A7
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021
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BRIEFING
Biden: U.S. will
have 600M vaccine
doses by July
BETHESDA, Md. —
President Joe Biden said
Thursday that the U.S. will
have enough supply of
the COVID-19 vaccine by
the end of the summer
to inoculate 300 million
Americans.
Biden made the an-
nouncement at the
sprawling National Insti-
tutes of Health complex
just outside Washington
as he visited some of the
nation’s leading scientists
on the front lines of the
fight against the disease.
The U.S. is on pace to
exceed Biden’s goal of
administering 100 mil-
lion vaccine doses in his
first 100 days in office,
with more than 26 million
shots delivered in his first
three weeks.
Biden announced on
Thursday that the U.S.
had secured contractual
commitments from Mod-
erna and Pfizer to deliver
the 600 million doses of
vaccine by the end of July
— more than a month
earlier than initially antic-
ipated.
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Jobless claims fall
slightly to 793K
WASHINGTON — The
number of Americans
seeking unemployment
benefits fell slightly last
week to 793,000, evi-
dence that job cuts re-
main high despite a sub-
stantial decline in new
viral infections.
Last week’s total de-
clined from 812,000 the
previous week, the Labor
Department said. That
figure was revised higher
from the previously re-
ported 779,000. The num-
bers point to a still-ele-
vated number of layoffs.
EURO
$1.2131 +.0002
UNEMPLOYMENT IN OREGON
Extension of benefits easiest to manage
BY PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
As Congress starts work on President
Joe Biden’s proposals to extend pan-
demic unemployment benefits, the act-
ing director of the Oregon Employment
Department says straightforward exten-
sions that are on the table will be easier
to manage than new programs.
But David Gerstenfeld also said he
and counterpart agencies in other states
would like as much lead time as possi-
“One of the problems we face is the timing of knowing what the program
is and being able to get guidance from the Department of Labor before the
benefits are supposed to be paid.”
— David Gerstenfeld, acting director of the Oregon Employment Department
ble to prepare for any changes and avoid
interruptions in benefit payments.
States pay benefits but the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor oversees them.
The latest extensions, which Con-
gress approved at the end of December,
are scheduled to end March 13.
Oregon pays:
• Federal benefits for self-employed
and gig workers under a program
WHEN PIGS FLY
AND CHICKENS
CROSS THE WORLD
Courtesy of Aviagen/via Capital Press
Chickens are the largest category of live animals traded globally,
but overall, trade in live animals is a colossal $21 billion industry
Pendleton makes
top-10 list of True
Western Towns
PENDLETON — The
city of Pendleton has
been named one of the
nation’s “Top 10 True
Western Towns” by True
West Magazine, accord-
ing to a press release.
Pendleton was named
the No. 6 community in
the 2021 list, and will be
featured in the February/
March 2021 issue, which
is scheduled to hit news-
stands on Tuesday, Feb.
16. Prescott, Arizona, took
the top spot.
“The Pendleton
Round-Up is one of those
Pacific Northwest events
that you have to attend,”
said True West Execu-
tive Editor Bob Boze Bell.
“But the town is more
than that — with a living
heritage that brings the
Old West alive. There’s no
question: Pendleton is a
Top True Western Town.”
p
known as Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance.
These workers did not qualify for any
benefits until they were included for the
first time in the coronavirus relief act in
the spring.
• Federal benefits, on top of 26 weeks
of regular benefits from the state unem-
ployment trust fund, under a program
known as Pandemic Emergency Unem-
ployment Compensation.
See Jobless / A8
PORTLAND
Brewer lays
out plans
for 2 new
locations
Upright Brewing also
plans to drift from
farmhouse-ales focus
BY ANDRE MEUNIER
The Oregonian
Pigs on planes
Putting hogs on an airplane is a “lo-
gistical headache,” said Doug New-
com, vice president of genetics and
technology at the National Swine Reg-
istry.
“You couldn’t pay me to export ani-
mals,” said Newcom.
Upright Brewing, the subter-
ranean brewery near Portland’s
Rose Quarter, is planning two
expansion projects that would
haul it out of a longtime base-
ment home that’s cozy — but
cramped and hard to find.
At the same time, founder
and owner Alex Ganum said,
Upright will also continue to
branch out its offerings — ac-
celerating a shift in focus from
farmhouse ales to other tradi-
tional Old World styles.
Upright will close its current
taproom and open a cafe and
taproom on the first floor of its
current location. And Upright
will open a second taproom
in a vacant former northeast
Portland gas station. Ganum
said the satellite bar would be
“a neighborhood spot, really
low key and modest, with a TV
for Blazer games, a couple food
carts onsite” and possibly oper-
ating as a coffeehouse.
Both locations will include
the farmhouse ales Upright
built its name on, but will also
include two cask taps. The cask
offerings reflect a shift: Upright
has specialized in mixed- and
wild-fermentation beers with
a French and Belgian influ-
ence, but those will give some
ground to an array of tradi-
tional pub styles drawing from
places like Germany and the
United Kingdom, Ganum said.
“We’ve been focused on
farmhouse (beers) for so long,
but we have been making less
over the years and branch-
ing out into more traditional
beers,” he said .
See Animals / A8
See Upright / A8
Courtesy of Tony Clayton/via Capital Press
A 2017 shipment of cows aboard a ship.
BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN • Capital Press
W
hen day-old chicks cross the world, they usually travel in boxes packed inside a Boeing or
Airbus wide-body jet. Tufts of yellow fluff poke through air holes. Against the roar of the
cargo plane, there’s a chorus of peeping.
In 2019, according to Renan
Zhuang, an economist at the USA
Poultry & Egg Export Council, Amer-
ica exported 62 million chicks and 79
million dozen hatching eggs world-
wide valued at $595 million.
Chicks were shipped to Canada,
Mexico, Indonesia, Guatemala, Viet-
nam and elsewhere to serve as breeding
stock for the meat and egg industries.
Nicolo Cinotti, secretary general of
the International Poultry Council in
Rome, said these breeders are “essen-
tial” to ensuring an adequate poultry
supply in many regions of the world.
Chickens are the largest category of
live animals traded globally, but over-
all trade in live animals is a colossal
— and growing — $21 billion indus-
try. According to the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization,
in 2017, more than 1.9 billion live ani-
mals were shipped worldwide, a 140%
increase from two decades ago.
But the industry is wrought with
conflicts and controversies, ranging
from disease restrictions and logistical
hurdles to calls for bans on live animal
transports deemed inhumane. Some
experts say the industry isn’t going
away, but it can and should be made
better.
— Bulletin wire reports
United: Small electric air taxis
will zip people to airports
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — United Air-
lines said Wednesday it will
buy up to 200 small electric air
taxis to help customers in ur-
ban areas get to the airport.
The airline said it will help
electric-aircraft startup Ar-
cher develop an aircraft capa-
ble of helicopter-style, vertical
takeoffs and landings. Archer
hopes to deliver its first aircraft
in 2024, if it wins certification
from the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration.
United said once the aircraft
are flying, it and partner Mesa
Airlines will acquire up to 200
that would be operated by an-
The airline said it will help
electric-aircraft startup
Archer develop an aircraft
capable of helicopter-
style, vertical takeoffs and
landings.
other company.
According to an Archer pre-
sentation to investors, the or-
ders are worth $1 billion with
an option for $500 million
more.
Archer’s aircraft are designed
to fly under battery power for
up to 60 miles at speeds of up
to 150 mph.
The company plans to
launch service in congested
areas close to airports. United
estimated the air taxis could
shuttle people from Hollywood
to Los Angeles International
Airport at about half the car-
bon emissions per passenger.
Cowen analyst Helane
Becker said Archer’s aircraft
could operate between New
York City and United’s hub
operation at Newark Liberty
Airport in New Jersey, or from
downtown Chicago to O’Hare
Airport, allowing airline cus-
tomers to avoid traffic.
Trade commission finds imports
don’t hurt blueberry farmers
BY DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Imported blueberries are not se-
riously injuring U.S. growers and
don’t pose a threat to them, the
U.S. International Trade Commis-
sion concluded Thursday.
A coalition of blueberry grow-
ers, including those represented
by the Oregon, Washington and
California blueberry commis-
sions, had sought trade relief.
“We are certainly very disap-
pointed with the ITC decision,”
American Blueberry Growers
Alliance spokeswoman Emily
Vander Weele said. “We’ll move
forward as an alliance.”
See Blueberries / A8
George Plaven/Capital Press file
A harvester shakes loose ripe blueberries. The U.S. International
Trade Commission on Thursday rejected claims that foreign
blueberries are seriously injuring U.S. farmers.