March 20, 2015 eClips

Biologists fear for Oregon geese after thousands die in Idaho
Oregon witness jailed for 905 days goes free with check for $5,750
Taxpayers on the hook for Cylvia Hayes’ legal fees
Zombie coal subsidy returns and gets killed again
Oregon AG delays release of John Kitzhaber’s emails, following legal filing by his lawyer
Kate Brown orders flags lowered in memory of Dave Frohnmayer
Pot containment efforts by Clackamas County are too much too soon — Opinion
Health officials’ plea to UO students, parents: Get vaccinated against deadly meningitis
Springfield named a prime hub for companies to move goods despite Port of Portland turmoil
Past Tense Oregon: Database of Oregon deadly crashes offers clues to traffic engineers
Before shutdown, how many jobs did United Streetcar deliver?
Congress must crack down on payday lending — Guest Opinion
Craft beer claimed 11 percent of U.S. beer sales in 2014
FAQ: How does Oregon’s new “motor voter” law work?
Who should pay to protect bees?
State bills limit access to officer body camera videos
Audit: Conflicts existed in prison industries contracts
More school funding or more school cuts?
Going slowly on state tests will not help students — Opinion
Drought to continue in West, forecasters predict
Top 3 things to know about the Legislature
Oregon State and Hillcrest students release book
Oregon enlists UO parents in meningitis vaccination campaign
Rock-mining bill stirs debate
Oregon needs to limit campaign contributions — Guest Opinion
Avoid sage grouse listing — Opinion
Bill: New test won’t count on school report cards, teacher evaluations
Panel denies dock funding again
Bill: New test won’t count on school report cards, teacher evaluations
Green Briefs: State issues narrow pesticide ban
Clackamas Fire District supports proposed CPR law
Pendleton leaders talk housing at first leg of Gov. visit
Gov. Kate Brown, While Calling For Greater Government Integrity, Is Still Targeting Whistleblowers– Blog
Metro Takes Headquarters Hotel to Oregon Legislature, Seeking a Shield from Voter Referral– Blog
Fighting for fifth-years
Federal transit funds are requested
Crook County asks for drought declaration
Oregon bills seek price transparency for medical services
Equipment failure, human error top reasons for oil spills in the West– Blog
Critics Question Use Of Public School Funds For Students To Attend Community College
State Tells U Of O Students To Get Vaccinated Over Spring Break
Oregon Commission Again Says No To Funding Coal Export Dock
Governor Heads To Pendleton In First Eastern Oregon Trip
Teachers Say New Standardized Tests Push Out Other Learning
Baker County seeks drought disaster declaration
Western governors request federal wildfire-prevention aid
Wyden tacks renewed county funding onto budget
Governor orders flags to half-staff for Frohnmayer
ODOT, OSP partner for Spring Break safety advice
Wyden, Merkley introduce bill to spur geothermal energy
Deschutes Co., state plan south-county sewer open houses
New state law is nation’s first in years to make voting easier – Video
Oregon Zoo releases hundreds of endangered butterflies
Two fires Thursday at property state calls an illegal tire dump
Oregon’s Road Usage Charge Discussed in Bend
Is the NCAA a Money Maker in Portland?
Bend is Booming– Blog
Oregon’s January Unemployment Rate Decrease Largest in Nation– Blog
Startups Become Shrinking Portion of Oregon Business
Oregons Radical Innovation: Make Democracy Easy

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BIOLOGISTS FEAR FOR OREGON GEESE AFTER THOUSANDS DIE IN IDAHO

(Portland Oregonian)Oregon bird-watchers are keeping watch on Sauvie Island’s birds after thousands of migrating snow geese were found dead in Eastern Idaho last weekend.
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OREGON WITNESS JAILED FOR 905 DAYS GOES FREE WITH CHECK FOR $5,750

(Portland Oregonian)Benito Vasquez-Hernandez left the Washington County Jail on Thursday in the front passenger seat of a patrol car.

He wore a plaid shirt, khaki pants and tennis shoes.
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TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR CYLVIA HAYES’ LEGAL FEES

(Portland Oregonian)Taxpayers will foot the bill for Cylvia Hayes’ defense in the federal investigation into the former first lady and her fiance, John Kitzhaber.

Hayes is now being represented by two federal public defenders — Lisa Hay and Jerry Needham — in the influence-peddling investigation by the FBI and the IRS targeting Hayes and Kitzhaber.
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ZOMBIE COAL SUBSIDY RETURNS AND GETS KILLED AGAIN

(Portland Oregonian)Call it the zombie subsidy.

A $2 million state grant to help a coal export terminal near Clatskanie was killed in a vote by state transportation officials last August. But it refused to stay dead.
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OREGON AG DELAYS RELEASE OF JOHN KITZHABER’S EMAILS, FOLLOWING LEGAL FILING BY HIS LAWYER

(Portland Oregonian)John Kitzhaber’s criminal attorney has filed a federal motion seeking to keep the former governor’s emails out of federal investigators’ hands, according to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s office.
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KATE BROWN ORDERS FLAGS LOWERED IN MEMORY OF DAVE FROHNMAYER

(Portland Oregonian)Flags at Oregon’s public buildings will be flown at half-staff Saturday in memory of Dave Frohnmayer, the former state attorney general and University of Oregon president who died this month after years of battling prostate cancer.
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POT CONTAINMENT EFFORTS BY CLACKAMAS COUNTY ARE TOO MUCH TOO SOON — OPINION

(Portland Oregonian)Though Clackamas County voters joined Oregonians statewide in approving the legal sale of recreational marijuana, the county’s elected leaders are poised to limit pot’s availability.
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HEALTH OFFICIALS’ PLEA TO UO STUDENTS, PARENTS: GET VACCINATED AGAINST DEADLY MENINGITIS

(Portland Oregonian)A sixth University of Oregon student has been diagnosed with meningococcal disease, which can maim or kill, and public health officials are pleading with undergraduates and their parents to get the students vaccinated right away.
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SPRINGFIELD NAMED A PRIME HUB FOR COMPANIES TO MOVE GOODS DESPITE PORT OF PORTLAND TURMOIL

(Portland Oregonian)Companies looking to move goods up and down the West Coast might want to check out Springfield, Oregon, a national site-selection consultant says.
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PAST TENSE OREGON: DATABASE OF OREGON DEADLY CRASHES OFFERS CLUES TO TRAFFIC ENGINEERS

(Portland Oregonian)Two of the three worst vehicle crashes in Oregon since the state began tracking such incidents shortly after World War II involved motor coaches that did not have seat belts.

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BEFORE SHUTDOWN, HOW MANY JOBS DID UNITED STREETCAR DELIVER?

(Portland Oregonian)United Streetcar, the Clackamas company expected to put hundreds of Oregonians to work manufacturing a new generation of streetcars, has all but closed up shop without meeting job projections
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CONGRESS MUST CRACK DOWN ON PAYDAY LENDING — GUEST OPINION

(Portland Oregonian)Maryann Olson’s monthly Social Security check wasn’t enough to cover the cost of orthopedic shoes that she desperately needed so she turned to a payday lender. However, her $150 loan quickly turned into $1,900 in debt.
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CRAFT BEER CLAIMED 11 PERCENT OF U.S. BEER SALES IN 2014

(Portland Oregonian)The Brewers Association, the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, today released 2014 data on U.S. craft brewing growth.

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FAQ: HOW DOES OREGON’S NEW “MOTOR VOTER” LAW WORK?

(Salem Statesman Journal)Gov. Kate Brown signed Oregon’s “motor voter” law on Monday, creating a new system to automatically register people to vote in this state. It has been a pet project for Brown, who introduced House Bill 2177 when she was secretary of state in January, testified in its favor before the Oregon Legislature and signed it as governor in March.
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WHO SHOULD PAY TO PROTECT BEES?

(Salem Statesman Journal)A package of legislation aimed at improving pollinator health had broad support at a legislative hearing Thursday.

But arguments erupted over who should pay the bill.
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STATE BILLS LIMIT ACCESS TO OFFICER BODY CAMERA VIDEOS

(Salem Statesman Journal)Would the Beastie Boys be proud? Flattered, maybe, but almost certainly amused.

SAIF Corp., the Salem-based workers’ compensation insurance provider, has produced a video featuring a rap song all about office ergonomics.

It’s just as cheesy as it sounds.
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AUDIT: CONFLICTS EXISTED IN PRISON INDUSTRIES CONTRACTS

(Salem Statesman Journal)The former administrator of the state’s prison industries agency was giving government contracts to friends and did not keep records on what the contracts were paying for, according to an audit by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
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MORE SCHOOL FUNDING OR MORE SCHOOL CUTS?

(Salem Statesman Journal)Schools over the past decade have taken a big hit in their budgets, with the Great Recession devastating Oregon’s tax revenue, and lawmakers are just now starting to get those funding levels back where they used to be.
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GOING SLOWLY ON STATE TESTS WILL NOT HELP STUDENTS — OPINION

(Salem Statesman Journal)-These are our weekly Winners and Losers, which seem to be popular with readers because of their brevity-

LOSER: Going slower on higher education standards. The Oregon House on Thursday passed a bill that would block the state from using the new, tougher student assessments for rating schools, teachers or administrators for one year.
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DROUGHT TO CONTINUE IN WEST, FORECASTERS PREDICT

(Salem Statesman Journal)The spring weather outlook for the west issued Thursday by federal forecasters has a familiar ring to it: continuing drought conditions leading to greater wildfire risk.
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TOP 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE

(Salem Statesman Journal)The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would prohibit the use of standardized tests to rate schools or evaluate teachers.

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OREGON STATE AND HILLCREST STUDENTS RELEASE BOOK

(Salem Statesman Journal)Laura Gordon, a senior at Oregon State University, remembers the day she and her classmates made the drive to Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility for their first day of class with the student inmates.
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OREGON ENLISTS UO PARENTS IN MENINGITIS VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

(Eugene Register-Guard)-With 6 in 10 UO students still unvaccinated, state urges parents to pressure their kids to get inoculated-

State health officials on Thursday tried to ramp up the pressure on University of Oregon students to get vaccinated for meningococcal disease after a sixth UO student was diagnosed with the potentially fatal illness.
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ROCK-MINING BILL STIRS DEBATE

(Eugene Register-Guard)-Farmers and environmentalists say the measure would make it harder to defeat gravel operations-

A controversial pro-gravel-mining bill sponsored by a prominent Lane County Democrat is drawing ire from farming and environmental groups.

Opponents say House Bill 2666 could open up large tracts of valuable Oregon farmland to new sand and gravel mines.

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OREGON NEEDS TO LIMIT CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS — GUEST OPINION

(Eugene Register-Guard)The costs of political campaigns are skyrocketing, blocking out the voices of everyday Oregonians. That is why we believe the Legislature needs to pass campaign finance reform.
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AVOID SAGE GROUSE LISTING — OPINION

(Eugene Register-Guard)-Habitat protection is the key-

Populations of the greater sage grouse, found in the sagebrush steppe environment of 11 western states, including Oregon, are declining at a rate of 2 percent a year. Thats a rendezvous with extinction for the game bird, a result that Americans have a legal and moral obligation to prevent.
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BILL: NEW TEST WON’T COUNT ON SCHOOL REPORT CARDS, TEACHER EVALUATIONS

(Portland Tribune)Results from a new standardized test for Oregon students will not be used this year in compiling school report cards or teacher evaluations under a bill that has cleared the Oregon House.

House Bill 2680, which imposes a one-year delay, went to the Senate on a 48-9 House vote Thursday.
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PANEL DENIES DOCK FUNDING AGAIN

(Portland Tribune)The Oregon Transportation Commission has again denied state money for a much-debated renovation of a Columbia River dock that became a proxy in a wider debate over coal exports to Asia.

The commission voted 3-1 Thursday for the allocation of $7 million in lottery-backed bonds to six other projects under Connect Oregon, which funds projects other than highways and bridges.
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BILL: NEW TEST WON’T COUNT ON SCHOOL REPORT CARDS, TEACHER EVALUATIONS

(Portland Tribune)-Oregon House approves one-year delay; test will measure progress toward new standards.-

Results from a new standardized test for Oregon students will not be used this year in compiling school report cards or teacher evaluations under a bill that has cleared the Oregon House.
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GREEN BRIEFS: STATE ISSUES NARROW PESTICIDE BAN

(Portland Tribune)The Oregon Department of Agriculture, responding to a series of bee deaths traced to pesticides, enacted a narrow new regulation barring the use of four types of pesticides containing neonicotinoids on linden and related trees.
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CLACKAMAS FIRE DISTRICT SUPPORTS PROPOSED CPR LAW

(Portland Tribune)In the Oregon state Capitol this month, Clackamas Fire District officials joined advocates with the American Heart Association in asking lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 79 to train all students in CPR before graduating high school.
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PENDLETON LEADERS TALK HOUSING AT FIRST LEG OF GOV. VISIT

(East Oregonian)On her first trip to Pendleton since becoming governor, Kate Brown started her tour in the most inauspicious of places the crowded living room of a model home.
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GOV. KATE BROWN, WHILE CALLING FOR GREATER GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY, IS STILL TARGETING WHISTLEBLOWERS– BLOG

(Willamette Week)-A continuing Oregon State Police investigation into email leaks is “chilling.”-

Since taking office Feb. 18, Gov. Kate Brown has publicly made honest and open government a top priority. She has introduced three bills aimed at tightening Oregon’s lax approach to government ethics, and she has promised a thorough audit of how state agencies respond to requests for public records.
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METRO TAKES HEADQUARTERS HOTEL TO OREGON LEGISLATURE, SEEKING A SHIELD FROM VOTER REFERRAL– BLOG

(Willamette Week)Opponents of a proposed 600-room Hyatt hotel at the Oregon Convention Center want voters to have a chance to weigh in on the project and its $78 million in taxpayer subsidies. They are currently in court battling Metro, the regional government thats backing the hotel and wants to avoid a vote.
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FIGHTING FOR FIFTH-YEARS

(Albany Democrat Herald)Students and administrators from five mid-valley school districts were among nearly 30 people who spent Thursday afternoon urging Oregon lawmakers to keep fifth-year high school programs.
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FEDERAL TRANSIT FUNDS ARE REQUESTED

(Bend Bulletin)-About $1.2 million would go to pick-up and drop-off public transit services –

About $1.2 million in federal funds for door-to-door public transit was requested by a Deschutes County advisory committee Wednesday.

The federal money will be funneled through the Oregon Department of Transportation to cities and Deschutes County once approved by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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CROOK COUNTY ASKS FOR DROUGHT DECLARATION

(Bend Bulletin)-Order by Gov. Brown could lead to state assistance for Central Oregon county-

Crook County is asking Gov. Kate Browns office to declare a drought emergency for the Central Oregon county.

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OREGON BILLS SEEK PRICE TRANSPARENCY FOR MEDICAL SERVICES

(Bend Bulletin)-Transparency advocate: Either of two versions would be ideal-

No one argues it would be too burdensome for Wal-Mart to post prices on the products that line its aisle, so why cant health care providers be expected to do the same?
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EQUIPMENT FAILURE, HUMAN ERROR TOP REASONS FOR OIL SPILLS IN THE WEST– BLOG

(Oregon Business Journal)A coalition of Western states that tracks oil spills reports 1,176 spills of 42 gallons one barrel or more in sullied local grounds in 2013.
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CRITICS QUESTION USE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDS FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

(Oregon Public Broadcasting)Oregon school districts that use public school money to pay for high school students to attend community college were put on the defensive today Thursday in Salem. State officials say districts covered college tuition for as many as 1,500 students, by delaying their graduation.
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STATE TELLS U OF O STUDENTS TO GET VACCINATED OVER SPRING BREAK

(Oregon Public Broadcasting)The state confirmed Thursday that a sixth student from the University of Oregon has come down with meningococcal disease. Health officials want parents to persuade their students to get vaccinated over Spring Break.

So far, one student has died, a second was seriously ill on a ventilator and three others missed classes.
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OREGON COMMISSION AGAIN SAYS NO TO FUNDING COAL EXPORT DOCK

(Oregon Public Broadcasting)The Oregon Transportation Commission on Thursday voted 3-1 to deny a $2 million grant of state funds for dock improvements at Port Westward in Clatskanie, Oregon, a project tied to proposed coal exports.

It was the second time the commission voted down the controversial application, which the former chair of the commission claims she was fired for refusing to approve the first time.
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GOVERNOR HEADS TO PENDLETON IN FIRST EASTERN OREGON TRIP

(Oregon Public Broadcasting)Gov. Kate Brown is visiting Pendleton in her first official trip to Eastern Oregon.

Brown has two public events scheduled for her two-day trip to the east side of the Cascades.
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TEACHERS SAY NEW STANDARDIZED TESTS PUSH OUT OTHER LEARNING

(Oregon Public Broadcasting)An American flag, a University of Oregon banner and posters with literary terms hang in the front of David Wilkinsons room at Beavertons Westview High. Wilkinson is leading his 11th graders through a college admissions essay.
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BAKER COUNTY SEEKS DROUGHT DISASTER DECLARATION

(Baker City Herald)Baker County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to ask Gov. Kate Brown to declare a drought emergency this year in the county.
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WESTERN GOVERNORS REQUEST FEDERAL WILDFIRE-PREVENTION AID

(KGW)Governors of Western states, including Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have written Congress to ask for more money to reduce the threat of major wildfires.
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WYDEN TACKS RENEWED COUNTY FUNDING ONTO BUDGET

(KTVZ Bend)-Calls it ‘crucial lifeline’ for cash-strapped rural areas-

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., fought to restore a crucial lifeline for roads, schools and first-responders in Oregons cash-strapped rural communities, in an amendment he attached to the federal budget bill on Thursday.
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GOVERNOR ORDERS FLAGS TO HALF-STAFF FOR FROHNMAYER

(KTVZ Bend)Governor Kate Brown on Thursday ordered all flags at public institutions throughout Oregon be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday to honor former Oregon statesman and public servant David Frohnmayer.
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ODOT, OSP PARTNER FOR SPRING BREAK SAFETY ADVICE

(KTVZ Bend)-Offer tips to keep your travel safe, not tragic-

Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation are teaming up to keep Spring Break travelers safe on Oregon’s roads this year.
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WYDEN, MERKLEY INTRODUCE BILL TO SPUR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

(KTVZ Bend)-Would keep speculators from driving up lease prices-

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation Thursday to encourage geothermal energy production on public lands.
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DESCHUTES CO., STATE PLAN SOUTH-COUNTY SEWER OPEN HOUSES

(KTVZ Bend)The Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Deschutes County will hold open houses in April regarding an exception to Statewide Planning Goal 11 to allow sewers in unincorporated portions of southern Deschutes County.
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NEW STATE LAW IS NATION’S FIRST IN YEARS TO MAKE VOTING EASIER – VIDEO

(msnbc)Oregon Governor Kate Brown, formerly Oregon’s secretary of state, talks with Rachel Maddow about a new law to use the DMV to automatically register citizens to vote, making the process more convenient, more accessible, and less partisan.
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BAR EXAM, THE STANDARD TO BECOME A LAWYER, COMES UNDER FIRE

(New York Times)For decades, law school graduates have endured a stressful rite of passage, spending the first 10 weeks after classes end taking cram courses in the arcane details of the law before sitting down for the grueling, dayslong bar exam.
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OREGON ZOO RELEASES HUNDREDS OF ENDANGERED BUTTERFLIES

(KPTV)The Oregon Zoo, along with biologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, released hundreds of endangered butterflies to the wild.

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TWO FIRES THURSDAY AT PROPERTY STATE CALLS AN ILLEGAL TIRE DUMP

(KVAL)Fire crews responded twice Thursday to a north Eugene property where the State of Oregon says thousands of used tires are being illegally stored.

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OREGON’S ROAD USAGE CHARGE DISCUSSED IN BEND

(KBND)Oregons Department of Transportation is trying to garner support for its new Road Usage Charge, scheduled to roll out on a limited basis in July. One of the programs managers says Oregon is the first state in the country to create an alternative to the gas tax, which has declined in recent years due to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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IS THE NCAA A MONEY MAKER IN PORTLAND?

(KXL)Starting today, the Rose City plays host to the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament for the third time in seven years. Conventional wisdom says that a big sports event generates big revenue for the city having that event.
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BEND IS BOOMING– BLOG

(Oregon Office of Economic Analysis)I will have more regional coverage in the next few weeks, but for today I just wanted to highlight the strength of recovery taking place in Bend and Deschutes County. Simply put, Bend is booming. Just like it always does in expansion.
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It can be done. Other countries, where voter turnout is dramatically higher than in the United States, craft their laws to encourage voting.
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