Can anything be done to reverse the trend of a declining Oregon strawberry industry? Attendees of a one-day strawberry summit next week hope the answer is yes and will try to identify strategies to revitalize what was once a major Oregon agricultural commodity."The strawberry is an icon of Oregon agriculture," says Gary Roth, administrator of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Development and Marketing Division. "There are more than 220 commodities produced in this state. ... [full story]

The 14 lawyers who face sanctions for "exceptional misconduct" in a Qualcomm patent lawsuit said they acted in good faith and never sought to conceal evidence from Broadcom or mislead anyone in the case. Many of the lawyers said they were shocked to learn that more than 200,000 relevant documents were found on the computers of Qualcomm engineers months after the trial ended, according to statements filed late Wednesday in San Diego federal court. It ... [full story]

Ask any 14-year-old boy about "Halo 3," and chances are you'll get a response involving the armor-crusted space Marine, Master Chief, who battles to save humanity from a federation of aliens known as the Covenant.   BEST LAID PLANS - Microsoft is betting heavily on the success of its new video game 'Halo 3.' CNS Photo Illustration by Michael P. Franklin. Predecessors "Halo" and "Halo 2" were so successful that Master Chief has joined Mario and Pac-Man ... [full story]

Fair warning for travelers to the City of Brotherly Love. Don't call Philadelphia the "next New York" just because the saloon and restaurant scene here is suddenly smokin' hot. Locals cringe. In fact, for libation lovers, Philly may even be cooler than Gotham but on a smaller scale. At the Water Works, a onetime utility circa 1812, barmaestro Mariaelena Galie makes her Manhattan by infusing super smooth Knob Creek bourbon with sour cherries for 38 ... [full story]

What's in a name? If it's Paris Hilton, dancing in your swank new nightclub or staying at your upscale hotel, the answer is instant - if not necessarily durable - success.   CREATING A BUZZ - Stingaree is one of the many upscale nightclubs and hotels in San Diego that court celebrities to help build awareness of their businesses. The club paid an undisclosed sum for singer Beyonce to hold a party. CNS Photo by Sean ... [full story]

  PURSE HOOKS - Glass and clay domes adorn purse hooks sold by PurseHook.Net, begun by contractor Rich Shamlian. CNS Photo by Nelvin Cepeda.    FISH HOOKS - Rich Shamlian runs PurseHook.Net out of his garage, which houses his fishing hook collection. CNS Photo by Nelvin Cepeda. Rich Shamlian knows hooks. The San Diego angler has dozens of them in the small, low-slung garage behind his cottage. Large thick hooks for catching sharks in the ocean. Short, stubby ones ... [full story]

Beer Industry Employs over 24,000 Oregonians, Pays nearly $675 million in Wages Each year, Oregonians mark the Labor Day holiday with backyard cookouts and ice-cold beer.  Alongside the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, Labor Day is one of the busiest sales periods for beer in the United States.  Sales during the Labor Day holiday also contribute to the nearly $2.2 billion of economic activity generated by the beer industry in Oregon each year.  “Oregon’s ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - Wonder (Bread) no more. The iconic brand that helped define the eating habits of the baby-boom generation will no longer be available on shelves in Southern California. Interstate Bakeries Corp., the maker of Wonder Bread and other baked goods, said Tuesday it will close g its bakeries in San Diego, Pomona, Glendale and Los Angeles. Other brands that will disappear in the region include Home Pride Bread, Baker's Inn and Roman Meal. ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - Prosecutors said Monday they will proceed with a retrial of three of the four defendants from the first Peregrine Systems financial fraud trial, which ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked in favor of acquittal. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan set Jan. 8 as a tentative date for the retrial of Gary L. Lenz, Peregrine's former chief operating officer; Patrick Towle, the former accounting manager; and Daniel F. Stulac, the ... [full story]

The music industry - upended by Internet piracy and new forms of digital distribution - now faces another hurdle in the era of iTunes, MP3s and ringtones: how to divvy up income from those sales.   THEIR SHARE - Scott Holcombe (left) and Steve Grady worked in the online music industry in San Diego before helping found RoyaltyShare, a Web-based service that calculates record companies' royalty payments to songwriters, singers and publishers. CNS Photo by Earnie ... [full story]

Table 17 in the saloon side of the Metropolitan Cafe is the best perch in all of Cleveland for people watching, especially on a late summer day, locals insist. But it's a tough seat to snag. Floor to ceiling windows look out on West 6th and St. Clair in the buzzing downtown Warehouse District. "It's the hottest corner in the city and this is the best bar, bar none," says banker Ken Ake who's sharing ... [full story]

Finally, some good - no make that great - news for cost-conscious, comfort-seeking, style savvy business travelers who shuttle between San Francisco and Los Angeles. After years of paying a king's ransom to United for a nonstop between SFO and LAX and getting squished seats, bland to bad service and suspicious cancellations, the charming buccaneer of the skies, Sir Richard Branson, has parachuted in with his Virgin America. Well, Virgin America is not 100 percent ... [full story]

The world's richest man is bringing Starbucks to Tijuana, Mexico, setting up a possible coffee war between the world's largest coffeehouse chain and the popular Mexican chain D'Volada. The conglomerate associated with Carlos Slim Helu - the Mexico City billionaire who recently edged out Bill Gates as the wealthiest person on Earth - is opening the first Starbucks in the Plaza Rio Tijuana shopping center, Tijuana economic development director Octavio Corona said. It's the first ... [full story]