A11
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021
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BRIEFING
UScellular offers
emergency grants
UScellular is offering
$50 off per month to eli-
gible customers through
the Federal Communi-
cations Commission’s
Emergency Broadband
Benefit Program to help
households struggling
to afford internet service
during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Eligible customers
can received $50 off per
month or $75 a month
for those living on tribal
lands. To qualify custom-
ers must qualify for a free
or reduced-price lunch
program, receive federal
Pell Grants in the current
year, experience a loss of
income since February.
For more information
and to confirm eligibility,
visit www.uscellular.
com/plans/emergency
-broadband-benefit
-program.
Seattle 1st big city
to fully vaccinate
Seattle Mayor Jenny
Durkan said Wednesday
that 70% of city residents
ages 12 and up have
been fully vaccinated,
which she said makes Se-
attle the first major U.S.
city to hit the COVID-19
milestone.
Durkan’s office also
said 78% of the Seattle
population 12 and older
has started the vaccina-
tion process.
“Seattle is America’s
most vaccinated major
city, and it would not
have been possible with-
out our residents’ com-
mitment to protecting
themselves, their loved
ones, and our entire
community,” Durkan said
in a statement. “Now that
we have reached com-
munity protection, we
can lead the nation in
safely reopening and re-
covering in earnest.”
She urged Seattleites
to support local small
businesses, help revive
its arts and cultural scene
and enjoy the Seattle
summer safely.
Now that it has
reached the 70% fully
vaccinated goal, the city
and its partners will start
launching efforts to re-
open Seattle’s, Durkan
said.
Fire destroys much
of Oregon resort
A fire has destroyed
much of a resort on the
Rogue River in Southern
Oregon, authorities said.
The Rural Metro fire
department in Josephine
County confirmed the
fire around 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday at the Galice Re-
sort west of Grants Pass,
The Statesman Journal
reported.
Local, state and fed-
eral agencies responded
to put out the blaze. The
resort’s restaurant, store
and boat shed burned,
while the lodge may
have been less impacted,
authorities said.
Oregon forestry of-
ficials said the blaze
spread to the wildland,
igniting five small fires
around the property and
that helicopters and a
plane were used in addi-
tion to firefighting on the
ground to stop the fire
from spreading. Fire offi-
cials said no injuries were
reported.
Galice Resort has
been at the center of
Rogue River rafting and
outdoor culture. It has a
restaurant overlooking
the river, cabins for rent,
and offers shuttles, river
trips and rentals.
— Bulletin wire reports
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OSU to build $20M dairy processing facility
BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
CORVALLIS — Oregon
State University announced
Tuesday it will build a new $20
million dairy processing facil-
ity using private investments,
state bonds and university
funding.
The new, 3,000-square-foot
dairy plant — three times the
size of OSU’s existing facilities
— will be used as a research
laboratory and hands-on class-
room for students and faculty,
an educational space for the
community, an incubator for
dairy startups, a space where
creameries statewide can test
new products and a retail shop
selling products such as ice
cream made on site.
“I’m thrilled. It’s truly a
dream come true,” said Lisbeth
Goddik, head of OSU’s De-
partment of Food Science and
Technology. “We’ve wanted
to provide the very best edu-
cational opportunities for our
students, and this will allow us
to do that. I think it’ll also have
a really broad impact on our
industry, because it’ll make it
faster and cheaper to develop
new products.”
This year is devoted to plan-
ning and design. Construction
will likely begin summer 2022
and take about a year.
The facility will be in OSU’s
Withycombe Hall, which orig-
inally housed a dairy in 1952.
Robin Frojen, OSU’s current
creamery manager, said she’s
excited to restore the building
“back to its creamery glory.”
More than a dozen outside
groups invested in the renova-
tion. The three lead outside do-
nors were Tillamook County
Creamery Association, North-
west Farm Credit Services and
the Oregon Dairy Nutrition
Council.
Alan Sams, dean of the Col-
lege of Agricultural Sciences,
said about $3 million comes
from private donations, $3
million from state bonds and
the remainder from university
funds. Additional fundraising
is underway.
See OSU dairy / A12
Oregon State University via Capital Press
Oregon State University students make cheese in this photo supplied by
the university. The upcoming $20 million facility will provide opportuni-
ties for students, Oregon’s dairy industry and the broader community.
Ski areas rebound despite
COVID-19 restrictions
Skiers enjoy opening day of the ski season in Aspen, Colorado, in November. Skier visits to U.S. resorts totaled 59 million this winter season, the fifth best on record, according to
the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association. A visit is considered the use of a lift ticket for any part of the day. Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times via AP file
BY THOMAS PEIPERT
Associated Press
D
ENVER — Ski areas across the
United States experienced a strong
rebound this winter despite pub-
lic health restrictions put in place
amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Skier visits to U.S. resorts totaled 59 mil-
lion for the season, the fifth best on record,
according to the Colorado-based National
Ski Areas Association.
“What a year it has been,” said Kelly Paw-
lak, association president and CEO. “From
utter uncertainty to a top-10 season in terms
of participation, it shows the wide spectrum
that our industry bridged this year.”
The Pacific Northwest region, comprised
of Oregon and Washington, experienced a
record season for skier visits, the association
said, and the Rocky Mountain region had its
second best.
Resorts across the country were forced to
close in spring 2020, and many mountain
communities were disproportionately af-
fected by COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
The U.S. ski industry lost at least $2 billion
that winter, and skier visits fell 14% com-
pared with the 2018-2019 season. U.S. ski
areas tallied about 51.1 million visits in the
shortened season. A visit is considered the
use of a lift ticket for any part of the day.
But about seven months later, chairlifts
Throwback handheld video game
system Playdate going on sale soon
BY MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
A highly anticipated video
game system from a Portland
technology company will be avail-
able for preorder next month,
more than a year late after pan-
demic-related delays.
The $179 Playdate video game
system is a handheld gadget with
a black-and-white screen, a small
controller and a crank on the side.
Boutique Portland software devel-
oper Panic announced the prod-
uct two years ago, anticipating a
launch early in 2020.
The retro gadget triggered
enormous interest in the tech and
video game communities, but the
Playdate endured a protracted de-
lay amid a shutdown at the Malay-
sian factory making the device in
the early days of the pandemic.
See Playdate / A12
started turning again, and guests embraced a
new normal while skiing and snowboarding.
They wore masks, rode lifts only with their
groups, and stood 6 feet apart in lines, or
about the length of a typical ski. There was
no dine-in service and no large gatherings for
apres-ski drinks.
Vail Resorts, which owns 34 resorts in the
United States and Canada, went a step fur-
ther by requiring reservations.
But even with the restrictions, skiers and
snowboarders weren’t deterred, and 78% of
ski area operators said this season exceeded
their expectations, according to a National
Ski Areas Association survey.
Curbside glass recycler
fined $1 million for
air quality violations
Associated Press
Mike Rogoway/The Oregonian
The Playdate video game system being developed by Portland
company Panic. “Of course there’s some degree of nostalgia out
front,” said the company’s CEO, Cabel Sasser.
See Ski / A12
PORTLAND — The Oregon
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality has fined the state’s
largest glass container recycler
over $1 million for repeated air
quality violations.
The agency said last week it
had issued a $1.03 million fine
to Owens-Brockway, a subsidi-
ary of glass manufacturing giant
O-I Glass Inc., The Oregonian
reported. The state said the fine
was issued after the company
repeatedly failed to adhere to
the emissions standards re-
quired under its permit.
“O-I is aware of the an-
nouncement and is currently
reviewing the scope but cannot
provide comment on pending
regulatory or legal matters,”
O-I Glass spokesperson Jim
Woods told the newspaper in
an email.
This is the ninth time that
Owens-Brockway has been
fined by the state for air qual-
ity violations since 2004. While
the state could revoke the com-
pany’s permit for ongoing vio-
lations, Oregon depends heav-
ily on Owens-Brockway to be
able to recycle glass containers.
Owens-Brockway’s Portland
plant is the only large glass
container manufacturing plant
in Oregon, according to Harry
Esteve, a spokesperson for the
Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality.
See Recycler / A12