Both the Oregon Board of Dentistry and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners have banned the use of Groupons. The reason for the ban is because both boards feel that Groupon violates their no commissions / no fee-splitting policies.

For some it sounds like more of a perception thing and less about fee splitting, as they don’t want their respectable practice lumped in with the other common-folk businesses that utilize Groupons. Arn Strasser DC appeared before the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners and made the following statement:

“The question is, what do schemes such as Groupon, where we would join restaurants, nail parlors and tanning salons, along with medical providers such as dentists and cosmetic surgeons, do to our credibility and how the public perceives us? In my opinion, offering discounted services in a fee splitting arrangement with companies such as Groupon undermines our credibility…”

Will the decisions from the Oregon boards be the first domino to fall in a widespread ban of Groupon? Eh, probably not. But, it does appear that the be will at least be creeping into California for chiropractors there, as Robert Puleo, executive officer of the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners stated in an interview, “I am sure if it’s happening in Oregon, it’ll be coming to California, too.”

According to BusinessWeek, Groupon hasn’t been made aware of the Oregon boards’ concerns. A spokesperson for Groupon said, “we routinely work with regulators to address questions or concerns and are happy to do so here, too, if they care to reach out“.

The lead image is supposedly the Groupon that got all the ruckus started, according to BusinessInsider.

To be clear: nothing’s been confirmed, and no timeframe’s even been hinted at.  But people have at least gone on the record.

Prineville City Manager Steve Forrester told John Letzing, "What they [Facebook] have indicated to us is they would like to continue with expansion, which would require a second building just like the one they just built."

Then Ken Patchett, who Facebook put in charge of the first data center, semi-confirmed, "If our business requires it, we’ve made the plans to do that."

Facebook’s been on something of a data center spree since early last year.  First it announced the Prineville data center.  Later, the company decided to double the facility’s size.  Then in November, it committed to building a data center in Forest City, North Carolina, as well.

So we’ll keep an eye out for announcements regarding a second groundbreaking in Prineville.  With the 120 or so acres Facebook owns in the area, the company could definitely make something happen.

In fact, Oregon is the first state to agree to make Google Apps available to all of its public schools, meaning this is a significant breakthrough for Google.  And if all goes well, it could represent the start of a trend, since other states would want to reap the same benefits as Oregon.

As for the exact nature of those benefits, the Oregon Department of Education will supposedly save $1.5 million per year by switching to Google Apps.  And there are some other consequences that won’t show up on any balance sheet.

Jaime Casap, a Google Apps Education manager, wrote on the Official Google Blog, "With Google Apps, students in Oregon can build websites or email teachers about a project. . . .  And instead of just grading a paper at the end of the process, Oregonian teachers can help students with their docs in real time, coaching them along the way. It’s critical that students learn how to use the kind of productivity technology they’ll need throughout their lives, and Oregon is helping students across the state do just that."

Oregon and Google are moving fast, too, considering a "Request an Oregon Google Apps account now!" link is already live on an Oregon Virtual School District site.

Oregon has sent cease and desist letters to Justia and Public.Resource.Org for posting copies of Oregon laws, known as the Oregon Revised Statutes. The notice states," The Oregon Revised Statutes is copyrighted material, the author and copyright owner of which is the Legislative Counsel Committee of the State of Oregon."

The state says that the text of the laws is not covered by copyright but the way the law is presented is protected by copyright (such as the numbering, the notes and annotations).

The letter goes on to state, "Revenue from the sale and licensing of that work product, both in print and database form, is dedicated by state statute to supporting the work necessary to compile and publish the Oregon Revised Statutes and to making the law accessible to the public."

Over at Techdirt Michael Masnick brings up a good point,"It’s difficult to see what Oregon could possibly gain in trying to force copies of its laws off of public resource legal sites."

The answer could be in the final paragraph of the letter which invites Justia "to inquire about terms for a license to display the Oregon Revised Statutes," on its Web site.

Craigslist Logo
(Photo Credit: Craigslist)

Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrested a couple in Medford, Oregon on Monday for stealing two horse saddles and other items from Robert Salisbury’s home a few days before placing the bogus ads on Craigslist.

The sheriff’s office tracked the origin of the Craigslist ads to a computer owned by Brandon Herbert, 29, and Amber Herbert, 28. They had been to Salisbury’s home because the property was for rent but had not other connection with him. They posted the ads to try to hide their crime and sold the stolen saddles online.

Brandon and Amber Herbert were charged with burglary, theft and computer crimes.

Some of Salisbury’s possessions have been returned since the crime made news, but he is still missing a significant amount of property according to the sheriff’s office.

"Other Craigslist hoaxes we’ve seen were malicious, but this was not the revenge-type thing we were expecting," Sgt. Colin Fagan said according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. "But it was pretty sinister."
 

CraigsList Logo
(Photo Credit: CraigsList)

The ads said that the owner of the home Robert Salisbury was forced to leave the area immediately and all his possessions, including a horse were free for anyone to take. Salisbury realized something was very wrong when he received a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to take his horse.

He rushed home to a surreal scene. "I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give stuff back," Salisbury told The Seattle Times. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."

Around 30 people were still taking items from the house as Salisbury did his best to stop them. He said because they saw the Craigslist ad online they believed it was true.

Jacksonville police are investigating the incident and are working with Craigslist legal team to find out who placed the phony ad.

The hoax calls into question Craigslist policy of anonymity with its posters that some say is too loose. A similar incident happened in Tacoma, Washington after a woman posted an ad on Craigslist telling people to "please help yourself to anything on the property."