Month: November 2017

(Update: Adding secretary of state’s statement) PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Health Authority says the state wrongly paid Oregon health care organizations nearly $75 million in federal Medicaid money from 2014 to 2016. Officials tell The Oregonian/OregonLive the state might have to repay all of it. New chief financial officer Laura Robison says the overpayments

(Update: Searchers find missing hunter) A hunter who was reported missing near Mt. Hood after leaving his group and failing to return has been found safe, authorities said Wednesday. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office had searchers are looking for Nicholas Benim near Hideaway Lake in the Mount Hood National Forest. The hunter left his group

Daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday in November – this Sunday, Nov. 5 – when clocks are moved back an hour at 2 a.m. local time (so they will then read 1 a.m. local standard time). What does this mean for travelers? It means potential disruption to sleep patterns which can result in

Are you interested in helping improve transportation services in Oregon for people with disabilities? The statewide ADA Disability Workgroup is seeking members interested in working to remove barriers to transportation options for people with disabilities. Here are just a few of the workgroup’s specific charges: Investigate additional sources of funds to improve transit services and

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A task force has recommended how to shrink the state’s pension-fund deficit by $5 billion, and two of the suggestions – including privatizing the state’s public universities – got a cold reception from Gov. Kate Brown. Brown thanked the seven members of her task force for their research and commitment to identify

Brazil’s environmental land registration program has been successful in slowing down the rate of deforestation on private land, according to a new study whose lead author is an Oregon State University economist. The study is published in the journal Conservation Letters. Brazil houses nearly 13 percent of the world’s remaining forests, and although its deforestation

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., called Wednesday for improvements to the protection of consumer data following the massive breach of Equifax, which compromised the sensitive personal information of over 145 million Americans, including 1.7 million Oregonians. Walden, who serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led a hearing entitled “Securing Consumers’ Credit Data

The Bureau of Land Management announced Wednesday that it is seeking public nominations for open positions on 17 of its 36 Resource Advisory Councils (RACs). As published in a notice in the Federal Register, the BLM will accept nominations through December 1, 2017. In Central Oregon, managers with the Prineville and Vale District Offices are

Redmond’s M.A. Lynch Elementary School could be reconstructed on its play field next door, if a possible school bond measure passes, providing some significant improvements. The school is just over 50 years old, and officials say it’s safe, but that the need for major changes are necessary. The school would be torn down, but not

Tuesday was move-out day for people living in a homeless camp east of Redmond. Lots of people have already picked up and left, but some were just leaving Tuesday, but many of them have nowhere to go now. Most told NewsChannel 21 they understand why they’re being asked to move out. The problem is not

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) – An autopsy is narrowing the focus in the search for the person who hit and killed a 13-year-old girl who was waiting for the school bus at the end of her driveway in rural southwestern Oregon. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday that Meadow Boyd was likely struck by something

As a supporter of commercial recreation on our public lands that creates jobs and helps local communities grow, the Bureau of Land Management, Prineville District, is accepting applications for new Special Recreation Permits from individuals and companies interested in guiding activities that will require a watercraft on the Lower Deschutes River. The application period opens

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A judge has sentenced a woman who helped dupe an Oregon man out of $3 million to 21 months in federal prison. Prosecutors said Thy Mihn Phan and her boyfriend led the elderly victim to believe the money was to help with legal issues and a landscaping business. Instead, they blew almost

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Medford may expand a new “exclusion zone” that bars people engaging in certain behaviors from entering the city’s downtown core. The Mail Tribune reported Wednesday that the exclusion zone in the downtown area appears to have created problems with public drunkenness, graffiti and public urination elsewhere in the city. The law was

Forest-dwelling animals don’t have to live right by a road, pasture or human settlement to be affected by what scientists call forest edges. Indeed, animals up to a kilometer (0.6 miles) from an edge show a measurable impact from their proximity to areas where trees have been removed to make way for other land uses.

November has just arrived, but Oregon Christmas trees are already on their way to such destinations as Asia, Hawaii, and Mexico. In the next several weeks, Oregon – the nation’s leading producer of Christmas trees – will ship trees to most U.S. states and many countries around the world. It’s a frenzied time of year

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland police say a man is expected to survive after getting stabbed by someone dressed in a pink bunny costume. Sgt. Chris Burley says the stabbing happened shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday in Old Town Chinatown. He says the victim was approached and then attacked by a costumed man he didn’t know. Officers

The Blob, the warm-water anomaly that spread across the North Pacific Ocean for the better part of the last four years, disrupting the ocean food supply for juvenile salmon and steelhead and bringing warm-water predator fish farther north than normal, appears to have dissipated, but this year a new and possibly related problem developed that

The U.S. Forest Service will be accepting applications for over 1,000 seasonal spring and summer jobs in Oregon and Washington from Nov. 14 – 20. Positions are available in multiple fields, including fire, recreation, natural resources, timber, engineering, visitor services, and archaeology. “Seasonal employment with the Forest Service is a great way to give back

When it comes to ecommerce, Amazon.com is one of the most trusted and established brands (and a BBB Accredited Business). That’s why scammers love to impersonate it. BBB is seeing a new email con that appears to be Amazon asking you to “confirm” your personal information. How the Scam Works You open your email and