factor in the report. According to the LibertyBank report, nationally, the unemployment rate climbed to 5.7 percent and Oregon saw a slight decrease to 5.5 percent.
 

     Four positions for the Bend City Council will appear on the November 4 ballot. The open positions are for 1, 2, 3, and 4. Candidates for the positions are as follows:

     Candidates for Position #1 are Peter Gramlich and Tom Greene.
     Candidates for Position #2 are Jodie Barram, Jeff Eager, and Dallas Brown.
     Candidates for Position #3 are Linda Johnson and Kathie Eckman.
     Candidates for Position #4 are Jim Clinton and Don Leonard.

     Though the city had previously released all nine candidates names, the Bulletin recently reported the city challenged the residency of Dallas Brown. City officials had discovered Brown had registered to vote in Lane County, which according to Bend’s election code is a change in residency status.
     City Recorder Patricia Stell stated the city is working with Brown on bringing forth additional information like a Driver's License and tax returns showing his residency status for Bend.
     Brown is a recent college graduate from the University of Oregon. Oregon law is set up so residents have access to the election process without having residency jeopardized due to college attendance or military service.
     Stell hopes to have the process resolved soon. If she decides the documentation is not enough, then the candidacy of Brown will have to go before the City Council on September 17 for a final decision.
     The Bend City Council is comprised of seven members who elect a councilor to serve as Mayor. Council Members are elected to four-year terms. Individuals winning a seat on the City Council will begin serving Jan. 7, 2009.
 

      As it updates the Transportation System Plan (TSP), the Deschutes County Community Development staff is encouraging the public to attend several open houses in September to provide their input. The TSP guides the County in selecting and prioritizing projects for bicyclists, pedestrians, and roads for the next 20 years. The TSP is the transportation component of the larger Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan, which the County is also updating.
     Meetings will take place in Tumalo, La Pine, Bend, Redmond, Terrebonne, and Sisters. The meeting in Bend will take place on September 4 at the Deschutes Services Center from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
     Community Development staff will return to the communities listed above at midpoint of the TSP’s development to show how public input was used. Staff will hold more open house meetings before the final draft is complete to show the plan’s progress.
     It is expected the TSP, which is being funded by a $100,000 grant from the State of Oregon through its Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) program, to be done by winter 2009.
     Besides the public open houses, the TSP will be the subject of public hearings before the Deschutes County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners.
     For more information, please contact Peter Russell at the Deschutes County Community Development Department at 383-6718 or send email to peterr@co.deschutes.or.us.
 

     Central Oregon has a new news talk radio station. KBNW started hitting the airwaves on August 25. The News/Talk format airs on 1340 AM and 96.5 FM.
     “Listeners and clients have often asked us about an alternate News/Talk service in Central Oregon and we are excited to offer a new product with well established nationally syndicated talk show hosts,” said Keith Shipman, President and CEO of Horizon Broadcasting Group, in a recent news release. “We are also committed to providing local, regional and national news coverage that is relevant to our listeners in Central Oregon.”
     For more information on programming, go to the station’s Web site at www.newsradiocentraloregon.com.
 

     New buses for BAT: Bend Area Transit riders will soon have new buses to enjoy. A Federal Transit Authority grant of $418,000 will allow the city of Bend to purchase buses that will carry more passengers as well as get better gas mileage. The current bus fleet is on average 11 years old and has a capacity of 18 seats. The new buses will allow seating for 25.
     Gas prices up or down for Labor Day?: With the threat of Tropical Storm Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico, experts say the price of gas could be affected for Labor Day weekend. Drivers might see an increase due to fears of disruption in the current oil production as well as supply shortages. The price of oil has been all over the board in the past couple of days, reaching as high as $120 a barrel at one point on Thursday. Experts say even if prices only rise slightly over the Labor Day weekend, depending on the severity of Gustav, consumers can expect to see increases of 5 to 15 cents per gallon of gas. As of Thursday afternoon, the average for regular unleaded in Oregon was $3.827.
     American Business could see new accounting rules: On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a “road map” proposal that might allow large American companies to switch to international accounting standards. If adopted, all American corporations would have to switch to the new standards by at least 2016. The adoption would also continue to move the world towards one set of accounting standards. One set of standards would make it easier for investors to compare companies and help reduce expenses for American businesses by eliminating the need for two sets of accounting.  
 

     September 16 - Project Management: From Critical path structure to process improvement - Do you have trouble with project management? Are you struggling with organizing and implementing your ideas? Is it difficult to get all your employees on the same page? Key elements in project management are planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. Many projects fail because the processes behind the projects are seldom defined and rarely implemented. Join speaker Kerry Sharp, MBA/Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and look at project management from a process perspective and help identify the organization as an adaptive system. Please RSVP for this event by Monday, September 15 at www.bendchamber.org.If you have trouble signing up, call 382-3221.