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In the news:

With eyes on Ore., SoloPower raises $51M California solar energy products manufacturer SoloPower Inc. on Wednesday said it raised nearly $51.6 million in new capital, one day after Oregon officials said the company is seeking a $20 million loan to build a Wilsonville plant. (bizjournals.com)

New bill would make room for cyclists It might seem like common sense, but Washington state Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, has introduced House Bill 1018 to govern how cars should pass bicycles, explain where bicycles belong in the roadway and tell cyclists to avoid pedestrians on a trail. (Politics Northwest)

OSU: Texas is larger than plastic island Claims of an island of plastic garbage twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean are bogus and undermine efforts to combat the problem ocean garbage, an Oregon State University researcher said Tuesday. (The World)

Wildlife repeal sidesteps black bear rule lawsuit Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife leaders last week signed a temporary rule repealing a requirement that they revise and update the agency’s black bear plan every five years. The plan had not been reviewed since 1998, which led to the threat of a lawsuit from the Applegate Valley conservation group Big Wildlife. (Mali Tribune)

Bottled water labels lack key data, group says (San Francisco Chronicle)

Western Montana cold not enough to kill pine beetles, expert says It’s been below zero, and the weather will likely dip down there a few more times this winter, but that won’t freeze out western Montana’s mountain pine beetle epidemic. “The magic number is often 30 to 40 below zero,” said Peter Kolb, Montana State University extension forester in Missoula. (missoulian.com)

Christmas trees become lake habitat for fish For people like Pete Alexander, the best gifts arrive after the holidays. That is when he receives hundreds of unsold Christmas trees deemed dross by most everyone else and makes them useful again, turning them into habitats for fish in otherwise barren lakes. (New York Times)

Solar leases now qualify for Oregon tax credits Homeowners can now receive Residential Energy Tax Credits from the Oregon Department of Energy to lease a solar photovoltaic system. (djcoregon.com)

Ford to install engine start-stop technology on gasoline-powered cars “The technology, currently used on hybrid Ford vehicles, cuts off the engine when a car is stopped at a traffic light and switches it back on when the driver’s foot leaves the brake pedal.” (Reuters Blogs)

No-till farming reduces greenhouse gas Cropland that’s left unplowed between harvests releases significantly smaller amounts of a potent greenhouse gas than conventionally plowed fields, according to a new study that suggests no-till farming can combat global warming. (capitalpress.com)

Ranchers want to use horses for food again Ranchers and horse owners in the U.S. should be allowed to slaughter their animals and sell the meat as food, said dozens of breeders, trainers and lawmakers gathered to revive the nation’s shuttered horse processing industry. (capitalpress.com)