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Jobs Move To Portland From California As How Plantscaping Makes
Space Feel Alive and Cozy
Housewares Importer Comes To Town
With the help of the Portland
Development Commission, Portland
will welcome to town a new company
and new jobs on March 10.
Richards Homewares, Inc. is a
55-ycar old manufacturer and im
porter of housewares, with offices in
both the Los Angeles and New York
City areas, Richards deals in closet
storage and home organization prod
ucts, as well as protective covers for
outdoor furniture and barbecues im
ported from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The company employs 15 people
at its Long Beach, California office.
Annual sales are in the $4-5 million
range.
Needing a much larger facility
for h is growing company and no longer
satisfied with the quality of life in Los
Angeles, Robert Frcelandcr, owner
and president of Richards Homewares,
Inc., began in 1991 to look for another
West Coast location.
Reports Freclander, “It is impor
tant for an import company to be near
the Pacific Rim. We started to look at
our options.
Freclander contacted the Port-
land Development Commission to
learn more about Portland. As for any
business, the skills of the workforce
were important, and Richards was
especially interested in the quality of
marine, truck and air transportation
in the region.
PDC worked closely with the
company over a lengthy period of
time, answering questions and ad
dressing concerns. PDC forwarded
information of the North/Northeast
Portland Enterprise Zone and on the
loan programs PDC and the Oregon
Economic Development Department
make available to businesses coming
to town.
But Mr. Freelandcr was also in
terested in the quality of life in Port
land. “The more I learned about Port
land, it seemed like a great place for
my employees to settle down and
raise tlieir fam dies, “Freclander raves.
“My whole staff talked it over and
over, and we decided Portland was
the place for out company.”
Richards Homewares needed two
things to move, and Freelandcr again
turned to PDC.
First, the company had to have a
home. PDC provided industrial prop
erty inventories giving Freclander a
feel for the P o rtla n d m arket.
-----
Freelandcr worked with commercial
broker Norris Beggs & Simpson to
find a building, Richards purchased a
35,000 square-foot building located
at 3810 North Mississippi in the Lower
Albina Industrial Area.
Second, Richards needed high-
skilled employees. Five members of
his current staff are joining Freclander
on the move north. So along with
Frcelandcr and his company comes
jobs for Portlanders, five or six at
first, with more soon to follow.
To recruit top notch local people
for his business, Freclander turned to
PDC’s JobNet program. JobNct links
new and expanding companies to
qualified workers from the Portland
area. Freelandcr reports that he is
very pleased with the skills and char
acter of the people JobNet has sent his
way.
M ayor Katz is eager to greet
the new firm : “ This is w hat i t ’s
all about. The best thing P ortland
has to offer are our people and our
quality o f life. W hen a firm like
R ichards H om ew ares com es to
tow n, bringing jobs to North P o rt
land, it m akes the qualify o f life
b etter for all o f our c itiz e n s” .
“Retirement Housing: W hat’s Right For You?”
A class which explores the many
yhe course is designed for seniors best time to investigate a house change
housing options available during re- and fami,ics who
helping older and when is the best time to move
tirementyears will be held at Alameda re,atives make housing dccisions. It Cost of housing and the amenities
Community School, 2732 NE Fre- win
,ore thc many oplions which which arc available will also be dis-
mont, Portland. The class will meet
availablc including condomini- cussed. Other factors such as loca-
for 2 sessions, on Monday, April 4
artmentStmanufacturedhous- lion, style and other important facors
and aprii 11 from 6:30 pm to 9 pm.
and Qlhcr Rids of typical scnior lo consider will be covered. The class
cost of the course is $13 plus a $1.50
B’s-n
will help participants decide on the
materials fee. Pre-registration is ad-
wil, focus on whcn is the type of housing which is best for
v i s e d . ___________________ ___________________________________ them.
Thc instructor is Bonnie L.
Vorcnbcrg, who served as the Na
tional Enrichment Director of the
Hillhavcn Corporation and has been
thc Executive Director of a retirement
community. She has worked in the
field of aging for 14 years in the areas
of arts, activities, marketing and man
agement.
For information contact Susan
News USA
Potter at 284-1686 or Bonnie L.
(NU) - Congratulations! You have your new home, you cannot deduct Vorcnbcrg at 335-3343.
been promoted to that new position. the cost of any meals eaten on the
Now you must relocate yourself and way. It is a good idea to “bring your
your family. Well, it's 1994, and the own," because a reimbursement for
American Payroll Association warns the meals from your employer could
that the rules of the relocation game mean indigestion when tax time rolls
I Thanks to you, all sorts
around in 1995.
have changed drastically.
YOUR TAXES
Relocating? Here’s
What You Can Deduct
What's Deductible
The following are considered
•Qualified Moving Expenses" un
der the P resident's Budget Bill
passed last year. Only these costs
can be deducted from your 1994 in
come, and reimbursements for them
from your employer need not be in
cluded in your wages.
• The reasonable (the IRS has not
yet defined “reasonable") cost of
moving household goods and per
sonal effects from your former home
to your new home.
• The reasonable costs of travel
and lodging in moving from the old
location to the new one.
Bring your picnic basket! Even
though you can deduct your costs in
moving yourself and your family to
What's Not Deductible
That is all you are allowed to clas
sify as deductible. Any additional re
imbursements made to you by your
employer will be reported as taxable
income and taxes will be withheld at
the time of payment. If your employer
gives you a lump sum payment for all
expenses, the payment will be handled
in the same manner. Payments or re
imbursements will either be shown
as taxable income on your Form W-
2, “Wage and Tax Statement,” or
shown in Box 13 with the Code "P"
to show the amount of "Qualified
Moving Expense" payments.
Good luck on your move and in
your new position. Just be sure to
check your tax liability closely be
fore year's end.
of everyday products are
being m ade from the paper.
plastic, m etal and glass that
you've been recycling
But to keep recycling
R working to help protect the
environm ent, you need to
S 9
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buy those products
(NU) - This is an interior decor
treasure hunt you must not miss.
The goods can be found in shop
ping malls, office towers and even
hotels. They increase property val
ues and occupancy rates.
No, it’s not furniture nor art. The
big secret, it turns out, is plants.
Check out a successful local mall
or office lobby. Not only is the use
of plants an inexpensive way to deco
rate surroundings, but it’s proving
tremendously popular to occupants,
clients and customers.
For example, Woodfield Green
Executive Centre near Chicago cred
its its 86 percent occupancy rate,
compared to a national average of
65 percent, to the interior plantscape.
“It’s a major selling point," says
Centre Manager Karen Ptasnik, as
she stands in the middle of the plant-
filled, oak-paneled, glass-rooted
atrium. “The plants make us unique.”
Interior Landscape magazine re
ports that "interior landscaping is
key” to the Embassy Suites hotel
chain’s excellent occupancy rates,
which run far higher than the indus
try average.
The unique Opryland Hotel in
Nashville. Tenn., charges an aver
age $30 extra for rooms overlooking
its 12 acres of interior plantscaping,
with walkways, gazebos, waterfalls
and 18,000 plants of 600 species.
Soothing the Savage
The ultimate interior plantscape,
however, can be found — where
else? — in the ultimate mall: the
gargantuan Mall of Am erica in
Bloomington, Minn.
And the plantscape makes Knott’s
Camp Snoopy, an entertainment park
located inside the mall, look like it is
outdoors.
That’s because Terry Van Gorder,
president and chief executive officer
of the p a rk 's parent com pany,
Knott's Berry Farm, insists that mall
entertainment parks can’t look like
they’re indoors.
At Cincinnati’s plant-filled Tri
County Mall, the construction coor
dinator for the management firm. Bill
Lively, said, “When you’re in a
pleasant environment, you want to
stay there and shop there."
Doctors have apparently consid
ered this advice. Since they know
that people definitely prefer not hang
ing around their offices, they’ve be
gun using plants as mind-soothers
for worried patients.
If you want plantscaping tips for
home or business — ranging from
simple to exceptionally lavish — re
quest information by sending a self-
addressed, stamped envelope to: As
sociated Landscape Contractors of
America, Dept. Interior, 12200 Sun
rise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 22091.
Pacific Power
Pacific Power has proposed lo
lower its overall prices in Oregon by
$7.2 million annually. This price de
crease is based on thc amount thc
company receives in property tax ben
efits resulting from thc ballotmcasurc
5 property tax initiative.
Pacific filed with the Oregon Pub
lic Utility Commission Feb. 15, for
perm ission to pass thc decrease
through to customers beginning April
15.
“Like many property owners in
Oregon, Pacific Power has seen a re
duction in thc property taxes it pays to
support schools and government ser
vices,” said Pacific Power manager
Sheila Holden. “This decrease passes
through to our customers the savings
resulting from reduced property taxes.”
Pacific is proposing to include
property tax savings that have been
accumulating in a separate account
since thc enactment of ballot measure
5, as well as projected property tax
savings through 1995. Pacific paid
approximately $17 million in Oregon
property taxes in 1993.
“This price decrease allows us to
remain a low-cost prov idcr of electric
ity in the region,” said Holden.
More Young
People Are
Starting To
Smoke Each Day
In the United Slates, 3,000 young
people start lo smoke every day. Sur
geon General Joycclyn Elders will
discuss findings on Smoking and
Health, Preventing Tobacco Use
Among Young People at a satellite
broadcast town meeting. The meet
ing, called Youth and Elders Against
Tobacco Use, will air at nine sites in
Oregon from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on
March 24.
A panel of experts and local to
bacco control advocates will interact
with participants nationwide in dis
cussions related to tobacco addiction,
addiction in adolescence, the link
between smoking and other drug use,
the impact of tobacco advertising on
young people and thc issues surround
ing youth access to tobacco. The town
m eetin g w ill bring to g e th e r
policymakers and youth, health, edu
cation, and substance abuse preven
tion advocates on the federal, state
and local levels to discuss the prob
lems of and solutions to tobacco use
by young people.
Thc Oregon sites selected to air
this free program are:
Crook County High School, Prineville
Douglas County Health Department,
Roseburg
Hood River Memorial Hospital, Hood
River
Southern Oregon State C ollege,
Medford
Lane Community College, Eugene
Portland Slate University, Portland
Blue Mountain Community College,
Pendleton
Eastern Oregon State College, La
Grande
Willamina High School, Willamina
Call 288-0033 For
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