A12 The BulleTin • Thursday, March 4, 2021
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
TODAY
FRIDAY
TONIGHT
HIGH
62°
LOW
45°
Mild with sunshine and
some clouds
Breezy; rain changing to
snow at night
ALMANAC
SUNDAY
48°
29°
61°
31°
Partly cloudy
MONDAY
50°
31°
Intervals of clouds and sun
TUESDAY
50°
31°
Chance for a couple of
showers
Mostly cloudy
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday Normal
Record
64°
48° 69° in 1921
27°
26°
6° in 1912
PRECIPITATION
24 hours through 5 p.m. yesterday
0.00"
Record
0.66" in 1969
Month to date (normal)
0.00" (0.09")
Year to date (normal)
1.09" (2.71")
Barometric pressure at 4 p.m.
29.71"
SUN, MOON AND PLANETS
Rise/Set
Today
Fri.
Sun
6:37am/5:58pm 6:35am/5:59pm
Moon
none/9:41am 12:55am/10:19am
Mercury 5:33am/3:33pm 5:33am/3:33pm
Venus
6:33am/5:25pm 6:32am/5:28pm
Mars
9:33am/12:41am 9:31am/12:40am
Jupiter
5:36am/3:33pm 5:33am/3:30pm
Saturn
5:12am/2:48pm 5:09am/2:45pm
Uranus 8:38am/10:34pm 8:34am/10:30pm
Last
New
First
Full
Mar 5
Mar 13
Mar 21
Mar 28
Tonight's sky: Constellation Leo due south
around midnight.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
UV INDEX TODAY
10 a.m.
Noon
2 p.m.
4 p.m.
3
4
3
1
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 sunny today.
Clear tonight. Dry and mild Friday.
US 20 at Santiam Pass: Partly to mostly
cloudy today. Rain and snow Friday.
US 26 at Gov't Camp: Mild today with clouds
and sun. Rain and snow Friday.
US 26 at Ochoco Divide: Partly sunny today.
Windy and mild Friday with a shower.
ORE 58 at Willamette Pass: Sunshine and
patchy clouds today. Increasing cloudiness
tonight.
ORE 138 at Diamond Lake: Sun and clouds;
breezy today. Windy, mild Thursday.
SKI REPORT
EAST: Mostly sunny
and mild Thursday.
Fair and chilly tonight.
Partly sunny, windy
and milder Friday.
NATIONAL
Hood
River
Yesterday
Today
Friday
Yesterday
Today
Friday
Yesterday
Today
Friday
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
48/32/0.00 52/46/r
50/40/r
La Grande
50/26/0.00 53/43/s 54/34/pc
Portland
59/34/0.00 60/45/sh 52/41/r
Baker City
55/24/0.00 51/32/s 53/33/pc
La Pine
58/20/0.00 55/33/s 52/25/pc
Prineville
64/23/0.00 66/47/pc 52/34/c
Brookings
52/35/0.00 55/48/r
50/39/r
Medford
67/31/0.00 68/43/s 57/37/r
Redmond
67/23/0.00 64/42/pc 61/31/c
Burns
51/23/0.00 56/27/s 60/29/pc
Newport
45/30/0.00 53/44/r
49/39/r
Roseburg
61/34/0.00 67/46/pc 51/38/r
Salem
56/32/0.00 59/44/sh 49/38/r
Eugene
55/37/0.00 62/43/sh 50/38/r
North Bend
50/37/0.00 57/47/r
51/40/r
Sisters
64/26/0.00 64/43/pc 61/33/r
Klamath Falls
61/16/0.00 54/34/s 55/28/pc
Ontario
55/26/0.00 54/32/s 62/38/s
The Dalles
62/32/0.00 61/38/pc 57/39/r
Lakeview
57/18/0.00 51/32/s 54/29/pc
Pendleton
65/33/0.00 71/54/s 70/41/pc
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
NATIONAL WEATHER
-10s
-0s
0s
10s
20s
30s
40s
50s
60s
70s
80s
90s
100s
110s
NATIONAL
EXTREMES
YESTERDAY (for the
T-storms
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
Les Schwab
Continued from A11
Les Schwab Tire Centers is
among Oregon’s largest busi-
nesses, with annual sales ap-
proaching $2 billion and 500
stores across 10 western states.
Its headquarters are in Bend
and its lone distribution center
remains in nearby Prineville,
Schwab’s hometown.
Meritage didn’t disclose
what it paid for the Oregon
company, but when Schwab
Tire announced plans to
sell the business in 2019,
Bloomberg reported that
Schwab’s heirs were hoping
the business would fetch $3
Rental rules
Continued from A11
The Arch Cape ordinance
requires a minimum sev-
en-night stay, and only one
reservation is allowed during
a seven-day period. Street
parking is not allowed. There
is no limit or minimum stay
requirement for other unin-
corporated areas, and street
parking is allowed.
Commissioners directed
staff to set parameters and a
scope of work for a committee
to help combine and reconcile
the two ordinances.
“Those would be the two
big areas where we would
need to have a committee to
look at it and determine how
Vacasa
Continued from A11
The Portland company
says it can outperform com-
petitors by using technology
to dynamically adjust rental
prices for busy periods, which
makes rental properties more
expensive for vacationers but
more profitable for the homes’
owners.
Vacasa has raised about $630
million over the past several
years, including a $108 million
investment round last spring.
It had 6,000 employees prior to
the pandemic, most of them in
vacation destination markets
where local crews maintain
and clean vacation homes be-
tween rentals.
Yesterday
City
Hi/Lo/Prec.
Abilene
75/40/0.00
Akron
58/28/0.00
Albany
43/18/0.00
Albuquerque
63/29/0.00
Anchorage
20/4/0.00
Atlanta
65/39/0.30
Atlantic City
50/31/0.00
Austin
73/35/0.00
Baltimore
59/24/0.00
Billings
57/32/0.00
Birmingham
64/39/0.24
Bismarck
62/26/0.00
Boise
60/32/0.00
Boston
48/23/0.00
Bridgeport, CT 51/28/0.00
Buffalo
39/26/Tr
Burlington, VT
30/17/0.06
Caribou, ME
29/4/0.00
Charleston, SC 60/44/1.59
Charlotte
65/39/Tr
Chattanooga
67/38/Tr
Cheyenne
58/28/0.00
Chicago
59/36/0.00
Cincinnati
62/26/0.00
Cleveland
54/32/0.00
Colorado Springs 60/30/0.00
Columbia, MO
71/35/0.00
Columbia, SC
64/41/0.40
Columbus, GA
67/41/0.24
Columbus, OH
60/25/0.00
Concord, NH
38/16/0.00
Corpus Christi
69/42/0.00
Dallas
70/36/0.00
Dayton
62/27/0.00
Denver
63/28/0.00
Des Moines
63/29/0.00
Detroit
57/31/0.00
Duluth
42/24/0.00
El Paso
74/34/0.00
Fairbanks
1/-8/0.02
Fargo
43/22/0.00
Flagstaff
55/15/0.00
Grand Rapids
50/31/0.00
Green Bay
45/28/0.00
Greensboro
63/30/0.00
Harrisburg
60/23/0.00
Hartford, CT
49/21/0.00
Helena
55/27/0.00
Honolulu
80/69/0.14
Houston
69/41/0.00
Huntsville
61/35/0.01
Indianapolis
62/28/0.00
Jackson, MS
62/34/0.00
Jacksonville
55/48/0.70
Today
Hi/Lo/W
77/49/pc
35/21/pc
32/14/pc
56/33/c
19/12/s
69/43/s
46/29/s
74/52/pc
48/26/s
57/34/s
71/45/s
56/29/s
59/36/s
39/20/s
43/25/pc
29/18/pc
25/12/pc
21/2/s
69/43/s
68/35/s
69/40/s
46/27/sn
40/28/pc
50/26/s
34/23/pc
45/31/sn
64/37/s
71/39/s
71/44/s
42/22/pc
33/14/s
74/61/pc
72/52/s
46/24/s
41/29/sn
49/28/s
38/20/pc
34/21/s
69/44/pc
8/0/s
43/24/s
47/23/sf
39/19/pc
35/19/s
62/32/s
46/25/pc
39/18/pc
52/28/s
79/67/pc
71/52/s
68/38/s
50/26/s
70/43/s
71/43/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
44/31/r
63/47/s
72/60/t
79/54/pc
91/78/pc
52/31/s
59/53/pc
43/28/c
64/50/pc
61/39/pc
80/68/t
84/59/pc
69/50/pc
48/30/pc
82/73/sh
43/38/c
41/31/sh
59/39/sh
76/60/pc
73/68/sh
50/41/s
51/47/pc
80/61/s
78/69/pc
60/51/r
44/35/c
61/43/s
90/77/s
Friday
Hi/Lo/W
60/42/c
35/22/s
27/14/s
61/34/s
26/24/sn
64/43/pc
40/31/s
78/52/pc
44/26/s
57/34/s
65/41/pc
64/32/s
63/40/s
33/18/pc
38/26/s
32/20/pc
21/9/sn
20/4/c
61/41/s
58/35/s
58/37/pc
53/30/s
45/26/s
45/25/s
34/24/s
54/29/pc
53/31/pc
62/40/s
67/44/pc
41/24/s
26/11/pc
80/54/c
65/46/c
43/24/s
54/32/s
53/31/pc
41/22/s
40/23/s
68/42/s
15/-4/c
45/29/pc
54/26/s
40/20/s
42/19/s
53/29/s
42/28/s
33/18/s
56/34/pc
78/68/sh
72/54/t
60/36/pc
46/25/s
68/44/pc
68/50/s
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.
38/33/0.28
71/35/0.00
51/29/0.00
67/44/0.00
59/23/0.00
69/25/0.00
68/33/0.00
58/48/0.16
65/29/0.00
51/23/0.00
63/31/0.00
86/69/0.00
52/36/0.00
50/26/0.00
64/32/0.00
63/44/0.02
52/31/0.00
52/27/0.00
57/32/0.00
69/29/0.00
66/27/0.00
75/65/0.47
66/48/Tr
61/31/0.00
55/29/0.00
86/49/0.00
55/26/0.00
37/14/0.00
49/24/0.00
63/34/0.00
63/29/0.00
56/29/0.00
60/30/0.00
44/22/0.00
66/39/0.00
71/39/0.00
63/32/0.00
71/38/0.00
63/49/0.57
64/48/0.00
70/46/0.00
62/22/0.00
62/46/1.71
56/35/0.00
62/27/0.00
57/30/0.00
68/30/0.00
73/66/0.17
83/45/0.00
71/39/0.00
60/30/0.00
69/31/0.00
60/25/0.00
73/48/0.00
Today
Hi/Lo/W
41/34/pc
69/41/s
36/17/s
68/47/s
52/25/s
60/35/s
68/44/s
65/51/s
57/32/s
37/17/pc
69/48/s
79/64/pc
36/25/s
42/26/s
66/38/s
67/48/s
44/24/pc
44/25/pc
55/34/pc
68/46/pc
59/33/s
73/52/s
76/53/s
52/27/s
46/26/pc
69/51/pc
36/20/pc
34/16/s
42/21/s
64/34/s
56/28/s
62/33/s
56/29/pc
28/16/pc
68/42/s
61/34/s
56/35/r
74/56/pc
66/50/s
63/48/pc
67/43/s
52/28/c
72/46/s
57/46/r
55/29/s
57/37/pc
67/45/s
72/56/s
67/45/pc
69/48/s
52/29/s
66/46/pc
60/37/pc
72/47/s
Friday
Hi/Lo/W
41/33/sn
58/35/c
40/19/s
74/50/s
45/23/pc
58/32/pc
58/38/sh
75/49/s
50/28/pc
42/18/s
58/40/c
79/68/pc
40/26/s
45/26/s
56/34/pc
70/52/pc
37/26/s
39/26/s
47/34/s
53/37/r
58/32/pc
77/59/s
82/54/s
51/26/s
41/29/s
82/61/s
36/23/s
27/12/pc
35/21/s
53/32/s
62/29/s
65/35/pc
49/27/s
30/18/s
67/45/pc
51/33/pc
61/41/s
79/53/s
69/54/s
64/48/pc
68/46/pc
59/28/s
66/46/s
52/41/r
60/33/pc
59/37/pc
51/31/c
78/62/s
82/57/s
56/36/r
45/31/s
56/38/r
59/35/c
81/49/s
87/68/0.00
79/55/0.00
32/16/0.18
37/27/0.02
83/59/0.00
84/70/0.00
86/55/0.00
51/37/0.00
37/25/0.02
30/16/0.12
64/43/0.04
88/75/0.00
61/37/0.00
88/59/0.00
86/70/0.05
30/9/0.02
49/27/0.00
54/35/0.19
90/77/0.00
44/30/0.02
70/59/0.02
67/55/0.03
63/52/0.33
51/41/0.00
45/27/0.00
50/39/0.01
48/25/0.00
45/30/0.00
84/61/s
81/55/s
20/10/pc
37/20/sn
79/60/t
79/66/t
90/60/s
62/50/pc
38/22/s
19/6/s
55/37/c
88/76/s
60/44/pc
91/59/s
83/69/t
37/32/s
54/32/c
60/45/pc
90/78/pc
36/22/s
78/65/s
73/63/sh
63/55/pc
55/49/pc
28/16/s
52/45/c
57/39/pc
44/28/pc
90/69/s
83/53/s
19/7/c
30/17/c
81/61/c
78/68/pc
88/60/pc
59/52/c
37/23/s
19/7/c
44/30/pc
91/77/pc
59/46/c
84/58/s
78/68/t
44/22/pc
58/36/s
60/49/sh
90/78/pc
33/21/s
73/64/pc
81/64/pc
67/51/pc
58/51/pc
32/19/pc
50/41/sh
42/25/r
39/24/pc
INTERNATIONAL
48 contiguous states)
National high: 87°
at Pompano Beach, FL
National low: -13°
at Crested Butte, CO
Precipitation: 1.44"
at Macon, GA
In inches as of 5 p.m. yesterday
Ski resort
New snow
Base
Anthony Lakes Mtn
0
0-100
Hoodoo Ski Area
0
0-95
Mt. Ashland
0
61-66
Mt. Bachelor
0
113-123
Mt. Hood Meadows
0
0-184
Mt. Hood Ski Bowl
0
79-104
Timberline Lodge
0
186-186
Willamette Pass
0
0-80
Aspen / Snowmass, CO
0
44-59
Mammoth Mtn. Ski, CA
0
60-105
Squaw Valley, CA
0
0-110
Park City Mountain, UT
0
58-70
Sun Valley, ID
0
82-101
Cloudy with a couple of
showers possible
TRAVEL WEATHER
Umatilla
71/48
Rufus
Hermiston
61/38
71/49
65/42
Arlington
Hillsboro Portland
Meacham Lostine
63/41
57/43 60/45
52/40
Wasco
54/40 Enterprise
Pendleton
The Dalles
CENTRAL: Sunny to
Tillamook
53/40
63/36
71/54
Sandy
61/38
McMinnville
56/46
partly cloudy, breezy
Joseph
Heppner
La
Grande
60/45
Maupin
Government
58/45
and mild Thursday.
53/43
52/41
Camp
65/40 Condon 68/53
Union
Fair and cool Thursday Lincoln City
60/42
52/37
53/41
Salem
53/45
Spray
night. Windy Friday.
Granite
Warm Springs
59/44
Madras
64/40
Albany
51/33
Newport
Baker City
68/45
69/50
Mitchell
53/44
60/44
51/32
WEST: Thickening
Camp Sherman
57/40
Redmond
Corvallis
John
Yachats
Unity
clouds Thursday. Pe-
64/42
64/42
59/42
Day
Prineville
53/29
riods of rain Thursday 53/45
Ontario
Sisters
66/47
Paulina
57/37
54/32
night into Friday;
Florence
Eugene 64/43
Bend Brothers 55/34
Vale
areas of fog.
57/47
62/43
62/45
52/33
Sunriver
57/31
Nyssa
58/41
Hampton
Cottage
La Pine
60/32
Juntura
Oakridge
Grove
55/33
53/32
OREGON EXTREMES Coos Bay
Burns
56/29
65/44
65/46
Fort
Rock
57/47
56/27
Riley
YESTERDAY
Crescent
55/32
57/34
High: 67°
53/33
Bandon
Roseburg
Christmas Valley
Jordan Valley
at Medford
Beaver
Frenchglen
Silver
56/48
67/46
55/32
52/34
Low: 16°
Marsh
Lake
55/35
Port Orford
50/30
54/34
at Klamath Falls
Grants
Burns Junction
Paisley
55/48
Pass
63/30
Chiloquin
56/36
69/44
Rome
Medford
53/37
Gold Beach
68/43
65/33
54/47
Klamath
Fields
Ashland
McDermitt
Lakeview
Falls
Brookings
56/28
63/48
54/34
53/28
55/48
51/32
Seaside
53/46
Cannon Beach
52/47
48°
24°
A couple of showers
possible
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Astoria
52/46
WEDNESDAY
49°
26°
OREGON WEATHER
Bend Municipal Airport through 5 p.m. yest.
High
Low
SATURDAY
billion.
The decision to stop pay-
ing the dividend represents a
major cultural test for Schwab
Tire and its new ownership. Its
bonus and dividend structure
differentiated it from other re-
tail chains and have been an
essential element of its work-
place culture.
Employees, who asked not
to be named speaking about
their company, noted that the
$3,000 dividends represent a
hefty share of their annual in-
come. Tire dealers nationally
pay an average annual wage
of about $45,000, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It’s not clear whether
Schwab Tire will create an al-
ternative to the dividends to
replace the lost income.
“Our employees are the
heart of our Company, and
we continually modernize
and optimize our programs to
ensure they remain competi-
tive and highly valued by our
workforce,” Dale Thompson,
Les Schwab’s chief marketing
officer, said in a written state-
ment Tuesday.
“It’s absolutely our inten-
tion to provide our employees
with outstanding programs,
in keeping with the generous,
special company Les Schwab
is,” Thompson said. He did
not say whether the company
will continue paying the sep-
arate, annual profit-sharing
bonus.
Schwab Tire delivered the
news about cutting off the
employee dividend in a larger
note thanking them for their
work last year and setting the
date for their annual bonus
and for their final, 2020 divi-
dend payment.
“Our 2020 accomplish-
ments are a direct result of
your consistent delivery of
World Class Customer Service
in the face of what was one
of the most challenging years
we’ve ever had,” Cuniff, the
CEO, wrote. “You are the Les
Schwab difference.”
best to reconcile,” Henrikson
said. “Whether it’s taking one
of the ordinance provisions
and recommending that to be
adopted or just creating some
sort of compromise between
the two ordinances.”
The board’s guidance on
other questions could be
drafted as amendments. Some
of those questions include
whether there should be a
“three-strikes rule” — requir-
ing staff to revoke a vacation
rental permit after three com-
plaints — and penalties for
people who knowingly submit
false complaints.
Some policy items were
provided as a starting point
for future discussions, includ-
ing questions about capping
short-term rentals, prohibit-
ing them in certain parts of
the county and how the lodg-
ing tax is utilized.
Henrikson said those items
will not be included in the re-
visions to the ordinances at
this time.
“It was so clear to me
how much everybody who
wrote cared about this issue,”
said Commissioner Lianne
Thompson, who represents
south county. “Every single
person has this passionate de-
votion to community well-be-
ing. There is not a consen-
sus on what that community
well-being looks like, how it’s
defined, none of it. There’s no
agreement.
“My concern about estab-
lishing a committee would be
it would have to have a pur-
view where it looked at what
was state law, what were the
sidebars. I’ve seen some things
with citizen advisory commit-
tees that have caused me great
concern.
“There have been a number
of proposals that have been
in clear violation of state law
and have been termed ‘aspi-
rational.’ Well, I don’t have an
aspiration to break the state
law, and I think it doesn’t help
the situation when anybody
thinks that their will or their
whim or their idea or their
passion, however we want to
characterize it, can have the
force of state law or county or-
dinance.”
Bend-based Meredith Lodg-
ing maintains 700 homes, in
destinations along the Oregon
Coast and in Central Oregon.
In its complaint, filed Wednes-
day in U.S. District Court in
Eugene, Meredith alleges that
Vacasa sales representatives
have been badmouthing the
smaller competitor to its clients.
Meredith states that Va-
casa representatives have been
cold-calling vacation prop-
erty owners who contract with
Meredith. The Bend company
alleges that Vacasa’s represen-
tatives spread falsehoods about
the cleanliness of Meredith’s
properties and how it manages
negative reviews, then asks
them to switch to Vacasa.
“Our primary objective re-
ally is to stop Vacasa from
engaging in this untoward
business practice,” said Annie
Robertson, Meredith’s chief le-
gal officer. “This damages our
reputation to call people and
say negative things about our
company.”
Meredith said it wants the
court to stop Vacasa from
“falsely advertising,” and to pay
attorney fees and unspecified
damages from lost revenue
damage to the brand and other
costs. Robertson said that Va-
casa had inquired previously
about acquiring the Bend com-
pany, but that Meredith made
it clear it wasn’t interested.
Meredith asked Vacasa to
stop with the cold calls before
filing Wednesday’s lawsuit, ac-
cording to Robertson, but she
said the Portland company
refused. She said the dispute
illustrates the issues that arise
when one large business gains
a big share of any market.
“We’re starting to see that
with these vacation rental
management companies.
They’re being consolidated and
rolled up into larger organi-
zations,” Robertson said. She
said Vacasa and other big play-
ers are making the vacation
management business more
difficult for small companies
and more expensive for vaca-
tioners.
“That has an impact on
competing businesses,” Robert-
son said, “and that has an im-
pact on consumers.”
47/35/0.04
63/43/0.00
75/65/0.26
79/55/0.00
93/81/0.00
49/30/0.00
62/57/0.08
57/27/0.00
64/51/0.00
61/25/0.00
82/74/0.00
82/62/0.00
63/51/0.00
46/30/Tr
88/64/0.00
44/39/0.00
39/36/0.38
55/36/0.00
74/57/0.03
69/63/0.02
50/34/0.00
54/44/0.18
77/54/0.00
82/72/0.00
66/48/0.00
48/39/0.17
57/44/0.00
90/79/0.00
44/30/pc
65/52/pc
74/61/pc
72/49/s
93/78/t
45/26/sh
66/52/s
42/25/pc
65/49/t
52/26/r
78/62/s
83/60/pc
72/51/s
53/31/pc
81/73/pc
43/33/pc
42/31/pc
52/33/r
78/58/pc
75/70/sh
58/48/s
57/41/s
82/61/s
78/69/pc
61/50/sh
43/31/pc
64/41/pc
91/77/s
$17-an-hour
Continued from A11
The hourly minimum goes
up every year under provisions
of a bill passed in 2016, rising
to $14 an hour this summer
in the Portland area. It will
increase to $12.75 an hour in
Deschutes County and to $12
in Crook, Jefferson and other
nonurban counties around the
state.
Oregon’s minimum wage is
due to increase to $14.75 an
hour in 2022 in the Portland
area, $13.50 an hour in De-
schutes County and $12.50
in Crook, Jefferson and other
nonurban counties. As of July
1, 2023, it would be adjusted
annually based on the con-
sumer price index.
House Bill 3351 would do
away with regional differences
and set a $17 minimum as of
July 1, 2022. Annual increases
based on inflation would con-
tinue thereafter.
Economists have long de-
bated the effect of higher min-
imum wages on inflation and
employment. The conventional
wisdom that higher minimums
Robot
Continued from A11
“It was challenging, no doubt
about it, but at the same time, it
was also exciting in a way,” My-
int said of opening a restaurant
during a pandemic. “We love
problem-solving, and it gives
you a sort of motivation or push
to try harder.
“We have to keep evolving
and changing and coming up
with new things to sort of forge
ahead of everybody.”
The robots — Milo, Navi and
the Beast — also teleport cus-
tomers to a future built on effi-
ciency and limited contact.
Bistro Royale uses mapping
software to tell the robots where
to go throughout the restaurant.
Once the software is set up, the
robots use markers on the ceil-
ing to navigate between tables
and provide takeout orders
for customers or to-go drivers.
They also have motion detec-
tion cameras to weave between
people.
Myint is so interested in the
potential of robots in the food
service industry that he has his
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
would lead to major job losses
was tested over the past several
years, as Washington, Oregon
and many other states raised
their minimum wages while
unemployment fell to an all-
time low in the period before
the pandemic.
However, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office
concluded last month that a
Democratic proposal to in-
crease the federal minimum
wage from $7.25 to $15 an
hour over the next five years
would reduce employment by
1.4 million jobs. The research-
ers also found that raising the
federal minimum would lift
900,000 out of poverty and
raise incomes for as many as 27
million Americans.
Democrats had hoped to
include the federal minimum
wage hike in the coronavirus
relief package now working its
way through Congress but that
appears unlikely. Senate rules
would require at least 60 votes
to accomplish that and Repub-
licans — who control half the
chamber — are unanimous in
their opposition to raising the
minimum that high.
own restaurant robotic com-
pany, called Bottica Inc. The
business also serves retailers,
hotels and hospitals, he said.
Despite his love for the ma-
chines, Myint wants to be clear
that he does not think they can
— or should — fully replace hu-
man servers.
“In the robotic industry,
there’s a lot of worry about ro-
bots taking jobs away,” he ex-
plained. “They’re like a cell-
phone, right? You have your
cellphone as a tool. So, we’re us-
ing them as a tool to sort of am-
plify what they do best.”
Myint said his employees
have loved having the robots
around, and that they have
learned “super-valuable knowl-
edge as the future moves for-
ward with this technology.”
For people in Asian countries,
robots at restaurants may not be
new, but Myint says his custom-
ers are usually surprised to see
Milo moving from table to table.
“He’s a celebrity,” Myint said
with a chuckle. “We have fam-
ilies just come here for Milo. I
guess he’s getting more popular
than the restaurant.”