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SATURDAY October 20,2012
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COMMUNITY LIFE • B1
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bendbulletin.com BEND VENTURE CONFERENCE
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companywins 265ICprize By Rachael Rees The Bulletin
The 2012 Bend Venture Conference marked a night of superlatives Friday on Northwest Wall Street: the most capital ever awarded the win ning enterprise, the most startups vying for the prize and the first time angels poured money into more than just the winner. Three companies still in the launch stage togethercarried away a record $335,000 at the ninth annual conference. David Starr, CEO and president of Beaver ton-based Sonivate Medical, took the $265,000 grand prize for his ultrasound technology com pany and its finger-tip mounted ultrasound
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• Military health plan'new s administrator may limit accessto top-tier services By Andrew Clevenger
of defensefor health affairs,to express concern over possible WASHINGTON — Many active changes to TRICARE in Oregon duty service members, retirees that would limit access to TRI and their families in Oregon may CARE Prime, a m anaged-care lose access to the top tier of the plan similar to an HMO. Instead, military's health care plan when beneficiaries would have to use a new contractor begins adminis TRICARE Standard, the basic tering the program in April. fee-for-service plan offered by Thursday, Rep. Greg Walden, TRICARE, which serves about 9.7 R-Hood River, wrote Dr. James million active duty service mem Woodson, the assistant secretary bers, National Guard and Reserve The Bulletin
m embers and retirees, as well as their families and survivors. United Healthcare is scheduled to take over the administration of TRICARE in certain Western states, including Oregon, from the current contractor, TriWest, on April 1, 2013. Reports indicate that when it does, it will only offer TRICARE Prime within 40 miles of military t reatment facilities, Walden wrote.
The only two m i litary treat ment facilities in Oregon are in Astoria and North Bend, meaning thousands of beneficiaries away from the Coast — mainly along Interstate 5 — would lose access to TRICARE Prime. "I also fear that, with the elimi nation of the Prime option, the network of providers who support this option may no longer be able or willing to provide services to TRICARE beneficiaries," the let ter states. SeeTRICARE/A7
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probe. "There weresix great companies there, and anyone couldhave won the conference," Starr said. "I was hoping it would be me because I've seen theseother companies that came before us andthey used the Bend Venture Conference
as a spring board for doing bigger and better things."
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David Starr, president and CEO of Beaverton based Sonivate Medical, received the grand prize of $265,000 for the launch-stage compe tition at the Bend Venture Conference Friday evening.
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ELECTION: HOUSE DISTRICT 54
With big implications for Salem,Bendrace is closelywatched
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Cash Satterlee, of Redmond, attempts to pull his wagon full of pumpkins down the path while searching for more pumpkins with his family Friday at DD Ranch in Terrebonne. The ranch, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is located at 3836 N.E. Smith Rock Way. For more information, visit http://ddranch.net.
By Laaren Dake The Bulletin
SALEM — The exchange between Jason Conger and Nathan Hovekamp, candidates for Oregon House District 54, at a Bend forum this month was at times heated and cutting. "Nathan wants to be your state rep," the incumbent Conger, a Re publican, told the standing-room only audience at the Bend Public Library. Hovekamp But, Conger said, his challeng er has "no new ideas or propos als. And just offers platitudes and talking points on political rhetoric (~ that goes all over the place." Hovekamp said Conger talked about "civility" and then proceed- Co nger ed to "launch an uncivil attack." With both parties vying to break the state's historic 30-30 split in the Oregon House, the district representing Bend is being watched carefully. There is a lot at stake — whichever party manages to break the tie and win the ma jority will have the power to elect the Speaker of the House. In the ring is Hovekamp, a former Central Oregon Community College professor and bi ologist, versus Conger, a lawyer and partner at Miller Nash. SeeDistrict 54/A7
e p We use recycled newsprint AnIndependent
vol. 109, No. 294,
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Bsec t ions
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
In Silicon Valley,
Season ticket priceincludes companies'perks a big, deductible 'donation' begin at bome By Gilbert M. Gaul McClatchy Newspapers
When 90,000 fans crowd into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the University of Florida campus this Saturday to watch their beloved Gators take on the South Carolina Gamecocks, it will be more than just a football game. For many, it will be one of the highlights of their year, a rol licking, emotional experience, with Florida in the hunt for a national championship. But increasingly, that expe rience comes with a hefty and controversial price tag. These days it takes more than a ticket to get into the
stadium. Florida and scores of other football powerhouses require fans to make thou sands of dollars in "donations" to their athletic departments before they even get a season ticket. The level of donation determineswhere fans sit.The more they give, the better the view. A seat in the prized Bull Gator section at Florida re quires a $14,500 contribution. Don't think there isn't a waiting line. Demand for football tickets almost always exceeds supply. In recent years, a new fan hoping to buy a season ticket to Florida games had to write Gator Boosters Inc., Florida's non
profit booster club, a check for $1,800. That was the entry level donation and does not include the cost of the ticket, which is hundreds of dollars more. To inch up the waiting line, Florida officials recom mend boosting contributions even higher. The money adds up. Last year, Florida took in $17.5 million from its ticket contri bution scheme, records show. Including luxury suites and other premium seats, the fig ure swells to nearly $35 mil lion, equal to about one-third of the entire athletic budget. And that's only one schooL SeeFootball /A4
INDEX B usiness C3-5 Community B1-6 Local News C1-8 Sports 01 - 6 C lassified Ef-4 Crosswords B5, E2 Movies B2 St o ck s C4- 5 Comics B4-5 Horoscope B3 Obituar ies C7 TV B2, 'TV'mag
TODAY'S WEATHER Cloudy, rain High 50, Low 33
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By Matt Richtel New York Times News Service
SAN FRANCISCO — Phil Libin, chief ex ecutive of Evernote, turned to his wife last year and asked if she had suggestions for how the software company might improve the lives of its employees and their families. His wife, who also works at Evernote, didn't miss a beat: housecleaning. Today, Evernote's 250 full-time employees — from receptionist to top executive — have their homes cleaned twice a month, free. It is the latest innovation from Silicon Valley: the employee perk is moving from the office to the home. Facebook gives new parents $4,000 in spending money. Stanford School of Medicine is piloting a project to provide doctors with housecleaning and in home dinner delivery. See Perks/A4
TOP NEWS BEIRUT:Bomb kills at least eight, including intelligence official,A3