2nd Oregon News Business

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Salem police say a man is hospitalized in critical condition after running into traffic on Oregon Highway 22 in an apparent effort to be hit by passing vehicles. Police identified the man late last night as 22-year-old Richard Garcia of Salem. Friends of Garcia and police tried to restrain the man but he was eventually struck.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon State Hospital employee who collapsed and died while helping other staffers try to restrain a patient has been identified as 36-year-old Matthew Barron of Salem. Barron was a mental health security technician at the psychiatric hospital and had worked there nearly three years. State Police say investigators found that no crime took place. An autopsy was scheduled.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center predicts a normal fire season for Oregon. A wet spring will delay the onset of fire season but not affect its severity. Temperatures are expected to be higher and humidity lower than in 2011, which saw a below average number of fires and acres burning. Large fires typically come from lightning strikes in remote locations.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Civic leaders in Salem have long been frustrated by the flood of commuters from Portland, who drive in for their state government jobs and leave town by 5 p.m.. That, they say, contributes little to the capital city’s culture and commerce. It turns out, though, that I-5 is a two-way street. Census figures show that more people commute in the opposite direction, from their homes in Salem to jobs in Portland and its suburbs.