OREGON NEWS

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If you're lawn is turning brown, you're doing cartwheels on it. The forecast calls for a 100 percent chance of rain today with a high of 71.

Winds will be west southwest from 14 to 20 with gusts to 28. The low drops to 57 tonight, with the chance of raining hovering around 70 percent with the same blustery winds.

Continue reading "Sunny and hot this weekend; windy, rainy and 71 today" »

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi advanced to November's general election in Tuesday's "top two" Washington primary, setting up a reprise of their historically close 2004 battle for governor.

It was the first head-to-head matchup for Gregoire and Rossi since the 2004 election, in which Gregoire won by just 133 votes after three ballot counts and an unsuccessful Republican court challenge.

Continue reading "Gregoire, Rossi win; rematch set for Nov." »

For 13 years Portland's public safety pension fund has overpaid pension benefits to 940 retirees and surviving beneficiaries, costing the fund an extra $3.1 million, fund supervisors announced Tuesday.

The Portland Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund's board of trustees will meet next Tuesday to determine how to handle the mistake, and whether to recover the payments or eat the extra costs.

Continue reading "Fund has overpaid $3.1 million in benefits to 940 police and fire retirees" »

Oregon's weight problem expanded last year, putting us among the growing number of states in which one in four adults are obese.

But 28 states have gotten even fatter, according to a new analysis by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The nonprofit groups analyzed data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading "Fat settles in the South, but Oregon makes Top 30" »

Stavros Calos and six friends planned all through their senior year in college for an alternative transportation trip of a lifetime.

They left Virginia two and a half months ago bound for Los Angeles with a stop planned in bike-friendly Portland.

But Calos got a less-than-friendly welcome here: While he was in the main library in downtown last Monday, someone cut his cable lock and stole his silver Specialized Sirrus hybrid road bike.

Continue reading "Thief grabs bike of cross-country cyclist shortly after his arrival in Portland" »

The Portland Police Bureau is asking for help in finding four young men accused in a "wilding" incident last week in North Portland.

According to the bureau's new Crimes Stoppers Web site, the four are accused of several crimes over a 1-1/2 hour time period early the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Continue reading "Portland police looking for suspects in "wilding"" »

MEDFORD -- An Eagle Point man wounded by a sheriff's deputy during a February standoff has pleaded not guilty to attempted aggravated murder and five other charges.

Dan Waggoner appeared in a wheelchair at his arraignment Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Continue reading "Southern Oregon man pleads innocent to attempted murder" »

CENTRAL POINT -- Authorities investigating a complaint of animal starvation rescued four horses from a property in Central Point.

A fifth horse died by the time authorities arrived Friday.

Colleen Macuk, program director for Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center, said shelter officers called in sheriff's deputies because the small herd was in such bad shape.

Continue reading "Neglected horses taken from Southern Oregon property" »

KENT-- A Federal Way man has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of his 7-month-old son, who died after he apparently fell into a backyard fire pit while his father slept.

Alberto Rios pleaded guilty Tuesday in King County court in the death of 7-month-old Diego Alberto Rios-Santana.

Continue reading "Man pleads guilty in baby's fire-pit death" »

WILSONVILLE -- Matt Wingard, the Republican candidate for House District 26, will fill the seat through December, a joint board of Clackamas and Washington county commissioners decided today.

Rep. Jerry Krummel resigned from the seat Aug. 1 to accept a school administration job in Reno, Nevada. By law, at least three candidates had to seek the position for the board to hear it. Otherwise, the appointment would fall on Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Continue reading "Wingard is appointed to legislative seat" »

State geologists teamed with the Civil Air Patrol over the weekend on reconnaissance flights around Mount Hood, a dual mission to study landslides on the volcano's unstable slopes and train for possible future volcanic activity.

The flights were part of an effort by the Oregon Wing of the Civil Air Patrol to expand its activities beyond traditional search and rescue and medical support missions to include science and response to natural disasters.

Continue reading "Geologists fly over Hood to study volcano's unstable slopes" »

A cleanup is underway on an afternoon oil spill in the North Portland harbor caused by a 42-foot motor boat docked at the Portland Yacht Club.

Continue reading "Coast Guard, fire department checking reports of oil spill in harbor" »

Milky wastewater from Smith Frozen Foods, the company owned by U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, has again reached a creek flowing next to the eastern Oregon plant, a scenario that has cost Smith political points in the past.

Continue reading "Smith Frozen Foods spills into creek again" »

TUALATIN -- A 28-year-old transient was arrested by Tualatin police Monday on accusations of leaving child pornography in two public bathrooms in the city.

Jonathan R. Jennings is also accused of drilling holes in a stall in the men's room at the Tualatin Public Library and in a stall in the men's room at Tualatin Community Park, said Tualatin Police Capt. Larry Braaksma.

Continue reading "Transient arrested after child porn found in public bathrooms in Tualatin" »