State Library eClips
* Oregon health insurers seek double-digit 2017 rate hikes
* 6 more Hanford workers evaluated for vapor exposure
* 36 of Oregon’s top community college students will be honored Tuesday
* Study: Native Oregon oysters in Netarts, Coos bays contain low levels of pharmaceuticals, chemicals
* Oregon lawmakers face ethics complaint over bill removing wolves from endangered list
* Poisonous gas detected at low levels in Portland air, testing finds
* The death of a unique Oregon lake — Guest Opinion
* Oregon superdelegates weigh in on selection process
* Oregon honors fallen officers
* Wyden to introduce national vote by mail bill
* Oregon oysters contain ‘co*cktail of pharmaceuticals’
* Warm Springs tribe breaks ground on marijuana grow facility
* Angry Bird: Pheasant attack alleged in West Salem
* University of Oregon: top school for ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer’ students
* Lottery needs insulation — Opinion
* Thousands of Oregon voters have received two ballots, state warns
* Two ballots is poor solution — Opinion
* In forest spraying regulation, people come last — Guest Opinion
* Candidates, parties shake off ‘bland’ politics to attract young voters
* Gov. Kate Brown quietly convenes heavy-hitting group to talk roads
* OSU president calls for state support as Cascade campus grows
* Health insurers seek rate increases up to 32.3% in 2017
* Editorial: Drop ethics complaint over wolf bill — Opinion
* Editorial: County should drop pot ban and add restrictions — Opinion
* Oregon to expand back pain coverage July 1
* Group files ethics complaint over wolf bill
* Oregon Senator Wants To Expand Vote-By-Mail Nationally
* Oregon Approves First Recreational Marijuana Licenses
* Adel, Ore. Named after Sweetheart or a Sweet Cow
* High court signals it wont stop $15 minimum wage
* Oregon ag department finishes gypsy moth spraying in Portland
* Walden depot tour shows stark contrast between potential and reality
* Schools, college, county team up for career connection
* Environmental group claims Barreto misled Legislature on wolf bill
* Defining student success
* Dual-credit programs get grant boost
* Owyhee Canyonlands monument unnecessary and ignores local voices — Guest Opinion
* Jackson County company among first to win recreational pot license
* New Starbucks hopes to sell beer and wine
* Citizen Water Patrol
* Study: Eradication of ‘sudden oak death’ no longer possible in California
* Esquivel: Mistake on law wasn’t intentional
* Report: Faster response needed to minimize salmon die-offs
* Wyden: All of US needs vote-by-mail
* TSA: Signed, sealed, soon to be delivered
* Sucker spawning focus of Saturday outing
* Oregon honors fallen officers at Salem ceremony
* Tourism impact has spin-off benefit for rest of the economy — Opinion
* Hwy. 140 expansion ahead of schedule
* Travel Oregon to host listening session in Klamath
* Walden: Our work brings results — Guest Opinion
* Coos Bay moves forward with wastewater project
* Depression shouldn’t be a youngster’s burden — Opinion
* Work session clears up some of Coos Bay’s wastewater confusion
* Animal welfare group sues Coast Guard
* Editorial: Speak now on coal exports upriver — Opinion
* Editorial: Scenic byway, total eclipse, will lure tourists — Opinion
* On the water with the Marine Patrol
* OSU gets $500K grant to work on disaster training
* Tree seedlings available for landowners
* Ferrioli: BOLI overstepping authority on minimum wage rules — Guest Opinion
* Bridge move to force Hwy 82 delays
* Oregon health insurers want to hike rates again by a lot– Blog
* Oregon and the Business Cycle– Blog
* New Details Emerge About Turmoil at Oregon Lottery: Accusation of Civil Rights Violation Against Iranian-American Employee
* Condemned killer Gary Haugen: State cant execute
* Fallen Coos Deputy Gil Datan to be added to Officer Memorial at Tuesday ceremony
* So, something interesting happens to weed after its legal– Blog
* Is There A Better Way To Pay For America’s Schools
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Oregon Health Insurers Seek Double-Digit 2017 Rate Hikes (Portland Oregonian)
Every Oregon health insurance company but one is proposing double-digit percentage rate hikes for the individual market in 2017, with two of the biggest players — Moda Health Plans and Providence Health Plans — both seeking to raise rates by nearly a third.
Seven of the 12 insurers in the small-group market are also seeking increases, albeit smaller than those in the individual market.
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6 More Hanford Workers Evaluated for Vapor Exposure (Portland Oregonian)
Officials say six more Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers have been evaluated for chemical vapor exposure, bringing the total number to 26.
The Tri-City Herald reports three people working Monday reported smelling suspicious odors and three others requested medical evaluations because of odors last week.
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36 of Oregon’s Top Community College Students Will Be Honored Tuesday (Portland Oregonian)
Thirty-six of the top students from Oregon’s 17 community colleges will be recognized Tuesday for their academic prowess and community leadership.
The Oregon Community College Association sponsors the annual awards ceremony, a partnership with the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.
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Study: Native Oregon Oysters in Netarts, Coos Bays Contain Low Levels of Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals (Portland Oregonian)
Aw, shucks.
Native oysters in Oregon’s Netarts and Coos bays contain a “co*cktail of pharmaceuticals” and chemicals — including pain relievers, antibiotics, mercury and pesticides.
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Oregon Lawmakers Face Ethics Complaint Over Bill Removing Wolves From Endangered List (Portland Oregonian)
Three Oregon lawmakers have been hit with an ethics complaint filed by environmentalists, arguing they broke state law by deliberately misrepresenting the purpose behind House Bill 4040, the so-called wolf delisting bill, during the legislative session earlier this year.
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Poisonous Gas Detected at Low Levels in Portland Air, Testing Finds (Portland Oregonian)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday released air monitoring data showing detections of a poisonous, stinky gas on Hayden Island in North Portland were hundreds of times below levels that could kill a person.
The gas, hydrogen sulfide, was repeatedly detected at Jantzen Beach, where residents have complained for months about odors. But the 144-page report blamed a boat starting up for those detections.
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The Death of a Unique Oregon Lake – Opinion (Portland Oregonian)
Until recently, Lake Abert, Oregon’s only saltwater lake, supplied habitat for some 3 million migratory shorebirds and supported a commercial brine shrimp fishery. Now the desert lake, located about 30 miles north of Lakeview, is dying from a lack of water.
The lake’s surface area — once 64 square miles — is now less than five square miles, a 90 percent decline, due to drought and water diversions on the Chewaucan River, the saline lake’s principal water source.
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Oregon Superdelegates Weigh in on Selection Process (Salem Statesman Journal)
Two weeks before Oregon’s primary election, most of the state’s Democratic superdelegates have already declared which presidential candidate they will support.
But among those 13 superdelegates, there is a mix of disdain, support and consideration for change.
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Oregon Honors Fallen Officers (Salem Statesman Journal)
One hundred and eighty-two flags lined the driveway outside the Oregon Public Safety Academy — one for each law enforcement officer who has died in the line of duty since the 1880s.
Family members, co-workers and friends of fallen officers gathered Tuesday at the annual Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony. Each of the flags tells a story, said Gov. Kate Brown. Every single one evokes a memory of service and tragic loss.
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Wyden to Introduce National Vote by Mail Bill (Salem Statesman Journal)
-Wyden says the legislation comes after poorly managed primaries, states making it more difficult to vote.-
As voters in Indiana waited in line at polling places to vote in their presidential primary Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden announced at the Oregon State Capitol that he will introduce an alternative to Congress — a national vote by mail bill.
His bill would send a ballot to every registered voter before each election. Postage on the ballot envelopes would be prepaid.
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Oregon Oysters Contain ‘co*cktail of Pharmaceuticals’ (Salem Statesman Journal)
Native Olympia oysters in Oregon’s Coos and Netarts bays “contain a co*cktail of pharmaceuticals and other potentially harmful chemicals,” researchers at Portland State University said Monday.
Those include pain relievers, antibiotics, antihistamines, PCBs, mercury and pesticides.
Individual concentrations of the chemicals are within safe levels set by the Oregon Health Authority.
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Warm Springs Tribe Breaks Ground on Marijuana Grow Facility (Salem Statesman Journal)
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs has broken ground on a new marijuana-growing facility that is set to be Oregon’s first tribal-owned marijuana grow operation.
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Angry Bird: Pheasant Attack Alleged in West Salem (Salem Statesman Journal)
Quick. Someone call The Rachel Maddow Show.
First Salem had attack owls, which put it on the radar of national television and resulted in the city’s snagging nifty yellow warning signs for Bush’s Pasture Park.
Now some are alleging Salem has angry pheasants, too.
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University of Oregon: Top School for ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer’ Students (Eugene Register-Guard)
-It is the only university in Oregon to make the list, which is compiled by an independent rating service-
The University of Oregon is one of the 50 best universities nationally for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)” students, says the rating service collegechoice.net.
The independent rating service on Tuesday lauded the UO for its LGBTQ leadership organizations, gender-inclusive housing and queer studies minor. The UO was the only Oregon university to make the list.
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Lottery Needs Insulation — Opinion (Eugene Register-Guard)
Last week’s firing of Jack Roberts as director of the Oregon Lottery offers Oregonians a warning: A governance structure established by voters 30 years ago for a small-time scratch-off ticket operation may be poorly suited to the billion-dollar enterprise the lottery has become. The 2017 Legislature should study whether existing systems of oversight and control are adequate, and refer any needed improvements to the voters.
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Thousands of Oregon Voters Have Received Two Ballots, State Warns (Eugene Register-Guard)
Thousands of Oregon residents who recently switched their party affiliation will receive two ballots in the mail for the May 17 primary, not just one, officials cautioned Monday.
Voters had until April 26 to change party affiliation. About that time, however, many county clerks around the state were already preparing to mail or had mailed ballots, officials said. The ballots with incorrect party identifications could not be recalled, so clerks mailed ballots with the correct party affiliation.
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Two ballots is poor solution — Opinion (Eugene Register-Guard)
Oregon’s closed Republican and Democratic primaries exclude — disenfranchise, critics would say — all but party members. As the primary election nears, thousands of voters who are among the 31 percent of Oregon voters affiliated with a minor party or no party have realized they were about to miss the action and have joined one of the major parties. Some of these late joiners are receiving two ballots for the May 17 primary — a sure recipe for confusion. There has to be a better solution.
The deadline for changing party affiliation was Tuesday, April 26. By then, county elections clerks had prepared most ballots for mailing the following weekend.
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In forest spraying regulation, people come last — Guest Opinion (Eugene Register-Guard)
In 2011, a group of residents from the Triangle Lake area who had been poisoned by chemical herbicides decided they’d had enough of the agency run-around. After years of contacting agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Forestry about forestry-related pesticide poisonings, we realized these agencies exist to shield industry from litigation.
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Candidates, Parties Shake Off ‘Bland’ Politics to Attract Young Voters (Portland Tribune)
Oregon is among the easiest places in the nation to vote, with a vote-by-mail system and an automatic voter registration program.
Still, turnout among the state’s youngest voters has lagged behind other age groups for years, just as it does nationally.
That disparity is a popular target this year for state politicians, who have pitched a variety of ideas aimed at getting more young people to vote. However, their proposals are limited to things government can control, from free ballot postage to mandatory mock elections in public schools.
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Gov. Kate Brown Quietly Convenes Heavy-Hitting Group to Talk Roads (Bend Bulletin)
-Top players set to meet in Portland to talk 2017 transportation funding package-
Work on a state roads funding package that has been among the top political topics since 2014 is beginning in earnest Wednesday, with a group of powerful lawmakers and top business executives heading to Portland to meet with the governor.
The meeting marks the latest inch toward assembling a funding package that probably will generate and funnel billions of dollars to maintain and rebuild local, county and state roads, bridges, ports and railways, many of which are at or past their useful lifespans.
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OSU President Calls for State Support as Cascade Campus Grows (Bend Bulletin)
-First academic building to be named Tykeson Hall-
Oregon State University President Ed Ray made the case for more state funding to support OSU-Cascades in his annual State of the University Address on Tuesday evening.
Ray told the crowd of more than 300 alumni, donors, faculty and students at Bend’s Riverhouse convention center that the new campus cannot be built at the expense of the flagship campus and instead will require “an infusion of new investment,” a case he said he will bring to state lawmakers ahead of their 2017 session.
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Health insurers seek rate increases up to 32.3% in 2017 (Bend Bulletin)
-Oregon health insurers have released rate proposals for 2017-
If health insurers get their way, most Oregonians who buy their own policies will pay significantly higher monthly premiums next year.
Rate proposals released Tuesday show nine of the 10 carriers selling individual policies — for people who buy for themselves and their families — want to increase rates by double digits. About 219,000 Oregonians were covered under individual policies at the end of 2015. Moda Health Plan, which almost left the individual market in February because of its dire financial state, wants the highest average increase: 32.3 percent. Oregon’s Health CO-OP is seeking the second highest at 32 percent.
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Editorial: Drop ethics complaint over wolf bill — Opinion (Bend Bulletin)
It’s difficult to believe that the environmental group Cascadia Wildlands has filed an ethics complaint over misleading and inaccurate statements by three legislators over a wolf bill.
There’s hardly a bill that goes through the Legislature of any consequence that is not subject to debate over what it means. The wolf bill was no different. That doesn’t mean legislators were unethical.
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Editorial: County should drop pot ban and add restrictions — Opinion (Bend Bulletin)
The Deschutes County Commission should drop its ban on pot in the rural areas of the county and implement regulations to control pot’s impact.
Farmers have every right to raise hogs or cows or, yes, marijuana if they wish to do so. That’s a reality the commission must keep in mind as it meets today to discuss the fate of would-be pot growers in the county’s unincorporated areas.
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Oregon to Expand Back Pain Coverage July 1 (Bend Bulletin)
-Alternatives to drugs, surgery available to Medicaid members-
New Oregon Health Plan guidelines for the treatment of back pain will take effect July 1, the Oregon Health Authority announced Monday.
The guidelines mean that OHP, the state’s Medicaid program, will cover chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture and physical therapy for all types of back conditions. Currently only OHP members with evidence of nerve damage can access treatment other than long-term opiate drug prescriptions or surgery.
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Group Files Ethics Complaint Over Wolf Bill (Bend Bulletin)
A conservation group that has challenged state and federal management of gray wolves in Oregon has filed a complaint against lawmakers for what it says were misleading and inaccurate statements during debate on a wolf bill in the recent legislative session.
Cascadia Wildlands filed the complaint Monday with the Government Ethics Commission alleging Reps. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie; Greg Barreto, R-Cove; and Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, misled colleagues who later approved a controversial wolf bill.
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Oregon Senator Wants To Expand Vote-By-Mail Nationally (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Ron Wyden, D-Ore., became the first U.S. senator to be elected entirely by mail when he was voted into office in 1996. Tuesday he told reporters he wants the vote-by-mail system to be expanded nationally, at least for federal races.
Wyden has tried unsuccessfully to get similar bills through Congress before, but he’s bringing it up again now because of long lines at polling places during this year’s presidential primary season.
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Oregon Approves First Recreational Marijuana Licenses (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Oregon is one step closer to fully implementing its recreational marijuana industry by January 2017. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved its first recreational marijuana licenses Friday, approving eight growers under the new regulatory system. The agency was tasked with overseeing Oregon’s recreational cannabis industry.
“These licensees reflect the pioneering spirit Oregon is known for,” said Rob Patridge, OLCC Chair in a release Friday. “They come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and possess the entrepreneurial spirit of this industry.”
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Adel, Ore. Named after Sweetheart or a Sweet Cow (Jefferson Public Radio)
Oregon Route 140 heads into the Oregon High Desert east of Klamath Falls, passing by some colorfully named communities, including Dairy and nearby Bonanza and farther east Bly, Adel and nearby Plush. The highway reaches 4,547 feet elevation at Adel and climbs to 6,060 feet over the remaining 38 miles to the Nevada state line.
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High Court Signals it Won’t Stop $15 Minimum Wage (Capital Press)
The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in for the first time Monday on a $15-an-hour minimum wage, signaling it does not plan to stop the movement that is spreading across the nation, worker advocates say.
The justices refused to hear a challenge to Seattle’s law, which franchise owners said discriminates against them by treating them as large businesses. It comes as several other cities and a group of states, including California and New York, have started to phase in a $15 minimum wage in recent months as the cost of living keeps rising.
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Oregon Ag Department Finishes Gypsy Moth Spraying in Portland (Capital Press)
Government helicopters spraying pesticides over funky neighborhoods in a liberal city would seem a recipe for outrage.
But the Oregon Department of Agriculture completed its gypsy moth eradication campaign over North Portland May 2 without much protest or hubbub. A few people were concerned about the spraying but opposition was “scattered,” department spokesman Bruce Pokarney said.
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Walden Depot Tour Shows Stark Contrast Between Potential and Reality (East Oregonian)
The acres of sagebrush Congressman Greg Walden stood looking out on Tuesday morning don’t look like much to the untrained eye, but the land represents hundreds of millions of dollars of potential economic development for Eastern Oregon.
“When people ask, ‘How do we create jobs?’, this is a place to create jobs in rural Oregon,” Walden said.
It’s not just a hypothetical: Clean energy companies, major agricultural producers, tech companies and even a Fortune 500 corporation have all expressed an interest in pieces of the former Umatilla Chemical Depot.
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Schools, College, County Team Up for Career Connection (East Oregonian)
The Pendleton School District announced Tuesday the start of the Connections to Careers program, a collaboration between the district, Blue Mountain Community College and Umatilla County to bolster the schools’ career technical education program.
The district will use a portion of a $390,745 CTE grant it recently received from the state to contract with Susan Bower of Eastern Oregon Business Source to establish the program. The county and BMCC will also contribute funds to the program.
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Environmental Group Claims Barreto Misled Legislature on Wolf Bill (East Oregonian)
The environmental group Cascadia Wildlands is accusing three Oregon lawmakers, including Rep. Greg Barreto, of knowingly misrepresenting a bill that ratified the state’s decision to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list.
Barreto, a Republican from Cove, introduced House Bill 4040 during the short legislative session earlier this year. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife had previously determined wolves no longer need endangered species protections, and the Fish and Wildlife Commission followed through with delisting wolves in November 2015.
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Defining student success (Ontario Argus Observer)
-Oregon schools chief, locals discuss education improvements-
Teachers, parents, community members, college and high school administrators, and students crowded into Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario Monday to discuss student success as part of the Oregon Department of Education’s Reimagine Education town hall meeting.
Salam Noor, deputy superintendent of the Oregon Department of Education, was present for the discussion.
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Dual-Credit Programs get Grant Boost (Ontario Argus Observer)
Some local students will be receiving additional financial aid next year, thanks to a $40,000 Accelerated College Credit grant from the Oregon Department of Education the Malheur Education Service District has received.
Dual-credit programs are the focus of the grant, which can be used for teacher training, helping students pay for costs associated with dual-credit programs, or purchasing classroom supplies, Malheur ESD college assistance adviser Chris Paulsen said in an email to the Argus.
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Owyhee Canyonlands Monument Unnecessary and Ignores Local Voices — Guest Opinion (Ontario Argus Observer)
My family has lived and worked in Southeast Oregon since the 1800s. We are people of the land and for the land. Our businesses have worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of State Lands to care for this land since the agencies were created.
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Jackson County Company Among First to Win Recreational Pot License (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Jackson County company among first eight licensees-
A Jackson County company is among the first eight businesses statewide to receive a coveted recreational marijuana growing license from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
The OLCC this week announced the first recipients, which include Southern Oregon Cannabis Co. LLC., located off East Evans Creek Road north of Rogue River.
“It is very exciting for sure,” said owner Devin Ellis.
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New Starbucks Hopes to Sell Beer and Wine (Medford Mail Tribune)
There are already nine Starbucks locations in Medford, making the global coffee kingpin almost as ubiquitous as local favorite Dutch Bros.
None, however, offer what the Seattle coffee company has in mind for its 10th location on East Barnett Road, across from Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.
Starbucks has applied for a beer and wine license from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for the 1,850-square-foot location in line to become the area’s first Starbucks Evenings shop.
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Citizen Water Patrol (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Volunteers will collect samples from water bodies to test bacteria levels and post the info online-
A small army of citizen-scientists will help Rogue Valley residents learn whether the creek or swimming hole they hit this summer is a good place to cool off or might be a staph infection in the making.
The Rogue Riverkeeper organization is amassing a group of volunteers to regularly collect water samples from area creeks, lakes and rivers this spring and summer for tests to determine whether these popular swimming and wading waters have unhealthful levels of bacteria.
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Study: Eradication of ‘Sudden Oak Death’ No Longer Possible in California (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Authorities have dragged their feet and the disease is now too widespread, study reveals-
Over the last two decades, California and the federal government have faced harsh criticism for failing to take stronger actions to stop a highly contagious disease that has killed millions of trees along coastal regions from Big Sur to portions of Oregon.
Now, a new computer modeling study suggests that the “sudden oak death” epidemic, which emerged in 1995, has grown too big and is spreading too fast to eradicate statewide.
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Esquivel: Mistake On Law Wasn’t Intentional (Medford Mail Tribune)
An environmental group has filed ethics complaints against state Rep. Sal Esquivel and two fellow Republican legislators claiming they knowingly misrepresented a bill that eventually thwarted the groups’ effort to overturn Oregon’s delisting of gray wolves last fall.
But Esquivel says he was going on what he knew at the time when was stumping for House Bill 4040 during February’s legislative session, when he said the bill didn’t preclude legal challenges to the delisting decision.
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Report: Faster Response Needed to Minimize Salmon Die-Offs (Medford Mail Tribune)
-Report: Faster response needed to minimize deaths-
Northwest fisheries managers must respond faster to reduce fish kills of sockeye salmon in the Columbia River Basin if warm-water conditions return, a draft report taking a hard look at last summer’s massive die-off says.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released late last month describes conditions and assesses actions of fisheries managers in a year when 90 percent of the 510,000 sockeye salmon that entered the Columbia died.
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Wyden: All of US Needs Vote-By-Mail (Medford Mail Tribune)
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says he’s going to introduce a bill that would enable every voter in federal elections to receive a ballot in the mail, expanding the “Oregon way” nationwide.
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TSA: Signed, Sealed, Soon to be Delivered (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
It’s official.
John Barsalou, Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport manager, beamed as he held the letter from the Transportation Security Administration in his hand Monday afternoon that the agency welcomes a re-established partnership with the airport.
Kelly C. Hoggan, assistant administrator for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the agency will return commercial screening services to the Klamath Basin. Barsalou has said flights with Pen Air could leave the runway as early as the fall.
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Sucker Spawning Focus of Saturday Outing (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
Ever seen a sucker spawn?
The Klamath Lake Land Trust in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a Saturday outing with hopes people will see sucker fish spawning.
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Oregon Honors Fallen Officers at Salem Ceremony (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
One hundred and eighty-two flags lined the driveway outside the Oregon Public Safety Academy — one for each law enforcement officer who has died in the line of duty since the 1880s.
Family members, co-workers and friends of fallen officers gathered Tuesday at the annual Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony. Each of the flags tells a story, said Gov. Kate Brown. Every single one evokes a memory of service and tragic loss.
The name of Coos County Sheriff’s Deputy Gil Datan was added to the memorial in 2016. Next year, Seaside Police Sgt. Jason Goodding’s name will join Datan’s on the wall.
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Tourism Impact Has Spin-Off Benefit for Rest of the Economy — Opinion (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
The Klamath Basin’s economy is wrapped around a series of major threads that produce jobs and income for the Basin’s population. Figures for one of those threads — one that makes the Basin a special place because it reflects the area’s natural attractions — came out recently.
The figures were for the economic impact of the two National Park Service sites in the area — Crater Lake National Park, most of which is in Klamath County, and Lava Beds National Monument in California, just over the state line.
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Hwy. 140 Expansion Ahead of Schedule (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
An expansion project on Highway 140 East is set to finish ahead of schedule this year, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
ODOT spokesperson Peter Murphy said the project could be completed as soon as Memorial Day and will allow for a higher volume of traffic through the Bly Mountain area, approximately 25 miles east of Klamath Falls.
“A lot of it’s completed and we’re working on the west side right now,” said Murphy.
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Travel Oregon to Host Listening Session in Klamath (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
One of Travel Oregon’s 18 listening sessions will take place in Klamath Falls.
The state’s tourism agency will be in town for a public feedback session from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Ninth Street Venue in downtown Klamath Falls. It is Travel Oregon’s only session in southern Oregon, according to Jim Chadderdon, executive director of Discover Klamath.
Travel Oregon CEO Todd Davidson will moderate the session, where the agency hopes to hear from those in the hospitality and tourism industry on ways to improve the economic impact of travel and tourism statewide.
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Walden: Our Work Brings Results — Guest Opinion (Klamath Falls Herald and News)
When the Transportation Security Administration TSA refused to return to the Klamath Basin to provide security screening so we could get air service restored, I joined forces with local leaders and my Senate colleagues to pass legislation in the House and the Senate to force the TSA to change course. Our work got results.
Together we’ve gotten results for those who have defended our freedom, from supporting efforts to upgrade facilities at Kingsley Field to strengthen and expand their mission, to helping veterans —including nearly 600 in Klamath County — across our vast 2nd District get the health care and retirement benefits they were promised.
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Coos Bay Moves Forward with Wastewater Project (Coos Bay World)
Coos Bay is moving forward with the construction of Wastewater Plant No. 2 after a long, 13-year process.
The Coos Bay City Council’s motion to approve the $26.1 million in financing for the project was carried forward after a 3-3 vote, including one abstention, effectively locking the city in place for the construction of the Empire-located wastewater plant.
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Depression Shouldn’t Be a Youngster’s Burden — Opinion (Coos Bay World)
The numbers are staggering and disturbing.
If you read our story Saturday about the dramatic rise in reports of young people suffering depression and contemplating suicide, you should be as troubled as we are.
Pediatric psychiatric consultations and admissions at Bay Area Hospital have quadrupled; this at a facility that was never intended to deal with the issue. Our school districts have been witnessing the same increase in the number of students who, at such a young age, have reached the end of their psychological rope.
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Work Session Clears Up Some of Coos Bay’s Wastewater Confusion (Coos Bay World)
A work session designed to answer questions from the dissenting city councilors seems to have cleared up some of those reservations ahead of Tuesday’s city council vote on whether to accept a Department of Environmental Quality loan and move forward with the city’s wastewater upgrade project.
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Animal Welfare Group Sues Coast Guard (Daily Astorian)
An animal welfare group trying to document the culling of cormorants on East Sand Island by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed suit against the U.S. Coast Guard over their exclusion from the killing zone.
Showing Animals Respect and Kindness arrived last month with the Bob and Nancy, a gray Kodiak boat paid for through a grant from former “The Price is Right” host and animal welfare activist Bob Barker and partner Nancy Burnet. The boat is equipped with an eight-propeller drone with a camera.
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Editorial: Speak Now on Coal Exports Upriver — Opinion (Daily Astorian)
Cowlitz County and the Washington Department of Ecology received more than 217,500 public comments on the $600 million Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview coal-export proposal.
The agencies’ draft environmental study, now in a 45-day comment period, says the terminal for up to 44 million tons a year of coal from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin would have positive economic value for the Longview-Kelso area. It would create jobs for about 135 people and generate a variety of taxes.
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Editorial: Scenic Byway, Total Eclipse, Will Lure Tourists — Opinion (Albany Democrat Herald)
One of the big goals in promoting tourism is getting people from outside the area to come here and spend their money — the idea, of course, is to make tourism, to the extent possible, what is known as a “traded sector” business, one that attracts money from the outside.
A couple of recent developments should give local officials a couple of extra cards in their increasingly competitive battle for the tourism dollar.
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On the Water with the Marine Patrol (Albany Democrat Herald)
There were more floating logs than boaters on Foster Reservoir Friday afternoon. In fact, the log-to-boater ratio was around 30 to one; the result of the recent filling of the reservoir, which caused all the debris brought in during the low winter levels to float.
The logs lurk in every direction, creating submerged hazards for boaters, and adding to the early season mission of the Linn County Sheriff Marine Patrol. The low boat traffic is only because the season is not yet in full swing. When it is, there will be upwards of 300 boats out here.
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OSU Gets $500K Grant to Work on Disaster Training (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
Oregon State University has received a grant of more than $500,000 to be used to develop courses that will train professionals to meet the challenge of earthquakes and other disasters in the Pacific Northwest.
The $533,686 grant was awarded by the Oregon Talent Council, which was established by the 2015 Oregon Legislature to invest in talent development programs
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Tree Seedlings Available for Landowners (Blue Mountain Eagle)
Tree seedlings are available to local private landowners from the Oregon Department of Forestry’s John Day Unit, in partnership with the Malheur National Forest.
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Ferrioli: BOLI Overstepping Authority on Minimum Wage Rules — Guest Opinion (Blue Mountain Eagle)
One of the lesser known steps in government “sausage making” happens after the Legislature passes new laws, when state agencies responsible for working out the details step in to determine how to implement and enforce them. Right now, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), our state agency in charge of employment laws, is grinding the sausage of the new three-tiered minimum wage set to go into effect on July 1.
Unfortunately, BOLI — led by elected Commissioner Brad Avakian — is pulling a bait-and-switch on Oregonians as they figure out exactly how to track and enforce three different minimum wages across the state.
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Bridge move to force Hwy 82 delays (Wallowa County Chieftain)
The Oregon Department of Transportation is warning Wallowa County drivers that they may experience delays along Highway 82 near Minam either Tuesday or Wednesday (May 10-11) as crews move the Deer Creek Road bridge (crossing the Wallowa River) to Wallowa.
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Oregon health insurers want to hike rates again by a lot– Blog (Oregon Business Journal)
Health insurance rates will likely rise substantially again next year for Oregonians who buy their own plans, with average requests submitted Monday well into the double digits.
The requests range from about 14.5 percent for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest to about 32 percent for Moda Health and Oregon’s Health CO-OP, according to Jesse O’Brien, health care advocate for the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group. OSPIRG contracts with the Department of Consumer and Business Services to represent the public and review certain filings.
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Oregon and the Business Cycle– Blog (Oregon Office of Economic Analysis)
Raise your hand if you’ve heard that Oregon lags the business cycle? Or worse yet, that Oregon falls first and recovers last? Something along these lines really does seem to be the conventional wisdom. In this case, the conventional wisdom is wrong.
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New Details Emerge About Turmoil at Oregon Lottery: Accusation of Civil Rights Violation Against Iranian-American Employee (Willamette Week)
– Former Director Jack Roberts prepared civil rights complaint against “two rogue commissioners.”-
In the weeks preceding his April 26 dismissal as director of the Oregon Lottery, Jack Roberts clashed with two of five Lottery commissioners over the promotion of a high-level Lottery employee.
Roberts then expressed his displeasure to Gov. Kate Brown’s Lottery advisor over what he saw as commissioners’ meddling in personnel decisions, and a possible civil-rights violation against the employee, an Iranian-American.
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Condemned killer Gary Haugen: State cant execute (KOIN)
-Gary Haugen sentenced to death in 2007, not yet executed-
The attorney for convicted killer Gary Haugen argues in federal court documents that his client cannot be put to death because the state has failed to meet its obligations when it comes to obtaining a death warrant.
Late last month, attorney Jeffery E. Ellis filed a “petition for writ of probation” in U.S. District Court. The petition specifically seeks to prevent the state from seeking his execution.
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Fallen Coos Deputy Gil Datan to be added to Officer Memorial at Tuesday ceremony (KVAL)
The name of Coos County Sheriff’s Deputy Gil Datan will be added to the Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Memorial.
The ceremony is Tuesday, May 3, at 1 p.m. at the Oregon Public Safety Academy at 4190 Aumsville Highway SE in Salem.
Governor Kate Brown and Dianne Bernhard, Executive Director of the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), will both speak at Tuesday’s event.
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So, something interesting happens to weed after its legal– Blog (Washington Post)
Two years ago, the Washington state began an unprecedented policy experiment by allowing large-scale production and sale of recreational marijuana to the public. The effects on public health and safety and on the relationship of law enforcement to minority communities will take years to manifest fully, but one impact has become abundantly clear: Legalized marijuana is getting very cheap very quickly.
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Is There A Better Way To Pay For America’s Schools? (National Public Radio)
The Kansas Supreme Court gave state lawmakers an ultimatum:
Make school funding more equitable by June 30, or it will consider shutting down the state’s public schools.
Since then, things have gotten ugly.
Ed. Note: Oregon content under ‘And Now, This Is Storage”
Related Story:
Oregon School Funding Still A Challenge, 25 Years After Measure 5
(Oregon Public Broadcasting)
-This story is part of the NPR reporting project “School Money,” a nationwide collaboration between NPR’s Ed Team and 20 member station reporters exploring how states pay for their public schools and why many are failing to meet the needs of their most vulnerable students.-
If there’s one lesson Oregonians, and the nation, can learn from the passage of Measure 5, it’s this: you can’t improve school funding with a tax cut.
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