Opinion
Facebook is here to stay, and it might be bringing some friends with it.
After months of negotiating with state and tax officials, the multi-billion dollar company has been assured a fixed tax rate by Govenor Kitzhaber for the next 15 years, making Oregon seem like a pretty cushy haven for other internet conglomerates.
The City of Portland failed a test of its new citywide emergency alert system last month. A computerized system was supposed to alert more than 300,000 people, but managed to notify less than 1 percent of Portland citizens.
With the passing of each week it has become increasingly clear that bureaucrats, legislators and educational administrators are little more than hedge fund operators willing to sell their stock in higher education, opting instead to invest in the next big profit generator. But no one seems to know what that is, only that it exists. Somewhere. And, golly, we should put money into it.
Last month, the national unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent. While still high, 8.5 is the lowest unemployment rate in more than two years. This sudden drop could mean that a turnaround in unemployment could be on the horizon.
Once upon a time young, boys and girls graduated college, got a job in their degree field, launched into careers, made enough money to start a family, raised 2.5 children, sent them off to school and then peacefully retired.
To the typical college student, reaching graduation is like crossing the finish line after a marathon of homework, test-taking and late-night study groups.
After all that effort, most of us just want to take a long rest and maybe drink a few margaritas. But what many students don’t realize is that graduating isn’t the end of the line—it’s the beginning of the real world. Entering the real world means finding a job; finding a job means having a top-notch résumé.
The population of traditional students in the state of Oregon continues to be dwarfed by that of “non-trad.” Whether the factor is age, enrollment or independence the non-traditional student is the growing majority throughout Oregon universities.
Whether it’s because they appear to be the epitome of the self-owned small businesses or because of their inherent convenience, food carts are generally adored in Portland.
There’s just something to be said for the experience of walking down a city block and getting a hot meal from a man in a tin trailer. And with a wide variety of cuisines to choose from, it’s hard to get bored of food carts.
Portland State may become home to a living building by the end of 2013. All builders are waiting for is the legislature’s approval of $37 million in bonds to breathe life into the project, whose fate will be decided this February.
The people of Portland display a widespread love of all things local. Sometimes, this is the whole reason people come to Portland in the first place.
Like SOPA and PIPA before it, ACTA is another ominous acronym clouded in controversy and muddled by mystery.
Concerns about whether or not it is a threat to civil liberties and worries about potential negative outcomes of ACTA, as well as confusion over its necessity, leave the agreement open to a lot of scrutiny. The rush to get it passed and the secretive tactics employed to develop ACTA make many question its true intent.