A11
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2021
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BRIEFING
U.S. home prices
rising at fast pace
U.S. home prices
jumped in November at
the fastest pace in more
than six years, fueled by
demand for more living
space as Americans stick
closer to home during the
pandemic.
Home prices soared
9.1% in November com-
pared with 12 months
ago, according to Tues-
day’s report on the S&P
CoreLogic Case-Shiller
20-city home price index.
That is the largest in-
crease since May 2014.
Low borrowing costs
are also contributing to
rising home sales, which
have sharply reduced
the number of dwellings
available. The limited in-
ventory of homes is push-
ing up home prices. Sales
of existing homes rose
in December and home
sales for all of 2020 rose
to the highest level in 14
years.
Phoenix posted the
largest price gain in No-
vember from a year ear-
lier.
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Deschutes County jobless rate rises
Staff report
The effects from COVID-19
continue to be seen in De-
schutes County jobless num-
bers, but in Crook County, the
shock from the pandemic has
not been as severe.
Rural counties that do not
rely on tourism for jobs have
received a glancing blow from
the restrictions imposed by
the government to contain the
spread of the coronavirus, said
Damon Runberg, Oregon Em-
ployment Department regional
economist.
Deschutes County lost jobs
last month for the first time
since April due to COVID-19,
according to the Oregon
Employment Department’s
monthly report.
“The pandemic is running
the show, and government is
trying to alleviate the impact
with the restrictions,” Runberg
said.
Deschutes County’s unem-
ployment rate rose to 7.6% in
December, compared to 2019
when it was 3.2%, according to
the department report.
In all, about half the jobs lost
since the start of the pandemic
are a result of the government
mandates to shut down busi-
nesses, according to the report.
Many of the job losses are still
occurring in the leisure and
hospitality sectors.
Jefferson County posted an
unemployment rate of 7.1% in
December, compared to 6.8%
in November, but much higher
than the same time the year be-
fore when it was 4%.
The county’s pace of recov-
ery is slowing, according to the
report.
Crook County’s unemploy-
ment rate rose to 7.6% in De-
cember, up from 7.4% in No-
vember. Overall, it’s up over
December 2019 when it was
4.7%, according to the report.
Coos Bay channel expansion
navigates looming challenges
Portland bike
stores sold to Trek
One of Portland’s best-
known bike shops has
been sold.
Mike Olson, the owner
of Bike Gallery, which has
six retail locations in the
Portland metro area, told
employees Monday that
he had sold the stores to
Trek Bicycle Corp., accord-
ing to a report from Bike-
Portland.
Olson did not immedi-
ately respond to a request
for comment from The
Oregonian.
“Although I know this
is the right decision, it is
made with mixed emo-
tions,” Olson wrote in an
email to employees ob-
tained by BikePortland.
Current Bike Gallery
staff will be offered the
chance to retain their
jobs, according to the
BikePortland report. It
is not immediately clear
what impact the sale will
have on the stores’ oper-
ations.
Olson purchased the
Bike Gallery chain from
founder Jay Graves in
2012. Olson is also the
owner of the Trek Bicycle
Superstore, a chain of six
stores in San Diego and
New Mexico, and Nytro,
a cycling and triathlon
store north of San Diego.
The purchase comes a
month after Trek bought
Bicycle Sport Shop, an in-
dependently-owned bike
store chain in Austin.
U.S. consumer
confidence rises
U.S. consumer confi-
dence rose in January as
Americans became more
optimistic about the fu-
ture.
The Conference Board
reported Tuesday that its
consumer confidence in-
dex increased to 89.3, a
rebound from December
when it dipped to 87.1.
The increase was fu-
eled by the board’s ris-
ing expectations index,
which measures percep-
tions about the future
path of incomes, business
and labor market condi-
tions. The present situa-
tion index weakened fur-
ther, however, reflecting
concerns over the resur-
gence of COVID-19.
“The slow rollout of the
vaccines and the still rag-
ing pandemic continue
to depress consumer
confidence despite the
prospect of further fiscal
aid and a brighter and a
brighter health situation,”
said Kathy Bostjancic,
chief U.S. financial econo-
mist at Oxford Economics.
— Bulletin wire reports
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press file
Margaret Barber, director of external affairs at the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, looks at the Port-owned rail lines that carry cargo, including logs, to ships that
are loaded in the channel.
BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
C
OOS BAY — Plans for a major West Coast
liquefied natural gas pipeline and export
terminal have hit a roadblock that could
impact how the Port of Coos Bay moves forward
with its channel modification, which is closely
connected to the pipeline project.
The pipeline proposal, called the Jordan Cove
Energy Project, hit a snag last week when a fed-
eral commission turned down a key permit.
The ruling was hailed as a victory by long-time
opponents of Jordan Cove, including Southern
Oregon tribes, anglers, environmentalists, coastal
residents and Gov. Kate Brown.
But the ruling came as a blow to the Port of
Coos Bay, which has been preparing for the larg-
est project in its history: expanding its channel to
45 feet deep and 450 feet wide to become one of
the West’s largest international shipping points
for agricultural goods and other commodities.
Until now, the port’s channel modification has
been partly dependent on the success of the Jor-
dan Cove project, and port officials say they were
“disappointed” by the new ruling. But the port’s
leaders say the ruling did not take them by sur-
New boutique hotel in Portland
expected to open this spring
Michael Russell/The Oregonian
The century-old former Shleifer Furniture building, which operated
as a hotel into the 1970s, will return to its roots with the new Hotel
Grand Stark.
historic building near Seattle’s
Pike Place Market.
That Seattle hotel featured
a second location of The Hart
& The Hunter, a critically ac-
claimed southern restaurant
found at a Los Angeles Pali-
hotel. But Hotel Grand Stark,
scheduled to open in May,
looks to be getting a pair of
concepts all its own.
See Hotel / A12
See Coos Bay / A12
Ranchers back blueberry
growers trade claims
BY DON JENKINS
Capital Press
MICHAEL RUSSELL
The Oregonian
An upcoming Portland
boutique hotel backed by
a Los Angeles-based hotel
brand will feature two new
restaurants from Submarine
Hospitality, the group behind
popular local restaurants Ava
Gene’s and Tusk, The Orego-
nian has learned.
Finishing work was un-
derway Monday afternoon
at the former Shleifer Furni-
ture building at 509 SE Grand
Ave., a site most recently
home to a temporary home-
less shelter. The new hotel,
Hotel Grand Stark, comes
from the Los Angeles-based
Palisociety hotel brand, which
is in the middle of a major
domestic expansion jump-
started in 2019 with the first
non-California Palihotel in a
prise, and they already have alternatives in mind
to keep their own project on track.
“The port does not view (Jordan Cove Energy
Project) as a panacea for the future development
of the Coos Bay Harbor,” said Margaret Barber,
director of external affairs at the port.
The reason the port has been dependent on
Jordan Cove’s success is because, under current
federal law, the port is required to list two benefi-
ciaries for its channel modification — two com-
panies that would directly benefit from a deeper
and wider channel.
Some cattlemen are cheering
on blueberry farmers who are
seeking protection from for-
eign competitors, countering
the jeers from sectors of U.S.
agriculture that depend on se-
rene trade relations.
Almost two dozen organi-
zations, led by R-CALF USA,
have sent a letter urging the
U.S. International Trade Com-
mission to recognize that im-
ported blueberries are seriously
harming U.S. growers.
R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard
said Monday the letter was in-
spired by one sent in Dec. by
31 farm associations and com-
panies warning the commis-
sion to not start a trade war
over blueberries.
“We felt a need to counter
that,” Bullard said. “We re-
spect and admire the blueberry
farmers for taking this action,
which is an action we may be
taking in the future.”
Blueberry farmers in Wash-
ington, Oregon, California and
elsewhere say foreign blueber-
ries flood the U.S. market in
the spring and fall, suppressing
what should be profitable early
and late harvest prices.
U.S. companies that process
or grow foreign blueberries
blame low prices on U.S. farm-
ers competing with each other.
The Trump administration
ordered the trade commission
to investigate whether imports
are or will seriously injure U.S.
blueberry farmers.
The commission is due to
make a determination by Feb.
11 and submit a report to the
Biden White House on possi-
ble trade actions, such as tariffs
or quotas, by March 29.
See Blueberries / A12