Amidst the gloom and doom making the headlines, let's not forget to note the opening of Solar World.  Its $400 million investment could lead to tge manufacture of a lot of energy every year--as much as 500 megawatts--not to mention the addition of 1,000 family wage jobs by 2011.

This is a big deal for lots of reasons.  First, isn't it nice to read good news?

Second, of course, is the investment and the jobs that will come.

Third--and maybe the most important--is the diversity this adds to the Orenco Station-Bethany-Sunset Corridor economic base.  I love Intel and the high tech companies, but it's great to have something else in case the chip biz goes south sometime. The world will always need more energy, and it's nice to copper our economic bets.

"Copper your bets" is an old Nevada term, by the way, where I'm from. It refers to roulette strategy of placing your bets in such a way that your losses would be minimized.

Anyway.  Kudos all around, to the Kulongoski administration, to Senators Wyden and Smith, and to the Washington County economic development team.