Date: 06/11/2012 03:59 AM
OR–1st NewsMinute/292
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
BEND, Ore. (AP) – Construction has just begun on a new Sisters school-based clinic. But by the time it opens in 2013, the Deschutes County Health Services Department may be forced to consider shutting it down. County officials say the school-based clinic program needs to reduce its dependence on money from the county general fund and come up with a long-term financial plan. The program draws 33 percent of its money from the general fund and 54 percent from the state.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon driver’s smartphone may someday help compute how much state road maintenance tax the driver pays. The Oregon Department of Transportation is looking for ways to replace the gasoline tax and will begin a pilot program using smartphones help track mileage that could be reported to the government for a tax assessment. The Oregonian reports the idea will be tested in the fall using state legislators and transportation commissioners.
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – Tourism officials in Pendleton are preparing to lobby city officials to extend a tourism promotion tax. The Tourism Promotion Assessment Charge charges $1.50 for every guest in a hotel bed and 50 cents per motor home. Pendleton City Finance Director Linda Carter tells the East Oregonian the tax generated just more than $200,541 in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The city council created the tax in 2007 and in September extended it to 2014.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A new study is suggesting that Portland’s cultural events contribute more than $250 million into the local economy. The Oregonian reports that the study produced by the advocacy group Americans for the Arts found that the arts helped support more than 8,500 jobs in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties in 2010.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.