A12 THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
TODAY
THURSDAY
TONIGHT
HIGH
40°
LOW
22°
A little snow at times;
storm total 1-2"
Cloudy and milder
ALMANAC
SATURDAY
48°
26°
48°
34°
Partly cloudy
SUNDAY
49°
29°
Partly sunny
Mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday Normal
Record
45°
42° 65° in 1962
37°
24° -19° in 1950
PRECIPITATION
24 hours through 5 p.m. yesterday
Trace
Record
1.23" in 1907
Month to date (normal)
Trace (0.08")
Year to date (normal)
0.66" (1.61")
Barometric pressure at 4 p.m.
29.91"
SUN, MOON AND PLANETS
Rise/Set
Today
Thu.
Sun
7:20am/5:18pm 7:19am/5:20pm
Moon
none/10:40am 12:33am/11:08am
Mercury 7:31am/6:15pm 7:24am/6:07pm
Venus
6:49am/4:10pm 6:49am/4:12pm
Mars
10:41am/1:08am 10:39am/1:07am
Jupiter
7:12am/4:52pm 7:08am/4:49pm
Saturn
6:56am/4:25pm 6:53am/4:22pm
Uranus 10:34am/12:27am 10:30am/12:23am
Last
New
First
Full
Feb 4
Feb 11
Feb 19
Feb 27
Tonight's sky: Orion, the hunter, climbs
across the southern sky this evening.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
UV INDEX TODAY
10 a.m.
Noon
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
1
1
1
0
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index ™ number,
the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low,
3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Very High; 11+ Extreme.
ROAD CONDITONS
For web cameras of our passes, go to
www.bendbulletin.com/webcams
I-84 at Cabbage Hill: Mostly cloudy today; a
snow shower during the afternoon.
US 20 at Santiam Pass: Chilly today; snow
showers totaling a coating to an inch.
US 26 at Gov't Camp: Snow showers today
totaling a coating to an inch.
US 26 at Ochoco Divide: Chilly today; a few
snow showers. Partial clearing tonight.
ORE 58 at Willamette Pass: Chilly today
with intermittent snow and fl urries totaling a
coating to an inch.
ORE 138 at Diamond Lake: Snow showers
today totaling a coating to an inch or two.
SKI REPORT
53°
27°
Times of clouds and sun
EAST: Chilly Wednes-
day; scattered snow
showers. Partial
clearing and cold at
night. Clouds and sun
Thursday.
CENTRAL: Mostly
cloudy Wednesday;
a few light rain and
snow showers. Partial
clearing and cold at
night.
WEST: A shower or
two Wednesday morn-
ing; a partly to mostly
cloudy afternoon.
Partly cloudy at night.
Astoria
47/38
Hood
River
NATIONAL WEATHER
-0s
Base
0-44
0-57
30-52
80-88
85-129
22-47
0-97
42-80
28-42
90-130
0-109
40-43
83-100
0s
10s
20s
30s
40s
50s
60s
70s
80s
90s
100s
110s
NATIONAL
EXTREMES
YESTERDAY (for the
Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
Rain
Showers
Snow
Flurries
Ice
Warm Front
Stationary Front
Cold Front
Source: OnTheSnow.com
Solar
Continued from A11
The farm will be on roughly
6 acres at OSU’s North Willa-
mette Research and Extension
Center in Aurora, 20 miles
south of Portland. It will in-
clude six sub-arrays of solar
panels, allowing researchers to
experiment with different con-
figurations and crops.
Three of the arrays will be el-
evated 9-12 feet off the ground,
allowing orchard-style equip-
ment to pass underneath, and
three will be partially elevated
on single-axis trackers, rotating
panels to face the sun through-
out the day.
”What we’re designing is a
system where we can try differ-
ent solar configurations, so we
can see what works best for ac-
cess to land,” Higgins said.
Managing sunlight is al-
ready promising benefits for
farmers. A 2015 study led by
Higgins analyzed the effect of
solar panels placed in a sheep
pasture near the main OSU
campus. Using meteorologi-
cal equipment and soil mois-
ture sensors, the lab found that
grass beneath the panels used
water 300% more efficiently
Bubble
Continued from A11
All the fervor has Wall Street
openly debating whether the
market is in a dangerous bub-
ble, after months of batting
away the possibility.
A bubble is what happens
when prices for something run
much, much higher than they
should rationally be: They’ve
been a regular occurrence
through history, going back to
tulips in the 17th century and
pets.com at the close of the
20th.
“It is a privilege as a market
historian to experience a major
stock bubble once again,” the
famed value investor Jeremy
Grantham, who has correctly
called several major market
turning points, wrote in a re-
cent paper.
To be sure, most professional
forecasters say the U.S. stock
market is not headed for a
crash, just slower returns than
OSU via Capital Press
Chad Higgins, an associate professor in the College of Agricultural Sci-
ences at Oregon State University.
and grew 90% more forage.
The study caught the atten-
tion of Dan Orzech, general
manager of the Oregon Clean
Power Cooperative, which has
built community solar proj-
ects for churches, local govern-
ments and other groups across
the state.
Orzech said the co-op de-
cided to partner with Higgins,
providing funding to buy and
install the solar arrays that will
later be repaid by selling the
electricity they generate.
”It’s kind of a unique con”-
fluence of different programs
coming together in one proj-
ect,” Orzech said.
The success of agrivoltaics
could be a boon for solar en-
ergy, spurring greater invest-
ment and land availability for
larger installations, Orzech said.
“What’s interesting to me
is this perception that solar
and agriculture are mutually
exclusive,” he said. “Everyone
just kind of assumes that was
the case, until recently when
(Higgins) and other research-
ers started demonstrating it
before. But those optimists are
having to do more work con-
vincing others.
Robert Shiller, a Yale profes-
sor who won a Nobel prize for
his work on explaining stock
price movements, said the
market looks vulnerable, but
he cautioned that some hall-
marks of a classic bubble aren’t
present today, such as investors
talking about a “new era” for
the economy. He also said that
it’s difficult to predict when the
market will run out of momen-
tum and turn lower.
“People often extrapolate
trends, and they go on longer
than you ever think,” he said.
“And then they disappear.”
Here’s a look at the causes
for concern driving the bubble
debate:
uary. Shares of the struggling
video game retailer have since
fallen, but they remain way be-
yond a price Wall Street ana-
lysts say is rational based on its
profit prospects.
Day-trading frenzy
— The most glaring exam-
ple of excess sweeping Wall
Street now is GameStop’s stock,
which soared 1,625% in Jan-
Cloudy; snow at night
Yesterday
City
Hi/Lo/Prec.
Abilene
71/42/0.00
Akron
31/25/0.06
Albany
27/20/0.39
Albuquerque
64/35/0.00
Anchorage
8/-3/0.00
Atlanta
47/33/0.00
Atlantic City
35/34/0.25
Austin
68/34/0.00
Baltimore
36/31/0.01
Billings
62/41/0.00
Birmingham
48/31/0.00
Bismarck
30/24/0.00
Boise
59/42/0.00
Boston
34/31/0.48
Bridgeport, CT 36/32/0.15
Buffalo
30/18/0.09
Burlington, VT
26/11/0.31
Caribou, ME
29/14/0.51
Charleston, SC 50/37/Tr
Charlotte
45/33/Tr
Chattanooga
45/31/0.00
Cheyenne
58/28/0.00
Chicago
33/21/0.00
Cincinnati
33/19/0.04
Cleveland
32/26/0.09
Colorado Springs 61/35/0.00
Columbia, MO
43/27/0.00
Columbia, SC
46/35/0.02
Columbus, GA
52/33/0.00
Columbus, OH
28/24/0.09
Concord, NH
34/27/0.22
Corpus Christi
70/37/0.00
Dallas
64/39/0.00
Dayton
30/16/Tr
Denver
65/27/0.00
Des Moines
24/9/0.00
Detroit
34/21/Tr
Duluth
22/18/Tr
El Paso
70/45/0.00
Fairbanks
-9/-12/0.00
Fargo
25/19/0.00
Flagstaff
52/35/0.02
Grand Rapids
36/18/0.00
Green Bay
34/18/0.00
Greensboro
41/31/Tr
Harrisburg
37/31/0.04
Hartford, CT
34/27/0.52
Helena
58/24/0.00
Honolulu
81/68/0.04
Houston
66/39/0.00
Huntsville
45/28/0.00
Indianapolis
33/20/0.00
Jackson, MS
51/28/Tr
Jacksonville
52/39/0.00
Today
Hi/Lo/W
78/58/s
29/12/pc
30/19/sf
63/38/c
16/10/c
49/29/s
35/31/pc
75/59/s
39/25/pc
38/22/sn
51/31/s
35/7/c
43/27/sh
35/28/sf
35/26/c
31/21/pc
30/24/sn
34/25/c
52/28/s
51/24/s
49/28/s
54/20/c
34/27/pc
36/23/s
29/17/pc
61/26/pc
51/41/pc
52/23/s
55/29/s
29/16/s
31/24/sn
75/63/s
69/58/pc
32/19/s
62/25/pc
40/34/pc
33/18/s
31/26/c
76/54/pc
-12/-17/sn
32/17/c
47/22/c
34/22/pc
30/24/pc
48/23/s
37/25/pc
33/24/c
39/27/pc
75/63/r
70/60/pc
48/29/s
34/24/pc
59/42/s
56/29/s
Amsterdam
Athens
Auckland
Baghdad
Bangkok
Beijing
Beirut
Berlin
Bogota
Budapest
Buenos Aires
Cabo San Lucas
Cairo
Calgary
Cancun
Dublin
Edinburgh
Geneva
Harare
Hong Kong
Istanbul
Jerusalem
Johannesburg
Lima
Lisbon
London
Madrid
Manila
48/41/r
65/48/pc
76/61/s
72/49/s
94/72/s
42/14/s
73/61/s
46/34/r
68/48/c
52/44/c
78/66/pc
84/65/s
81/58/s
12/5/sn
75/66/pc
48/42/c
37/34/r
54/41/c
77/64/t
71/63/s
58/48/pc
64/49/s
70/60/c
74/66/pc
60/51/sh
49/41/r
56/47/c
87/77/s
Thursday
Hi/Lo/W
69/34/c
36/31/c
33/17/s
49/25/pc
18/8/s
54/47/c
42/34/s
82/44/pc
43/30/pc
39/27/c
59/40/c
15/3/pc
45/32/c
38/23/s
39/28/s
35/29/pc
30/17/pc
31/14/c
56/45/pc
52/41/c
50/40/c
32/22/pc
37/13/i
41/24/r
38/29/c
38/20/sf
47/22/r
54/45/c
60/52/pc
38/26/r
36/11/s
83/56/s
71/38/c
38/23/r
38/21/pc
36/11/sn
34/25/sn
28/-1/sn
67/36/c
-12/-22/c
18/1/sn
40/14/pc
35/24/sn
35/13/i
50/38/pc
42/29/pc
36/17/s
38/30/c
76/63/pc
78/49/c
56/35/c
38/19/r
66/38/c
63/44/pc
City
Juneau
Kansas City
Lansing
Las Vegas
Lexington
Lincoln
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Louisville
Madison, WI
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Newark, NJ
Norfolk, VA
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Orlando
Palm Springs
Peoria
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Richmond
Rochester, NY
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
Santa Fe
Savannah
Seattle
Sioux Falls
Spokane
Springfi eld, MO
Tampa
Tucson
Tulsa
Washington, DC
Wichita
Yakima
Yuma
Yesterday
Hi/Lo/Prec.
23/16/0.24
42/24/Tr
32/11/0.00
68/45/0.00
33/19/0.01
32/23/Tr
46/27/0.00
71/54/Tr
39/25/Tr
31/18/Tr
43/31/0.00
65/52/0.00
33/23/0.00
24/21/Tr
42/29/0.00
57/42/0.00
33/30/0.28
34/30/0.24
39/34/0.06
60/33/0.00
30/21/Tr
55/41/0.00
80/58/0.00
26/22/0.00
36/30/0.18
82/57/0.00
30/23/0.02
32/26/0.64
38/33/0.21
45/35/Tr
55/17/0.00
57/42/0.03
41/32/0.02
30/24/0.21
59/50/0.28
40/28/Tr
50/28/0.00
66/39/0.00
67/58/0.00
61/54/0.53
61/52/0.05
61/27/0.00
54/38/0.00
46/41/0.89
28/20/Tr
50/38/Tr
46/20/0.00
54/47/0.00
76/56/0.00
59/31/0.00
37/32/0.15
57/34/0.00
50/37/0.01
81/60/0.03
Today
Thursday
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
31/27/sn 34/20/sn
55/43/pc
45/23/r
32/18/pc 34/23/sn
67/45/c
59/38/s
37/22/pc
43/26/r
45/30/pc 32/16/sn
55/43/pc 62/33/sh
66/49/pc
68/48/s
40/27/pc
45/27/r
30/24/pc
35/9/i
52/41/pc 60/31/sh
68/46/s
71/59/s
33/27/pc
37/15/i
33/30/c
33/4/sn
45/30/s
54/33/sh
61/48/s
72/55/pc
35/27/c
38/32/s
36/26/c
41/27/s
46/30/s
49/39/pc
62/50/pc 53/28/pc
43/31/pc 34/13/sn
60/34/s
67/44/pc
77/52/c
72/48/s
37/31/pc 39/14/sn
34/25/pc 40/29/pc
78/52/c
71/45/pc
31/14/c
37/31/pc
35/26/c
38/17/pc
34/28/sf
39/23/s
49/24/s
52/41/pc
52/19/sh 35/20/pc
43/22/c
43/26/s
47/22/s
51/36/pc
31/20/pc 37/26/pc
54/38/c
58/32/s
45/37/pc
47/23/r
41/28/sn 39/28/pc
74/58/s
79/46/s
64/51/c
65/46/s
56/44/c
57/43/s
57/40/pc
59/37/s
58/34/c
45/20/pc
55/30/s
59/47/pc
47/40/c
47/44/r
40/23/pc
26/8/sn
40/27/pc 38/31/sn
54/43/pc
53/25/r
60/40/s
66/51/s
79/50/c
69/40/pc
61/53/pc
57/29/c
40/27/pc 45/36/pc
57/40/pc 43/25/pc
48/30/pc
49/34/c
79/52/c
71/46/s
90/69/0.00
73/40/0.00
28/18/0.30
25/12/0.00
84/54/0.00
64/61/0.00
77/51/0.00
56/42/0.00
18/5/0.19
32/12/0.09
57/43/0.24
89/77/0.00
60/43/0.00
77/55/0.00
85/72/0.13
23/22/0.09
28/15/Tr
50/35/0.00
86/77/0.00
29/10/0.40
73/66/0.09
67/54/0.00
79/62/0.00
55/45/0.00
30/16/0.01
45/39/0.62
42/28/0.06
36/19/0.16
91/68/s
75/48/s
32/19/sf
25/22/sf
83/59/pc
68/57/pc
72/56/pc
46/31/pc
17/2/pc
29/15/sf
55/43/sh
89/77/s
61/53/pc
84/58/s
85/70/t
14/14/sf
37/19/s
58/43/s
87/76/c
25/18/c
74/67/pc
76/59/s
76/58/s
52/37/s
33/20/s
44/38/c
48/39/sh
39/33/c
INTERNATIONAL
48 contiguous states)
National high: 85°
at Gila Bend, AZ
National low: -12°
at Boulder, WY
Precipitation: 2.02"
at Plymouth, MA
T-storms
Increasing cloudiness
NATIONAL
Yesterday
Today Thursday
Yesterday
Today Thursday
Yesterday
Today Thursday
City
Hi/Lo/Prec. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
City
Hi/Lo/Prec. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
City
Hi/Lo/Prec. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
Astoria
48/41/0.45 47/38/c 47/43/c
La Grande
43/40/0.00 40/32/sf 43/38/c
Portland
49/46/0.26 48/38/r
48/43/c
Baker City
50/40/0.01 41/26/sf 42/32/c
La Pine
39/31/0.06 37/18/sn 43/25/c
Prineville
46/36/Trace 43/21/sn 43/35/c
Brookings
52/42/0.09 49/37/r
53/39/s
Medford
53/43/0.12 46/27/r
48/31/c
Redmond
47/36/Tr
43/20/sn 49/30/c
Burns
39/37/0.21 38/19/sf 40/29/c
Newport
50/43/0.21 48/36/r
48/42/c
Roseburg
52/43/0.14 49/32/r
48/36/c
North Bend
52/42/0.78 51/36/r
51/40/c
Eugene
51/42/0.13 49/35/r
50/40/c
Salem
50/44/0.18 48/35/r
49/41/c
Klamath Falls
42/35/0.02 37/16/sn 40/21/c
Ontario
61/44/0.06 45/28/sh 47/32/c
Sisters
44/34/0.00 40/21/sn 48/36/c
Lakeview
36/35/0.08 34/10/sn 35/17/c
Pendleton
50/42/0.07 45/36/sn 48/45/c
The Dalles
54/41/Tr
49/37/c 50/43/c
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice, Tr-trace, Yesterday data as of 5 p.m. yesterday
-10s
49°
24°
TRAVEL WEATHER
Umatilla
52/38
Rufus
Hermiston
46/38
52/39
49/37
Arlington
Hillsboro Portland
Meacham Lostine
50/36
48/35 48/38
38/32
Wasco
37/29 Enterprise
Pendleton
The Dalles
Tillamook
36/26
46/34
45/36
Sandy
49/37
McMinnville
49/37
Joseph
Heppner
La
Grande
44/38
Maupin
Government
47/34
40/32
35/24
Camp
46/32 Condon 44/36
Union
Lincoln City
42/30
34/30
41/30
Salem
48/39
Spray
Granite
Warm Springs
48/35
Madras
45/28
Albany
36/26
Newport
Baker City
44/25
45/25
Mitchell
48/36
48/34
41/26
Camp Sherman
40/25
Redmond
Corvallis
John
Yachats
Unity
39/23
43/20
49/33
Day
Prineville
47/37
40/27
Ontario
Sisters
43/21
Paulina
40/27
45/28
Florence
Eugene 40/21
Bend Brothers 39/21
Vale
49/37
49/35
40/22
36/18
Sunriver
47/30
Nyssa
37/20
Hampton
Cottage
La Pine
47/30
Juntura
Oakridge
Grove
37/18
37/19
OREGON EXTREMES Coos Bay
Burns
41/22
44/26
48/31
Fort
Rock
50/34
38/19
Riley
YESTERDAY
Crescent
38/17
36/21
High: 61°
36/16
Bandon
Roseburg
Christmas Valley
Jordan Valley
at Ontario
Beaver
Frenchglen
Silver
50/36
49/32
38/19
35/22
Low: 24°
Marsh
Lake
37/22
Port Orford
34/12
38/17
at Crater Lake
Grants
Burns Junction
Paisley
50/40
Pass
40/23
Chiloquin
38/15
47/30
Rome
Medford
36/17
Gold Beach
46/27
41/24
49/39
Klamath
Fields
Ashland
McDermitt
Lakeview
Falls
Brookings
39/19
42/27
37/16
35/17
49/37
34/10
Seaside
46/39
Cannon Beach
46/40
TUESDAY
50°
26°
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
In inches as of 5 p.m. yesterday
Ski resort
New snow
Anthony Lakes Mtn
0
Hoodoo Ski Area
0
Mt. Ashland
1
Mt. Bachelor
4
Mt. Hood Meadows
0
Mt. Hood Ski Bowl
0
Timberline Lodge
0
Willamette Pass
0
Aspen / Snowmass, CO
0
Mammoth Mtn. Ski, CA
0
Squaw Valley, CA
0
Park City Mountain, UT
0
Sun Valley, ID
0
MONDAY
OREGON WEATHER
Bend Municipal Airport through 5 p.m. yest.
High
Low
FRIDAY
No discounts to be found
— Perhaps more worrisome
is that prices have been soar-
ing across the stock market at
a much faster pace than cor-
porate profits. The two tend to
track each other over the long
term, so big dissociations give
pause.
IPOs
— Massive support from the
Federal Reserve means dollars
are sloshing around markets
looking for investments, and
young and money-losing com-
panies are rushing to take ad-
vantage by selling their stock
to the public for the first time.
Companies raised more than
$60 billion last year through
IPOs of their stock, the most
makes a lot of sense to com-
bine them.”
The solar farm is expected
to produce 700-800 kilowatts
of energy. OSU has already
committed to buying some of
the power, and Higgins is con-
fident more subscribers will
sign on.
“You get cheaper power than
you normally would, and in
doing so you’re getting green
energy, which is a good thing
for the environment,” Higgins
said. “And you’re helping to
support the research mission
of OSU, which is trying to help
growers and American family
farmers make more money,
and in the process meet our re-
newable energy targets.”
Higgins also hopes to show
how electricity generated by
solar arrays can be used to
electrify other aspects of farm-
ing operations. For example, he
said the power could go toward
running electric tractors or re-
place burning natural gas in
making nitrogen fertilizer.
“The plan is to slowly build
out to have a fully sustainable,
production-scale farm, and
build the blueprints for that,”
he said. “We’re not there yet,
but we’re damn close.”
since the dot-com bubble
peaked in 2000, according to
data compiled by Jay Ritter at
48/32/0.83
64/46/0.00
73/61/0.00
70/46/0.00
93/75/0.00
35/10/0.00
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36/29/0.10
66/50/0.00
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81/66/Tr
84/54/0.00
82/56/0.00
16/9/0.00
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49/41/1.01
37/34/0.55
50/41/0.74
73/63/0.12
79/65/0.00
59/50/0.01
66/49/0.00
63/53/0.72
80/67/0.00
61/55/0.22
55/38/0.73
55/46/0.02
88/75/0.00
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37/30/c
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68/59/pc
33/2/sn
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79/64/t
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56/43/t
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87/77/s
Water fees
Continued from A11
Even with the 17.39% fee
increase, the state water de-
partment would only recover
the equivalent of 2.5 full-time
positions, which means 6.33
positions would still be lost,
he said. The agency has also
left seven positions unfilled
during this biennium due to
lack of revenues.
The Oregon Farm Bureau
opposes HB 2142, arguing
that farmers have been hit
hard by the pandemic in
domestic and international
markets, which has already
affected their ability to pay
government fees.
“This is reflected in the fact
that we’re seeing fewer wa-
ter rights transactions,” said
Mary Anne Cooper, OFB’s
vice president of public pol-
icy. “People are unable to in-
vest in their farms.”
Though the Farm Bureau
supports a fully-functional
water resources department,
fees for water rights transac-
tions have risen repeatedly
over the past decade while
wait times for applicants have
just grown longer, she said.
“We’re just seeing fees go-
Bezos
Continued from A11
the University of Florida.
For all the worries, much of
Wall Street is still optimistic,
forecasting more gains ahead.
COVID-19 vaccines have
raised expectations that daily
life will get closer to normal
this year and return the econ-
omy to health. If earnings rise a
lot and stock prices make only
modest moves, prices would
look more reasonable, and
that’s precisely what much of
Wall Street expects to happen.
Then, there’s the Fed. Past
bubbles have popped after the
Federal Reserve started raising
interest rates in hopes of cool-
ing off an overheated economy
or markets. For now, the Fed
seems to be years away from
doing that. It’s even said for
the first time that it’s willing to
keep rates low for a while after
inflation tops its 2% target.
While MacKenzie drove,
Bezos wrote up the business
plan for what would become
Amazon.com. Bezos con-
vinced his parents and some
friends to invest in the idea,
and Amazon began operating
out of the Bezos’ Seattle ga-
rage on July 16, 1995.
Amazon has gone far be-
yond selling paperbacks. It
now produces movies, makes
sofas, owns a grocery chain
and even has plans to send
satellites to space to beam in-
ternet service to earth. The
company is one of the most
valuable in the world, worth
nearly $1.7 trillion.
Bezos’ riches have also
swelled: His stake in Amazon
is worth $180 billion.
Scrutiny from regulators
has also grown. Amazon and
other tech giants have en-
Mecca
Mexico City
Montreal
Moscow
Nairobi
Nassau
New Delhi
Osaka
Oslo
Ottawa
Paris
Rio de Janeiro
Rome
Santiago
Sao Paulo
Sapporo
Seoul
Shanghai
Singapore
Stockholm
Sydney
Taipei City
Tel Aviv
Tokyo
Toronto
Vancouver
Vienna
Warsaw
93/73/s
76/50/s
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15/3/s
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87/60/s
88/69/t
22/18/sf
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56/37/s
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55/36/pc
36/18/sn
ing up and up and up without
corresponding value to us-
ers,” Cooper said. “Our folks
really cannot afford a fee in-
crease in 2021.”
The Oregon Water Re-
sources Congress, which rep-
resents irrigation districts,
hasn’t yet taken a position on
HB 2142 but is also troubled
by rising government fees —
not only at OWRD, but also
at other state agencies.
“We need to find a better
way to fund this agency,” said
April Snell, the group’s execu-
tive director. “There needs to
be a discussion about how to
best fund not only the Water
Resources Department but
other natural resource agen-
cies.”
This sentiment was echoed
by members of the House
Water Committee, which is
considering the bill.
“I am appalled that this
is happening. I am appalled
this agency is having to gut
its staff,” said Rep. Brad Witt,
D-Clatskanie.
It’s tough for farmers to
support higher fees when
they don’t see an improve-
ment in agency performance,
said Rep. Mark Owens,
R-Crane.
joyed light-touch regulation
and star status in Washing-
ton for decades, but calls for
greater regulation are grow-
ing. A report by the House
Judiciary Committee in
October called for possibly
breaking up Amazon and
others, making it harder for
them to acquire companies
and imposing new rules to
safeguard competition.
Amazon is one of the last of
the biggest tech giants to have
a founder as CEO. Google’s
co-founders Larry Page and
Sergey Brin relinquished their
executive positions in parent
company Alphabet in 2019.
Oracle’s Larry Ellison stepped
down as CEO in 2014. Bill
Gates, who was Microsoft’s
CEO until 2000, kept a day-
to-day role at the company
until 2008 and served as its
chairman until 2014. Gates
left the board entirely last year
to focus on philanthropy.