Apple’s Siri can’t find abortion clinics, causing stir
November 30, 2011
You can ask Siri a lot of things using Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4S, except evidently the location of the nearest place to get an abortion. That inability has caused a stir among pro-choice bloggers since reports began to surface about it this week. One such blogger, Megan Carpentier, reported that Siri directed users in the Washington area to antiabortion pregnancy centers in Virginia and Pennsylvania instead of one of seven nearby abortion clinics, two pregnancy centers and an abortion referral service…
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Apple’s Siri can’t find abortion clinics, causing stir
REI sets up shop in New York City’s SoHo
November 30, 2011
Seattle-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) is celebrating its first store in New York City with a grand opening Dec. 2-4. The 35,000-square-foot store is located in the historic Puck Building in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood and features three levels of outdoor gear, including bike and ski-shop services, a rental department and a community space for classes and events. REI will also offer New Yorkers outdoor experiences through the REI Outdoor School and REI Adventures
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REI sets up shop in New York City’s SoHo
Businesses, lawmakers press Obama for action on salmon
November 30, 2011
In a letter to President Barack Obama, 52 members of Congress asked for action in the quest to protect and restore endangered wild salmon in the Northwest. The letter follows one sent earlier this month by some 1,200 businesses — an effort that was launched in August. The group, which includes nearly 200 Oregon businesses, is calling for a collaborative process to solve the problem of diminishing populations of wild salmon and steelhead. Read the complete story in Sustainable Business Oregon
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Businesses, lawmakers press Obama for action on salmon
Regional stocks: Greenbrier surges on Dow’s big day
November 30, 2011
The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 12,000 mark Wednesday, surging nearly 500 points after central banks took action to alleviate the global debt crisis. The Dow gained 490 points, or 4.2 percent, to close at 12,045 — its best day since March 2009, according to Reuters. The Nasdaq gained 105 points, or 4.1 percent, to 2,620.
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Regional stocks: Greenbrier surges on Dow’s big day
Report card: Oregon schools struggle to meet federal targets
November 30, 2011
The Oregon Department of Education released Wednesday its statewide report card for public schools for the 2010-11 school year. Highlights include: • Only 54 percent of Oregon schools met federal Adequate Yearly Progress targets, down from 71 percent last year. The targets increased significantly from a year ago. • Oregon students continued to perform above the national average on the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. • The number of schools statewide receiving an outstanding rating from the department numbered 333, while 751 were categorized as satisfactory and 98 as in need of improvement…
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Report card: Oregon schools struggle to meet federal targets
Repairing Occupy Portland parks surpasses $130K in costs
November 30, 2011
It will likely cost more than $130,000 to repair Chapman and Lownsdale squares in downtown Portland following Occupy Portland’s six week encampment, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Portland Parks & Recreation. The department said surveys by its staff and contractors led to a working estimate of necessary repairs of $85,800. That doesn’t include another $45,000 in labor and material costs related to managing the campsites and the resulting clean-up efforts. City professional staff in ecology, turf and structural engineering assessed the damages and needs for repairs…
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Repairing Occupy Portland parks surpasses $130K in costs
Boeing pact with Machinists affects 1,200 Oregon workers
November 30, 2011
Boeing will build its new 737 Max jetliner in Renton, Wash., near Seattle as part of a groundbreaking agreement with the company’s largest union. The agreement, announced at Machinists Union headquarters in Seattle Wednesday morning, extends the union’s contract for four years and resolves other issues that had been hanging over both the union and Boeing for months. “It’s hopefully the start of a new day of doing business, when it comes to working with Boeing Co.,” said Tom Wroblewski, Machinists local president…
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Boeing pact with Machinists affects 1,200 Oregon workers
Oregon reopens tax credit auction
November 30, 2011
Oregon’s energy and revenue departments starting Thursday will host a one-week online auction of $1.1 million in state tax credits. The auction is a follow-up to a similar auction held from Oct. 24 through Nov. 4 that offered 1,500 tax credit certificates worth $1,000 each. The auction is open to individuals or businesses that will owe taxes when they file 2011 Oregon tax returns
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Oregon reopens tax credit auction
Machinists’ Wroblewski hopes settlement will also keep future Boeing models in Washington
November 30, 2011
The ground-breaking contract settlement between the Machinists and The Boeing Co. could pave the way for keeping future aircraft models in Washington, Machinists Local 751 President Tom Wroblewski told the Business Journal after the Nov. 30 announcement of the four-year pact. “If we’re successful through the four years of the extension, and we can show we’re making improvements, I think that gives us a step up,” Wroblewski said, adding that union leaders had been thinking ahead during the month of behind-the-scenes talks that led to the four-year extension..
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Machinists’ Wroblewski hopes settlement will also keep future Boeing models in Washington
Gates Foundation helps fund centralized city/state public assistance website
November 30, 2011
Families that are poor, struggling and at risk of homelessness now have one place they can go online to access state and city services designed to help them, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced Wednesday. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helped fund the effort, which expands an initiative that started last year to put all of the state’s public assistance resources in one place. Washington Connection minimizes the time that low-income families must spend on getting the help they need – whether it’s discounts on utilities, child care assistance, early childhood education assistance or weatherization help, among other things, including: Food stampsHealth care resources, including MedicareMental health careLong-term care for seniors and the disabledHousing and emergency sheltersDomestic violence assistanceSubstance abuse treatmentLegal assistanceCredit counseling Employment training and placement Before these types of services were combined in one place, struggling parents were sometimes forced to take time off work (losing much-needed pay) to deal with the paperwork and bureaucracy of getting assistance they needed in multiple places…
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Gates Foundation helps fund centralized city/state public assistance website
