Date: 02/13/2013 10:29 AM
OR–3rd NewsMinute/287
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland General Electric says a downtown Portland power outage last night was caused by an equipment failure at a substation. More than 1,400 PGE customers were in the dark for more than two hours. KOIN reports the outage shut down movie theaters, restaurants and public transportation.
HERMISTON, Ore. (AP) – The Umatilla Chemical Depot will end 180 jobs tomorrow as work continues to close the plant that destroyed more than 1 million pounds of chemical agents and munitions. The last of six furnaces was shut down Friday. The East Oregonian reports about 525 employees continue to work at the plant, which is operated by the URS company. Closure work will continue through 2014. It took more than seven years to destroy all the chemical weapons at the depot.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – For a tenth time, Lane County Commissioners are asking voters for a property tax increase for law enforcement. They say it’s needed to stop the so-called revolving door on the jail. Voters have rejected nine consecutive law-enforcement-related ballot measures dating to 1998. Yesterday, commissioners voted to try again with a property tax levy on the May 21 ballot. The levy would cost the owner of a typical $155,000 home in Lane County about $85 a year.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The first event in a White House program to show federal support for urban revitalization is tomorrow in Beaverton. The city is hosting federal officials from three departments — HUD, the FHA and EPA — on the first visit in the “Connecting Your Community Program.” The Oregonian reports the symposium will be held at the Round at Beaverton Central, a struggling housing and retail development and future home for City Hall.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
