KGW Business

Oregon Garden's Plan to Grow

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 17:15:28 -0800

Oregon Garden has come up with an interesting plan to get the Silverton attraction back on track.
In the five years its been operating it's lost more than $8 million dollars. Low attendance to blame. It's now in recievership...but not for long.
It looks likes the garden could be on its way to becoming a first class attraction for the state.
Moonstone Hotels out of California is spending $8 to $10 million dollars into building a boutique hotel on eleven acres that look over the gardens.
The company plans to break ground this summer and have the spa-resort up and running a year later.
It's really interesting how Moonstone became involved. An employee at the company's
Cottage Gove resort told Dirk Winter, Moonstone's owner about the financial problems the garden was having. He's a gardner and was interested to see how his company could play a role in saving it. It really does prove that one person can make a difference.
The money the hotel makes will go to payback the creditors. It really does seem like a win win...for the City of Silverton, Marion Country and of course the garden.
If you haven't been to visit this garden spot. Make a point...around June when the place is in full bloom.
Moonstone takes over operation of the garden on April 1st.

It's Your Money. Go for It!

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 17:49:42 -0800

Do you have a payroll check you've never cashed, or a rebate check sitting in a kitchen drawer that's expired? Not to worry. You could have some money coming to you from the state.
The Oregon Division of State Lands is charged with finding the rightful owners to more than $215 Million dollars in unclaimed property.
It happens every year. Maybe your pay is direct deposited, but you changed jobs and your last pay was sent to you by check. You may have forgetten all about it. Maybe you have a relative who died and you didn't know they had a safe deposit box.
The contents could be worth big bucks.
If the material isn't claimed after two years, it goes on the auction block. The proceeds are kept by the state forever until someone claims them.
To get you started, all you have to do is check out the Division of State Lands website
www. oregonstatelands.us. Click on the Unclaimed Property section.
You'll have to fill out a questionaire, get it notorized and send it in to the state.
According to the folks I talked with today, they are pretty efficienct. They'll get back to you in about 45 days one way or the other.
They also have a specialist that actually tries to find YOU. Andrea Downing has a program that searches public records. If she finds a match she'll give you a call. Her biggest score was finding $100 thousand dollars for one person.
All the money collected is put to good use. It's invested and the money earned goes to pay for the Unclaimed Property program and the Oregon Common School Fund.
Last year 43 million dollars went to public schools here.
Check out the website...you've got nothing to loose...and everything to gain.
After all It's your money.

Heirloom Preservation

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 17:29:16 -0800

Who knew saving things from the past could be so involved. Today I met up with Jenny Cobb. She has a love for family history. So much so, she started her own business "Heriloom Preservation".
I met up with her at Corrine Gilroy's home in Battle Ground. What a trip. This women has so many interesting things...many from the Civil War. Perhaps one of the most unusual things is a ring that opens up. It was used by soliders duing the war to transport secret messages from one area to another.
Another cool thing is one of a kind Teapot Christmas ornaments. They've been in the family since her day owned a general store in Washougal many, many years ago.
Corrine is trying to get all of her treasures in order. She wants to have things in order for her children and grandchildren. She is 82 years young...I think she'll be around for a long time.
If you'd like to get more information about "Heirloom Preservation" here's the link
www. heirloompreservation. com
Enjoy.

The Telephone Trap

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 18:34:40 -0800

Here's the links that I referred to on air for how to avoid the "telephone trap," they are from the Web site called gethuman.com:

Cheat sheat for many companies' phone systems

Tips for how to reach a live person on the phone

Some time you just can't win.

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 16:52:57 -0800

I planned a piece today on some of the companies that are involved with this years
Torino Olympics. Nike and Addias are the heavy hitters. We included them along with a Beaverton company that is the official supplier of bread for the Olympic Team while they are training in Colorado. I wanted to also include a company that has produce a web site for Olympic bad boy Bode Miller. The PR gal from Media Cabin first told me "no problem." Then she called back and said the Opus, the company that created the website ,couldn't talk about Bode...she offered some double speak about the controversy Bode created when he was on "60 Minutes". But, she said they could only talk about the creative aspect of producing the web site. I said that's fine. Then she called back later and told me they wouldn't talk at all for fear of jeopardize Bode's future at the Olympics. However, they would be happy to talk AFTER the Olympics. After the games no one cares. It seems to me if a company hires a PR rep to get them some press, they best be ready when they get the call.
It makes no sense to send out a press release if you don't want some publicity.
I've vented and now I feel better.

Gas Prices Dip

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 16:37:35 -0800

There are some long lines at a few gas stations in Beaverton. The 76 on Walker at 150th and the AM/PM on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.
Both are selling regular unleaded for $1.99 a gallon.

AM/PM owner Byeong Soo Kim says he got a price break from his distributer, so he's passing on the savings. That seems a bit unheard of today. But, he says he just wants to be fair. He dropped his price 10 cents a gallon this morning. Interestly, most of the gas he's selling though is at his old wholesale price. He's going to have to sell a lot of coffee, soda and crackers to make a profit.

Tonight we talked with several people filling up...they are all thrilled at paying $1.99 a gallon. But,wait 'til you meet the women who filled up and then forget she forgot her wallet.

If you've got any story ideas, I'd love to hear about them. You can drop me at line by email.
jsmith@kgw.com

Cyber Monday at Norm Thompson Outfitters

Mon, 28 Nov 2005 16:21:50 -0800

According to the National Retail Federation an estimated 60 million people will shop on-line today.
This is great news for the folks at Norm Thompson Outfitters in Hillsboro.
The company is so confident in on-line growth, it will close its landmark store on NW Thurman in Portland. The company is focusing its effort on the internet. Fifty percent of sales are generated by phone, 40 percent online and 10 percent by mail. Internet sales grow every year and are now outpacing all others.
Here's something interesting. Norm Thompson in one of the countries
top 100 etailers...out selling Nike online.
Everyone we ran into at the center seems to really enjoy what they're doing. Sarah Duncan is charged with answering customers emails. It used to take on average 24 hours to get an answer. Now it's just an hour or so. That's pretty good customer service.
In October the call center moved into new facilities next to the company headquarters. It's very green. And it's obvious lots of dollars were spent making the center comfortable for the workers...and it's paying off. jsmith@kgw.com

GOODWILL GOES UPSCALE

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:30:52 -0800

If you're downtown check out Goodwill's newest store. The non-profit took over a small print shop and turned it into an upscale boutique.
The store is filled with designer labels. More space is devoted to displays. You won't find piles of clothing. It's all neatly laid out.
Dale Emanuel, the media rep for Goodwill tells me the downtown store is attracting about 40 percent men. Much more than its other outlets.
I suppose it's no surprise, but some shoppers are shopping for their home busineses. Many are selling the merchandise on Ebay.
The store even has a more uptown name.."Goodwill on 10th". It's right across the street from the main library. Check it out.

Welcome to the Business Blog!

Fri, 18 Nov 2005 15:22:47 -0800

I hope you'll check in often for interesting tidbits about stories I just didn't have enough time for on Newschannel 8.
For example we did a story yesterday about the new store addition at Washington Square mall. We featured The Cheesecake Factory. They tell me, that on average each Cheesecake factory store rings in $11 Million dollars a year in revenue.
Wednesday, we visited the newest and biggest Costo on the planet in Hillsboro. It's 205 thousand square feet...about twice the size of an ordinary Costo. When you're buying a pumpkin pie..think about this..Costcowill sell some 11 million dollars worth of pies over the holidays. Oh, and $6 million dollars worth of fruit cake.
That's it for now...check back when you have time...I'll try and give you the business. You can drop me an email at jsmith@kgw.com