AP-OR–4th NewsMinute/273
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Ratepayer advocates have filed a ballot initiative to take the management of Portland’s water and sewers away from the City Council. If approved, an elected board of seven unpaid representatives would oversee the city’s water and sewer systems. One of the chief petitioners says water rates have increased 160 percent since 2000 because of mismanagement and waste.
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – A Corvallis-based firm says it has qualified for an initial payment of $79 million from the federal government for a drug aimed at treating smallpox in case of biological warfare or terrorist attacks. The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports the payment will be a substantial cash infusion for Siga Technologies, a drug research company that reported a net loss in four of the last five fiscal years.
MILL CITY, Ore. (AP) – Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller says arson is suspected in a fire that damaged a nail salon. The fire yesterday at Pure Indulgence Nail Salon also damaged a nearby video store and a pickup truck. It was reported about 1:30 a.m. The owners of the salon reported significant damage. The sheriff’s office hasn’t said what led it to suspect the fire was set.
GOLD BEACH, Ore. (AP) – The second whitewater rafter in a week has died after falling into the Rogue River at a treacherous rapid known as Blossom Bar. The Curry County sheriff’s office says 66-year-old Steven Boyd of Walla Walla, Wash., died yesterday. Sheriff John Bishop says the raft was going through a section of the rapid known as the Picket Fence when it hit boulders and flipped.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
