State Library eClips
* Day before Mosier, inspection found ‘very serious’ problems with Union Pacific
* Time to comment on proposed Willamette Superfund cleanup — Guest Opinion
* 5 ways to make oil trains less risky than they are today
* Study: Native Oregon oysters uniquely suited to survive in acidified waters
* Clackamas River’s shift to summer began early
* Elevated levels of hexavalent chromium found in air near Reed College
* Mosier mayor wants feds, Oregon to hit brakes on oil trains
* On Portland’s arts tax, a court victory for a bad policy — Opinion
* John Kitzhaber accuses Kate Brown of failing to lead on corporate tax
* Dayton dairy expanding, 61 area CAFOs seek new permits
* Disaster kit preparation for week No. 5
* Oregon officials should quit messing in city affairs — Opinion
* Summer still whale season
* Crews getting upper hand on central Oregon wildfire
* Congress must act on O&C lands — Opinion
* Fire departments from across Washington County answer call to fight wildfire near Sisters
* Governors open records responses keep public on a cold trail
* La Pine woman loses brokers license
* Quick snowmelt dampens Central Oregon water outlook
* Evacuation notices for Akawana Fire lifted
* Sudden oak death threatens southwest Oregons economy
* Editorial: Where is the forest funding? — Opinion
* NW Leaders Call For Support For LGBTQ Communities In Wake Of Orlando Shooting
* Oregon Judge Grants New Gender Designation
* Before Mosier Derailment, Union Pacific Lobbied Oregon Against Tougher Oil Train Rules, And Won
* Other views: EOU faculty honored to host governors commencement address — Guest Opinion
* Some Oregon trophy mounts now legal to sell
* Concealed-gun ruling may fuel Oregon legislation in 2017
* Governor wants to see best grad caps
* Editorial: Cities push back on annexation law — Opinion
* Corvallis files suit over annexations law
* Fish and Wildlife Commission sets hunting regulations, approves 2017-19 budget
* New Voters in Oregon Really Dont Want to Belong to a Party
* Oregon Lawmakers Hit The Road To Examine Roads
* Oregon Says The State’s Minimum Wage Rise Will Cost 40,000 Jobs — Opinion
* Provider Billing Most Common Fraud but PhRMA Biggest Ticket
* OHSU President Praises High Cost of U.S. Healthcare System
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DAY BEFORE MOSIER, INSPECTION FOUND ‘VERY SERIOUS’ PROBLEMS WITH UNION PACIFIC (Portland Oregonian)
After Union Pacific’s fiery oil train derailment in Mosier last week, the railroad company repeatedly emphasized its record and commitment to safety. But federal records and newly released inspections from the Oregon Department of Transportation raise serious questions about the company’s claims.
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TIME TO COMMENT ON PROPOSED WILLAMETTE SUPERFUND CLEANUP — GUEST OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
Cleanup of the lower Willamette River is now in sight.
Last week, after an intensive scientific effort to determine what type of pollution exists, where it exists, what risk it poses and how to reduce those risks, the Environmental Protection Agency has released our proposed plan for cleaning up 10 miles of the lower Willamette River.
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5 WAYS TO MAKE OIL TRAINS LESS RISKY THAN THEY ARE TODAY (Portland Oregonian)
Since oil started moving by rail in unprecedented volumes in the Pacific Northwest in 2012, everyone involved has scrambled to catch up.
Oregon hired more rail safety inspectors. State firefighters and environmental officials trained for accidents and spills. Federal regulators adopted new safety standards.
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STUDY: NATIVE OREGON OYSTERS UNIQUELY SUITED TO SURVIVE IN ACIDIFIED WATERS (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon’s only native species of oyster, once deemed “functionally extinct” due to overharvesting, may hold the key to the future of the state’s shellfish industry, researchers from Oregon State University said in a new study.
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CLACKAMAS RIVER’S SHIFT TO SUMMER BEGAN EARLY (Portland Oregonian)
-Scroll down for ODFW content-
Meanwhile, underwater: Oregon biologists admit there’s little doubt the Willamette River’s spring chinook run will come in significantly under its forecast of 70,100.
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ELEVATED LEVELS OF HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM FOUND IN AIR NEAR REED COLLEGE (Portland Oregonian)
Air near Reed College has levels of the cancer-causing heavy metal hexavalent chromium that slightly exceed state health goals, but the amount doesn’t pose a public threat, regulators announced Friday.
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MOSIER MAYOR WANTS FEDS, OREGON TO HIT BRAKES ON OIL TRAINS (Portland Oregonian)
The mayor of Mosier called for state and federal intervention Friday to stop oil trains from rolling through the small Columbia River Gorge town as crews began focusing on mitigating environmental damage from last week’s derailment.
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ON PORTLAND’S ARTS TAX, A COURT VICTORY FOR A BAD POLICY — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon’s Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Portland’s arts tax is constitutional. Thomas Lannom, the city’s revenue director, proclaimed his department “pleased” by the decision, but we suspect the majority of Portland’s taxpayers are not. The arts tax proves the maxim that what’s legal ain’t always what’s right including in matters of public policy.
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JOHN KITZHABER ACCUSES KATE BROWN OF FAILING TO LEAD ON CORPORATE TAX (Portland Oregonian)
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber accused Gov. Kate Brown on Friday of failing to show leadership in the political fight over a corporate tax measure that will be on the ballot in November.
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DAYTON DAIRY EXPANDING, 61 AREA CAFOS SEEK NEW PERMITS (Salem Statesman Journal)
A Dayton dairy and heifer ranch plan to grow from a combined 3,350 to 5,590 animals, and 61 other confined animal feeding operations in Northwest Oregon have applied to have their registrations renewed under Oregons new federal water permit.
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DISASTER KIT PREPARATION FOR WEEK NO. 5 (Salem Statesman Journal)
With help from the American Red Cross’ Northwest Oregon Chapter, the Statesman Journal is almost one-quarter of the way through a 24-week effort to help readers prepare for any disaster, but specifically a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
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OREGON OFFICIALS SHOULD QUIT MESSING IN CITY AFFAIRS — OPINION (Salem Statesman Journal)
Salem and other cities made a mistake years ago when they gave voters the power to approve or deny annexations. But it was even worse for state officials this year to take away that power.
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SUMMER STILL WHALE SEASON (Eugene Register-Guard)
The southern Oregon coast is famous for whale watching, and though the big migrations have ended there is still a summer pod hanging around. To help locals and the crowds of summer tourists spot whales during the next few months, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology senior instructor Jan Hodder talked about where to look and what to look for.
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CREWS GETTING UPPER HAND ON CENTRAL OREGON WILDFIRE (Eugene Register-Guard)
Officials on Saturday lowered evacuation levels for more residents in about 900 homes near a 3-square-mile wildfire burning in central Oregon.
Fire spokesman Tom Fields of the Oregon Department of Forestry says the fire north of the town of Sisters is 60 percent contained and no structures have been lost.
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CONGRESS MUST ACT ON O&C LANDS — OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
Western Oregons timber-dependent counties have grown accustomed to being promised 10 cookies and receiving only five. Its entirely rational that they now discount promises in a new plan for forests overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, mostly on lands that once belonged to the defunct Oregon & California Railroad.
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FIRE DEPARTMENTS FROM ACROSS WASHINGTON COUNTY ANSWER CALL TO FIGHT WILDFIRE NEAR SISTERS (Portland Tribune)
Firefighters from across Washington County returned home on Friday after several days fighting wildfires in central Oregon.
Firefighters with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Gaston and Fore Grove fire districts spent three days fighting the 2,100-acre Akawana Butte Fire, which threatened homes outside of Sisters.
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GOVERNORS OPEN RECORDS RESPONSES KEEP PUBLIC ON A COLD TRAIL (Bend Bulletin)
-Despite declared commitment to openness, tracking Kate Brown has been slow-
Delays in response to requests for Gov. Kate Browns public calendar make tracking the governors whereabouts as well as keeping tabs on the interest groups she grants access to more difficult in Oregon than in neighboring states.
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LA PINE WOMAN LOSES BROKERS LICENSE (Bend Bulletin)
-State revokes real estate license for fraud, dishonest conduct-
The Oregon Real Estate Agency revoked a La Pine womans real estate license in April for fraud or dishonest conduct stemming from deleting potential sales information from a former employers computers in 2013.
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QUICK SNOWMELT DAMPENS CENTRAL OREGON WATER OUTLOOK (Bend Bulletin)
The summer outlook for Oregons water basins is not as dire as the past couple of years, when drought conditions had already been declared by this time.
But the promising snowpack that accumulated over the winter and into spring through much of the states mountains after raising hopes melted fast with Aprils warm temperatures.
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EVACUATION NOTICES FOR AKAWANA FIRE LIFTED (Bend Bulletin)
All evacuation notices for the Akawana Fire burning north of Sisters were lifted at 10 a.m. today as firefighters anticipate another favorable day of weather for mop-up operations, according to a release from the Oregon Department of Forestry.
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SUDDEN OAK DEATH THREATENS SOUTHWEST OREGONS ECONOMY (Bend Bulletin)
Curry County Commissioner David Brock Smiths eyes widen in amazement as he scans the landscape near Brookings.
In what was once a completely lush, green forested area, more and more pockets of either dead or dying trees now cover the scenery. And the culprit, sudden oak death, is not new.
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EDITORIAL: WHERE IS THE FOREST FUNDING? — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
Members of Oregons Congressional delegation have introduced bills to extract some of the craziness from the way the federal government takes care of national forests. Both Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, have bills that take on whats called fire borrowing.
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NW LEADERS CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR LGBTQ COMMUNITIES IN WAKE OF ORLANDO SHOOTING (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Americans awoke to the tragic news that as many as 50 people were killed and more than 50 others were hospitalized following a shooting at a popular Orlando gay nightclub early Sunday morning. Officials are calling it the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.
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OREGON JUDGE GRANTS NEW GENDER DESIGNATION (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
An Oregon judge has allowed a transgender person to change their legal gender designation to non binary.
Jamie Shupe, a 52-year-old who retired from the U.S. Army in 2000, requested the change.
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BEFORE MOSIER DERAILMENT, UNION PACIFIC LOBBIED OREGON AGAINST TOUGHER OIL TRAIN RULES, AND WON (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
A year before 16 of its oil tanker cars derailed and caused a fire, a spill and an evacuation order in the Columbia River Gorge, Union Pacific lobbied against stronger oversight of oil trains moving through the Northwest.
The railroad industry lost in Washington. But in Oregon, it won.
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OTHER VIEWS: EOU FACULTY HONORED TO HOST GOVERNORS COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS — GUEST OPINION (East Oregonian)
We the faculty of Eastern Oregon University want to thank Governor Kate Brown for taking the time to speak at EOUs 2016 commencement. This will be the first time a sitting governor has attended Easterns graduation and we are honored that you will be part of our students celebration.
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SOME OREGON TROPHY MOUNTS NOW LEGAL TO SELL (Medford Mail Tribune)
Oregon hunters will get a chance to cash in on their big-game mounts under a new rule allowing the one-time sale of hunting trophies.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission opted late Thursday to allow hunters 65 or older to sell their deer, elk or other mounts, as well as antlers still attached to the skull, of animals they have killed in Oregon.
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CONCEALED-GUN RULING MAY FUEL OREGON LEGISLATION IN 2017 (Medford Mail Tribune)
-California decision won’t have much immediate effect on Oregon laws-
Some Oregon political leaders had strong reactions to a federal appeals court finding that carrying a concealed weapon in public is not a constitutional right.
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GOVERNOR WANTS TO SEE BEST GRAD CAPS (Daily Astorian)
Gov. Kate Brown Thursday announced the inaugural Graduation Cap Challenge. The Class of 2016 from high school and college are invited to submit pictures of their decorated mortarboards worn during graduation.
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EDITORIAL: CITIES PUSH BACK ON ANNEXATION LAW — OPINION (Albany Democrat Herald)
Another day, another lawsuit filed against the state by a local government. This is getting to be old hat.
This latest complaint involves a new plaintiff the city of Corvallis, instead of Linn County but the case should be of interest to residents throughout the mid-valley: The lawsuit challenges Senate Bill 1573, which allows cities to annex land without a public vote, provided certain conditions are met.
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CORVALLIS FILES SUIT OVER ANNEXATIONS LAW (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
The city of Corvallis is going to court in an effort to preserve its system of voter-approved annexations.
Corvallis, which in 1976 became the first city in Oregon to require voter approval of land annexations, has filed a lawsuit aimed at overturning Senate Bill 1573, the state law signed by Gov. Kate Brown in March that limits such ballot requirements.
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FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION SETS HUNTING REGULATIONS, APPROVES 2017-19 BUDGET (The Curry Coastal Pilot)
The Fish and Wildlife Commission met June 9-10 at the ODFW Headquarters in Salem and formally adopted 2016 fall controlled hunt tag numbers. The controlled hunt draw began this afternoon and results will be available at My Hunter Information /866-947-6339 no later than June 20.
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NEW VOTERS IN OREGON REALLY DONT WANT TO BELONG TO A PARTY (Willamette Week)
And they really, really don’t want to register as Republicans.
Oregon’s motor voter program, which gives unregistered voters the opportunity to sign up more easily, has produced 68,583 new voters since it went into effect Jan. 1, 2016.
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OREGON LAWMAKERS HIT THE ROAD TO EXAMINE ROADS (KUOW)
Oregon lawmakers are hitting the road Monday to get a first-hand look at the state’s traffic chokepoints. It’s part of an effort to develop a transportation funding package for a vote in next year’s legislative session.
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OREGON SAYS THE STATE’S MINIMUM WAGE RISE WILL COST 40,000 JOBS — OPINION (Forbes)
As we all know whether or not to raise the minimum wage is one of those things easy enough to get people snarling at each other over. Therere the economic rationalists who insist that making something more expensive means that people will buy less of it.
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PROVIDER BILLING MOST COMMON FRAUD BUT PHRMA BIGGEST TICKET (The Lund Report)
Medicaid spends $6 billion a year in Oregon alone and whenever there is that big a pile of money, there is going to be fraud, Rodney Hopkinson, attorney in charge and director of the Medicaid Fraud Unit for the Oregon Department of Justice told a City Club of Portland audience.
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OHSU PRESIDENT PRAISES HIGH COST OF U.S. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM (The Lund Report)
American healthcare costs are considerably higher than the rest of the world, a fact that’s usually seen as a drag on the U.S. economy.
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