Date: 02/13/2013 09:23 AM
OR–2nd NewsMinute/290
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Shhhh. The 55 new buses purchased by Oregon’s largest transit agency can record riders’ conversations. The Oregonian reports that with the “3000 series” buses, TriMet joins the ranks of U.S. public transit agencies that are installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on buses. The new buses are equipped with six security cameras wired with always-recording microphones that will capture everything from rider conversations to strange mechanical noises. The audio can be used in such things as crash investigations, customer complaint reviews and criminal cases.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Several interest organizations want Oregon to do a better job collecting taxes, and they’re calling on the Legislature to beef up enforcement. The recommendation was one of several in a new report on government efficiency by public-employee unions, the AARP, the Oregon Student Association and a number of other organizations, most of them liberal interest groups. They want to free up more money for their priorities, including schools, health care and long-term care for seniors.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Portland-based utility and a California entity that manages much of that state’s power grid say they’ve agreed to work toward creating a real-time market to smooth out energy imbalances. Authorization to proceed with working out a formal agreement will be considered by the California Independent System Operator Corp.’s board next month.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Police say a woman in her 20s is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after she was hit by a pickup truck while trying to walk across a busy street in Eugene. Witnesses told police she was on the center median when she was hit. Traffic on Delta was heavy at the time, just before 6 p.m.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
