Murmurs One Portland politician isn’t softening his stance toward Walmart as the retail giant hires local software talent (“Value Shopping,” WW, Aug. 29, 2012). City Commissioner-elect Steve Novick says   More

News City officials including Mayor Sam Adams have softened their stance against Walmart recently as the shopping giant hires local software talent for its downtown Portland mobile-apps headquarters, WalmartLabs. But the company can still expect one determined opponent in City Hall: Steve Novick.The city commissioner-elect tells WW he opposes Walmart's presence in the city in any form. And he wants to dig ...   More

News  A story in this week's WW shows Portland officials—including Mayor Sam Adams and both mayoral candidates—scaling back the city's anti-Walmart stance as the shopping giant's mobile-software division, WalmartLabs, moves into a downtown office.But Walmart is also making concessions to Portland culture. As reported in the Daily Journal of Commerce on Monday, the new Walmart breaking ground ...   More

News The company moving into an 8,500-square-foot office above Rock Bottom Brewing in downtown Portland on Sept. 7 is the sort of tech-sector success...    More

News It's so hard to keep up. If apps are cool, and Walmart is uncool, then developing mobile apps for Walmart must be… so uncool it's future-hip, right? Tech blog Silicon Florist reports today that Small Society, a "Quintessential Portland" iPad and iPhone app developer,* has been purchased by a division of Walmart. Small Society's statement says its small team will stay in Portland and "will focus ...   More

News After weeks of releases dominated by crap about ponies and Hannah Montana (my new least favorite game ever—you got lucky Legendary), there is a plethora of video game action this week. And not a World War II game among the bunch! This was the first week I actually had to pass on reviewing games I really wanted to play, due to the volume of prime releases available. Then again, despite the ...   More

News If only Wal-Mart produced economic impact studies at low, low prices. Mayor Sam Adams said this afternoon he wants the City of Portland to conduct new research into Wal-Mart's impact on Portland's economy. But the mayor also acknowledged his Office of Management and Finance doesn't have the budget to conduct the study, which would arrive just as Wal-Mart plans a possible expansion at its Southeast ...   More