A7
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021
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BRIEFING
State scrambles
as disabilities firm
plans closures
An Oregon company is
closing its group homes
and services for people
with intellectual and de-
velopmental disabilities
after years of state and
federal scrutiny for abuse
and neglect, state officials
said this week.
Advocates and a top
state official said Mentor
Oregon’s departure will
be the largest of its kind
in memory, and will likely
challenge Oregon’s al-
ready-strained disability
services system, The Ore-
gonian reported.
The closure means
1,300 people will need
new service providers
by Aug. 31. It’s unclear if
other case management
companies in Oregon
have the capacity to take
on Mentor’s workload.
“We’re not too focused
on ‘why,’ at this point,” Lilia
Teninty, director of Oregon
Developmental Disability
Services, said of Mentor’s
abrupt decision to leave.
Instead, she said, the state
is “focused on continuity”
for people receiving ser-
vices through Mentor.
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CENTRAL OREGON
Hundreds of workers are needed
BY SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
Central Oregon’s Walmarts
and more than 100 other em-
ployers are looking for hun-
dreds of workers to fill open
positions during a job fair on
Friday.
Mt. Bachelor ski area is look-
ing for dishwashers and driv-
ers with a commercial drivers
license and is willing to pay
$1,000 bonuses for anyone fill-
ing the position. In all, the ski
area seeks to fill 30 positions,
according to its website, from
cooks to servers to zip line
guides.
The summer season kicks
off Saturday .
And Medline ReNewal in
Redmond is looking to fill 30
entry-level positions at its re-
purposing facility.
“The job market for the
hourly workforce has been
tough throughout the past
year and has only gotten more
difficult as of late,” said Chris
Headley, Medline chief re-
cruiter, in an email.
Central Oregon’s labor
shortage was around before the
pandemic 15 months ago and
is back again as employers look
to add workers to meet the
demands of their businesses.
Economists predicted the Cen-
tral Oregon region would have
recovered all the jobs lost due
to the COVID-19 restrictions
put in place during the pan-
demic to thwart the spread of
the virus.
Deschutes County’s unem-
ployment rate in March was
6.6%, but added 1,880 jobs
since February, according to
Clatsop County
the state unemployment re-
port.
“If you drive down Third
Street in Bend you’ll see more
signs for hiring than not. It’s an
unprecedented area in staffing
needs,” said Chris Petty, Ex-
press Employment franchise
manager. “If we fill half the
positions we have, we’d set re-
cords.”
See Jobs / A8
BEND
MORATORIUM WEIGHED
ON VACATION RENTALS
Home
prices
decrease
slightly
BY SUZANNE ROIG
The Bulletin
Consumer prices
surge in May
American consumers
absorbed another surge
in prices in May — a 0.6%
increase over April and
5% over the past year, the
biggest 12-month infla-
tion spike since 2008.
The May rise in con-
sumer prices that the La-
bor Department reported
Thursday reflected a
range of goods and ser-
vices now in growing de-
mand as people increas-
ingly shop, travel, dine
out and attend entertain-
ment events in a rapidly
reopening economy.
The increased con-
sumer appetite is bump-
ing up against a shortage
of components, from lum-
ber and steel to chemicals
and semiconductors, that
supply such key products
as autos and computer
equipment, all of which
has forced up prices.
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Clatsop County may place a moratorium on new vacation rental licenses while
commissioners go over revisions to the rules. Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
BY NICOLE BALES • The Astorian
C
latsop County commissioners have unanimously supported a six-month moratorium on
new vacation rental licenses while the county reviews two ordinances that regulate short-
term rentals. The move comes after months of conversations and discussions on proposed
Unemployment
claims fall to 376K
revisions to the rules.
The number of Amer-
icans applying for unem-
ployment benefits fell for
the sixth straight week as
the U.S. economy, held
back for months by the
coronavirus pandemic,
reopens rapidly.
Jobless claims fell by
9,000 to 376,000 from
385,000 the week before,
the Labor Department
reported Thursday. The
number of people signing
up for benefits exceeded
900,000 in early January
and has fallen more or
less steadily ever since.
Still, claims are high by
historic standards. Before
the pandemic brought
economic activity to a
near-standstill in March
2020, weekly applications
were regularly coming in
below 220,000.
Commissioners agreed during
a work session in April to pause
work on the revisions after strife
in Cove Beach and Arch Cape.
During a work session in early
June, the board agreed a mora-
torium was the best way to move
forward while the county looks
at ways to revise and possibly
consolidate the ordinances.
The moratorium is expected to
begin in September, and the re-
view process could be completed
by February. The county has
scheduled two town hall meet-
ings in July to get public input on
the moratorium.
“What we would like to have
as the goal for any revisions that
we do end up making is develop-
ing a better balance between the
quality-of-life concerns and the
impacts that short-term rentals
can have on a residential neigh-
“What I saw was that the character of a
neighborhood was changing, and I wanted to do
something about it. We’ve all been working — I
want to say, groping — toward a solution since then.
I’ve seen some things that have given me hope.”
— Lianne Thompson, Clatsop County Commissioner
borhood,” Gail Henrikson, the
county’s community develop-
ment director, said. “But also
recognizing that there are in-
vestments that short-term rental
owners have made, and trying
to find a better balance between
the two.”
Both ordinances are similar,
but one is specific to Arch Cape,
while the other covers the re-
maining unincorporated parts of
the county. The key differences
deal with parking and length-of-
stay requirements.
The Arch Cape ordinance re-
quires a minimum seven-night
stay, and only one reservation
is allowed during a seven-day
period. Street parking is not al-
lowed.
There is no limit or mini-
mum-stay requirement for other
unincorporated areas, and street
parking is allowed.
See Rentals / A8
The median price of a Bend
single-family home took a
dip in May, but that’s not an
indication that the market is
softening; inventory is still low
and there’s still strong demand,
according to a monthly real es-
tate data report.
“One month does not
a trend make,” said Lester
Friedman, Coldwell Banker
Bain real estate broker. “We
often see this. When you’re
talking median price, it doesn’t
take many million-dollar sales
to put the median up higher. I
don’t think it means our prices
are going down. It was a mat-
ter of what the price range the
sales were. A lot of that has to
do with inventory. “
On May 1, 2020, there were
555 active listings, but on May
1, 2021, there were 160 active
listings, Friedman said.
“What’s happened is we have
people who want to buy in
Bend and there’s nothing for
them to buy,” he said. “That’s
why the pressure has been on
prices.”
Single-family home prices in
Redmond made gains, grow-
ing by $30,000 in May over
April and were up more than
$100,000 over May 2020, ac-
cording to the monthly sales
report.
The spike was spurred by a
third of the sales greater than
$500,000, according to the re-
port.
The Beacon Report showed
the median sales price of a
single-family home in Bend
dipped $23,000 from $651,000
in April to $628,000 in May.
Compared to May 2020, the
median price of a single-family
home in Bend is now $183,000
higher.
The median price is the mid-
point value of all transactions
in a month.
The number of sales in Bend
also leveled off in May to 228
sales, according to the Beacon
Appraisal Group LLC.
See Homes / A8
— Bulletin wire reports
WASHINGTON | COVID-19
‘Joints for jabs’ vaccine program is falling flat
BY GENE JOHNSON
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — It was designed
as an innovative way to pro-
mote COVID-19 vaccinations,
but Washington’s new “joints
for jabs” program is off to a
rough start.
Officials announced Mon-
day that the state’s nearly 500
licensed marijuana retailers
could begin hosting vaccine
clinics and offering a single,
free pre-rolled marijuana ciga-
rette to any 21-plus adult who
received a shot there.
It’s one of many vaccine
incentives being offered in
Washington, including free
pints of beer, sports tickets and
prize money to lure those who
have been hesitant or just lazy.
Washington and Colorado in
2012 were the first states to
legalize the adult use of mari-
juana, with regulated sales be-
ginning in 2014. The industry
brought Washington close to
$474 million in taxes in the last
fiscal year.
But few things are simple in
an industry that’s illegal under
federal law, and the hurdles to
offering the free joints are sub-
stantial enough that few of the
state’s legal pot shops are say-
ing they will participate, even if
they would like to do so.
Retailers told the state Li-
quor and Cannabis Board
during a meeting Wednes-
day that many don’t have the
space to host a vaccine clinic.
Some health care providers are
queasy about setting up a clinic
on the site of a marijuana busi-
ness because they don’t want to
jeopardize federal funding by
being involved in the distribu-
tion of an illegal drug.
And the program is set to
expire July 12 — too soon for
them to offer a second shot to
customers who might show up
for a first shot in mid- to late
June.
Ted S. Warren/AP file
A worker cleans a display case at the Ganja Goddess Cannabis Store in
Seattle in 2015. Washington is offering a coronavirus vaccine incentive
centered around the marijuana industry.