Hillsboro Tribune FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 • SERVING HILLSBORO • • VOL

Gracie makes sense! Bravo! Hillsboro Artists’ Repertoire Theatre Our fall arts guide is brings Gracie Allen to life bursting with local events — See A10 Inside Hillsboro Tribune FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 • SERVING HILLSBORO • WWW.HILLSBOROTRIBUNE.COM • VOL. 01, NO. 01 • FREE State stiffs county on tax funds ■ About $12 By JIM REDDEN Hillsboro, several now state offi cials say they are try- “We’re not asking for a handout,” tate the transfer. The Hillsboro Tribune special districts, ing to determine if the law creating says Washington County Chair The county has already dedicat- million in Metro and the the program properly authorizes Andy Duyck. “We entered into a ed $4.5 million of the funds to one- Gain Share A possible glitch in a state law Port of Portland, the Department of Revenue to pro- partnership with the state, we up- time projects in its current budget. money still is apparently preventing local which operates cess the payments. held our end of the bargain and we The projects will either have to be and regional governments in the Hillsboro Air- “We should know within a few expect them to do so, too.” funded from other sources or can- hasn’t been Washington County from receiv- port. weeks if we can make the pay- County offi cials are questioning celed if the preliminary answer is transferred ing state funds owned them for The money was ments or if a legislative fi x is re- the explanation, noting the Gain correct. from Salem, waiving property taxes to en- expected under a quired. If we can make the pay- Share legislation was thoroughly If state officials conclude they courage large investments by In- DUYCK provision of the ments, we will, says Michael Jor- reviewed by committees in both the cannot legally make the payments, but agency tel and Genentech in Hillsboro. state’s heavily dan, chief executive offi cer and di- Oregon House and state Senate. It the 2013 Legislature will have to working on Washington County has been ex- promoted Strategic Investment rector of the state Department of was also reviewed by the state amend the law to allow them. State pecting to receive about $12 million Program called Gain Share, ap- Administrative Services. agencies involved in the fund trans- Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-District 18) the issue in the fi scal year that began on July proved by the 2007 Legislature. But The answer does not please fer, including DAS, where a Shared 1. It is to be split with the city of the money has not arrived, and Washington County officials. Services Fund was created to facili- See FUNDS / Page A8 ■ Hillsboro, Museum Washington On the CUTTING edge County in moves to driver’s seat of regional economy Hillsboro hen experts talk about the strength of the Port- land-area economy, center Wthey increasingly mean Washington County and especially Rent-free space Hillsboro, the fastest-growing city in the region. expected to draw Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey has experienced the transformative ef- people downtown fects of Hillsboro’s growth fi rst hand. They include the creation of a boom- By CHRISTIAN GASTON ing high- The Hillsboro Tribune Story by tech corri- Jill Eiland, Intel dor, a revi- NW’s corporate It’s offi cial. The Washington Jim Redden talized his- affairs manager, County Museum will make its new Photos by toric dis- stands in a fi eld home in downtown Hillsboro, Chase Allgood trict near near the loading up 13,000 square feet of the Civic expansion space in the city’s Civic Center Center and project on the with artifacts and cultural items. new mixed- Museum offi cials signed a 15-year, Ronler Acres use neighborhoods at locations that rent-free lease Campus. include Orenco Station and the with the city of Streets of Tanasbourne. Hillsboro last “We want to “I’ve seen Hillsboro’s population rectly supports tens of thousands of Intel’s total economic impact in Or- week. The deal help draw grow from about 27,000 in 1983 to over other workers throughout the region egon was estimated at more than calls for the muse- people into 92,000 today, with high and the state. And thou- $17.3 billion in a February 2011 analy- um to pay for the employment and a sands of other workers sis prepared by ECONorthwest, an remodeling costs. downtown healthy tax base, even “People have have been busy building economic consulting fi rm. The vast “The space at Hillsboro and during the recession,” the new $3 billion D1X majority of that impact was in Wash- our Civic Center says Willey. said Hillsboro is development facility on ington County, where median house- gives the museum consolidate Calling the changes a city on the company’s Ronler Acres hold incomes were $62,574 in 2012, far more visibility and the city as “absolutely positive,” Campus in Hillsboro for above the nation, state and rest of the easier access for an arts and Willey says the increased edge because nearly two years. region. their visitors while property tax revenue we’re on the Intel officials are “Economists say Portland drives Construction is nearly complete on at the same time culture generated by the growth keenly aware of their the state, but Washington County improvements to Intel’s D1X building and brings more people destination.” has allowed Hillsboro to edge of the company’s outsized in- drives Portland and Intel drives its D1C and D1D facilities on the Ronler to downtown Hills- — Museum Director improve its livability with urban growth fl uence in Hillsboro and Washington County,” says Alec Jo- Acres Campus. boro,” said Hills- such features as added the rest of the state, says sephson, the ECONorthwest senior boro Mayor Jerry Sam Shogren parks and bike trails. boundary. I like Jill Eiland, the compa- economist who worked on the 2011 tical company, the Eid Passport iden- Willey in a state- Many of the changes to say we’re a ny’s Northwest Regional analysis. tify verifi cation company, among oth- ment issued Fri- are the result of the more Corporate Affairs Man- Hillsboro is not a one-company ers. day. “Together, we will be growing than $20 billion invested city on the ager. town. Many other businesses have ei- And Hillsboro plans to add even another great venue for downtown in Aloha and Hillsboro cutting edge.” “It helps make us sure ther opened or moved to its high-tech more companies to the mix in coming Hillsboro.” since 1974 by Intel Corp., — Hillsboro Mayor that we remain a viable corridor during the past few years, years, according to Willey. The deal solves a problem for each the semiconductor chip Jerry Willey company,” says Eiland, expanding its impact on the regional “Hillsboro has always been a for- agency. manufacturer. The com- who considers Intel to and state economy even more. They ward-looking city,” says Willey. The nonprofit museum’s current pany now employs more be a Washington County include the TriQuint semi-conductor site, on Portland Community College’s than 17,000 workers in Oregon, mostly company because it has facilities in company, the SolarWorld solar power See EDGE / Page A8 in Hillsboro. The company also indi- both Aloha and Hillsboro. company, the Genentech pharmaceu- See MUSEUM / Page A5 STEM focus gives school new tools Quatama Elementary be home base for hands-on based programs and Interna- learning about the construc- “We can start generating tional Bacculareate are popu- will get help with tion of bird houses, the sci- lar. ence of worm composting, some curiosity. We can Here, the majority saw science, math skills math and language arts les- get them to start STEM as the best way to pre- sons as they relate to bird and pare their children for college By JENNIFER ANDERSON bug and plant habitats as they learning about wind, then and careers, a pipeline to the The Hillsboro Tribune apply to the different grade designing windmills. high-tech job community and levels. Science and technology is a context to learning any sub- n the fi ve years that Qua- “We’re trying to reach all ject they should decide to pur- tama Elementary School different kinds of learners, just a context.” sue. has been around, stu- trying to engage students in — Chris Steiner, Hillsboro teacher So the district started work- Idents have used the stuff that matters so that they ing on designated two schools nearby community garden will be excited about learning, as STEM-focused, when the plot to grow vegetables, but reading and math,” says Prin- “Everybody likes this idea,” Intel STEM Center opened in not in any focused, integrated cipal Janis Hill, in her fifth says Chris Steiner, the Hills- April with a $40,000 grant for way. year at Quatama. “The goal is boro teacher who is leading STEM studies in Hillsboro All that is about to change inside or outside the class- the district’s STEM-related schools. this year as the diverse school room, the work is meaningful work. “Hillsboro is a techno- District leaders quickly des- of 560 students — just a mile and engages kids in real prob- logical community, and the ignated two more STEM focus away from the Intel campus — lem solving.” community wants it.” schools, and hope to involve as becomes one of four Hillsboro Quatama is one of four ele- Steiner says the Hillsboro many local businesses and public schools designated as a mentary schools in Hillsboro School Board had surveyed its parents in the effort. PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ STEM (science, technology, to get the STEM designation families about what kinds of “We don’t need a lot of bet- Quatama Elementary School Principal Janis Hill stands at the school’s engineering and math) focus this fall, as part of a larger re- programs they wanted to see ter equipment but we do need plot at a community garden adjacent to the Hillsboro school.

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