State Library eClips
* Gov. Kate Brown suspends rules to ease fuel delivery to aircraft fighting fires
* Oregon ‘just barely’ meets federal target for Smarter Balanced participation
* With gas prices low, Oregon traffic deaths jump in 2015
* Was 2014 Oregon’s best wine year? Report says warm, dry season helped
* Training with explosive that injured firearms instructor may have violated state law
* The Independent Party joins major leagues in Oregon, but will it have much impact?
* As wildfires rage in 7 western states, Oregon competes for limited resources
* How lawmakers thwart voters with bogus emergencies — Opinion
* Kah-Nee-Ta reopens as firefighters continue battling Warm Springs fire
* Facebook near tax deal for third large data center in Prineville
* Real-Time Wildfires Map
* Oregon’s dire year of wildfires
* Toxic legacy: Abandoned mines cover Oregon, the West
* Brown appoints new director of public appointments
* Oregon wine industry has a record-breaking year
* IPO joins the big leagues — Opinion
* Wildfire Update
* Interactive Map: Tracking Northwest Wildfires
* Late Labor Day Leads To Varied School Starts In Oregon
* Oregon’s Independent Party Receives Major Party Status
* Oregon State Fair prepares for its 150th anniversary
* Demolition begins on Pendleton training center
* ODOT signal project in Hermiston will improve traffic flow
* Large blazes create strain on firefighting resources
* Megafires are a warning we must heed — Opinion
* Plea negotiation serves a greater good — Guest Opinion
* Fighting the flames
* Fire Updates Page from the Bend Bulletin
* Bend, Redmond redemption centers a crushing success so far
* Oregon AG in town Wednesday
* A testing time for testing in Oregon — Opinion
* VA needs to get Veterans Choice right — Opinion
* Canyon Creek Complex fire expands on south flank
* Emotions still raw as residents recall fire loss
* Post talks about first year in Capitol
* Employment-Population Ratios, an Update– Blog
* Smoke get in your eyes? Tool forecasts haze from wildfires
* Warm Springs fire threat shifts: ‘We’re not out of the woods yet’
* Grant County fire spreads south as outpouring of help grows
* Commuter trend heading north into Vancouver
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GOV. KATE BROWN SUSPENDS RULES TO EASE FUEL DELIVERY TO AIRCRAFT FIGHTING FIRES (Portland Oregonian)
As fires rage across the state, Gov. Kate Brown has issued an executive order that suspends rules affecting drivers who deliver aircraft fuel intended for firefighting operations.
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OREGON ‘JUST BARELY’ MEETS FEDERAL TARGET FOR SMARTER BALANCED PARTICIPATION (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon narrowly met federal testing participation targets for all students but missed the bar for some specific groups, according to a message from the state’s schools chief.
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WITH GAS PRICES LOW, OREGON TRAFFIC DEATHS JUMP IN 2015 (Portland Oregonian)
More people are dying on Oregon’s roads this year, continuing the reversal of historic declines in traffic deaths seen during the Great Recession.
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WAS 2014 OREGON’S BEST WINE YEAR? REPORT SAYS WARM, DRY SEASON HELPED (Portland Oregonian)
The Oregon Wine Board released its report on 2014’s harvest season with quite an intro: “The 2014 vintage in Oregon may be remembered as the vintage of a lifetime.
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TRAINING WITH EXPLOSIVE THAT INJURED FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR MAY HAVE VIOLATED STATE LAW (Portland Oregonian)
An explosion that critically wounded a firearms instructor during a paramilitary training exercise over the weekend may have broken at least one state law and has drawn criticism as dangerous and perhaps unnecessary.
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THE INDEPENDENT PARTY JOINS MAJOR LEAGUES IN OREGON, BUT WILL IT HAVE MUCH IMPACT? (Portland Oregonian)
The Independent Party of Oregon on Monday officially became the state’s third major political party, allowing it to hold a taxpayer-supported primary next year.
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AS WILDFIRES RAGE IN 7 WESTERN STATES, OREGON COMPETES FOR LIMITED RESOURCES (Portland Oregonian)
The perfect storm of lightning strikes that crashed last week across Oregon’s drought-stricken forests, range and grasslands started dozens of wildfires.
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HOW LAWMAKERS THWART VOTERS WITH BOGUS EMERGENCIES — OPINION (Portland Oregonian)
Most of the 800-plus bills the Oregon Legislature passed during this year’s session were routine, even boring. Senate Bill 139, for instance, reduced membership in the state Travel Information Council from 11 to nine.
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KAH-NEE-TA REOPENS AS FIREFIGHTERS CONTINUE BATTLING WARM SPRINGS FIRE (Portland Oregonian)
Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Spa reopened Monday after a wildfire forced about 500 guests and staff to evacuate the complex as a precaution last week.
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FACEBOOK NEAR TAX DEAL FOR THIRD LARGE DATA CENTER IN PRINEVILLE (Portland Oregonian)
Oregon’s server farms are producing a bumper crop.
Facebook has a preliminary tax deal that would apply to a third large data center in Prineville, with tax exemptions similar to deals that covered its first two facilities there. The city council and Crook County commissioners plan to vote on the pending agreement Wednesday.
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REAL-TIME WILDFIRES MAP (Portland Oregonian)
Here are all the currently active wildfires in the U.S. Click on a marker for more info.
This data is updated every 30 minutes.
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OREGON’S DIRE YEAR OF WILDFIRES (Salem Statesman Journal)
Human carelessness, not lightning, causes the majority of wildfires.
And the wildfire situation in Oregon is so dire that State Forester Doug Decker on Saturday pleaded for people to be more careful.
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TOXIC LEGACY: ABANDONED MINES COVER OREGON, THE WEST (Salem Statesman Journal)
Officials reopened Colorado’s Animas River on Friday, a little more than a week after the accidental release of three million gallons of acidic, metal-laden mining waste turned the river a shocking orange.
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BROWN APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS (Salem Statesman Journal)
Gov. Kate Brown on Monday appointed Portland State University administrator Mary Moller as the states new director of public appointments.
Moller has served as PSU’s director of local and federal government relations since 2008.
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OREGON WINE INDUSTRY HAS A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR (Eugene Register-Guard)
Last year was a record-breaking one for Oregon’s $430 million wine industry, according to a report released today by the Oregon Wine Board. And 2015 could be even better, according to the wine board.
Overall production increased by 39 percent in 2014, to 78,000 tons, with the majority of the increase coming from higher yields, the boards annual Oregon Vineyard and Winery Census Report said.
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IPO JOINS THE BIG LEAGUES — OPINION (Eugene Register-Guard)
-Independent Party will have a regular primary-
Its at least partly the result of skillful labeling, but the Independent Party of Oregon has joined the ranks of the states major parties. Just like the Democratic and Republican parties, the IPO will conduct a primary election next May to choose its nominees for the November general election. Now all the party needs is some candidates and that may be the hard part.
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WILDFIRE UPDATE (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Several of the nations largest wildfires continue to burn across the region. We get an update on the Canyon Creek Complex, the Reach Complex Fires, and others.
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INTERACTIVE MAP: TRACKING NORTHWEST WILDFIRES (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Current wildfires burning in Oregon and Washington.
Fire data from Northwest Interagency Coordination Center and is updated daily.
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LATE LABOR DAY LEADS TO VARIED SCHOOL STARTS IN OREGON (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Portland Public Schools is starting classes a lot earlier this year than it has in the past. The district typically opens after Labor Day. The first day of school is just 10 days from Monday.
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OREGON’S INDEPENDENT PARTY RECEIVES MAJOR PARTY STATUS (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Oregon now has a third major political party the Independent Party.
Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins announced Monday that the Independent Party of Oregon had 109,363 registered voters as of August, equaling more than 5 percent of the states registered voters.
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OREGON STATE FAIR PREPARES FOR ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY (Capital Press)
-The 150th Oregon State Fair opens Friday, Aug. 28.-
Spokesman Dan Cox has a message for prospective attendees of this years Oregon State Fair: Itll be fun.
Fun is the No. 1 thing we have to offer Oregonians, he said.
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DEMOLITION BEGINS ON PENDLETON TRAINING CENTER (East Oregonian)
Along with the Blue Mountain Recovery Center, the Eastern Oregon Training Center will become a thing of the past.
Demolition crews are already dismantling the former mental health facility, which Oregon Department of Administrative Services spokesman Matt Shelby said will be demolished in full.
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ODOT SIGNAL PROJECT IN HERMISTON WILL IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW (East Oregonian)
A traffic signal upgrade underway along Highway 395 in Hermiston should result in smarter traffic control.
Tim Rynearson, District 12 assistant manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the new signals being installed will switch traffic control from weight sensors in the pavement at intersections to video sensors, allowing the system to sense the wider traffic picture and automatically adjust to the ebb and flow of vehicles.
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LARGE BLAZES CREATE STRAIN ON FIREFIGHTING RESOURCES (East Oregonian)
-Firefighting resources are stretched thin as numerous large blazes burn across Eastern Oregon such as the Canyon Creek Complex south of John Day.-
Crews are scrambling to gain control of a nightmarish wildfire that’s devoured more than two dozen homes, scattered livestock and knocked out power less than a mile south of John Day.
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MEGAFIRES ARE A WARNING WE MUST HEED — OPINION (East Oregonian)
-The way fires are scouring Oregon and Washington this summer, it’s time for a real plan to mitigate the destruction.-
It comes as no surprise that August is bringing with it some of the largest wildfires this state has seen in recent history. Even before the season began, those who study, maintain and protect our forests warned it was going to be a hot one.
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PLEA NEGOTIATION SERVES A GREATER GOOD — GUEST OPINION (Daily Astorian)
Like the vast majority of criminal cases of the approximately 1,000 convictions that occur annually in Clatsop County and elsewhere the case did not go to trial but was the result of negotiation what is sometimes called a plea bargain.
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FIGHTING THE FLAMES (Baker City Herald)
Before you make the left turn from Baker City on Highway 7 toward Stices Gulch, you see it. Waves of black splashed across the hillside that, with the absence of smoke, look more like strange patterns in a haphazard art project than a natural disaster.
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FIRE UPDATES PAGE FROM THE BEND BULLETIN (Bend Bulletin)
Contains a map as well as stories from the Bend Bulletin and AP wire. A centralized location for fire stories in case we omit some during the creation of our eClips editions.
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BEND, REDMOND REDEMPTION CENTERS A CRUSHING SUCCESS SO FAR (Bend Bulletin)
-Recycling hubs may not be enough to dodge deposit hike though-
Bottle redemption centers in Bend and Redmond are each on pace to collect millions of containers a year, according to the outfit doing the counting.
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OREGON AG IN TOWN WEDNESDAY (Bend Bulletin)
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum will be in Bend Wednesday meeting with local residents at the Downtown Bend Public Library.
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A TESTING TIME FOR TESTING IN OREGON — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
Starting this fall, Oregon’s public school teachers will face something new. Their job evaluations will be based in part on how much progress their students make while in their classrooms.
It has been a long time coming.
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VA NEEDS TO GET VETERANS CHOICE RIGHT — OPINION (Bend Bulletin)
Health care for veterans has had the wrong foe: veterans.
Employees at Veterans Affairs falsified logs of patient wait times. Top officials at the VA resigned. And the program that was supposed to improve care for veterans called Veterans Choice has been racking up frustration.
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CANYON CREEK COMPLEX FIRE EXPANDS ON SOUTH FLANK (Blue Mountain Eagle)
The Canyon Creek Complex fire has grown to 40,100 acres, and fire activity has increased on the south flank.
The fire is 3,000 acres larger than it was Sunday, and no containment is in sight.
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EMOTIONS STILL RAW AS RESIDENTS RECALL FIRE LOSS (Blue Mountain Eagle)
Around 200 people crowded into the Grant Union Junior-Senior High School old gym last Sunday afternoon for the Canyon Creek Complex Update meeting.
Residents who had lost their homes Aug. 14, when the fire went out of control, streamed out the same gym an hour earlier after attending a separate meeting for affected property owners.
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POST TALKS ABOUT FIRST YEAR IN CAPITOL (Keizer Times)
Even though he was a freshman serving in the state legislature, Rep. Bill Post of Keizer had some idea what to expect during the session.
After all, the Republican visited area lawmakers like Sen. Kim Thatcher who formerly held the House District 25 seat Post defeated Chuck Lee for in 2014 a number of times and hosted a radio show from the Capitol in Salem many times.
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EMPLOYMENT-POPULATION RATIOS, AN UPDATE– BLOG (Oregon Office of Economic Analysis)
The employment to population ratio EPOP is the share of the population that has a job. To me it has one big benefit: it cuts through the whole conversation about whether the unemployment rate is truly accurate or is lower due to all those individuals who gave up looking for work, etc. Additionally, by definition, it accounts for population growth, which is something that is very important in a small western state like Oregon that sees strong migration flows.
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SMOKE GET IN YOUR EYES? TOOL FORECASTS HAZE FROM WILDFIRES (KVAL)
Residents around most of Oregon can expect smoky conditions over the next few days as a dozen uncontained wildfires continue to burn.
The National Forest Service has developed a mapping tool, helping Oregonians predict which regions will be hardest hit.
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WARM SPRINGS FIRE THREAT SHIFTS: ‘WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET’ (KTVZ Bend)
-Resort opens, crews work to protect timber as fire nears 60,000 acres-
Some firefighters were released Monday from the nearly 60,000-acre County Line 2 Fire as Kah-Nee-Ta Resort reopened and the threat eased to populated areas of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The containment estimate grew to 31 percent, with much more firefighting work left to do.
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GRANT COUNTY FIRE SPREADS SOUTH AS OUTPOURING OF HELP GROWS (KTVZ Bend)
-Canyon Creek blaze threatens Seneca, known for Oregon’s coldest temp-
The Canyon Creek Complex Fire that destroyed at least 26 homes near Canyon City and damaged over 100 other structures late Friday had grown to 40,000 acres by Monday and was spreading to the south, threatening the small community of Seneca, officials said.
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COMMUTER TREND HEADING NORTH INTO VANCOUVER (The Columbian)
People tend to think of the daily migration from Clark County to greater Portland as a one-way street. Tens of thousands of Washington residents head to jobs in Oregon each morning, then return home in the evening.
New U.S. Census Bureau data released this week show more and more people making the trip in reverse: living in Oregon, but commuting to jobs in Clark County.
