A11
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022
p
DOW
35,160.79 +249.59
BRIEFING
Drug company
settles ahead
of opioid trial
Drugmaker Endo Phar-
maceuticals has agreed to
pay the city of San Fran-
cisco $10 million over its
role in selling prescription
opioids in the city.
City Attorney David
Chiu announced the set-
tlement Wednesday, five
days before a trial is to
begin of the city’s claims
against the drug industry
over the toll of opioids.
Chiu said Endo, the
maker of the prescription
painkiller Percocet, is to
pay $5 million this year
and another $5 million
over the next decade,
with the money being
used to fight the opioid
epidemic.
The Malvern, Pennsyl-
vania-based company
has agreed to nearly $300
million worth of settle-
ments of opioid claims
with U.S. government en-
tities since 2019, accord-
ing to an Associated Press
tally. One of them, for $25
million, came just this
week with Alabama; that
was announced along
with about $250 million
in agreements between
the state and other com-
panies.
An Endo spokesper-
son did not immediately
respond to requests for
comment from The Asso-
ciated Press.
The San Francisco trial
is scheduled to open
in U.S. District Court on
Monday with claims in-
volving the drugmakers
Allergan and Teva, distri-
bution company Anda
and pharmacy chain Wal-
greens.
It’s among the first
wave of federal cases
chosen for trial.
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CASH-ONLY TARGETS | POT SHOPS
Robberies fuel calls for banking bill
BY GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press
SEATTLE — A surge in robberies at
licensed cannabis shops — including a
pistol-whipping, gunshots and killings in
Washington state last month — is helping
fuel a renewed push for federal banking
reforms that would make the cash-depen-
dent stores a less appealing target.
“It makes absolutely no sense that le-
gal businesses are being forced to operate
entirely in cash, and it’s dangerous — and
sometimes even fatal — for employees be-
hind the register,” Washington Sen. Patty
Murray, the third-ranking Democrat in
the Senate, wrote in a statement .
Although 18 states have legalized the
recreational use of marijuana, and 37 al-
low its medical use, it remains illegal un-
der federal law. Because of that, big banks
and credit card companies have long been
reluctant to work with the industry, leav-
ing the businesses heavily reliant on cash
and making them attractive marks for
robbers.
Twin secu-
rity cameras
and a video
screen film
the front
door at Mary
Mart, a mar-
ijuana store
in Tacoma,
Washington.
Ted S. Warren/AP
See Pot shops / A12
FARMWORKERS
ADS ON NETFLIX?
Password freeloaders
ARE IN PERIL
Brown
signs
overtime
pay bill
BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
123RF
United Airlines
loses $1.4B in Q1
United Airlines re-
ported Wednesday that
it lost $1.38 billion in the
first quarter of 2022 but
said it expects to return
to profitability in the cur-
rent three-month period
as post-pandemic travel
ramps back up.
The Chicago-based
airline posted revenue of
$7.67 billion in the quar-
ter that ended March 31.
That was down 21% from
the first quarter of 2019.
The airline is still run-
ning fewer flights than
before the pandemic. But
it said it had reopened all
of its lounges, resumed
19 international routes
and restarted services
to six cities that haven’t
been served since the
pandemic began.
Shares in United
Airlines Holdings Inc.
jumped almost 8% in af-
ter-hours trading follow-
ing the earnings report.
The number of miles
flown by paying passen-
gers fell 27% from a year
earlier. However United is
flying with roughly 73%
of its available seats full.
While not as high as the
81% of all seats before
the pandemic, it is much
better than it was in
2021 first quarter, when
roughly half of all seats
were filled with paying
passengers.
The airline appeared
optimistic that its pan-
demic-related losses were
behind it. United said it
expects to post a profit
for the second quarter
and for the full year 2022.
“The demand envi-
ronment is the strongest
it’s been in my 30 years
in the industry … we’re
now seeing clear evi-
dence that the second
quarter will be an historic
inflection point for our
business,” United Airlines
CEO Scott Kirby said .
p
As shares plunge, Netflix takes aim at password sharing
BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE • AP Technology Writer
S
AN FRANCISCO — A sharp drop in subscribers sent Netflix shares
into freefall Wednesday, forcing the company to consider experimenting
with ads and — hold onto your remote — cracking down on millions of
freeloaders who use passwords shared by friends or family.
Looming changes announced
200,000 subscribers during the
late Tuesday are designed to
January-March quarter, the
Did
help Netflix regain mo-
first contraction the service
you know?
mentum lost over the past
has seen since it became
year. Pandemic-driven
available throughout most
Netflix, the Los Gatos, California,
lockdowns that drove
of the world other than
company estimates that about
binge-watching have
China six years ago. The
100 million households worldwide
lifted, while deep-pock-
drop stemmed in part
are watching its service for free by
eted rivals such as Apple
from Netflix’s decision
using the account of a friend or
and Walt Disney have
to withdraw from Russia
another family member,
including 30 million in the
begun to chip away at its
to protest the war against
U.S. and Canada.
Ukraine, resulting in a loss
vast audience with their
of 700,000 subscribers.
own streaming services.
See Netflix / A12
Netflix’s customer base fell by
Drone maker flying high in the Gorge
Insitu, founded in
1994, produces
aircraft for militaries
BY SARAH WOLF
The Columbian
BINGEN, Wash. — In the
Columbia River Gorge, in the
small town of Bingen, is In-
situ — a business crafting un-
manned aircraft systems for
militaries across the globe.
Founded in 1994, it was
created by engineers with the
thought of making miniature
robotic aircraft, said Patrick
Host, spokesman. On Aug.
21, 1998, Laima — a drone
designed by Insitu — became
the first unmanned aircraft to
cross the North Atlantic.
Today, the company — a
Boeing subsidiary — cre-
ates remote-piloted aircraft
that can provide surveillance,
maritime surface searches
and target identifications, as
well as security for ports, wa-
terways and coastal areas.
“The Gorge is a great loca-
tion for Insitu because Port-
land International Airport is
an hour away and we also do
our flight testing and train-
ing in Eastern Oregon,” said
Host. “There is also a regional
(unmanned aerial vehicle) in-
dustry here, and many Insitu
suppliers are based in the Co-
lumbia Gorge.”
Another reason the found-
ers chose to put their drone
business in the Gorge was
that one of the company’s
founders liked windsurfing.
Insitu regularly secures con-
tracts from the U.S. military.
In March, the Navy awarded a
$21.35 million contract to In-
situ to provide aircraft and air-
frame components.
Insitu, which employs more
than 1,000 people worldwide,
deployed its first ScanEagle
for the U.S. Marine Corps in
Iraq in 2004. In 2010, it pro-
vided the ScanEagle to its first
European customer, Poland.
And in 2018, Insitu added sat-
ellite-communication-based,
extended-range capabilities to
its portfolio.
SALEM — Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown has signed into
law House Bill 4002, which
phases out the state’s agricul-
tural overtime pay exemption.
The new law establishes
overtime pay requirements for
agricultural workers in Ore-
gon after 40 hours per week,
with the requirements phased
in over five years starting in
2023.
“I view this bill as an im-
portant step in the right di-
rection, to correct a historic
wrong,” Brown wrote in a let-
ter Friday to legislative lead-
ers. “This policy will make a
significant difference in the
lives of farmworkers and their
families.”
Under the law, farmworkers
will be owed time-and-a-half
wages after 55 weekly hours of
work next year, after 48 hours
of work in 2025-2026 and af-
ter 40 hours per week begin-
ning in 2027.
Advocates welcomed the
governor’s signature, saying it
enhances farmworkers’ basic
rights.
Critics, however, said they
are “deeply disappointed” in
the decision, which they pre-
dict will hurt farmers who re-
ceive prices set by global mar-
kets and can’t afford a steep
increase in labor expenses.
Jeff Stone, executive direc-
tor of the Oregon Association
of Nurseries, said he expects
the biggest losers will be small
farms, dairy farms and highly
seasonal operations — includ-
ing nurseries and orchards
— where workers put in long
days during peak season.
Mary Anne Cooper, vice
president of government af-
fairs at Oregon Farm Bureau,
said she believes farm em-
ployees will also lose out when
employers can’t afford to hire
more workers or must offer
workers fewer hours.
“We think this legislation
will have devastating conse-
quences for our family farms
and their employees, will likely
result in significantly reduced
farm employment in Oregon
and is really going to change
the landscape of Oregon agri-
culture,” said Cooper.
In contrast, Pineros y Cam-
pesinos Unidos del Noroeste,
or PCUN, a Latino union,
welcomed the governor’s sig-
nature and is gearing up for
implementation.
“PCUN will be working on
educating farm laborers about
the phased implementation
and about how their employ-
ers can access the fully refund-
able tax credit,” said Reyna
Lopez, executive director of
PCUN.
See Farmworkers / A12