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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2022)
A5 B USINESS THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022 p DOW 31,261.90 +8.77 BRIEFING State seeks input on Pacific Power rate hike request The Oregon Public Utility Commission is hosting a virtual pub- lic comment hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The event provides Pacific Power customers an opportu- nity to speak directly to the commissioners about the utility’s proposed in- crease to electricity rates. Pacific Power is ask- ing for an increase in its general rates of approx- imately $84.4 million or 6.8%. This would impact customer rates differently depending on usage and customer type — resi- dential, business or indus- trial . For a residential cus- tomer using an average of 900 kWh per month, the increase would be $13.01 or 14.16% for single-family residential customers; and, $6.97 or 11% in a multifamily home using an average of 600 kWh a month. To participate using the Zoom platform, view the log-in details on the agenda, which can be found at https://tinyurl. com/yckz2ks2 To participate by phone, view the call-in details on the agenda, found at the link above. Comments may be sub- mitted through June 22 in the following ways: By email to PUC.Pub- licComments@puc.ore- gon.gov By calling 503-378- 6600 or 800-522-2404 (all relay calls accepted; Spanish translation ser- vices available) By mail: Attn: UE 399, Administrative Hearings Division, Public Utility Commission of Oregon, PO Box 1088, Salem, OR 97308-1088 q NASDAQ 11,354.62 -33.88 bendbulletin.com/business p S&P 500 3,901.36 +.57 q 30-YR T-BOND 2.99% -.07 p CRUDE OIL $113.23 +1.02 p GOLD $1,841.80 +.60 BY KATRINA LEWIS AND JANET FREUND Bloomberg The wild swings in con- sumer stocks this week that erased $503 billion in market value are far from over with earnings reports from well- known retailers including Dollar General, Macy’s and Costco still to come. Volatility in consumer stocks reached levels not seen since the early days of the pan- demic-driven rout as retailers from Walmart to Target cut their annual profit forecasts and stoked concern over the impact of rising inflation and the challenge to pass on higher costs to consumers. Walmart and Target each posted their biggest one-day declines since 1987 after their results, sparking 19% and 30% selloffs respectively this week. Ross Stores Inc. was the latest to trim its forecasts for comparable sales and profit, fueling its biggest decline since 1986. EURO $1.0546 -.0052 Shopping carts are lined up outside a Target store in Pleasant Hill, Cal- ifornia. Walmart and Target each posted their big- gest one-day de- clines since 1987 after their results, sparking 19% and 30% selloffs re- spectively. David Paul Morris/ Bloomberg See Retailers / A6 Growing electric Farmers, nonprofit groups experiment with e-tractors BY GEORGE PLAVEN • Capital Press D UFUR — The first time Robert Wallace started an electric tractor, he was astonished by how quiet it was. “I didn’t know if it was on or not,” Wallace said. “It was the most mind-boggling thing. It took me probably two or three weeks to get used to, not having a constant rumble of noise.” Laurie Hill has been named CEO of Central Or- egon Pediatric Associates, a physician-owned prac- tice serving Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Lake and Harney counties. Karen Anderson, CPA, of Bend has been elected to the board of directors of the Oregon Society of CPAs. Anderson is the chief financial officer at Onboard Dynamics in Bend. Cyndi Ganfield was selected by the Redmond School District as principal of Ganfield Terrebonne Community School. Ganfield was the elementary principal at Cascade School District in Aumsville. She will take over as principal on July 1. George Plaven/Capital Press Robert Wallace, executive director of the Wy’East Resource Conservation and Development Area Council, demonstrates one of two Solectrac compact electric tractors at his home in Dufur . — Bulletin staff reports q Wild market swings to continue PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Kevin and Angie Shaw, owners of Bright- ways Counseling Group in Central Oregon were named 2022 Small Busi- ness People of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The an- nual award recognizes small-business owners who demonstrate stay- ing power, show growth in net worth, expansion, increases in jobs and sales and innovation in pro- ductions. SILVER $21.67 -.23 CONSUMER STOCKS | EARNINGS REPORTS — Bulletin wire report Kevin and Angie Shaw q Over the last year, Wallace has become well acquainted with the tractor as he used it to mow grass and perform other chores around his home near Dufur . His demonstrations are part of a unique project in Oregon, field testing electric tractors in rural agricultural areas like Dufur and allowing producers to see first- hand what they can do on farms and in orchards. Data from the trials were also used by Oregon State University in a newly released study com- paring the cost of ownership for battery-powered electric tractors to their diesel counterparts. Early results indicate the cost may be comparable, depending “ “I consider myself just a realist. I want to be able to say if it works, or if it doesn’t work.” — Robert Wallace, a certified energy manager has spent most of the last decade working with growers to optimize their irrigation systems on several factors, including the purchase price, fuel prices and maintenance costs. Proponents of electric vehicles are quick to point out social and environmental benefits such as reducing carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. But Wallace said his main fo- cus is simply learning how the technology stacks up for rural areas. “I consider myself just a re- alist,” he said. “I want to be able to say if it works, or if it doesn’t work.” ‘Inevitable transition’ Wallace is executive director of the Wy’East Resource Conser- vation and Development Area Council, a regional nonprofit based in The Dalles , dedicated to helping farms improve their en- ergy and water efficiency. See Electric / A6 FCC adopts rule to help block global spam calls BY JON HEALEY Los Angeles Times The Federal Communications Commission took another step Thursday to identify and poten- tially block spam calls, closing one of the big loopholes in its en- forcement efforts. The commis- sion voted unanimously to extend its crackdown on caller ID spoof- ing — that is, callers who disguise the phone number they’re using — of calls coming into the U.S. from other countries. It’s good news for people tired of getting calls from “Spam Likely.” But that doesn’t mean it’s safe to pick up the phone every time it rings — at least not yet. The calls traveling through international gateways targeted by Thursday’s rule have seen a growing number of spam calls since the FCC started to attack spoofing in 2019 through tech- nical standards known as STIR/ SHAKEN. The standards, which major phone companies have been required to implement, ver- ify caller ID information as it is transmitted from carrier to car- rier along the call’s route. STIR/SHAKEN doesn’t block spam calls by itself. Instead, it helps carriers identify calls with spoofed IDs, which they can use other technology to block. Adding the international gate- ways to STIR/SHAKEN is “the right move,” said Chief Executive Jim Dalton of TransNexus, a com- pany that helps carriers implement the standards. “Unless you have STIR and SHAKEN everywhere,” Dalton explained, “it’s worthless. It’s like a bucket with a hole.” And to date, there have been a lot of holes. Unlike the days of the Ma Bell monopoly, when there were relatively few companies involved in the transmission of a phone call, the current system is like a brigade that passes a call from carrier to carrier to carrier, said Giulia Porter, vice president at RoboKiller, a company that makes technology to identify bo- gus calls. And not every company in that chain has been required to pass along the verified caller ID information. RoboKiller estimated that Americans were deluged with more than 72 billion spam calls in 2021 — a 32% increase over 2020. By the way, the gaps in STIR/ SHAKEN and the frequent use of spoofing by spammers explains why it doesn’t seem to do any- thing when you tell your phone to block a spammer’s number, Porter said. The number you’re blocking probably isn’t the one being used to call you. Ending spoofed calls is just part of the solution. By the com- mission’s estimate, more than half of spam calls come from num- bers that aren’t spoofed. One way to address that issue, Porter said, is to assign a reputational rating to numbers that reflects how of- ten they’re used for spam. See Spam / A6
