A11
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
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BRIEFING
Biden raises vehicle
mileage standards
The Biden adminis-
tration is raising vehicle
mileage standards to
significantly reduce emis-
sions of planet-warming
greenhouse gases, revers-
ing a Trump-era rollback
that loosened fuel effi-
ciency standards.
A final rule issued
Monday would raise mile-
age standards starting
in the 2023 model year,
reaching a projected in-
dustrywide target of 40
miles per gallon by 2026.
The new standard is 25%
higher than a rule final-
ized by the Trump admin-
istration last year and 5%
higher than a proposal by
the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency in August.
The new mileage rules
are the most ambitious
tailpipe pollution stan-
dards ever set for passen-
ger cars and light trucks.
The standards also will
help expand the market
share of zero emissions
vehicles, the adminis-
tration said, with a goal
of battery electric and
plug-in hybrid vehicles
reaching 17% of new ve-
hicles sold in 2026. EVs
and plug-in hybrids are
expected to have about
7% market share in 2023.
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Oregon to join national opioid settlement
BY ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — Oregon, one of the last
holdout states in joining a $26 billion
settlement with the three largest distrib-
utors of opioids and drugmaker John-
son & Johnson, is on the verge of sign-
ing on, the state’s attorney general said
Monday.
The state had argued with cities and
counties over disbursement of Oregon’s
expected $329 million share and how
much should go to attorneys fees. But
agreement is now “imminent,” said At-
torney General Ellen Rosenblum.
The national settlement, which
would be the second-biggest in U.S. his-
tory, would address damage wrought by
opioids.
As of just over one week ago, at least
45 states had signed onto the settlement
or signaled their intent to, and at least
4,012 counties and cities had confirmed
participation, according to plaintiffs’ at-
torneys.
The three drug distributors — Amer-
isourceBergen, Cardinal Health and
McKesson — and Johnson & Johnson
agreed in July to pay the combined $26
billion to resolve thousands of state and
local government lawsuits. But if the
defendants feel there’s a lack of partici-
pation by states and local jurisdictions,
it could cause them to back away from
the landmark agreement, or eventually
reduce the settlement amount.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers, who have been
working the settlement on the national
level and urging cities, counties and
states to sign on, applauded the break-
through in Oregon.
“As more communities join in from
each state, the greater the funds these
communities will receive,” lawyer Joe
Rice said Monday. “This national settle-
ment is the most efficient way to bring
urgently needed resources into com-
munities, with funds being delivered as
early as April 2022.”
In exchange for the payout, par-
ticipating states, counties and cit-
ies would have to drop any lawsuits
against the defendants and agree not
to sue them in the future for the opi-
oid epidemic.
See Opioids / A13
PORTLAND
MALL REMODEL?
Workers OK pact
at Burgerville
Workers at five Burger-
ville locations have voted
to ratify a labor contract,
making them the nation’s
first fast-food employees to
be covered by a collective
bargaining agreement.
“Burgerville has always
valued employees and in-
vested in their wellbeing.
As the first in the fast food
restaurant industry to of-
fer affordable health care
to employees in 2006, it’s
no surprise to be the first
with a union contract,”
Burgerville CEO Jill Taylor
said in a statement. “What
a great new chapter in
our 60-year history.”
The new deal includes
provisions for a three-
month set schedule, paid
vacation and parental
leave, new “just cause” re-
quirements for workers fac-
ing discipline or firing, and
job safety improvements,
according to the Industrial
Workers of the World.
Burgerville employs
roughly 800 people across
39 locations in Oregon
and southwest Washing-
ton. The new labor con-
tract expires May 1, 2023.
Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian photos, file
A nearly empty Lloyd Center in Portland is seen in this Nov. 2 photo.
LLOYD CENTER MAY KEEP ICE RINK,
SOME SHOPPING, DEVELOPER SAYS
BY ELLIOT NJUS • The Oregonian
A Seattle-based developer said Monday
it was taking on a revamp of Portland’s
troubled Lloyd Center mall.
Urban Renaissance Group said it would
partner with KKR Real Estate Finance Trust,
the New York lender that announced plans to
repossess the Portland shopping center ear-
lier this year. Last week, the company placed
advertisements in the Portland Business
Journal soliciting tenants for the mall.
The developer said Lloyd Center would re-
main open for now, and its long-term plans
remain unclear. Urban Renaissance Group
said it planned to consult with current ten-
ants, neighbors and city officials.
But, the company’s Portland market leader
said, the site’s long-term future likely includes
shopping and preserving the mall’s center-
piece ice rink, or at least a version of it.
“We know many Oregonians have fond
memories of Lloyd Center, and we take se-
riously our responsibility for making sure
it continues to be a community gathering
place,” Tom Kilbane, the company’s manag-
ing director for Portland, said in a statement.
“As we begin the planning process, our am-
bition is to embrace and preserve features of
the property that make it special, including
retail, creative work spaces and ice skating.”
See Lloyd Center / A13
LEFT: A couple of skaters took to the rink before most of the stores were open for business at the Lloyd Center in Portland on Nov. 2. CENTER: Joe Brown’s
Caramel Corn is a longtime tenant at the Lloyd Center. RIGHT: A man sits in a chair on the second floor of the nearly empty Lloyd Center.
Moderna: booster
works on omicron
Moderna said Monday
that a booster dose of its
COVID-19 vaccine should
offer protection against
the rapidly spreading
omicron variant.
Moderna said lab tests
showed the half-dose
booster shot increased
by 37 times the level of
so-called neutralizing
antibodies able to fight
omicron.
And a full-dose booster
was even stronger, trig-
gering an 83-fold jump in
antibody levels, although
with an increase in the
usual side effects, the
company said.
While half-dose shots
are being used for most
Moderna boosters, a full-
dose third shot has been
recommended for people
with weakened immune
systems.
Moderna announced
the preliminary labora-
tory data in a press re-
lease and it hasn’t yet un-
dergone scientific review.
But testing by the
U.S. National Institutes
of Health, announced
last week by Dr. Anthony
Fauci, found a similar
jump.
— Bulletin wire reports
WASHINGTON
OREGON
Apple industry grapples
with shipping woes
New business growth soars
BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash. —
Faced with a snarl of export
challenges, Washington state’s
apple industry is pivoting to
focus on what Todd Fryhover,
president of the Washington
Apple Commission, calls the
“home court” — the U.S., Can-
ada and Mexico.
Experts say the global ship-
ping crisis, combined with tar-
iff disputes, will reduce exports
for the 2021-22 crop.
According to the Northwest
Horticultural Council, Wash-
ington exported, on average,
31.36% of its apple crop an-
nually in the five years leading
up to COVID. Of the 2019-
20 crop, 28.3% was exported.
That fell to 25.9% in 2020-21.
This year’s export market is
even worse. According to the
state apple commission, export
shipments this month are 16%
to 17% lower than during the
same time last year.
“If this continues through
the whole season, we’ll have
the lowest exports since 2003-
2004,” said Rebecca Lyons, the
commission’s international
marketing director.
In recent years, major export
markets have included Mexico,
Canada, the Middle East, In-
dia, Taiwan, Central America,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Vietnam and Thailand.
See Apples / A13
BY MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
New business formation climbed sharply
in Oregon as the pandemic recession eased,
with entrepreneurs leaping in to start new
companies this year at an unprecedented
rate.
Oregonians started an average of 4,100 busi-
nesses each month over the past year, an in-
crease of more than 25% from the same period
in the 12 months before the pandemic, accord-
ing to U.S. Census Bureau data. That’s the fast-
est pace in the 17 years for which the govern-
ment has Oregon numbers.
It might seem surprising that people choose
to take a big risk — starting a new business
— during a time of upheaval. Some Oregon
businesses, especially bars and restaurants that
endured intermittent shutdowns during the
pandemic’s first year, have now closed perma-
nently.
But entrepreneurs recognize recessions as
opportunities, too, when old business models
are under stress and new ones emerge.
“Entrepreneurs have always thrived in the
unknown,” said Amanda Oborne, president of
the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. “These
massive disruptions are just an incredible time
to rethink, reinvest, to start something, to look
at something with fresh eyes.”
And federal pandemic aid, in the form of
business grants and personal stimulus pay-
ments, may have provided capital for people to
set out on their own.
Other metrics tell similar stories.
The share of self-employed Oregonians fell
sharply in March and April but rebounded al-
most immediately to pre-pandemic levels, ac-
cording to data from the Oregon Employment
Department. A similar picture played out na-
tionally.
And venture capital, the money entrepre-
neurs use to pursue especially ambitious ideas,
is soaring to its highest level since the dot-com
era.
See Growth / A13