AP-OR–1st NewsMinute,324
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon prosecutor has told jurors that a
woman was under the influence of three drugs when she killed two
teens and injured another with her sport utility vehicle. Sophia
Downing is on trial in Marion County Circuit Court for first-degree
manslaughter, second-degree assault, DUI and reckless endangerment
charges stemming from the 2010 crash. Defense lawyer Tom Sermak
said the drugs found in Downing’s system were prescribed to her and
did not contribute to the fatal collision.
DAMASCUS, Ore. (AP) – Investigators say an explosion that
destroyed a Damascus mobile home and injured one man originated in
a closet that housed the home’s furnace. A Clackamas Fire District
1 spokesman said yesterday that federal and local investigators
determined the site of the blast. The spokesman says the homeowner
had recently attempted to make some repairs to the furnace but
exactly what happened Monday wasn’t clear. The Oregonian says the
man is hospitalized in fair condition.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Employees of Oregon’s top liquor regulator
are sticking up for their boss, who says the governor wants him
out. Workers signed a letter declaring their support for Steve
Pharo, director of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the last
six years. The letter was given Thursday to the commissioners who
oversee the agency, and two other people testified in support of
Pharo. Last month, he told The Oregonian that an aide to Gov. John
Kitzhaber asked him to quit but gave no reason.
UNDATED (AP) – Conservation groups are suing the federal
government to block development of a major wind farm on Steens
Mountain in Eastern Oregon. The lawsuit was filed yesterday in U.S.
District Court in Portland against the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management over its approval of a transmission line across federal
lands that will serve the Echanis wind farm planned for private
land on the mountain. The transmission lines would cross federal
lands specially designated by Congress in 2000.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-04-06-12 0359EDT
