Business Portland News & Event Round Up, March 16

Recent business stories of note:

• Portland’s export potential

• Oregon cannot afford not to invest in renewables

• West Coast leaders are eyeing 1 million new clean jobs by 2020

• Portland-based OpConnect announces $60,000 deal with the Navy for electric vehicle charging stations

• Portland's Brightworks targets a new vein of sustainability

• SoloPower to ramp up Portland hiring

• Drive Oregon has launched new grant programs

• In 1998, a Portland entrepreneur launched the first car-sharing service. Now it's a growing industry

• Virgin America to launch service from PDX to LA, San Francisco

• The Port of Portland and Oregon's congressional delegation are pushing for permission to add a direct flight between PDX and Reagan National Airport

• Portland is a top spot for tech jobs

• Portland startup 4Tell recommends products

• Oregon has five major business plan competitions across the state

• The Oregon Community Foundation has invested $1M in the Oregon Angel Fund

• Portland-based Sustainable Harvest Coffee is a fair-trade coffee import company with a community-building mission

• Looking for a test market? Portland Mayor Sam Adams hopes entrepreneurs will consider the City

• Portland-based Foundation Fitness carves niche with indoor bikes

• Portland-based online retailer The Clymb makes swift ascent with outdoor gear

• T.J. Maxx is coming to downtown Portland

• Is a new Apple store in the works for Portland?

• Downtown Portland is getting a new brewpub

• How thinking local benefits Portland's economy

• Cash mob organizes to benefit small business

• 17 locally owned businesses opened in Portland in February

• Portland’s micro roasters are fueling the local economy

• What's next in real estate in the new economy?

• Since late 2010, Con-way has been working on a master plan for a new mixed-use community in Northwest Portland

• Redevelopment of Portland’s oldest neighborhood has been a piecemeal effort for years

• The U.S. Custom House has been sold to a Massachusetts development firm

• Is Portland becoming a bedroom community for its suburbs?

• A new Federal grant will help Oregon companies in hiring and training

• Keep Portland Paris

• A new food cart at Mississippi Marketplace is serving up Chinese flatbread sandwiches

Some business announcements and events of note:

• The Portland Business Alliance’s March 2012 SmallBiz Connection is out

• Google's Oregon Get Your Business Online program is offering free business websites

• The Oregon Microenterprise Network is hiring for an Executive Director

• The Zidell Remediation Project: It's All In The Process is on March 20

• New class of Getting Your Recipe to Market starts March 20

• Increasing sales and profits as a destination business is on March 20

• Capturing customers when they enter your doors: The critical 7 seconds is on March 21

• Oregon's Cleantech Cluster is on Thursday, March 22

• Doing Business In Russia: An Executive Briefing is on Thursday, March 29

• The Bottom Line: Capturing EB-5 Capital in China and Korea Executive Seminar will be in Portland March 31.

• The U.S. EDA Seattle Regional Training Conference is April 3-5 in Portland

• Portland Roasting is hosting coffeelandia, a celebration of coffee and Portland on April 20

• Portland Startup Weekend Bootcamp is on April 21

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