Month: June 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – In a courtroom packed with environmental activists, federal judges wrestled Tuesday with whether climate change violates the constitutional rights of young people who have sued the U.S. government over the use of fossil fuels. A Justice Department attorney warned three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowing

How well would your community handle a widespread medical emergency? The Crook County Health Department wanted to find the answer that question, and did so in unusual fashion on Tuesday. Officials set up a simulation at the Crook County Fairgrounds and invited the public to be part of it. The emergency scenario in this case

CORNELIUS, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say they are seeking suspects after a horse grazing in a pasture west of Portland was intentionally shot in the head. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded Monday evening to a report of a horse that had been shot south of Cornelius. The sheriff’s office says Jasper had

Deschutes National Forest firefighters on Wednesday will ignite a 35-acre prescribed burn outside of Crescent and complete the Bon West unit 1 adjacent to Sunriver. Firefighters on the Crescent Ranger District will ignite a prescribed burn in unit Bee 15 approximately 1.5 miles northeast of the Highway 97/58 junction near Crescent. Additionally, firefighters will continue

As Oregon and the country face an affordable housing and homelessness crisis, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and a bipartisan group of legislators Tuesday to introduce a bill that would increase investment in affordable housing and provide more resources and stronger protections for at-risk groups. “Housing is a right, and the

Downtown Bend’s south Mirror Pond parking lot reopens Wednesday after 2 1/2 months of construction to improve deteriorating conditions and increase safety in the area, city officials said. With the south Mirror Pond parking lot redesign, the condition of the parking lot was improved with new curbs and asphalt. Safety improvements addressed concerns over the

CAPE LOOKOUT, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say a Beaverton paraglider died when he crashed into the ocean near Cape Lookout State Park. Oregon State Police say they were notified at about 5 p.m. Sunday of a water rescue in the Pacific Ocean. Police say preliminary investigation shows that 44-year-old Gary Mudrow took off on his

Happy Tuesday evening, everyone! Tonight our summer-like conditions will stick around — wildfire smoke smell included! For areas close to the prescribed burns in Sisters and Sunriver know you might smell the smoke tonight and in the early morning. Winds out of the northwest will push a lot of the smoke from the burn near

On Wednesday and Thursday, Redmond Fire and Rescue will be conducting live fire training at the Redmond Municipal Airport for its team of specially trained airport firefighters. Training will take place near the U.S. Forest Service facilities within the airport’s perimeter fence. Each year, the Federal Aviation Administration requires airport firefighters to complete live fire

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A judge is holding Oregon’s public psychiatric hospital in contempt of court, ruling that hospital leaders “willfully violated” court orders to swiftly admit defendants in need of mental health evaluations and treatment. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the contempt ruling was issued Tuesday by Judge D. Charles Bailey of Washington County Circuit Court.

SEATTLE (AP) – A U.S. appeals court has rejected an appeal brought by three University of Oregon basketball players who said they were discriminated against when they were kicked out of school over rape allegations. A female student accused Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin of raping her at a party in 2014, allegations

(Update: Adding AP story) SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Those with outdated marijuana convictions will be able to have their records expunged faster under an Oregon bill approved by the House. Lawmakers voted 42-15 Tuesday to send the governor a measure easing some of the bureaucratic hurdles involved in setting aside marijuana convictions that occurred before

(Updates: New evacuation, larger size) BEVERLY, Wash. (AP) – A fast-moving wildfire in central Washington state has grown to 7.8 square miles (about 5,000 acres), prompting the Grant County Sheriff’s Office to order residents of the town of Smyrna to evacuate. The wildfire is near Wanapum Dam, and is spreading quickly in dry grass and

Amid a rise in complaints, the city of Bend is looking to change its code surrounding long-term parking on city streets. The proposal would change Bend’s city code, giving people less time to move their cars, if parked in one spot for an extended period of time. The proposed code change coming before city councilors

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs have imposed a reservation-wide burn ban as part of a state of emergency due to a major water main break that prompted a disaster declaration last Friday. “With dry fuel conditions and lack of water for fire suppression it is critical we take precautions to help protect the

SELCO Community Credit Union has awarded $50,000 in college scholarships to 20 graduating high school seniors throughout Oregon, including six students from Central Oregon. Each scholarship recipient received $2,500 — up from $1,500 per scholarship in previous years — to use toward college-related expenses. The scholarships are part of SELCO’s mission to aid member-owners in

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced Tuesday the Transparency in Online Retailing Act of 2019, which would require online retailers to provide country of origin information for each of their products – information already required in stores – on their websites. “I personally discovered the difficulty of finding Made In America products online when I went

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., reacted with dismay Tuesday to new reports that last year, 37 migrant children, ages 5 to 12, were left in vans overnight as they waited to be reunited with families at Port Isabel Detention Center, Texas, calling such action “completely unacceptable.” Here’s his full statement: “This latest report is completely unacceptable.

In partnership with world renowned golf course architect David McLay Kidd of DMK Golf Design, Awbrey Glen Golf Club said Tuesday it has launched the next phase of its Golf Course Master Plan. Adopted in the spring of 2011, the Master Plan has provided the Club a comprehensive and exciting blueprint for the future of

This week, the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment focuses on building a digital defense against sextortion scams targeting children. In the last few days, the FBI has launched a national campaign to raise awareness about the crime of sextortion, with a goal of helping parents protect their families. The FBI is seeing more and more