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Washington businesses challenge minimum wage hike

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We reported back in October that the minimum wage is going up in Oregon and Washington, effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to officials in each state. Not so fast, say business leaders in the Evergreen State. They’ve sued to roll back Washington’s proposed 12-cent minimum wage hike from $8.55 per hour to $8.67 per hour […]

Oregon, Washington increase minimum wage for 2011

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Oregon’s minimum wage will increase by 10 cents per hour to $8.50, effective January 1, 2011. The 10-cent increase mirrors a 1.15 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index since August 2009, according to a press release (PDF) issued by State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. Inflation-based minimum wage hikes, rounded to the nearest 5 cents, […]

Trucking glut turns into a shortage

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It was predicted more than a year ago that as the economy recovered, a trucking shortage would develop due to truck owners having sold their idled trucks overseas. Now, according to Packer, that is exactly what has happened. For the first time in a long time, carriers may have the leverage rather than their customers. […]

Home improvement retailers report a stronger spring

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Most growers that I talk to this spring report that they are very busy with spring shipping. They tell me that their customers are ordering more plant material this year than they did in 2009. This morning, The Wall Street Journal reported a similar uptick in business among the big box stores such as Lowe’s […]

Oregon, California growers sue to reopen South Carolina plant market

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Nurseries can’t afford to let disease spread. They take seriously the threat of Phytophthora ramorum, commonly known as sudden oak death – and so does the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). For several years, APHIS has had rules in effect to protect ecosystems and plant material. Nurseries in Oregon and California have […]

Pay by scam

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Increasingly, mass market retailers are paying wholesale nurseries for plants only when (and if) they are sold to the consumer. It’s called “pay by scan” (excuse the typo in the headline). The grower absorbs the cost of any plants that die or are stolen, and they also pay to keep them alive on store shelves […]

Tax hikes approved – for real

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That didn’t take long. The legislative logjam we talked about this morning has been broken. The Oregon Senate this morning approved two bills – one to raise corporate taxes and another to raise income taxes. Both were carried on a party line vote, 18 yes (all Democrats), 11 no (all Republicans) and one Republican not […]

Protecting growers against theft

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With Oregon’s legislative session winding down, it’s reckoning time for proposed bills that would offer nurseries and others in agriculture greater protection against metal theft and other kinds of agricultural theft. The Oregon Association of Nurseries and other groups have been active in promoting a pair of bills: Senate Bill 570 (HTML|PDF) would address metal […]

Tax hikes approved

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Yesterday, the Oregon House of Representatives approved two revenue bills that, combined, would raise an estimated $733 billion to fund state programs and services over the next fiscal biennium. The Oregon Senate is expected to follow suit, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski is certain to sign it. From there, the measures may be referred to voters […]