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Nvidia revenue hit $1B a day for Q2, Lam Research breaks ground on $620M lab in Oregon, Seahawks sale unanimously supported by NFL owners, Oregon’s Agility Robotics plans to go public via SPAC, Northern Spotted Owl (yes, that one) is functionally extinct in new report, Starbucks unions calls for boycott.

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Meta, states agree to $17 billion settlement in child safety trial (KUOW)

Nvidia Reports Blowout Quarter, Says Demand for AI Chips Is Getting Even Hotter (WSJ)

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Oregon State researchers say northern spotted owls are ‘functionally extinct (KOIN)

“OSU said that conservation of northern spotted owls was once the largest and most visible wildlife conservation issue in United States history following the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1990. 

​According to OSU, the reason for the decline is due to loss of their habitat from logging and wildfires.

“Our hope is that they can help shape conservation strategies and improve conservation outcomes for the northern spotted owl,” Lesmeister said. 

While the study shows declining populations in Washington, there may be hope for the owls in parts of Oregon

Scientists are sounding the alarm about the decline in northern spotted owls in Oregon, saying they may be closing in on extinction. 

Oregon State University is releasing the results of a recent study on the population of the owls in Oregon, Washington and northwestern California. 

From February to September 2023, a team from the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State’s Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences collected 2.1 million hours of recordings from across the owls’ habitat in the northwest. 

Using artificial intelligence, the recordings were analyzed at Oregon State’s Center for Quantitative Life Sciences.

“These findings demonstrate that passive acoustic monitoring and machine learning can be used for large-scale ecological monitoring,” said 

Lesmeister expressed optimism that these results will help in narrowing the focus of northern spotted owl preservation efforts. “

Oregon’s economy shows signs of improvement, new forecast says (OPB)

“Oregon’s sluggish economy could be picking up steam, state economists told lawmakers Wednesday, but headwinds like high fuel prices, elevated inflation and a slow job market aren’t making it easy.

In his latest quarterly forecast, the state’s chief economist, Carl Riccadonna, suggested an economic malaise in Oregon following the COVID-19 pandemic may be dissipating.

Yes, the state’s 5.2% unemployment rate is still running well ahead of national unemployment, which has been decreasing of late. But Riccadonna said the Beaver State’s economy is finally growing at nearly the pace of the nation as a whole. As of the first quarter of this year, Oregon’s economic output increased 2.4% over the past year, compared to 2.7% for the national economy.

“The point is that that gap has significantly closed,” he said, noting that Oregon had been trailing the national average by closer to 1%. The state often outpaced national economic growth from 2000 until the pandemic, but has fallen behind in the years since — one reason Gov. Tina Kotek announced a renewed focus on improving the state’s economy last year.

Riccadonna said his office has “been kind of scratching our head” at Oregon’s lagging economy, and hypothesized that impacts from President Trump’s tariffs, combined with job losses at two major state employers, Intel and Nike, were largely to blame.

While tariffs are once again in force, he said the two corporate juggernauts may have smoothed out their wrinkles. Economists will know more when updated numbers are released at the end of September.

Economic growth has been driven by job sectors like hospitality, real estate, entertainment and finance, Riccadonna told lawmakers in a hearing Wednesday morning. The state has made up ground despite contractions in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

The latest forecast predicts state tax revenue for the next budget — which stretches from July 2027 to June 2029 — will come in nearly $540 million higher than expected. Should that forecast hold up, it would provide a boost to lawmakers as they work to craft a spending plan in next year’s legislative session.

Kennedy told reporters in a press availability Tuesday evening that the bulk of the newly anticipated money, nearly $400 million, is due to bullish expectations about wage growth.

“Given the malaise in the job market, it really is more about who’s making the money and them making more money,” Kennedy said.

Oregon is also now expecting a bit more money in its current two-year budget, which is just over halfway through. The economists predicted an additional $55 million over the forecast they delivered three months ago.

That boost is tied entirely to personal income taxes. Corporate income taxes, which the state also collects, are now anticipated to come in somewhat lower, a trend Riccadonna attributed to one-time tax decisions rather than a new economic trend.

Wednesday’s forecast brought the usual divergent framing from lawmakers across the political aisle. Democrats applauded positive indicators, but warned of rocky budgetary straits ahead.

“There are promising indicators in today’s forecast, but too many Oregonians are struggling to make ends meet,” Kotek said in a statement. “Oregon families continue to face rising prices and that’s likely to continue as President Trump’s tariffs drive up costs for everyday goods and the war in Iran keeps gas prices high.”

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