AP-OR–Right Now/1072
POT EDIBLES
Oregon official: Rules still being finalized for pot edibles
(Information in the following story is from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon officials say candies, cookies and beverages infused with the active ingredients in marijuana won’t be available for recreational consumers for another month or two.
The Bulletin reports that it became legal last week for recreational buyers age 21 or older to buy low-dose edibles at medical marijuana dispensaries. But Oregon Medical Marijuana Program manager Andre Ourso says the state Health Authority must first create rules for those sales, like defining what constitutes a “low dose.”
He says the rules might not be ready until early summer.
The edible products are already available to medical marijuana cardholders in varying dosages.
Summer Latchford is the company director at DiamondTree, which operates two dispensaries in Bend and one in madras. She says her company will probably offer edibles in 5 milligram and 4 milligrams doses.
CONVENIENCE STORE SLAYING-THIRD MAN
Oregon police ID, question witness to 7-11 killing
(Information in the following story is from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
PHOENIX, Ore. (AP) — Police hope a man involved in a fight at an Oregon convenience can help them understand what led to the fatal shooting of another man there.
The Mail Tribune reports that Jackson County sheriff’s investigators have identified a man shown on surveillance video entering the 7-Eleven with the murder defendant and leaving the store after 23-year-old Miguel Angel Delfin of Medford was shot and killed.
Police say the murder defendant was arrested at his home in a trailer park across the street from the 7-Eleven.
Police say they want to interview the third man to learn what connection has to Delfin and the murder defendant, if any.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Fox declined to name the man but said he should be able to answer some of the detectives’ questions.
KLAMATH DAMS
Klamath dams agreement includes protections for farmers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Agreements to remove dams along the Klamath River set to be signed Wednesday seek to ensure that farmers and ranchers won’t have to pay higher prices for water.
Tearing down the dams will allow endangered salmon and steelhead to return to portions of the river they’ve been unable to reach for nearly a century. The agreements seek to protect upriver irrigators from higher costs or reduced water supply because of measures needed protect those fish.
But the latest deal falls far short of implementing a comprehensive settlement that farmers, tribes and conservation groups worked out with state and federal officials in 2010.
That agreement would have also restored tribal lands and given more water rights to farmers and ranchers, but was strongly opposed in Congress, where Republicans oppose dam removal.
PANHANDLING ORDINANCE
Springfield panhandling ordinance penalizes drivers
(Information in the following story is from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — A Springfield panhandling ordinance penalizes drivers stopped at red lights for passing money, food or other items to pedestrians.
The Register-Guard reports city council members voted 4-1 in favor of fining those drivers up to $50 despite opposition from almost everyone who spoke out at two public meetings.
Councilwoman Marilee Woodrow said she’s heard from at least two dozen residents who support the ordinance.
The only no-vote came from councilwoman Hillary Wylie, who called the ordinance petty.
Mayor Christine Lundberg said the ordinance was set up with safety in mind.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Oregon branch has asked anyone cited under the ordinance to contact the agency.
Springfield joins at least four other Oregon cities including Roseburg and Medford to pass roadside panhandling restrictions.
CHURCH VANDALISM
Boys, 15 and 16, accused of vandalizing 3 Hillsboro churches
HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — Hillsboro police arrested two teenagers accused of vandalizing churches.
A police spokesman says the boys, ages 15 and 16, were arrested early Tuesday, just after midnight.
Three churches have been hit during the past two weeks. In each case, the suspects smashed windows to gain entry and then vandalized the interior.
The boys have been booked into a youth detention facility on charges of burglary and criminal mischief.
FAULTY RAMP-LAWSUIT
Motorists sue ODOT, contractor over crash-prone highway ramp
(Information in the following story is from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — More than a dozen motorists are suing the state and a contractor because of crashes at a suburban Portland highway ramp.
The Oregonian reports the lawsuit filed Monday seeks just over $2 million from the Oregon Department of Transportation and a Nebraska-based contractor. It alleges negligent design and construction of the ramp that connects Interstate 5 to Oregon 217 in Tigard.
Dozens of serious crashes occurred on the ramp between 2008 and 2014.
The lawsuit alleges a metal joint embedded in the ramp had come out of alignment, creating an uneven surface that was dangerous to passing vehicles.
Transportation department spokesman Don Hamilton wouldn’t discuss specifics of the lawsuit, but said crews refinished the road in 2014 to increase traction and there have been few problems since then.
BARN ABLAZE
Fire destroys barn in Mulino, Oregon; man arrested
MULINO, Ore. (AP) — Authorities arrested a 37-year-old man accused of starting a fire that a destroyed a barn in rural Clackamas County.
The sheriff’s office says deputies had been sent to the property in Mulino (muh-LEYE-noh) on a separate matter late Monday. Shortly after leaving, they were called back because the barn was ablaze.
The deputies found the structure engulfed in flames and it was total loss. Nearby residents were evacuated, but there were no reports of injuries.
Deputies arrested Justin Smith of Mulino. He’s charged with arson and criminal mischief.
FATAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH
Fatal motorcycle crash at Portland’s Morrison Bridge
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A motorcyclist has died in a crash near a downtown Portland bridge.
Sgt. Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau says officers were called to the Morrison Bridge at about 5 a.m. Tuesday by someone who saw a motorcycle without a rider on the ramp to northbound I-5.
Simpson says officers were able to find the rider, but he was deceased.
Simpson says there’s no indication another vehicle was involved in the crash. Investigators closed the ramp, slowing traffic as sunrise approached.
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