On January 26, 2010, Oregonians voted by a wide margin to pass Measures 66 & 67, tax increases on corporations and rich households, in order to limit cuts to schools and critical services. Before AND after the vote, Republican leaders claimed the measures would lead to economic armageddon.

"If these measures are approved, businesses may be forced to reduce hours, reduce employees or simply close their doors to pay the bill"--GOP House Leader Bruce Hanna, at a debate hosted by the Portland Business Alliance.

They were wrong. In the last year, countless businesses--large and small--have moved to or expanded in Oregon. Here are just some of them...

January 23, 2011: H&M to open a location at Clackamas Town Center, its third store in the Portland metro area

January 20, 2011: Oregon venture capital soared in 2010, nearly doubling 2009 numbers. 2010 was Oregon's second best year for venture capital since the dot-com boom

January 14, 2011: SoloPower’s $340 million solar plant to bring 170 new jobs to Wilsonville

January 14, 2011: Cabela’s sporting goods store readies its first Oregon store—in Springfield—which will employ 150-200 workers

January 13, 2011: Intel’s Fourth Quarter profits jump 48% to $3.4 billion

January 13, 2011: John’s Incredible Pizza comes to Beaverton, bringing 185 jobs

January 13, 2011: Eugene-based plant genetics firm Floragenex gets key investment from a Midwest firm

January 12, 2011: Bend brewer 10 Barrel plans to quadruple its production capacity

January 11, 2011: ON Semiconductor shutters two Japanese plants and moves operations to a facility in Gresham

January 6, 2011: Fisherman’s Marine and Outdoor plans to open a third store, in Tigard

January 6, 2011: Subaru moves into a $20 million warehouse that’s twice as large as their previous one

January, 2011: Keen Footwear opens its first retail store in Portland, nears $200 million in revenue company-wide

December 29, 2010: Oregon corporate income tax revenues increased by 60% from 2009 to 2010

December 17, 2010: Oregon’s 10 biggest public companies are sitting on more than $6.3 BILLION in cash and short-term investments—well above previous years

December 16, 2010: Family farm expands into a malting operation for beer

December 14, 2010: Rogue River plywood mill reopens after a year and hires 105 employees

December 10, 2010: Greenbrier Company announces another $135 million in orders for 2,000 new railcars

November 23, 2010: Cabela’s sporting goods store plans to open Oregon City store

November 17, 2010: Indow Windows unveils its manufacturing facility for producing energy-saving window inserts

November 14, 2010: Beaverton’s Act-On software resists calls to move to Silicon Valley; scores $4 million in venture capital anyway

November 11, 2010: Famed clothing retailer H&M opens its first Oregon store

October 22, 2010: Eugene’s Whitewater Designs Inc. plans a new 1,500-foot retail space to sell their adventure gear

October 19, 2010: Central Oregon distiller Bendistillery expands into a new 24-acre site

October 17, 2010: ClearEdge Power Inc. raises $10 million in investments

October 15, 2010: New Seasons expands, opening its 10th store, on Portland’s SE Hawthorne. It’s set to open an even larger 11th store at Progress Ridge in 2011

October 15, 2010: Popina Swimwear opens a second, larger retail location in Portland’s Pearl District—it could be the Northwest’s largest swimsuit store

October 14, 2010: Forbes ranks Oregon as the 6th best state for business—up from No. 10 a year ago

October 12, 2010: Ashland mobile app company Folium Partners produces 500 apps so far in the year, hopes to have 1,000 by year’s end

October 10, 2010: Hi-Tec Shoes moves its headquarters to Oregon

September 30, 2010: Trader Joe’s to open their first store in Salem in 2011

September 27, 2010: Greenbrier Company announces $200 million in orders for 3,000 railcars

September 23, 2010: Nike posts 9 percent profit for the first quarter, $5.9 billion in revenue

September 1, 2010: Eugene-based Mattress Mania expands beyond Lane County with a new location in Corvallis

August 25, 2010: Greenbrier Company plans to add 260 new jobs to its manufacturing plant on the strength of new order for railcars

August 23, 2010: Garmin International to open new tech center in Salem, employing 200 people

August 21, 2010: Best Buy opens a new store in Medford

August 18, 2010: Vestas plans to locate its world headquarters in Portland in a $66 million facility

August 16, 2010: Kettle Foods plans $8.4 million expansion in Salem, adding 15 to its payroll

August 13, 2010: The Rogue River Lodge reopens after a $1 million renovation, putting 30 people to work

August 7, 2010: Brand new shoe manufacturing company Ernest Hemmingway Footwear Co. opens for business in Tualatin

August 5, 2010: Google buys Oregon company, sets up its first Portland office

July 19, 2010: Solexant builds a manufacturing plant in Gresham that will initially employ 100

June 26, 2010: Portland auto dealers rebound with moves, new construction

June 22, 2010: FedEx adding 700 jobs

June 22, 2010: Manufacturing could fuel Portland rebound

June 21, 2010: Ajinimoto pumps $12 million into Portland plant

June 22, 2010: IBM to add 600 jobs

June 15, 2010: Home Dialysis lands $50 million

June 15, 2010: Elemental Technologies Secures $7 million

June 11, 2010: Costco adding 100 jobs in Roseburg

May 6, 2010: SolarWorld to add 350 jobs

April 14, 2010: Intel’s Best Quarter Ever

April 16, 2010: Venture Capital Up Sharply

April 6, 2010: Genentech shows off its new $400 million facility

March 31, 2010: Japanese manufacturing company Ferrotec opening a new plant in Gresham this summer

January 10, 2010: Facebook building $175 million data facility in Prineville