Date: 09/18/2015 09:17 AM
AP-OR–2nd NewsMinute/294
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland has found bike commuting spiked to 7.2 percent last year. KATU-TV reports that the U.S. Census Bureau said 23,347 Portland residents commuted to work by bike in 2014, an increase of 27 percent from 2013. Portland’s bike commuting rate was only at 2.8 percent in 2004.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Portland office building will be able to warn tenants when an earthquake is about to strike. KGW-TV reports that the Radiator building is equipped with an earthquake early warning system. Sensors buried below the building can detect an initial rupture of an earthquake and instantly sound an alarm and send text messages to tenants before more damaging shock waves arrive.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says two salamanders in Oregon and Washington may qualify for Endangered Species Act protection. The new findings about the Cascade torrent salamander and Columbia torrent salamander mean the agency will initiate full status reviews for the species to see if they warrant protection. The four-inch brown salamanders live in forest streams and are found only in a small stretch of the Cascades and Coast range.
GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) – A driver in Gresham has been accused of improperly using 911 when he called the emergency number and reported a shooting in hopes of avoiding a traffic ticket. The Oregonian reports that an officer stopped the man early yesterday for a traffic violation, only to discover the driver’s license was suspended. Police say while the officer was away from the suspect’s car writing a citation, the man called 911 with the shooting report. Police traced the call and linked it back to the driver, who later admitted it was a false report.
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