Articles from oregonlive.com

Google just wanted to be left alone. A titan of technology, the company knew little about small towns when it arrived here six years ago. It even imagined Oregon might not notice the $1 billion server farm it built along the Columbia River. Google left its name off fences surrounding the 37-acre property, erecting a sign warning unwelcome visitors of "severe tire damage" should they cross the threshold. It even obscured its buildings from Google Maps' aerial view of the property. "They were definitely the most secret company we've ever dealt with by one-hundredfold," said Scott Hege, a Wasco County commissioner who was running the Port of The Dalles when it negotiated the land sale in 2005. "They told us at one point no one would ever know who they were." (Read Full Article)

Facebook's arrival in this depressed central Oregon city in January generated thrills across the state. The social networking titan's decision to build its first data center in Crook County promised an economic infusion and a bit of high-tech glamour for an old-economy region with 17.5 percent unemployment and badly in need of something fresh. (Read Full Article)