News Digest:
Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:49 AM PDT
GOOD MORNING
OREGON
Bottle bill brouhaha brewing
SALEM (AP) — A state task force says Oregon should double its nickel deposit on beer and soft drink containers in three years, expand the kinds of containers requiring deposits and set up redemption centers funded by grocers and bottlers to let some grocery stores stop accepting recyclables.
But there is a split on the nine-member task force, with the three representatives of grocers and bottlers calling many of the changes ‘‘premature at best,’’ foreshadowing a possible raucous debate in the 2009 Legislature.
Oregon passed the nation’s first bill requiring deposits on some containers in 1971, and 10 other states have similar laws. Michigan is the only one with a dime deposit.
See story page A5.
German company opens Ore. solar cell plant
HILLSBORO (AP) — In the thick of Oregon’s ‘‘silicon forest’’ and far from his home in Germany, SolarWorld founder Frank Asbeck walked through his company’s newest plant Friday with the excitement of a child in a toy factory.
‘‘This is like my playing field,’’ said the 49-year-old Asbeck. ‘‘Our parents didn’t buy us enough toys when we were little.’’
The $440 million plant, which opened its doors Friday, covers 480,000 square feet. SolarWorld, with headquarters in Bonn, says the plant will make the company North America’s largest solar cell manufacturer.
See story page A7.
IDAHO
Tamarack temporarily lays off 100 workers
DONNELLY (AP) — Tamarack Resort laid off two-thirds of its 150 employees but plans to rehire them Nov. 3 after bankers at Credit Suisse extend a $10 million loan.
A receiver is due to take over management of the resort, which owes more than $273 million on a syndicated loan from the Zurich-based bank.
Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Boespflug, who will be out when the receiver steps in, says 50 employees who remain will focus on keeping the resort’s ski and golf facilities from being compromised between now and early November when other employees return.
