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Big Cannabis Project Reduces Its Ambition
Oregon Hub, a Clackamas County cannabis research and production facility announced with great fanfare by beer-distribution heir Matt Maletis in January, will in fact be just a marijuana farm. The facility, located on Maletis family-owned land near Aurora State Airport, was supposed to include cutting-edge science and horticultural research headed by Jeremy Plumb of Newcleus Nurseries, and Mowgli Holmes of Phylos Bioscience. But Holmes tells WW the owners wanted immediate cash flow rather than the financial risks of a research facility. "The Hub is going ahead and going to be focused on production rather than science and research," Holmes says. "Instead of a collaborative innovation hub, it's going to be a production facility." Maletis says he remains bullish, despite the shift in focus. "I'm extremely optimistic," he says. "We hope to start building greenhouses soon."
Former Legacy Emanuel Employee Arrested
A former Legacy Emanuel Medical Center employee, accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl and shooting upskirt videos of hospital visitors, was arrested May 5 in Solano County, Calif., between San Francisco and Sacramento. Daniel Gonzalez, 49, was on the run from Portland after being indicted March 27 on charges of attempted sexual abuse of the girl, who lived in the home where Gonzalez rented a room, and 33 counts of public indecency for the alleged filming up the skirts and dresses of women at Legacy Emanuel with a camera mounted on a mop. "I was really happy to hear he'd been arrested," says the girl's mother. "I called my daughter at school, and she was relieved." Gonzalez now faces extradition from California.
Portland Development Commission Gets a New Name
The Portland Trail Blazers, who debuted a spruced-up logo May 8, aren't the only local institution getting a makeover this week. As it approaches its 60th birthday next year, the city-owned Portland Development Commission proposes to rebrand and change its name to Prosper Portland. The city's urban renewal agency has a tentative budget of $220 million next year, and big challenges ahead as it embarks on the redevelopment of the 13.4-acre, $88 million post-office site in the Pearl District. The rebranding is supposed to help the public and partners more clearly understand the goal of the agency's projects. After adopting a new strategic plan in 2015, the agency looked at its identity, surveyed 400 Portlanders and interviewed 60 stakeholders. "This has been building for quite some time," says PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman. "The name 'Portland Development Commission' no longer fits who we are or how or with whom we work." The agency's board is set to vote on the name change May 10. The agency expects the costs of new stationery, signage, business cards, etc., to be less than $10,000.