With Intel shares above $60 for the first time since April 2021, Wall Street appears to be betting that the chipmaker's opportunities now outweigh its considerable risks.

It's telling, perhaps, that the News-Review posted news of its closure on Facebook but not on the Roseburg newspaper's own website. www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

Richard Mays, mayor of The Dalles, says it was “probably” a mistake to sue The Oregonian to hide Google’s water use. “I was part of the team fighting The Oregonian in settling that, and now that decision is haunting us,” the mayor told the Port of The Dalles commission last month.

Google’s Oregon data centers drank a lot more water in The Dalles last year – they now use 40% of all the city’s water, and climbing. City leaders and conservationists disagree about the implications of Google’s enormous thirst. But they agree the company’s secrecy continues sowing distrust.

Amazon will pay $20.5M to settle a lawsuit over its role in the nitrate pollution crisis in Morrow County.

Other minority owners revealed, and one name jumps out: Jennifer Gates, Bill Gates eldest daughter. Blazers maintain a link through ownership to Microsoft.

Oregon communities are allocating land for 9,100 acres of new data centers — including the state's first "exascale" project, an Amazon site near Boardman that could be the size of 1,000 football fields and use up to 1,300 gallons of water per minute. www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Amazon paid a small rural Oregon firm owned by local officials more than $100m while seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in data center tax breaks from some of those same public officials. www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

"leaders have only secured $5.5 billion for the bridge replacement, leaving lawmakers from both Oregon and Washington wondering where they will find the money to complete the project, which is now not expected to be finished for TWO DECADES." via @carlosfuentes.bsky.social

Oregon lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a one-year moratorium on data centers’ eligibility for one major property tax break this week, the first time the state has taken any step to rein in the industry's extraordinary incentives. www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Agility Robotics says it'll now call itself...Agility. The Salem-based company now describes itself as providing "commercially deployed humanoids." (Previously, it said, "Agility's humanoid robots are deployed today in manufacturing, distribution, and logistics.")

The Oregon Legislature is moving toward imposing a 1-year moratorium on major new tax breaks for data centers. This is a big, surprising reversal. Gov. Kotek had been pushing to expand data center inventives. www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Camas-based nLight Corp., whose lasers can shoot down attack drones, is up 17% in early trading this morning to an all-time high, $65.82/share.

As Oregon's data center tax breaks have grown they've become more expensive to manage. Counties want help covering those costs. They're not getting it, so they're opposing Gov. Kotek's economic development bill (which further expands data centers' tax breaks.) www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Gov. Kotek says data centers’ impact on Oregon is “not sustainable” at the current growth rate, citing impacts on water, energy and community resources. But she's pushing ahead to expand tax breaks through a program that primarily benefits data centers. www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...

Many states are considering reining in tax breaks for data centers, citing rising energy costs and environmental impacts. Gov. Tina Kotek's economic development bill would take Oregon in the other direction, substantially boosting the state's data center giveaways.

This is the kind of quirky, insightful, distinctly Oregon bit of whimsy that only @editorswindler.bsky.social can deliver.

“I wasn’t going out like that.” After winning his third 3-Point Contest, Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard says he’s “representing strength” as he fights back from Achilles injury: www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2026...

The government is pouring billions into leading-edge chip factories. But without advanced R&D in the U.S., too, those plants would rely entirely on overseas tech — “stuck in time” in case of a disaster in Asia. Intel’s Oregon researchers could be the solution, if they can deliver.

a) Everyone has known for a long time that the NBA was going to demand Moda renovations b) The city/state/county had no one to deal with while the ownership was in flux c) Now that there's a (almost) a new owner, someone (the league? the new owner?) apparently wants immediate action.

Reuters says Intel's deal to buy SambaNova is off. The chipmaker would invest $100m-$150m instead, according to Reuters. (Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is, of course, an SambaNova investor and the company's chairman.)

The NBA has Portland at a distinct disadvantage. With employment and business activity down and its national reputation damaged, the city can ill-afford to lose a major franchise. Portland -- and MultCo, and the state -- do have leverage. It'll be interesting how and if they coordinate to use it.

Here's the concept for the new Lloyd Center. We also now know the main mall will shut down at some point this year, and yes, the whole thing is slated for demolition, including the ice rink:

Fun to see Linda Weston reflect on the early days of professional women's basketball in Portland, and her take on the Fire's launch. “The more you can build community, the better." via @nikstreng.bsky.social

For decades Nike has repeated a mantra: Workers in its Asian factories make double the minimum wages. @matthewkish.bsky.social shows that isn't so. That leaves many workers struggling to get by, some earning as little as $150 a month.

The family has a pending asylum claim. Read my story to find out more: ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

Wall Street analysts say the gaffe raises doubts about Intel's ability to deliver on its turnaround plan.

Intel shares had been on a tear but the stock slid 13% this afternoon after executives admitted they had badly underestimated demand from data centers. “We are working aggressively to address this and better support our customers’ needs going forward," CEO Lip-Bu Tan told investors.

Another $30M for chip architecture startup AheadComputing, which has grown from 80 employees last spring to 118 now. Most work at its Beaverton HQ. AheadComputing is among several young companies in the Portland area focused on semiconductor innovation.

Intel shares up 11% this morning at $53.87. January is the first time in 2+ years that the stock has topped $50. Intel is being buoyed by analyst upgrades, optimism over foundry work with Apple and expectations that AI demand will spill over to Intel's CPUs. Intel reports Q4 numbers tomorrow.

Gov. Tina Kotek has named a panel of climate and energy professionals to study data centers' impact on Oregon's environment and energy supply, and to issue recommendations. The panel won't, however, make recommendations about the enormous tax breaks that bring data centers to Oregon.

Google execs say they are all about transparency. Their track record says otherwise. They tried to keep their water use secret. The Oregonian had to sue to make that information public. This was one Google executive’s response when I pressed him about the lawsuit.

via @shanedkavanaugh.bsky.social

Lip-Bu Tan's connection to ACM Research adds to mounting questions about how he is balancing his technology investments with his day job as Intel's CEO.

Reuters: Intel has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by U.S. sanctions.

Reuters weighs in on the same issue: www.reuters.com/business/int...

NYT looks at potential conflicts between Lip-Bu Tan's role as Intel's CEO and his side gig as a chip industry investor.

I really admire the state's determination, every year, to pitch Oregon's almanac and directory as a thoughtful Christmas gift. But how many people *really* want a "legacy" Blue Book from, say, 2007, under the Christmas tree?

Former Intel President Renée James sold her chip startup Ampere to SoftBank this year for $6.5B. At the Oregon Leadership Summit this morning, James says she's starting a *new* company. She didn't offer any specifics but asked Oregon lawmakers why she should do it here, given taxes/regulation/etc

Fascinating to compare how the Oregon Business Plan views the state's economic issues (and potential solutions... oregonbusinessplan.org/wp-content/u...

I asked the State Department about this. Here's the response: "The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens."

Intel shares up 10% this morning

A potential breakthrough for Intel, from a reputable source.

Intel acknowledges hiring former TSMC exec Wei-Jen Lo and says it acted properly. “Based on everything we know today, we see no merit to the allegations involving Wei-Jen, and he continues to have our full support," says CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

Ampere says it has completed its $6.5B sale to SoftBank.

Major exposé in Rolling Stone on Morrow County, the nitrates disaster and Amazon's role in the community:

Governor Tina Kotek announced today she received a verbal demobilization order from the U.S. Northern Command for the 200 Oregon National Guard members.

Here are the details on PowerLattice (now HQ'd in Vancouver), which emerged from stealth today with a $25m round: www.oregonlive.com/silicon-fore...