OR–1st NewsMinute/331
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Cowlitz County authorities say a 52-year-old Toutle, Wash., man apparently fell to his death from a high bridge in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest after taking photos of the remote scenery near Woodland. The Oregonian reports that investigators found Lance Chandler’s badly damaged camera near his body on Saturday. The county coroner’s office is expected to perform an autopsy.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland police officers trying to break up a fight Saturday went on a 10-block chase of a barefoot man who took an officer’s taser. The Oregonian reports 50-year-old Abderrahim Abdul Najjar of Southeast Portland took the taser as an officer used it to try to subdue him. When the officers were able to track him down, Najjar again fought them. He was arrested and charged with robbery in the third degree, assaulting a public safety officer and resisting arrest and other charges.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Interstate 5 traffic will detour through downtown Medford until 5 this morning and again from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tonight while crews repave the roadway between the north end of the viaduct and Exit 30. The work is part of a $3.9 million repaving job on I-5 between the Medford viaduct and Exit 35. Single lane closures will begin around 5 p.m. before the full closures so traffic is expected to be affected all evening. All lanes are scheduled to reopen by 7 a.m.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A spokesman for the agency that regulates the Oregon’s financial industry says the economy is slowly improving and the health of state-chartered banks is doing the same. Oregon Division of Finance and Corporation Securities administrator David Tatum tells The Oregonian that the agency is guardedly optimistic that improvements are being made in the banking industry. Oregon had 36 state-chartered banks in 2006 but is down to 29. During the 2012 first quarter, 25 posted a profit.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
