Biz Beat 9-19-2013

Rebates for ductless heat pumps are being offered by local utilitiy EPUD. EPUD announced last week that its rebates for ductless heat pumps have been raised from $1,000 to $1,500 for a limited time, and for the first time, $350 rebates are being offered on heat pump water heaters through Oct. 31. EWEB is no longer offering rebates on ductless heat pumps for both homeowners and landlords, but the incentives are expected to return later this year, says Lance Robertson, spokesperson for EWEB. “We will also be offering zero-interest loans, up to $4,000,” he says. “Not sure other utilities do that.” Robertson says EWEB is in the process of redesigning all of its conservation programs, and “there will be a host of other offerings.”

Rolf Prima, the Eugene performance bike wheel company, reports it is “bringing the manufacturing back to the U.S.,” and has started manufacturing alloy bicycle rims in-house. “It has been a long time in the making and we are very proud to finally make it public,” says Brooke Stehley of the company. See rolfprima.com or call (888) 308-7700.

Chrysalis, an adult outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program of White Bird Clinic, has a new location at 350 E. 11th Ave. in Eugene and will be hosting an open house from 12:30 to 2:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 26. Call 683-1641 or see whitebirdclinic.org for more information.

BoltBus plans to expand its premium bus service to Eugene and Albany Oct. 3. The service from Eugene will include four roundtrips daily from 5th Street Public Market to Portland Thursday to Monday, with several schedules each week continuing on to Seattle. In Albany, BoltBus will operate service from the Albany Transit Center four days a week to Portland and Eugene. Currently, BoltBus, a division of Greyhound, operates in the Seattle, Bellingham, Portland and Vancouver areas. Tickets and more information can be found at boltbus.com or from drivers on a walk-up basis. 

Shirley Lyons, owner of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts, 1710 Chambers St. in Eugene, will be inducted as president of the Society of American Florists at the trade association’s national convention in Arizona Saturday, Sept. 21. Lyons will be the first woman to hold this office in the 130-year history of the society, which represents the entire floriculture industry in North America. As part of her duties as president, she will travel in early October to Bogota, Colombia, to attend the bi-annual Colombian ProFlora fresh flower exhibition. See dandelionsflowers.com. 

City Club of Eugene is surveying its members about the location of its meetings (currently held at the Hilton), the food offerings and cost, and program topics. About 55 people responded to the survey as of last week, so results are preliminary. LCC’s Downtown Campus meeting room is running a bit more popular than the Hilton as a venue. Third place is the Downtown Athletic Club followed by Cozmic. About the food? “It costs too much” got a 46 percent response compared to “Just right” getting a 28 percent response. The lunch meeting this Friday, Sept. 20, at the Hilton will have Scott Freck, executive director of the Eugene Symphony Association, speaking on “What Makes the Eugene Symphony Work?”

Noble Estate Vineyard and Winery just outside Eugene took six awards at the recent Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival, including Best of Show for its Semi-Sparkling Muscat, says Amy Shadell of Noble Estate. See nobleestatewinery.com.