Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2021)
A5 B USINESS THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 p DOW 31,097.97 +56.84 BRIEFING 2 accused in fraud for COVID-19 loans Two men are accused of converting for per- sonal use more than $2.2 million in loans meant to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Aaron Lloyd, 50, of Lebanon, and Rus- sell A. Schort, 38, of Myrtle Creek, are charged with wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in fed- eral court in Eugene. The FBI investigated after receiving informa- tion that the men fraudu- lently obtained Paycheck Protection Program loans, which were authorized by the federal coronavirus relief act. Between April 7 and May 8, financial records showed both applied for and received at least three loan payments using three different entities, totaling more than $2.2 million, ac- cording to a criminal com- plaint filed in court. Consumer credit at best in 5 months p bendbulletin.com/business NASDAQ 13,201.97 +134.49 p S&P 500 3,824.68 +20.89 p 30-YR T-BOND 1.86% +.02 p CRUDE OIL $52.24 +1.41 q q GOLD $1,834.10 -78.20 SILVER $24.58 -2.62 EURO $1.2212 -.0056 U.S. loses 140,000 jobs, first monthly drop since spring BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — U.S. employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 posi- tions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and busi- nesses. At the same time, the un- employment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April. Friday’s figures from the Labor Department depict a sharply uneven job mar- ket, with losses concentrated among restaurants, bars, ho- tels and entertainment ven- ues, many of them affecting low-income employees, while most other sectors are still adding workers. Still, the na- tion has nearly 10 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic sent it into a deep recession nearly a year ago, having recovered just 56% of the jobs lost in the spring. The pandemic will likely continue to weaken the econ- omy through winter and per- haps early spring, and further job losses are possible in the coming months. But many economists say that once coronavirus vaccines are more widely distributed, a broader recovery should take hold in the second half of the year. See Jobs / A6 A new face for the WILLAMETTE — Bulletin wire reports PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Lake Oswego Review Officials try to draw tourism to ‘clean, safe’ Oregon river BY COREY BUCHANAN • Lake Oswego Review While Heather King saw more people to other destinations like the Mackenzie or John Day rivers. flock to the Willamette River in the “It is a beautiful river. It’s a river you summer than ever before due to the can take overnight trips on and never COVID-19 pandemic, the deputy director see another boat on the river depending for the Willamette Riverkeeper nonprofit on the trip,” King said. “People just don’t organization said the waterway can think about it as a place to go.” sometimes be an afterthought compared Capital Press The Western bumble bee. New OSU program is nation’s 1st native bee inventory BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press U.S. consumer borrow- ing rose 4.4% in Novem- ber, its strongest showing in five months, led by gains in auto and student loans that offset a drop in credit card borrowing. The Federal Reserve said Friday that the rise represented an increase of $15.3 billion, the best showing since June. Bor- rowing had risen $4.5 bil- lion in October. Consumer borrowing is closely watched for indications of the will- ingness of households to take on more debt to support their spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity. • Standard Paint and Flooring in Bend has hired Melissa Sori- ano and Soriano Ana Du- pont, who will join the sales team. • Derma- Dupont tology Health Specialists added Samuel Christensen and Lindsey Clark. Christensen will care for patients’ skin health in Bend, Redmond, and Eastern Oregon loca- tions, and Clark will specialize in skin cancer, medical dermatology and aesthetics. • Kathleen Cody has been selected by the High Desert Edu- Cody cation Service District as its executive director. Cody comes to the or- ganization with more than 25 years of experi- ence in nonprofit lead- ership. • Megan Burgess has been named president of the board of directors at Bethlehem Inn. In addition the Central Or- egon organization that serves the situationally homeless population named Mike Bonetto as vice president, Kevin Link as secretary and Jill Craveiro as trea- surer. q See Willamette / A6 CORVALLIS — Oregon is the first state in the U.S. to create a Master Melittologists program that trains volunteers to become bee experts and use that knowl- edge to preserve and catalogue bees native to the state. A melittologist studies bees. Oregon State University mod- eled its new program after its Master Gardener program. The program teaches vol- unteers to locate, identify and preserve the more than 620 species of native bees in Ore- gon, many of which are polli- nators, in a database called the Oregon Bee Atlas. The program expands knowledge about the natural world, but it also has practical applications. Researchers iden- tify bees experiencing declin- ing populations, and knowing more about native bee species has enabled growers to boost crop yields. It has also produced unex- pected benefits. Volunteers looking for bees inadvertently stumbled across invasive spe- cies, which may help stop their spread. “Volunteers have been com- mitted to producing the best museum-quality specimens possible. The people attracted to this program are super pas- sionate, super capable,” said Lincoln Best, lead taxonomist for the Oregon Bee Atlas. Collecting specimens isn’t easy. To become Master Melittol- ogists, volunteers receive a year of training covering bee biol- ogy, how to prepare collections and plan trips. “We were looking for people we could train to be entomol- ogists in their own right,” said Andony Melathopoulos, OSU Extension’s pollinator health specialist, who runs the pro- gram. Melathopoulos tries to make it fun. The act of putting iden- tification on a bee is called “de- terminating,” so Melathopou- los recently awarded one of his volunteers the “Determinator” award. See Bee / A6 More virus aid on the way for small businesses BY JOYCE M. ROSENBERG The Associated Press Jae C. Hong/AP file Victor Flores, 66, sweeps the steps of his Los Angeles gift shop Dec. 16. The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department are reviving the Paycheck Protection Program. NEW YORK — For Nancy Sinoway, a second coronavirus relief loan would increase the chances that her dressmaking business will survive. “I could use it for market- ing, for new samples. I could use it as a lifeline,” says Sino- way, who designs and makes dresses for occasions like wed- dings and proms. She was flooded with order cancella- tions starting in early March as the virus spread and large gatherings and events were abandoned. Sinoway got a Paycheck Protection Program loan in May and used it to pay her three employees. But the loan money fell far short of what she needed to maintain her Port Washington, New York, shop. She was forced to close it and move the business into her home. Millions of business owners like Sinoway are about to get help. The Small Business Ad- ministration and the Treasury Department are preparing to revive the Paycheck Protection Program five months after its first two rounds of funding ended. In the latest round, busi- nesses that received loans last year will be able to borrow up to $2 million as long as they have no more than 300 em- ployees and suffered at least a 25% drop in quarterly revenue. First-time borrowers with no more than 500 workers will be able to borrow up to $10 mil- lion. The loans, which can be for- given, will have five-year terms and carry an interest rate of 1%. The SBA will initially accept only applications submitted by community financial institu- tions, lenders whose custom- ers are minority-owned and economically disadvantaged businesses. See Aid/ A6