A7 B USINESS THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021 p DOW 32,619.48 +199.42 BRIEFING Schep Building in Bend sells for $3.5M The Schep Building, lo- cated on Bend’s west side, has been purchased by Bend Commercial Glass & Door for $3.55 million. The building, located at 1004 SW Emkay Drive, had an asking price of $4.15 million. The seller, Jacob Schep, was repre- sented by Brian Fratzke, the principal at Fratzke Commercial Real Estate Advisors. The 18,430-square- foot building has a flex design and is named after Schep, who had it built in 1993. Bend Commercial Glass & Door will be the sole occupant of the building, which will be updated with help from LB Engineering and Kell- con Construction. p bendbulletin.com/business q Oil industry group backs federal price on carbon Investors pour $1.5M into area startup NASDAQ 12,977.68 +15.79 p S&P 500 3,909.52 +20.38 BY MATTHEW DALY AND MATTHEW BROWN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The oil and gas industry’s top lob- bying group on Thursday endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming, a reversal of longstanding pol- icy that comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address cli- mate change. The American Petroleum Institute, whose members include ExxonMobil, Chev- ron and other oil giants, an- p 30-YR T-BOND 2.33% +.02 nounced the shift ahead of a virtual forum Thursday by the Interior Department as it launches a months-long re- view of the government’s oil and gas sales. The institute also called for fast-tracking commercial deployment of long-sought technology to capture and store carbon emissions, as well as federal regulation of methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas wells, after strongly resisting such regulations proposed by the Obama administration. See Carbon / A8 q CRUDE OIL $58.56 -2.62 q q GOLD $1,724.90 -8.00 SILVER $25.02 -.18 BY MICHAEL KOHN The Bulletin Charlie Riedel/AP file Pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, New Mexico in 2015. Sunriver Resort seeks summer hires Sunriver Resort is looking for 400 men and women to hire for its summer season. Some positions will start at $17 an hour. An in-person hiring fair will be held on April 14 at the Homestead Building at the resort. An application is online at www.sunriv- erresort.com and appli- cants are asked to bring a resume. Part-time and full- time seasonal positions include: culinary and housekeeping staff, marina, golf services and shop attendants, green- skeepers, guest services, spa-service providers, pool and recreation ambassadors, food and beverage and manage- ment. With the Memorial Day weekend opening of the newly expanded Cove Aquatic Center, lifeguards, front desk, food service and culinary staff will also be needed. State discloses virus outbreak An outbreak at Pacific Seafood in Warrenton is tied to eight coronavirus cases. The cases were dis- closed by the Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday . The investi- gation began on March 9, according to the health authority, and the most recent onset was March 14. “It’s been concerning to see the rising cases of COVID-19 in our commu- nity and unfortunately eight of our workers were impacted,” Brandie Hogg, the vice president of hu- man resources for Pacific Seafood, said in a state- ment. “Thankfully, five have already recovered and returned to work while others recuperate at home. “We’re looking forward to our upcoming on-site vaccination clinic for all workers (and household members 18+) and to start being able to put the pandemic behind us. Pacific Seafood remains vigilant in all COVID-19 mitigation efforts and continues to operate in accordance with all CDC (Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention) guid- ance.” — Bulletin staff and wire reports This satellite image shows the cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal Thursday Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS via AP LOSSES MOUNT FROM CARGO VESSEL STUCK IN THE SUEZ CANAL BY JON GAMBRELL AND SAMY MAGDY The Associated Press Suez Canal Authority via AP A backhoe tries to dig out the keel of the Ever Given, a Pana- ma-flagged cargo ship, that is wedged across the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in the vital waterway. An operation is underway to try to work free the ship, which further imperiled global shipping Thurs- day as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear. EURO $1.1779 -.0041 ISMAILIA, Egypt — Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free a giant cargo ship wedged in Egypt’s Suez Canal on Thursday. More than 150 vessels are now backed up, with hundreds more headed to the vital waterway, and losses to global shipping are mounting. The skyscraper-sized Ever Given, carrying cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. Even helped by high tides, authorities have been unable to push the Panama-flagged container vessel aside, and they are looking for new ideas to free it. In a sign of the turmoil the blockage has caused, the ship’s Japanese owner even offered a written apology. “We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. “We would like to apologize to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.” As efforts to free it resumed at daylight Thurs- day, an Egyptian canal authority official said work- ers hoped to avoid offloading containers from the vessel as it would take days to do so and extend the closure. The official spoke on condition of ano- nymity as he wasn’t authorized to talk to journal- ists. So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel along- side it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal’s sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it. However, satellite photos taken Thursday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the vessel still stuck in the same location. See Stuck / A8 Instashowing, a web-based application that helps real es- tate brokers schedule their home showings, has raised $1.5 million in an initial round of funding. William Schoeffler, the 22-year-old Bend-based entre- preneur who created the ap- plication, built Instashowing mainly during the lockdown and quarantine months of 2020. He was simultaneously studying online at the Univer- sity of Oregon, working toward a bachelor’s degree in business. Instashowing is integrated with the Multiple Listings Ser- vice, known as MLS, a tool that helps connect listing brokers with brokers who work with homebuyers. The investment group that put money into Instashowing includes Pete Flint, founder of real estate listings company Trulia, and Greg Schwartz, chief executive of fintech startup Tomo. “Local agents and brokers covet a digital home touring tool which is independent from the big real estate plat- forms and is innovative and growing,” said Schwartz. “In- stashowing does that, provid- ing great digital tools which will delight homebuyers and agents alike.” Schoeffler employs six peo- ple and said the funding will be used to hire more employ- ees and expand services. His goal is to have 250,000 real es- tate agents using his platform within 12 months. Reporter: 541-617-7818, mkohn@bendbulletin.com State still bars debt collectors from relief money BY JAMIE GOLDBERG The Oregonian The state of Oregon is con- tinuing to bar creditors and debt collectors from seizing federal stimulus payments sent to Oregonians. A bill introduced by Ore- gon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat, earlier this month would have shielded stimulus payments that U.S. taxpayers in all jurisdictions received under the latest coronavirus relief bill from being claimed by debt collectors. But his bill was blocked last week. That means that in many parts of the country, debt col- lectors have the right to seize some or all of the $1,400 in relief that the federal gov- ernments is paying out. That money started being depos- ited in bank accounts last week. But most Oregonians won’t have to worry about their re- lief payment being seized. Gov. Kate Brown issued an order in April preventing creditors and debt collectors from seizing federal stimulus money sent to Oregonians. See Debt / A8