Economic Development for Central Oregon
Posted inNews

Enterprise Zones Redrawn

Will Bend keep one of its key tools in attracting new businesses?
Avatar photo Jack Harvel

Deschutes County Commissioners approved redrawn boundaries to the Bend Enterprise Zone at their meeting on Wed., April 14, moving one step closer towards final approval from the state. Enterprise Zones are touted as one of the key benefits for businesses in Oregon, and Bend’s hosts 54 companies that have created over 1,400 jobs and invested $256 […]

Posted inNews

Bucking Tourism Bucks?

The City of Bend gets a big budget boost from hotel taxes. What happens if the well runs dry?
Chris Miller

You’ve probably seen them: people wandering up Bond Street, nearly running into other people, smartphone in one hand, scoop of Bonta in the other, trying to find the Deschutes pub. They’re called tourists—and like it or not, they’re an important part of Bend’s economy. Tourism is Central Oregon’s second-largest economic provider, accounting for 15 percent […]

Posted inNews

Tested in Central Oregon

Warm Springs becomes hotbed for drone tech
Brian Jennings

Outside Kah-Nee-Ta Resort on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, parking lots that once catered to casino goers are now empty—leaving a great deal of unused space. To Aurolyn Stwyer, that swath of parking lot represents opportunity. Stwyer has a vision of turning one paved section—larger than a football field—into a ‘drone amusement park’ where manufacturers […]

Posted inNews

Somebody has to Pay

IP 28 asks large corporations to make some hard decisions
Jaclyn Brandt

Oregon residents may feel lucky not to have to pay a sales tax, but the reality is that someone has to make up that money. A new measure will be placed on the November 2016 ballot with the goal of taxing those who make the most—but according to some, it could cost the state big […]

Posted inNews

Side Notes 4/27-5/4

Sherron Lumley

EDCO Releases 2016 Central Oregon Profile Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) released a comprehensive report of the region’s economic data. According to the report, the region has led the state’s population growth for the last two decades, and Deschutes County is one of the fastest growing areas of the country. The top employer in […]

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Launch Stage Companies Invited to Apply for Funding via Gust.com

Sherron Lumley

Submitted by EDCO:  Economic Development for Central Oregon Cascade Angels Fund Invites Launch Stage Companies to Apply for Funding Application Open through April 15, 2016, on Gust.com March 30, 2016 BEND, OR – Entrepreneurs seeking investment capital have an opportunity to present their launch stage businesses for growth. Cascade Angels Fund 2016, LLC (“Cascade Angels Fund 2016” […]

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Taking The Economy’s Temperature

Housing sales are warming up. Is that good?
Avatar photo Phil Busse

Like predicting the weather in Central Oregon during the finicky spring months, economic forecasts are tricky; sunny afternoons do not necessarily promise warm and dry evenings. Likewise, in the mid-2000s, thousands in Central Oregon were basking in a booming housing market. By 2006, construction and real estate employment was effortlessly adding jobs, and quickly had […]

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