Month: May 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Mike Abbate, the director of Portland Parks & Recreation, has announced his resignation. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Abbate told city officials on Monday that he is resigning “to pursue other opportunities.” The 60-year-old Abbate wrote to the city that being the director was the greatest honor of his professional career. Abbate’s

(Update: Adding St. Charles statement on job reductions, 344 current openings) Despite a still-growing Central Oregon economy, the region’s largest employer — St. Charles Health System — shed 254 positions, or 5.7 percent of its workforce in the past year, according to Economic Development for Central Oregon’s annual list of the region’s 50 largest private

On Monday, fire professionals from around the country and the world gathered in the Deschutes National Forest near Sunriver to conduct a prescribed burn together. The program called TREX, which stands for TRaining EXchange, is coordinated by the Fire Learning Network, a joint project with the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department

May is the perfect time to create a circle of safety around your home to protect it from wildfire. That’s one reason May is Oregon Wildfire Awareness Month. All month long, the Oregon Department of Forestry, Keep Oregon Green Association, the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal and fire educators statewide are spreading the word

SEATTLE (AP) – A group of environmental activists erected four large teepees Monday on a busy Seattle street to protest tar sands projects and oil pipelines. The Seattle Times reports activists sat on wooden perches at the top of the teepees as police moved into the area and arrested 14 people. Other activists occupied the

City managers from across Central Oregon came together Monday to discuss how growth is affecting their cities, in both unique and common ways. The city leaders discussed problems from education in schools to water to transportation at a panel forum hosted by the City Club of Central Oregon. They all said they are able to

Happy Monday evening, everyone! Today was beautiful! Temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s, which is well above average. We’ve seen sunny skies with some high clouds throughout the day. Through sunset we’ll see mostly sunny skies. Winds will gust out of the northwest around 10 to 15 miles per hour. Overnight we can

If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Deschutes National Forest are planning continued ignitions south of Sisters near the Milli Fire scar and south of Bend and east of Sunriver on Tuesday. Firefighters are planning ignitions on the 150 acre Bon East 2C unit, located east of Sunriver on Forest Road 9720. Burning in this

Oregon leaders Romy Mortensen, Roberta (Bobbie) Conner and Peter D. Nickerson have been elected to serve four-year terms on the board of directors of The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF). Their terms began on Thursday. Born and raised in Salem and a graduate of the University of Oregon, School of Journalism, Romy Mortensen now lives in

Brooks Resources Corporation , a Bend-based real estate development company, announced Monday they have closed on their purchase of the property located at 181 Northeast Franklin Avenue. The 1.76-acre property was most recently home to the Murray & Holt auto dealership, a fixture in Bend since 1957. The property is located in the Bend Central

Here are the results of Friday’s KTVZ.COM poll, asking if you think lawmakers should give small business more tax breaks at their special session: Should lawmakers give small business more tax breaks at their special session?Yes – 76% (1409 votes)No – 24% (456 votes)Total Votes: 1,865

The Bend Park and Recreation District and the City of Bend are partnering to facilitate easier access to Drake Park this summer. With a new, limited-duration parking program, the City and the park district are initiating four-hour parking limits along Riverside Boulevard to allow more park users the opportunity to visit Drake Park between Memorial

SALEM (AP)–Federal and state funds totaling $1 million have been set aside to study a new endangered species protection plan in Oregon forests, a decade after a similar effort stalled. The money is earmarked to fund the beginning of a three-year process aimed at laying out new rules for protecting endangered species in 630,000 acres

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., issued the following statement Monday after the Senate Judiciary Committee’s announcement that the committee will hold confirmation hearing for the nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: “It’s a shame the US Senate Judiciary Committee is further diminishing any sense

UMATILLA, Ore. (AP) – Three data centers being constructed in Umatilla County for use by an Amazon data center subsidiary are creating tension between Umatilla County and the city of Umatilla. The East Oregonian reports two local governments have a disagreement on how to allocate a yearly payment that’s part of the development deal. The

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon will soon have a new chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Oregon law limits the term of a chief justice to six years, and Thomas Balmer was named chief in May 2012. The seven-judge panel will vote among themselves to decide Balmer’s successor, who will take over July 1.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Recent figures indicate a new initiative in a southern Oregon county to keep people in jail who regularly skip their court dates is working. The Mail Tribune reports the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office says the effort already has captured 13 criminals who together have 150 cases and failed to appear

The Oregon Department of Agriculture said Monday it is seeking applicants to fill 68 open positions on the state’s 23 agricultural and commercial fisheries commodity commissions. The deadline for applications is May 18. Applications will be accepted after the deadline for unfilled positions until they are filled. The Commissioner Application and Qualification forms and a

Mark Linville of the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) received the 2018 Senior Trooper Maria Mignano Dedication to Duty Award at the state’s DUII Multi-Disciplinary Impaired Driving Training Conference. The award, named after the late Senior Trooper Maria Mignano who died in the line of duty, was presented during the conference

Transparent transistors fabricated onto the sharp curves of a tiny glass tube are paving the way toward a therapeutic advance for the nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population who have diabetes. The nanotechnology advance by Oregon State University researchers is a key step toward an artificial pancreas: a catheter that can detect blood sugar