Date: 07/05/2016 06:20 AM
AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1153
DYING SALMON
Managers aim for cooler water in Snake River to aid sockeye
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Managers have started releasing more cold water from a reservoir in northern Idaho for endangered Snake River sockeye salmon following a year where 99 percent of the run died due to lethally hot water.
Bumping up the amount of 43-degree water released from Dworshak Reservoir on the North Fork Clearwater River is expected to keep water temperature at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River under 68 degrees.
Ritchie Graves of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Columbia Basin is much more hospitable for salmon this year than last, when low water and an extended heat wave pushed water temperatures past 70 degrees.
About 285,000 sockeye have entered the Columbia River so far this year, with at least 1,000 heading for the Snake River.
BABY BOOMERS-DESCHUTES COUNTY
Central Oregon sees growing baby boomer population
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) – Newly released federal statistics show that Deschutes County has had the largest percentage increase in senior residents among Oregon counties in recent years.
The Bend Bulletin reports the U.S. Census Bureau estimates say the number of residents 65 and older in Deschutes County grew by 39 percent between April 2010 and July 2015. The senior population in neighboring Crook and Jefferson counties also increased during that time by 26 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Portland State University researcher Risa Proehl says Oregon will continue to see a growing senior population as residents age and people move to the area to retire. She says retirees are drawn to Oregon’s affordable housing and access to outdoor activities.
The census figures show seniors accounted for 6 percent of Oregon’s population in 2015.
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MISSING HIKER
Climber who died on Mount Washington was aspiring actor
SISTERS, Ore. (AP) – A 28-year-old Hillsboro man who fell to his death while climbing Mount Washington last week was an aspiring actor and church activist.
According to local media reports, Brian Robak had been a contractor at Big Lake Youth Camp near Sisters, where he had worked for the previous eight summers. The camp is affiliated with the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
An Oregon Army National Guard helicopter crew located Robak’s body on the 7,795-foot peak Saturday.
Robak set off to climb Mount Washington around noon Thursday and had reached the summit by about 4:30 p.m. But he didn’t return as planned that night, and camp officials called the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office early Friday to report him missing.
MACHINE GUN-ARREST
Oregon man seeks release while facing federal gun charges
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon man who was arrested after authorities found a machine gun in his trailer is seeking to be released while he awaits trial on federal weapons charges.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Michael Emry’s attorney filed a motion Friday in federal court in Eugene seeking his release.
The FBI took him into custody in May in John Day, Oregon. FBI and ATF agents searched Emry’s trailer, which was serving as his home, and found the weapon.
The FBI says Emry admitted he took the gun from a shop where he works in Boise, Idaho. Emry says the owner of the shop didn’t know that he had taken the weapon.
Emry faces charges of illegally possessing a machine gun not registered to him and illegally having a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
He has a hearing July 11 in federal court in Eugene.
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MARIJUANA MUSEUM
California pot exhibit aims for debate on provocative plant
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – It’s known as Mary Jane, ganja, Chronic and even the sticky icky and has been featured in countless movies, including one that warned of its dangers, “Reefer Madness.”
Now, marijuana is the subject of a contemporary history and science exhibit.
“Altered State: Marijuana in California,” a one-of-its-kind museum exhibition focusing on the topic, is open through the summer at the Oakland Museum of California.
Set against the backdrop of a California ballot measure this year asking voters to legalize marijuana’s recreational use, the exhibition features artwork, political documents and posters, and scientific and interactive displays meant to provoke questions and conversations about pot.
The exhibit comes when 35 states already have medical marijuana laws on the books and four states and Washington, D.C., have legalized weed for recreational use.
HOME-BEACH EROSION
Erosion threatens Oregon beach home
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) – The owner of a $1 million vacation home on the Oregon coast says the structure is in danger of slipping into the ocean after waves whittled away a protective sand dune.
The Oregonian newspaper reports Tai Dang built the oceanfront property in Rockaway Beach seven years ago. He’s since applied for a permit to install riprap to stop the erosion from eating away the land under the home, but neighbors, the city, the state and conservationists oppose the proposal.
Conservationists say installing riprap in one location can increase erosion elsewhere by redirecting the flow of water. But Dang notes the city signed off on the home location in 2009.
Jonathan Allan with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries says such battles are likely to increase as climate change causes sea levels rise and storms to intensify.
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MILL PARK MURDER CASE
Police arrest man in connection with girlfriend’s death
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) – Police in Portland have arrested a man in connection with the shooting death of a 48-year-old woman.
Emergency workers found Cory Jonell Lumber, also known as Cory Jonell Ruth, dead inside a Mill Park neighborhood apartment Saturday evening. The woman’s boyfriend, 37-year-old Spencer Thomas Johnson, was arrested later that night and booked into the Multnomah County Jail.
Police say Johnson has been charged with murder and unlawful use of a weapon and he is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if Johnson had an attorney.
The medical examiner says Lumber died of a single gunshot wound.
WOMAN SHOT-GRESHAM
Woman shot after argument at Gresham apartment
GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) – Police say a woman was shot in the leg after an argument between her and a man at a Gresham apartment complex.
Officers had responded early Sunday to a report that someone had been shot. They arrived to find a woman with gunshot wounds, and say the man had fired multiple rounds inside an apartment.
An update on the woman’s condition has not been released.
The 34-year-old suspect was arrested at a Gresham home and has been charged with burglary, assault and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the incident.
The case remains under investigation.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
