Oregon
Oregon offers chipmakers more than $500 million, hoping for billions in return
Oregon’s semiconductor industry came into this year’s legislative session asking for a lot — and lawmakers delivered.
The Legislature set aside more than $500 million for grants, loans and tax credits in hopes of luring new chip factories and a share of the $52 billion in CHIPS Act money the federal government began allocating this spring.
Lawmakers also gave Gov. Tina Kotek unprecedented authority to designate rural property for industrial development, upending the state’s well-established land-use process to fast-track new projects.
“There’s quite a few triumphs in this session,” said Andrew Desmond of the Oregon Business Council, which convened a task force last year on reviving the state’s semiconductor industry.
The task force wrote a 26-page report laying out a plan of action, which became a roadmap for lawmakers this spring. The task force’s report also suggested chipmakers were contemplating $8 billion in new Oregon projects, contingent on state assistance and access to industrial land.
The new incentives represent one of Oregon’s most ambitious economic development projects in many years. The question now is whether the Legislature’s generosity will prompt those unnamed companies to follow through.
Oregon doesn’t appear to be in line for any “mega-fabs” like those big manufacturers plan in Arizona, Texas, Ohio and New York. Those states acted sooner than Oregon and each offered billions of dollars in incentives and hundreds of acres of shovel-ready industrial land.
Still, industry boosters said this week they are confident Oregon’s new inducements will produce quick results as chipmakers and their suppliers look to expand.
“We think that we’re in a good position to compete for investments that are going to be pulling down funds from that first tranche of federal CHIPS Act” money, Desmond said.
Semiconductors are among Oregon’s economic pillars and the state’s largest export, worth approximately $14 billion last year. But with the notable exception of Intel, no company has built a chip factory in the state this century.
In a contentious legislative session, distinguished by a six-week Republican walkout in the Senate, the semiconductor legislation won broad, bipartisan support. Here’s what lawmakers approved:
- $240 million in grants and loans for the chip industry. The Legislature approved $190 million in April, then added $50 million in a final budget bill because of strong interest from companies pursuing new projects.
- $255 million in tax credits for semiconductor research, restoring and expanding incentives that expired in 2017. The legislation, which won final Senate approval on a 22-3 vote Saturday, allows companies to use the credits to offset up to $4 million in Oregon tax liability. Smaller companies that don’t owe Oregon taxes can take a portion of the tax credit as an outright grant.
- Nearly $73 million in state funds for a new supercomputer lab at Oregon State University, adding to $50 million Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, an Oregon State alumnus, pledged last year.
- $10 million for university semiconductor research, and another $10 million for industrial site readiness. The task force had sought many times those sums.
- Authority for Kotek to designate up to eight rural sites for the semiconductor industry. The land-use provision was initially contentious, but land-use advocates relented after lawmakers limited the number of projects and gave the governor only until the end of 2024 to act.
“The Legislature’s actions put Oregon in a prime position to take full advantage of the federal CHIPS law I worked to pass so our state can keep building on its well-deserved status as the beating heart of domestic semiconductor production,” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said in a statement.
Ampere Computing, a fast-growing chip engineering firm with offices in Portland’s Pearl District, lobbied hard for the research tax credits approved in the session’s final hours. The company said they will help small and midsized Oregon companies become major players.
“Ampere was founded in Oregon in part due to the strength of a strong talent pool and an existing ecosystem around research and development,” the company said in a statement. “The Legislature’s semiconductor package will enhance and accelerate this ecosystem and provide positive economic benefits for the long term. “
Already, though, Oregon has suffered one major setback in pursuit of new semiconductor investment. Microchip Technology was contemplating a new $5 billion factory in either New York or Oregon, but the company shelved the project in December, opting to outsource new production to a contract manufacturer instead.
Two other chipmakers are publicly contemplating new Oregon expansion.
HP Inc. says it will return some manufacturing jobs to Corvallis from factories overseas if wins a share of the federal CHIPS Act money. And Intel wants federal support for a major new lithography lab in Oregon, which is already home to Intel’s most advanced research.
Oregon economic development officials that they’re negotiating with other companies, too, that don’t want their business plans disclosed before they’re ready to act. But officials are hopeful of winning new projects later this year, perhaps as soon as this summer.
John Calhoun of Tax Fairness Oregon testified against the research tax credits during this year’s session, voicing skepticism they would be determinative in landing new semiconductor investment. But Tax Fairness Oregon didn’t oppose other grants and loans, and Calhoun said this week that guardrails on the tax credits will keep them from getting out of hand.
“It gives the economic development people something to talk about. They’ll be able to say we’ve got something, and companies that were thinking about expanding, like an HP or an Intel, they will expand. Because the state said yes, we love you,” Calhoun said. “But it doesn’t compete with the states like Ohio and New York that are giving two or three billion dollars.”
While Oregon’s chip industry got most of what it asked for this year, lawmakers didn’t take up requests for hundreds of millions of dollars for industrial site readiness and workforce development.
Oregon’s chips task force had also sought hundreds of millions of dollars for industrial land readiness and workforce development. Desmond, from the Oregon Business Council, said he hopes lawmakers will take up those issues in the future – warning that a shortage of land or skilled workers could impede long-run economic growth.
“We should celebrate the steps that we took in this session, but we can’t rest on our laurels,” Desmond said. “There’s more work to be done. Otherwise, there’s going to be jobs left on the table for Oregonians.”
— Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | 503-294-7699
Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
HILLSBORO Ore. (KPTV) – Oregon’s 36th annual international air show kicked off Friday night in Hillsboro and hundreds of people showed up for the occasion!
For people who show up every year, including Chris Roman, he said it never gets old.
“You know, it’s like a birthday. It’s not quite the same every year but it’s still fun each and every year. There’s always something different and there’s always different stories you hear about the pilots so it’s a great time,” Roman said.
SEE ALSO:
The show features the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Rhino demonstration teams which will both fly heritage flights with the P-51 Val-Halla and F6F Hellcat.
People who attended the event also got to see the F-15 Strike Eagles of the 366th Fighter Wing, the Air Force’s C-17 and KC-135 demonstration teams.
“These guys are acrobats, and they are stunt kings,” Perry Manns said.
Some planes even brought back memories for some, including Teresa Busch.
SEE ALSO:
“I brought my dad the last year, prior to this passing. He was a World War II vet and Korean war vet, and they treated him like royalty,” Busch said.
Another attendee said seeing the planes up close and personal made him regret his own career decision.
“Oh my God…I should’ve joined the Air Force, instead of the Coast Guard,” Perry Manns laughed.
The 2024 Oregon International Air Show will take the skies from May 17-19 at the Hillsboro Municipal Airport at 3355 NE Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97124.
Tickets can be found here.
Copyright 2024 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
An Oregon man has been charged in the murders of three women who were found dead under “suspicious circumstances” last year, officials announced Friday.
Authorities have identified one suspect in the deaths of the three women – Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leanne Webster, 31, and Joanna Speaks, 32 – the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Bridget Leanne Webster, Charity Lynn Perry, and Joanna Speaks.
Multnomah County DA/Clark County Sheriff’s Office
Jesse Lee Calhoun, 39, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree abuse of a corpse in connection with the women’s deaths, the district attorney’s office said, after a grand jury returned the six-count indictment on Thursday.
At a press briefing Friday, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt called the case “complex,” and said it required a “significant investigation” involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
“There’s still more work to be done, investigations are ongoing,” Schmidt said.
Calhoun has been in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution since July 2023 for unrelated charges and was scheduled to be released next month, online Oregon Department of Corrections records show. He is expected to be transferred to the custody of Multnomah County authorities for arraignment, prosecutors said. It is unclear if Calhoun has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Multnomah County authorities, citing the ongoing investigation, released few details about the case, including what alleged evidence led them to the suspect and how the women died.
Speaks’ body was found at an abandoned property in Ridgefield, Washington, on April 8, 2023, authorities said. Police in Portland, Oregon, said in November 2023 that the homicide was believed to have happened in Portland.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in July 2023 that they were investigating whether the deaths of four women – including Perry and Webster – who were found dead throughout Oregon were related. The announcement came weeks after Portland police spoke out against online speculation regarding a possible serial killer in the Pacific Northwest.
This undated photo provided by the Oregon Department of Corrections show Jesse Lee Calhoun, who has been under investigation in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found scattered across northwest Oregon last year.
Oregon Department of Corrections via AP
Perry’s body was found in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park in east Multnomah County on April 24, 2023, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon said Webster’s body was found six days later, on April 30, 2023.
Perry’s mother, Diana Allen, told reporters Friday that it’s been “very, very frustrating” for the families of the victims not to have answers amid the ongoing investigation, but that she has had respect for the district attorney office’s process.
“Even though they wouldn’t give me the answers, I knew they had answers,” she said.
The deaths of two other women – Kristin Smith and Ashley Real, both 22 – initially believed to have been linked, remain under investigation, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
The body of Smith, who was reported missing in December 2022, was found on Feb. 19, 2023, in a wooded area in Portland, police said. Real’s body was found in a wooded area in Clackamas County in Oregon in May 2023, a month after she was reported missing to Portland police, authorities said.
“We keep waiting, we keep praying and stay hopeful,” Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith’s mother, said during Friday’s press briefing. “We stay hopeful that we soon can get justice for them as well.”
No. 14 Arizona (32-19, 19-9) opened their three game series at Hi Corbett Field against No. 6 Oregon State a game and a half ahead of the Beavers in the race for the final Pac-12 regular season championship.
By the end of Thursday night, that lead dwindled to a half-game as the Beavers(40-12, 18-9) used a five-run third inning to defeat the Wildcats 9-2 in the series opener.
“There was not a facet of the game I thought we did very well at all,” Arizona coach Chip Hale said.
Aiden May, Oregon States starting pitcher, happens to be a familiar face for Arizona. The right hander transferred to Oregon State after spending the previous year with the Wildcats.
May pitched 7 innings, had 7 strikes, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Jackson Kent, Arizona’s starting pitcher, opened the game with a strike out of Oregon States lead-off batter and No.2 draft prospect Travis Bazzana on a 96-mph fastball.
Kent pitched two solid innings before the Beavers opened the dam in the third inning including two 2 RBI homers one by designated hitter Gavin Turley and the other by right fielder Brady Kasper.
“First inning he looked dynamite, 95.. his breaking ball was snapping, just ran into a buzz saw there, they did a great job. Haven’t had many of those starts obviously all year he’s been great.” Said Hale.
Arizona, already skinny in the outfield position, with Easton Breyfogle (hamstring) day-to-day and TJ Adams (shoulder) out indefinitely, lost another one when right fielder Emilio Corona was hit in the hand while up to bat in the second inning.
Corona, in obvious pain, took the field in the third and fourth inning before getting pulled.
“The way it got so swollen so quick, it’s not good,” Hale said about Corona’s hand.
With Corona out, pitcher Casey Hintz may see some time in the outfield in Friday’s game.
Arizona’s first run came in the third inning when Brandon Rogers hit a single to the right side. A fielding error by Oregon State’s right fielder Brady allowed Rogers to show his speed, ending up safe at third base.
Richie Morales’ ground out brought Rogers across the plate.
The Wildcats’ second and final score of the night came in the eight inning. Freshman first baseman Andrew Cain doubled down the first base line and Morales hit into a double play, advanced Cain home.
Arizona, needing one win against Oregon State to secure the Pac-12 regular season championship, will start Clark Candiotti on the mound Friday night.
Game two in the series will start at 6:00 p.m. at Hi Corbett Field.
Is Tua Tagovailoa Playing Hardball – The Splash Zone 5/18/24
MacKinnon: Poor kid from the projects in Toledo makes a positive impact in Boston
Keeler: Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog is Colorado royalty. But Avs can’t afford to wait on him anymore.
Seattle Storm fall in 2nd OT as Napheesa Collier's 29 points give Lynx 102-93 win
San Diego Wave FC Fall 2-1 to Bay FC at PayPal Park – San Diego Wave Fútbol Club
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Trump predicts 'jacked up' Biden at upcoming debates, blasts Bidenomics in battleground speech
India’s biggest election prize: Can the Gandhi family survive Modi?
Philadelphia police make several arrests as protesters try to occupy Penn's Fisher-Bennett Hall
Fox News invites Trump, Biden campaigns to vice presidential debate
State of the Union: sunshine in Ankara, darkness in Tbilisi
-
World1 week agoPentagon chief confirms US pause on weapons shipment to Israel
-
Politics1 week agoRFK Jr said a worm ate part of his brain and died in his head
-
World1 week agoConvicted MEP's expense claims must be published: EU court
-
News1 week agoStudents and civil rights groups blast police response to campus protests
-
Politics1 week agoCalifornia Gov Gavin Newsom roasted over video promoting state's ‘record’ tourism: ‘Smoke and mirrors’
-
Politics1 week agoOhio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'
-
News1 week agoNine Things We Learned From TikTok’s Lawsuit Against The US Government
-
Politics1 week agoBiden’s decision to pull Israel weapons shipment kept quiet until after Holocaust remembrance address: report