Category Archives: Willamette Week

After Deadly New Zealand Volcano Eruption, Oregon Office of Emergency Management Warns Residents to Prepare For Cascade Range Hazards

Millions of Oregonians and Washingtonians live in areas that are at risk of volcanic hazards. Source: After Deadly New Zealand Volcano Eruption, Oregon Office of Emergency Management Warns Residents to Prepare For Cascade Range Hazards – Willamette Week

Oregon Lifts Air Quality Advisory For Much of the State Today

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality lifted an air quality advisory for large portions of the state today. Source: Oregon Lifts Air Quality Advisory For Much of the State Today – Willamette Week

Oregon Extends Air Quality Advisory Through Tuesday, Plans to Install Additional Monitoring Sites Statewide

The agency plans to install the devices over the next few months. Its goal is to deploy 30 statewide within the next year. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has extended an air quality advisory for much of the state through Tuesday at noon. Source: Oregon Extends Air Quality Advisory Through Tuesday, Plans to Install […]
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Scientists Are Studying a Massive Underwater Volcano off the Coast of Oregon

Axial could next erupt in 2020 or 2021, but the volcano is deep enough and remote enough that it does not pose a threat. 300 miles off the coast of Oregon lies an active volcano that the world has never seen before, with a magma reservoir two thirds the length of Manhattan. Source: Scientists Are […]
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New Oregon Transportation Director Has a Plan for Reducing Carbon Emissions: Get Traffic Moving

“This is utter and complete BS,” says a prominent critic. “I believe there is no silver bullet, no single answer to being able to address the greenhouse gas emissions overnight. It’s a priority for us as an agency. Source: New Oregon Transportation Director Has a Plan for Reducing Carbon Emissions: Get Traffic Moving

Oregon Cops Can’t Tell the Difference Between Hemp and Pot. That’s Making Life Easy for Black Market Growers.

The Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division, which once provided testing of plant samples suspected by law enforcement of being cannabis, announced in July it would no longer do so, because the tests “could not quantify THC, which is the difference between hemp and marijuana,” says Timothy Fox, spokesman for OSP. “So we stopped doing […]
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House Speaker Tina Kotek Favors Full Environmental Impact Statement for I-5 Expansion at Rose Quarter

An important voice today weighed in on the contentious issue of whether the Oregon Department of Transportation should proceed with the proposed $450 million expansion of Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter or prepare a formal environmental impact statement. House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland), the city’s most powerful state lawmaker, says she favors the latter […]
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Gov. Kate Brown’s Flight to Sunriver Draws Scrutiny

Republican lawmakers jumped on the governor’s choice to travel by plane. Source: Gov. Kate Brown’s Flight to Sunriver Draws Scrutiny

Coquille Man’s Manslaughter Conviction Overturned Due to Efforts of the Oregon Innocence Project

A state court judge has thrown out the 2011 manslaughter conviction of Nick McGuffin of Coquille, Ore., after the Oregon Innocence Project proved that the Oregon State Police crime lab withheld DNA evidence from McGuffin’s trial. Source: Coquille Man’s Manslaughter Conviction Overturned Due to Efforts of the Oregon Innocence Project

The Columbia River Gorge Pikas Are Making a Soaring Comeback After the Eagle Creek Fire

Oregon pikas are tough. The pint-sized mammals, known for their distinctive shrill chirp, were hit hard by the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, which burned much of the Columbia River Gorge pika habitat. But they are making a swift recovery. Source: The Columbia River Gorge Pikas Are Making a Soaring Comeback After the Eagle Creek Fire