Cat in the Hat to pose for photos and serve up green eggs and ham to promote reading The famous cat in the crazy red and white hat has planned a whirlwind visits to La Pine and Bend to help promote the tenth annual Read Across America and to celebrate the 103 birthday of his creator, Dr. Seuss.  The Cat in the Hat kicks off his trip with a visit to La Pine Elementary School ... [full story]

Read a few pages of Anita Bruzzese's book and you probably will see yourself. And, you're almost guaranteed not to like the picture you see. "We hear all the time that people aren't happy in their jobs because of the boss, or because of the company, or because of something else," said Bruzzese, author of the book "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy" (Perigee Trade, $14) "Never once have I heard from ... [full story]

Everyone wants to communicate effectively in the office. Most people probably believe they do. But there are some nonverbal signals you may be giving off that are sending out the wrong impression. Here are five examples and ways to remedy them: - You shoot off brief but confounding e-mails. Your communications should clarify, not confuse. Make messages succinct and clear. While a simple OK is an easy way to reply, your brevity might be construed ... [full story]

Eschelon Telecom, Inc., a provider of integrated communications services to small and medium sized businesses in the western United States, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire United Communications, Inc. (d.b.a. Unicom), a privately-held competitive services provider headquartered in Bend, Oregon. Eschelon will pay approximately $13.9 million in cash to acquire Unicom.  Unicom has approximately $19 million in annual revenue and sells local, long distance, Internet access services and business telephone systems ... [full story]

When I was first asked to join a union, I remember thinking that was the last thing I wanted to do. But I actually wasn't asked to join, I was told to join. It was a stipulation of accepting the job. That didn't sit well with me. I was young, energetic and ambitious about my future and I just couldn't see how being part of union would help me in pursuit of my career plans. ... [full story]

It certainly helps - a college degree - but not all the hot jobs in 2007 will require one. As might be expected, the job market favors those with a four-year college degrees, with just 1.8 percent of these workers currently unemployed. What is surprising is that the unemployment rate for workers with high school diploma and those with some college or an associate's degree is also below the national average of 4.5 percent. The ... [full story]

(Salem, Oregon) The Oregon House of Representatives today approved a measure that would allow only “fire-safe” cigarettes to be sold in the state. The bill, which passed on a unanimous 58-0 vote in the House, requires the State Fire Marshal to determine if a cigarette variety meets the reduced ignition propensity guidelines. “Preventable deaths like the ones caused from cigarette fires are the most tragic,” said House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D-Portland). “This is simple technology ... [full story]

"Petropolis" by Anya Ulinich; Viking; 325 pages; $25. Life in Asbestos 2, a dreary, crumbling Siberian town in the dreary, crumbling Soviet Union, wasn't going to hold back young Sasha Goldberg. Not if her mother had anything to say about it, and her mother had something to say about everything. "Children of the intelligentsia don't just come home in the afternoon and engage in idiocy," she tells her daughter. Two problems: 1) The Goldbergs' membership ... [full story]

One of the trickier quandaries posed by second marriages is relating with each other's grown children and grandchildren. In the first flush of the feelings aroused by falling in love, it's easy to think that everything will go smoothly. After all, we love each other so shouldn't our children and siblings love our new partner, too? It doesn't always work out that way, as Jake and Betsy discovered not long after their marriage 10 years ... [full story]

Governor Kulongoski rallies for increased funding for higher education -- urges legislature to raise corporate minimum income tax and pass his education budget Salem, Oregon -– Yesterday Governor Ted Kulongoski addressed students, faculty, administrators and staff of Oregon’s seven universities and seventeen community colleges and asked for their help to pass his higher education budget, and to raise the state’s corporate minimum income tax to expand financial aid and the Oregon Opportunity Grant.   “The opportunity to afford ... [full story]