April 15, 2016 OSL eClips
State Library eClips
* It’s not just ‘cultural’ competence at issue in state’s Black Lives Matter surveillance — Opinion
* New tribal village on Columbia River included in federal appropriations bill
* Criticizing Peter Courtney’s leadership unfair, but February session was a circus — Guest Opinion
* In about-face, feds deny endangered species protections for Pacific fisher
* Average state worker salary: $56,028
* Governor: Brown, Alley
* The latest snowpack estimates for the Snake River Basin show the potential for spring flooding is normal to slightly above normal
* Paying taxes is job requirement for revenue employees
* Federal audit finds waste in Oregon Health Plan
* DEQ: Glassmakers Bullseye, Uroboros must install pollution controls
* Report: Supreme Court ruling is only part of PERS deficit woes
* Wildfire prevention funds available for La Pine area
* Rec marijuana sales a big boost to Oregon medical dispensaries
* Food stamp work requirement could change next year
* Court sends suit over Peru helicopter crash to Portland
* Editorial: Don’t rip nonprofit status from hospitals — Opinion
* Editorial: Put a pot tax on Bends November ballot — Opinion
* Timeline: #BlackLivesMatter Profiling Case
* Oregon DOJ Employee On Leave Over #BlackLivesMatter Profiling
* Some Oregon Taxpayers Face Longer Waits For Refunds
* EPA: Portland Glassmakers Should Have Had Pollution Controls
* Precision Castparts’ Worried Neighbors
* Development Near Salmon-Bearing Streams Gets New Restrictions
* Is The Future Of Solar Bright In Oregon?
* Lawyers square off over Josephine County GMO ban
* O&C timber counties say theyll sue over BLM plan
* Oregon onion growers receive permission to apply herbicide through drip systems
* Expert predicts severe stripe rust across PNW
* Immigration case arrives Monday at U.S. Supreme Court
* Most precipitation evaporates or returns to ground
* Since You Asked: Nine recognized tribes in Oregon
* Keep big grocers’ hands off our liquor — Opinion
* Smith will go to state hospital for further evaluation
* FEMA changing flood insurance implementation to protect fish
* Judge orders pumping and lime at Sunset Lake
* Childhood clinic catches problems early
* Prosecutors drop illegal recording charge
* Editorial: Poachers insult legitimate hunters — Opinion
* Commissioners updated on BLM consolidation plans
* Economic issues focus of capitol trip
* ANOTHER VOICE: Four reasons the corporate grocer liquor takeover is bad for Oregon — Guest Opinion
* Lamprey found in White Salmon River, tribes report
* Oregon Senator Working to Get Medical Marijuana for Our Veterans
* The State of Oregon Wants to See Larry Ellison’s Cover Oregon Emails
* Weak coho runs to limit ocean salmon fishing
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IT’S NOT JUST ‘CULTURAL’ COMPETENCE AT ISSUE IN STATE’S BLACK LIVES MATTER SURVEILLANCE — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
A few words of advice to investigators in Oregon Department of Justice’s Intelligence Unit: If you see a social-media posting with the phrase “#IShotTheSheriff” attached at the end, that does not necessarily mean that the author actually shot a sheriff.
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NEW TRIBAL VILLAGE ON COLUMBIA RIVER INCLUDED IN FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL (Portland Oregonian)
Northwest senators took the first step Thursday to fulfilling the promises made to Columbia River fishing tribes in the 1930s.
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CRITICIZING PETER COURTNEY’S LEADERSHIP UNFAIR, BUT FEBRUARY SESSION WAS A CIRCUS — GUEST OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
At a time when politics in general are increasingly negative what a year, and it’s only April we at the Oregon Business Association believe it’s as important as ever to focus on civility and respect.
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IN ABOUT-FACE, FEDS DENY ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTIONS FOR PACIFIC FISHER (Portland Oregonian)
The Pacific fisher, a small, weasel-like predator whose numbers in Oregon’s forests have plummeted since European settlement of the West, will not join the federal endangered species list.
Backtracking from a 2014 finding that federal protection was needed to save the fisher from extinction amid pressure from wildfires, logging and pesticide use in the marijuana industry the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday it won’t list the cat-sized furbearer.
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AVERAGE STATE WORKER SALARY: $56,028 (Salem Statesman Journal)
The average salary for state employees in 2015 was $56,028 and the average cost per state employee including benefits was $89,000, according to a report from the Legislative Fiscal Office released Thursday.
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GOVERNOR: BROWN, ALLEY (Eugene Register-Guard)
No matter what happens, the governors race in Oregon’s May 17 primary election will make history as the first in which three major parties will choose their nominees.
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THE LATEST SNOWPACK ESTIMATES FOR THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN SHOW THE POTENTIAL FOR SPRING FLOODING IS NORMAL TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL (Eugene Register-Guard)
The latest snowpack estimates for the Snake River Basin show the potential for spring flooding is normal to slightly above normal.
The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the amount of snow remaining in the mountains has the potential to create floods, especially if there is significant rain or unexpectedly warm temperatures.
The Walla Walla District covers parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada.
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PAYING TAXES IS JOB REQUIREMENT FOR REVENUE EMPLOYEES (Portland Tribune)
As Oregonians prepare to file their taxes by the April 18 deadline, they can take some solace in the fact that state Department of Revenue employees have likely been busy lately filing their own returns.
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FEDERAL AUDIT FINDS WASTE IN OREGON HEALTH PLAN (Portland Tribune)
Oregon could have saved $10 million in 2014 by requiring less overhead in the Oregon Health Plan, a federal audit has found.
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DEQ: GLASSMAKERS BULLSEYE, UROBOROS MUST INSTALL POLLUTION CONTROLS (Portland Tribune)
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Thursday that Portland glass manufacturers Bullseye Glass and Uroboros must follow federal air quality rules to control hazardous air pollutants, including metals, and would be required to install pollution control equipment.
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REPORT: SUPREME COURT RULING IS ONLY PART OF PERS DEFICIT WOES (Bend Bulletin)
-Knopp calls for hearings as state, local governments face huge jump in PERS costs-
The states public employee retirement account has passed the point of being healthy, and a new state report says a 2015 court decision throwing out billions of dollars in savings to the system only accounts for about half of the deficit spike between 2013 and 2014.
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WILDFIRE PREVENTION FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR LA PINE AREA (Bend Bulletin)
-About $1.2 million will be used for prevention and restoration on 345,000 acres-
A wide swath of southern Deschutes County and northern Klamath County has been targeted this year for forest restoration and wildfire prevention with about $1.2 million in federal funding.
The project funding, first announced in February, will go to private, state and federal landowners with the intention of making forested areas more resistant to fire, disease and insects while improving habitat for wildlife.
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REC MARIJUANA SALES A BIG BOOST TO OREGON MEDICAL DISPENSARIES (Bend Bulletin)
-Report looks at sales, taxes and jobs in the industry-
Ben Hebert needs no wide-ranging survey to tell him business was pretty good in October.
Looking at his sales records, the owner of Dr. Jollys Medical Cannabis, on SE Third Street, in Bend, confirmed Thursday what a white paper issued this week by marijuana business consultants showed: Consumers of recreational marijuana boosted sales at Oregon medical marijuana dispensaries that month by 112 percent for a total of $23 million. Median monthly dispensary sales went from $23,000 in September to $58,000 in October, the first month of legal sales of recreational marijuana in Oregon.
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FOOD STAMP WORK REQUIREMENT COULD CHANGE NEXT YEAR (Bend Bulletin)
-For adults who aren’t disabled and don’t have children, qualifications could be different-
Central Oregon counties are so far unaffected by a rule change that could alter eligibility for food stamps. But change could come as soon as next year.
A time-limits rule instituted 20 years ago says able-bodied adults without dependents can get food stamps only for three months over a three-year period if they dont meet specific work requirements. Generally, a person must be working or doing approved work activities, such as volunteering, for 20 hours a week or an average of 80 hours a month.
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COURT SENDS SUIT OVER PERU HELICOPTER CRASH TO PORTLAND (Bend Bulletin)
The Oregon Supreme Court has sent a lawsuit over a Peru helicopter crash back to Multnomah County.
The helicopter supplied by an Oregon company crashed into a mountainside in the Andes in 2008, and the families of eight Peruvian passengers think mechanical error was the cause.
The families sued Evergreen Helicopters, which also provided pilots for the Peruvian copper mine workers.
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EDITORIAL: DON’T RIP NONPROFIT STATUS FROM HOSPITALS — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
Some Democratic lawmakers and the union that represents many hospital workers have a new bone to pick with Oregon’s hospitals. Not enough of what hospitals are taking in is going to charity, they argue, and its time to do something about that.
Whoa!
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EDITORIAL: PUT A POT TAX ON BENDS NOVEMBER BALLOT — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
Having failed to persuade Bend residents that they need a tax on fuel, city officials might understandably be reluctant to ask them to approve a tax on recreational marijuana. Yet marijuana and gasoline are two very different things, and city officials might be surprised at how willing voters are to tax the former.
When Oregonians made recreational marijuana legal in the state nearly two years ago, they left it up to lawmakers to create the laws governing it.
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TIMELINE: #BLACKLIVESMATTER PROFILING CASE (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The state Department of Justice released a report this week on an instance of racial profiling at the Criminal Justice Division. Top officials in the agency were discussing how their agent profiled Oregonians using #BlackLivesMatter about a month before the issue became public.
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OREGON DOJ EMPLOYEE ON LEAVE OVER #BLACKLIVESMATTER PROFILING (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
A special agent with the Oregon Department of Justice is on leave after he monitored people using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
But an investigation into the incident reveals that top supervisors at the DOJ signed off on a memo the agent wrote about his findings.
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SOME OREGON TAXPAYERS FACE LONGER WAITS FOR REFUNDS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
More Oregon taxpayers than normal are facing a longer wait for their refund this year. But as a later-than-usual April 18 filing deadline approaches, the Oregon Department of Revenue said its clearing out the backlog.
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EPA: PORTLAND GLASSMAKERS SHOULD HAVE HAD POLLUTION CONTROLS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says two artistic glassmakers in Portland should have installed pollution controls on their furnaces under national rules that were in place for years before emissions became an issue in the city.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced the EPAs determination in a news release Wednesday.
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PRECISION CASTPARTS’ WORRIED NEIGHBORS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
We hear from OPB reporter Amelia Templeton about the long-standing complaints by the Portland neighbors of Precision Castparts, which has apparently been emitting toxic pollution for decades.
Ed. Note: Show will be broadcast from noon – 1:00 today, rebroadcast 8:00-9:00 PM _________________________________________
DEVELOPMENT NEAR SALMON-BEARING STREAMS GETS NEW RESTRICTIONS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Building in flood zones is about to get harder across much of Oregon, due to new federal recommendations.
The government published the recommendations, called a biological opinion, in response to a lawsuit from environmental groups. The Audubon Society of Portland, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Environmental Defense Center and Association of Northwest Steelheaders had argued that federal flood insurance was encouraging development detrimental to threatened salmon.
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IS THE FUTURE OF SOLAR BRIGHT IN OREGON? (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
When the most recent legislative session ended in Oregon, the states energy future looked very different than it had just a few months earlier. Lawmakers moved to get Oregon off of coal by 2030. And that means replacing one-third of the states power supply in just 14 years.
Renewable energy development will likely benefit and in particular, Oregons new laws are setting up solar as a potential big winner.
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LAWYERS SQUARE OFF OVER JOSEPHINE COUNTY GMO BAN (Capital Press)
Farmers seeking to overturn the ban against genetically engineered crops in Oregons Josephine County have come under fire in court from proponents of the ordinance.
An April 14 court hearing over the validity of the countys prohibition largely centered on whether the plaintiffs even have the right to challenge it.
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O&C TIMBER COUNTIES SAY THEY’LL SUE OVER BLM PLAN (Capital Press)
An association representing 18 timber-dependent counties says it will file a lawsuit over the BLM’s proposed new Western Oregon Resource Management Plan.
This isn’t saber rattling by us, said Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde, chair of the Association of O&C Counties. He maintains the counties were largely ignored as the BLM built the proposal.
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OREGON ONION GROWERS RECEIVE PERMISSION TO APPLY HERBICIDE THROUGH DRIP SYSTEMS (Capital Press)
Onion growers in Malheur County in Eastern Oregon have joined their Idaho counterparts in receiving special permission to apply an important herbicide through drip irrigation systems.
Idaho growers who produce Spanish bulb onions received permission from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture last week to apply the Outlook herbicide through drip systems, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture granted onion growers in Malheur County the same permission April 12.
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EXPERT PREDICTS SEVERE STRIPE RUST ACROSS PNW (Capital Press)
Stripe rust this year will be seen in most Pacific Northwest wheat-producing areas, a USDA expert predicts.
The fungus is to be expected in Western Oregon and Western Washington, said Xianming Chen, research plant geneticist for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pullman, Wash.
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IMMIGRATION CASE ARRIVES MONDAY AT U.S. SUPREME COURT (Capital Press) h
The raging political fight over immigration comes to the Supreme Court on Monday in a dispute that could affect millions of people who are in the United States illegally.
The court is weighing the fate of Obama administration programs that could shield roughly 4 million people from deportation and grant them the legal right to hold a job.
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MOST PRECIPITATION EVAPORATES OR RETURNS TO GROUND (Capital Press)
More than 4 trillion gallons of precipitation falls on the country every day on average. That’s nearly enough to fill the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
But roughly two-thirds of that water almost immediately evaporates into the atmosphere or is used by plants.
Of the remaining water, which flows to the ocean in rivers or collects in lakes and underground aquifers, less than half can realistically be put to intensive beneficial uses, according to a federal government report.
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SINCE YOU ASKED: NINE RECOGNIZED TRIBES IN OREGON (Medford Mail Tribune)
Q: There are a lot of stories about Native American tribes and tribal issues i.e., casinos, but I’ve never seen a summary of how many tribes there are in Oregon.
A: Well, Billy, if you haven’t seen a summary of tribes in Oregon, you apparently haven’t read the Oregon Blue Book from cover to cover. Actually, we haven’t either, but we do turn to it often for just these sorts of facts.
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KEEP BIG GROCERS’ HANDS OFF OUR LIQUOR — OPINION (The World)
Ever notice how some bad ideas refuse to die?
Take, for example, the initiative being bandied about again by the large grocery retailers to grab some of the states lucrative market in alcoholic spirits.
We wrote back in December 2013 that this is a bad idea. Consider what happened with the liquor industry in Washington state when it let large grocers into the business in 2011. Since opening liquor sales to large grocers there, prices have gone up, while availability of variety and the number of independent sales outlets have shrunk.
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SMITH WILL GO TO STATE HOSPITAL FOR FURTHER EVALUATION (Daily Astorian)
A Clatsop County Circuit Court judge ordered accused murderer Jessica Smith be sent to the Oregon State Hospital to determine if she is mentally ill or faking her behavior.
Judge Cindee Matyas found there is reason to doubt Smiths mental fitness to proceed based on her recent suicide attempt and an inconclusive report from a court-appointed psychologist.
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FEMA CHANGING FLOOD INSURANCE IMPLEMENTATION TO PROTECT FISH (Daily Astorian)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is changing how it implements the National Flood Insurance Program in Oregon to avoid further destruction of fish habitat.
But the agency’s new direction based on recommendations from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration wont disrupt the effort of North Coast communities challenging the data behind FEMAs controversial early floodplain maps of the region.
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JUDGE ORDERS PUMPING AND LIME AT SUNSET LAKE (Daily Astorian)
Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas ordered Resources Northwest, Inc., operator of Sunset Lake Resort & RV Park, to take corrective action on the parks failing sewage system.
Gary Artman, a natural resources specialist with the state Department of Environmental Quality, which is suing Resources Northwest over repeated violations of the parks stormwater permit, met by phone Thursday with Matyas.
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CHILDHOOD CLINIC CATCHES PROBLEMS EARLY (Daily Astorian)
Among chatty, frolicsome children playing with puzzles, Legos and Slinkys, the 2-year-old boy was silent, barely interacting with his peers and easily upset red flags that suggest a delay in his social, linguistic or cognitive development.
He had faced a series of screenings Wednesday morning at Astor Elementary School, where local child care specialists ran a free clinic focused on early childhood health and education for Clatsop County kids aged 2 to 5.
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PROSECUTORS DROP ILLEGAL RECORDING CHARGE (Daily Astorian)
A Wheeler man who used his cellphone to capture portions of a contentious traffic stop near Cannon Beach in December will not be prosecuted for illegally recording police.
Acharmu Crosby, a 41-year-old roofer, was charged with the crime in late December, two days before a new state law took effect in January that allows people to record traffic stops or other encounters with police.
The new law was signed by Gov. Kate Brown last June amid a nationwide debate over whether there is a First Amendment right to record police.
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EDITORIAL: POACHERS INSULT LEGITIMATE HUNTERS — OPINION (Albany Democrat Herald)
Our hope is that a recent news item about a pair of men being arrested on charges that they illegally took a pair of bighorn sheep serves notice to other would-be poachers that their odious actions might result in jail time.
We’ve got nothing good to say about poachers, on any level: Just for starters, it irks us that poachers give a black eye to the vast majority of law-abiding hunters.
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COMMISSIONERS UPDATED ON BLM CONSOLIDATION PLANS (Albany Democrat Herald)
Staff from the Eugene and Salem offices of the Bureau of Land Management updated Linn County Commissioners Roger Nyquist, John Lindsey and Will Tucker about the consolidation of the two districts Wednesday morning.
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ECONOMIC ISSUES FOCUS OF CAPITOL TRIP (The Dalles Chronicle)
Bob McFadden, President of Port of The Dalles Commission, was recently in Washington, D.C., as a representative of The Dalles Community Outreach Team.
It was the first time the annual trip to D.C. was a one-man-show.
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ANOTHER VOICE: FOUR REASONS THE CORPORATE GROCER LIQUOR TAKEOVER IS BAD FOR OREGON — GUEST OPINION (Hood River News)
If you stopped by a Fred Meyer store in Vancouver, Wash., last weekend looking for your favorite liquor, you might be surprised by whats missing.
The most popular brands with Oregonians could not be found in the Washington store. Hood River Distillers Vodka and Fleischmans Royal Vodka, Oregon’s No. 1 and No. 2 brands in 2015, weren’t on the shelf. Popular brands that did make it cost almost 30 percent more.
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LAMPREY FOUND IN WHITE SALMON RIVER, TRIBES REPORT (Hood River News)
The Pacific Lamprey may be on the rebound upstream of the former Condit Dam site on the White Salmon River.
The return of the lamprey is seen as an important step in habitat restoration since the removal of Condit Dam, as is lamprey conservation and the partnership between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS and the Yakama Nation.
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OREGON SENATOR WORKING TO GET MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR OUR VETERANS (Willamette Week)
-Some gave all, all gave some, some need weed. Sen. Jeff Merkley is working on that last part.-
It’s been a big week for the chillest senator in the game, Jeff Merkley D-Ore..
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THE STATE OF OREGON WANTS TO SEE LARRY ELLISON’S COVER OREGON EMAILS (Willamette Week)
-Department of Justice disputes Oracle’s claim of attorney-client privilege-
The long-running legal battle between the state of Oregon and Oracle America Inc. over who’s responsible for the $300 million screw-up of Cover Oregon continuesand the latest skirmish involves Oracle founder and chairman Larry Ellison.
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WEAK COHO RUNS TO LIMIT OCEAN SALMON FISHING (The Columbian)
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Thursday adopted meager summer salmon angling seasons off the Washington and northern Oregon coasts but avoided a complete closure.
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