* Oregon unemployment rate climbs to 4.8 percent
* Oregon Youth Authority in ‘desperate need’ of foster homes for young offenders
* High levels of dioxins found in Salem’s Willamette Slough
* Cyclists stage ‘die-in’ on ODOT steps in Salem
* Ranchers have held up their end of wolf bargain — Guest Opinion
* Washington County eyes odor control for pot grows
* State continues job growth as June unemployment rate rises to 4.8 percent
* Environmentalists shut out of Oregon forest litigation
* OHA advises pregnant women to avoid Olympics
* Editorial: Our Oregon’s double standard — Opinion
* House Budget Bill Would Block Owyhee Monument
* Mosier Groundwater Contaminated After Oil Train Derailment
* Time runs out for Oregon timber ballot initiatives
* Port of Morrow to expand land application for wastewater
* Our view: Independent crash investigations will keep railroads safe — Opinion
* Wheat’s weather woes
* Program gives slight boost to state funds
* City: Water standards are unachievable
* House OK’s prohibiting monument
* Thumbs up, thumbs down — Opinion
* Since You Asked: I-5 interchange work at Phoenix nears the end
* Wyden pushes for study of gun violence
* Grading Browns gun speech — Opinion
* Personal preparedness will be key in big earthquake event
* Lower Joseph Creek plan closer to final
* Recent lightning sparks fires across the Blue Mountains
* OTEC completes annual safety training
* Lower Joseph Creek project clears major hurdle
* Oregon Employment Update, June 2016– Blog
* Columbia River sockeye salmon return is fifth largest since 1938
* OHA to Release 2017-2019 Budget at Months End
* Can Changing How You Think About Pain Lessen What You Feel?
____________________
OREGON UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CLIMBS TO 4.8 PERCENT (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon’s jobless rate edged up last month to 4.8 percent, compared to 4.5 percent the prior month, according to data out early Tuesday. It’s the first increase in Oregon’s unemployment rate since May 2015.
_________________________________________
OREGON YOUTH AUTHORITY IN ‘DESPERATE NEED’ OF FOSTER HOMES FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS (Portland Oregonian)
Earlier this month, the Oregon Youth Authority posted Craigslist ads in three cities. The agency tasked with housing young criminal offenders said it was in “desperate need” of foster homes for three young transgender prisoners about to get out.
_________________________________________
HIGH LEVELS OF DIOXINS FOUND IN SALEM’S WILLAMETTE SLOUGH (Salem Statesman Journal)
State environmental regulators have found high levels of dioxins in sediment in the Willamette Slough in Salem, and warn that eating fish caught in the area could be unsafe.
_________________________________________
CYCLISTS STAGE ‘DIE-IN’ ON ODOT STEPS IN SALEM (Salem Statesman Journal)
On Saturday, a group of 12 bicyclists and one skateboarder traveled 60 miles from Portland to Salem, all to way to the steps of the Oregon Department of Transportation building, where they held a rally and pretended to die.
_________________________________________
RANCHERS HAVE HELD UP THEIR END OF WOLF BARGAIN — GUEST OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
Oregon’s ranchers want to set the record straight on wolves.
The Oregon Cattlemens Association and the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation opposed wolf reintroduction from the beginning, knowing the toll it would take on our livestock producers. Nevertheless, the ranching community worked with environmental groups and state regulators and agreed to the conditions of the Oregon Wolf Conservation & Management Plan in 2005. This cooperation came at a significant expense to producers who expended resources to reduce the risk of attack on their animals.
_________________________________________
WASHINGTON COUNTY EYES ODOR CONTROL FOR POT GROWS (Portland Tribune)
-Board sets Aug. 2 for next hearing on new planning rules. –
Washington County commissioners say they may want to add a requirement for odor control as they consider new regulations for commercial growing and other operations connected with marijuana for recreational use.
_________________________________________
STATE CONTINUES JOB GROWTH AS JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 4.8 PERCENT (Portland Tribune)
Oregon’s unemployment rate crept up to 4.8 percent in June as the state added 3,000 jobs last month.
_________________________________________
ENVIRONMENTALISTS SHUT OUT OF OREGON FOREST LITIGATION (Portland Tribune)
Environmental and fishing groups will be shut out from high-stakes litigation over Oregon’s forest management policies, according to a judges order.
_________________________________________
OHA ADVISES PREGNANT WOMEN TO AVOID OLYMPICS (Bend Bulletin)
The Oregon Health Authority issued a statement Tuesday warning pregnant women not to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games in August or the Paralympic Games in September due to the risk of becoming infected with the Zika virus.
_________________________________________
EDITORIAL: OUR OREGON’S DOUBLE STANDARD — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
A debate over Measure 97, the stealth sales tax formerly known as IP 28, has fallen apart before it began.
The debate was scheduled for July 28 at a City Club of Portland event sponsored by The Standard Insurance Co. Our Oregon, the union-funded advocacy group thats a major champion of the measure, has pulled out. Its reason? The Standard opposes Measure 97.
_________________________________________
HOUSE BUDGET BILL WOULD BLOCK OWYHEE MONUMENT (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The latest Congressional budget bill for the U.S. Department of the Interior includes a provision to block President Obama from designating an Owyhee National Monument in Southeast Oregon.
_________________________________________
MOSIER GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATED AFTER OIL TRAIN DERAILMENT (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
When a Union Pacific oil train derailed and burst into fire in Mosier, Oregon, in June, the initial damage was in plain view, as dark smoke billowed into the sky.
_________________________________________
TIME RUNS OUT FOR OREGON TIMBER BALLOT INITIATIVES (Capital Press)
Three ballot initiatives that would have restricted clear-cutting and aerial spraying in Oregon have failed to qualify for the November general election.
One of the petitions, which would have imposed new limits on aerial pesticide applications, was able to obtain the Oregon Supreme Courts approval for its ballot title language.
However, that didnt leave enough time for supporters to collect about 88,000 valid signatures by the July 8 deadline.
_________________________________________
PORT OF MORROW TO EXPAND LAND APPLICATION FOR WASTEWATER (East Oregonian)
The Port of Morrow is expanding its capacity to recycle industrial wastewater for local farmers to irrigate their crops.
As the port continues to grow, General Manager Gary Neal said there has been a sharp increase in the amount of wastewater generated by food processors and data centers at the East Beach Industrial Park.
_________________________________________
OUR VIEW: INDEPENDENT CRASH INVESTIGATIONS WILL KEEP RAILROADS SAFE — OPINION (East Oregonian)
There was a time in America when railroads were a sovereign power close to being a fourth branch of government.
In the 19th century, thanks to their enormous land grants and economic clout, they had the power to make some communities boom or bust. They held plenty of sway in Washington, D.C., too.
Even today, railroads pull plenty of might down their tracks, and can wield similar power within the industries and economies that rely on them.
_________________________________________
WHEAT’S WEATHER WOES (Argus Observer)
-Harvest halts, resumes after recent rainfall-
This years wheat harvest got off to a good start. Then the rain came, and harvest came to a stop for a few days.
It ground everything to a halt, Oregon State University Extension agent Bill Buhrig said of the rain that hit in mid-July.
_________________________________________
PROGRAM GIVES SLIGHT BOOST TO STATE FUNDS (Argus Observer)
Having a year under their belt, Oregon Department of Transportation officials are pleased with the progress of the pilot statewide road usage charge program.
The pilot program was started July 1, 2015, with volunteers being charges for the number of miles they drive instead of the fuel tax charged at the gas pump.
_________________________________________
CITY: WATER STANDARDS ARE UNACHIEVABLE (Argus Observer)
New state water quality standards are unachievable, city officials say, and Ontario is looking to a consulting firm to negotiate with Oregons Department of Environmental Quality.
_________________________________________
HOUSE OK’S PROHIBITING MONUMENT (Argus Observer)
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, has joined other lawmakers in adding a section to the Interior Departments budget to prevent a national monument declaration in Malheur County.
_________________________________________
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN — OPINION (Argus Observer)
Thumbs down: to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for doing a poor job with the investigation into Ms. Barnetts bonus raise. The mayor, Ron Verini, did in fact illegally sign a document giving Ms. Barnett a salary increase without prior authorization from the city council. Did the commission get the rest of the facts incorrect as well? When will there be total transparency with the city of Ontario government entities? The community deserves transparency and honesty.
_________________________________________
SINCE YOU ASKED: I-5 INTERCHANGE WORK AT PHOENIX NEARS THE END (Medford Mail Tribune)
Q: When is the northbound exit to Phoenix from Interstate 5 going to open?
A: Kathy, your question is very timely, but you’re going to have to hurry to put together your celebration. That’s because the northbound exit from Interstate 5 at Phoenix is supposed to open today, according to Gary Leaming, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Leaming says the exit should be open by midday today, which means work is “effectively finished” on the interchange itself.
_________________________________________
WYDEN PUSHES FOR STUDY OF GUN VIOLENCE (Medford Mail Tribune)
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, wants the Centers for Disease Control to be able to study gun violence, and he’s gathering data and information from around the state, including Southern Oregon, to make his case.
_________________________________________
GRADING BROWNS GUN SPEECH — OPINION (Baker City Herald)
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown made a major speech Friday about guns and violence, and we liked some of the things the governor had to say.
Others, not so much.
We appreciate that Brown, in making her pitch for changes to gun control laws, cited a couple of examples that everyone, regardless of their stance on the issue, agrees represent failures.
_________________________________________
PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS WILL BE KEY IN BIG EARTHQUAKE EVENT (LaGrande Observer)
-Cascadia earthquake projected to hit Pacific Northwest-
The massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 killed thousands and caused damage that took years to repair. Geologists say a similar event is likely along the Northwest Coast, and emergency managers urge residents to prepare.
The earthquake would be the biggest natural disaster the nation has ever seen, according to a June 4 story by The Associated Press.
_________________________________________
LOWER JOSEPH CREEK PLAN CLOSER TO FINAL (LaGrande Observer)
There are many ideas about how to restore Wallowa Countys watersheds on public lands. A draft report released by the Forest Service today seeks to find a balance among a broad spectrum of forest users.
_________________________________________
RECENT LIGHTNING SPARKS FIRES ACROSS THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (LaGrande Observer)
Recent lightning activity across the Blue Mountains has sparked several new fires, according to a release from Blue Mountain Fire Information Center.
Both lookouts and aerial reconnaissance have reported a total of eight new lightning caused fires thus far across the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and the Northeast Oregon Department of Forestry protection areas, the release said.
_________________________________________
OTEC COMPLETES ANNUAL SAFETY TRAINING (LaGrande Observer)
-Linemen are required to pass training to keep employment-
Recently, Oregon Trail Electric Cooperatives line crews buckled on their fall-restraint equipment belts, dug into utility poles and began their annual pole top rescue exercises.
As an OSHA-mandated safety training requirement, the course is designed to evaluate linemen on their ability to properly rescue an injured and/or stranded coworker, according to a press release from OTEC.
_________________________________________
LOWER JOSEPH CREEK PROJECT CLEARS MAJOR HURDLE (Wallowa.com)
Lower Joseph Creek may soon hear the sounds of chain saws and other tools of forest and grassland enhancement.
The USFS last week released a Final Environmental Impact Statement and a pair of draft decisions for the Lower Joseph Creek Restoration Project.
The restoration project will encompass nearly 100,000 acres just north of Enterprise. It is intended to increase forest resiliency, reduce fire and insect destruction of the forest, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat.
_________________________________________
OREGON EMPLOYMENT UPDATE, JUNE 2016— BLOG (Oregon Office of Economic Analysis)
This morning the Oregon Employment Department released the initial estimates for June 2016 in terms of jobs and the unemployment rate. Overall the data continue to bring good news, even as the unemployment rate ticked up a bit. The reason being is the state continues to add jobs and the labor force is growing. As shown below, our offices measures we use to gauge labor market slack continue to improve certainly over the past year.
_________________________________________
COLUMBIA RIVER SOCKEYE SALMON RETURN IS FIFTH LARGEST SINCE 1938 (Seattle Times)
Here is the latest Columbia River sockeye data by state Fish and Wildlife:
The 333,997 sockeye counted at Bonneville Dam is the 5th highest through July 14th since at least 1938 updated count was 336,398 through Sunday, July 17. The record are the 580,500 fish counted through July 14, 2014.
_________________________________________
OHA TO RELEASE 2017-2019 BUDGET AT MONTHS END (The Lund Report)
Proposed incentive programs for caregivers may offer more benefits to help deal with the workforce shortage in rural Oregon and for underserved populations in urban areas.
_________________________________________
CAN CHANGING HOW YOU THINK ABOUT PAIN LESSEN WHAT YOU FEEL? (The Lund Report)
Oregon has the fourth-highest rate of prescription pain killer abuse in the nation, so the state is implementing new guidelines that will require doctors to give lower doses and shorter prescriptions.
_________________________________________
State Library eClips Blog & Disclaimer: http://library.state.or.us/blogs/eClips/wordpress
For State Library Patron access to Statesman Journal Articles & other Oregon
newspapers: http://bit.ly/1IjlkDj
To subscribe/unsubscribe visit: http://library.state.or.us/services/awareness/eclips
Hosted by the Oregon State Library – (503)378-8800
