{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-south-oregon-coast-earns-300000-federal-investment-for-tech-entrepreneurs", "Wyden, Merkley: South Oregon Coast Earns $300,000 Federal Investment for Tech Entrepreneurs", "2023-11-17", "2023", "2023-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", "wyden", "https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that the South Coast Development Council, Inc. in Coos Bay has secured a $300,000 federal investment to nurture local tech-based start-ups.\n\n\u201cThis federal investment in the South Coast will generate jobs, innovation and economic activity that will ripple out for years to come,\u201d Wyden said. \u201cI\u2019m gratified that key business, education and civic leaders in this rural Oregon community have teamed up to earn these resources. And I\u2019ll keep battling for communities throughout Oregon to receive similar funds that build strong local economies.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmall businesses are the backbone of Oregon\u2019s economy, and even more so for our rural and coastal communities,\u201d said Merkley. \u201cThese important investments heading to the South Coast Development Council will support jobs, drive innovation, and help strengthen the local economy of the South Coast.\u201d\n\nThe $300,000 from the federal Economic Development Administration is designed to accelerate technology entrepreneurship on the South Coast by increasing access to entrepreneurial support and startup capital. The South Coast Incubator Technology Industry Ecosystem Development project is led by the South Coast Development Council, Inc. with support from Southwestern Oregon Community College and the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend.\n\n\u201cThis is a perfectly-timed opportunity for our rural communities on the south Oregon coast. Our center now can develop a technology-based business incubator to help grow new businesses that focus on the fast-evolving Green Energy and Blue Economy sectors,\u201d said Derek Tonn, director of Southwestern\u2019s Small Business Development Center. \u201cThat means direct assistance to local entrepreneurs developing tech-based products and services for clean energy innovation and people who work on the ocean and rivers.\u201d\n\n\"This collaboration between South Coast Development Council, Inc., Southwestern Oregon Community College, their Small Business Development Center, and the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend is a potentially transformative step for Oregon's South Coast,\u201d said Bryan Sykes, interim executive director, South Coast Development Council Inc. \u201cThe business incubator located on Southwestern\u2019s campus will foster tech-based entrepreneurship, offering prototyping services and comprehensive support to emerging businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-south-oregon-coast-earns-300000-federal-investment-for-tech-entrepreneurs"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5385732986032963, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}