Month: March 2017

By constructing and monitoring artificial beaver dams, scientists and undergraduate students at Oregon State University – Cascades are learning how the health of the surrounding habitat and water can be affected by genuine beaver dams. Matt Orr, an assistant professor of biology and Ron Reuter, an associate professor of natural resources at OSU-Cascades are leading

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – As the Oregon Legislature considers sweeping cutbacks and tax hikes to close a $1.6 billion budget deficit, an education ballot initiative that voters overwhelmingly approved in November may be on the chopping block before it goes into effect. A group of education advocates and bipartisan lawmakers are now demanding the Legislature

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Federal prosecutors assigned to the criminal case against the lawyer for the leader of the armed occupation at an Oregon wildlife refuge have filed a motion to drop the remaining charges. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (https://goo.gl/qsrhON ) prosecutors filed the motion Monday, more than three weeks after a judge dropped one of

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Seeking to prevent or at least mitigate an ecological disaster like an oil spill into the Columbia River, Native Americans, environmentalists and a fishing guide are speaking out in support of two bills being considered by Oregon lawmakers. One bill would direct the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt oil-spill prevention and

A new Congressional Budget Office study Monday that found 14 million fewer Americans would have health insurance next year under the Republicans’ proposed Obamacare replacement drew an expected party-line reaction among Oregon lawmakers: Democrats said it proved their point about the proposal’s negative impacts, while the lone Republican representative said it was too early to

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Residents of a 15-unit apartment complex southeast of Salem are scrambling to find new homes after they were served with eviction notices ordering them to be out by April. The Statesman Journal reports (https://is.gd/8WtWa5) the 60-day notices were issued at the Westown Manor apartments in Stayton Feb. 1. A representative with

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Police arrested an Oregon man accused of attacking a restaurant employee with a pipe while calling the worker a terrorist and telling him to go back to his country. Court documents say Jason Kendall told an arresting officer he entered the Middle Eastern restaurant in Salem last week after seeing a

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced Monday he will hold town halls in Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes counties on Saturday. Merkley said in a news release “he will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., and answer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America.” “In our

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police are investigating a flurry of swastika vandalism in a Portland neighborhood. Sgt. Pete Simpson said Monday morning that hate graffiti was tagged onto at least six cars as well as trees, sidewalks, fences and garages in the Richmond neighborhood of southeast Portland. One witness reported seeing a man with a

A Bend man who led a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy on a mile-long chase in the Tumalo area early Sunday was arrested in his driveway on DUII and other charges, jailed and released a couple of hours later, authorities said. Shortly after 3 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a 2015 Toyota 4Runner

Beginning Thursday , fuels specialists with the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land Management are planning to ignite 253 acres of slash piles near Tumalo. The area slated for ignition is three miles southwest of Tumalo and has previous been thinned by contractors with the remaining woody debris material put into piles to be

An Oregon State Police SWAT team and its armored vehicle helped Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies arrest a fugitive wanted in two counties early Monday morning at a home in Crooked River Ranch, along with his wife. Deputies said the pair came out and surrendered peacefully, despite the husband having allegedly made threats to kill police

Beginning Thursday, the Deschutes County Planning Commission and Planning Division will conduct a series of meetings throughout the county to connect with residents about land use planning issues and share information about proposed changes to the county code regarding properties in the Flood Plain zone.. The meetings will be held: · Thursday, March 16, at

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Looking for a home with lots of land? Then Tiller, Oregon, might be the place for you. The entire southwestern Oregon town is up for sale, and could be yours for $3.85 million. Located in Douglas County, the town is nestled on the banks of the South Umpqua River, about 30

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – A southern Oregon hotel wants no part of the controversy surrounding a proposed natural gas pipeline and export facility. The Mail Tribune reports (https://is.gd/6GWYd5 ) Jordan Cove LNG planned a March 23 open house at the Ramada Medford Hotel and Conference Center. The firm wanted to take comments and answer questions

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – The leaky dam at Hyatt Lake is being shored up this summer as part of a $3.7 million seismic retrofit. The Mail Tribune reports (https://is.gd/ffQ4I4 ) the project will bring the dam east of Ashland into safety compliance after a seepage issue was discovered during a 2009 inspection. Greg Garnett of

PHOENIX (AP) – Damian Lillard scored 28 of his 39 points in the first half and the Portland Trail Blazers recovered to beat the Phoenix Suns 110-101 on Sunday night after blowing an 18-point second-half lead. Lillard scored just four points in the fourth quarter, but fellow guard C.J. McCollum added 26. The Trail Blazers

Starting April 1, Soroptimist International of Bend (SI Bend) will be placing their collection Bra Boxes around town at participating retail businesses to help bring awareness to the fight against international human trafficking. These garments will help create a pathway to a better life for a woman rescued from the sex slave trade in Africa

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s software industry has been growing fast, but the state’s economic development agency says it has been outpaced by another sector – the alcohol industry – since the Great Recession. The Oregon Department of Economic Analysis says software employment was up by 6,900 jobs between January 2008 and September 2016. But

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) – Residents in southern Oregon are learning how to build tiny homes that are cost-effective and don’t come at the expense of quality of life. The Herald and News reports (http://bit.ly/2mAvEqi) that Oregon Tech held its first Tiny House Symposium Saturday to teach Klamath Falls residents and others about building tiny