Oregon company falls prey to commercial auto insurance scam
State officials say they have uncovered a likely online auto insurance scam directed at businesses in the state.
An Oregon transportation company paid an internet based insurance company $20-thousand in premiums over the course of four years. They received invoices and certificates of insurance via email from a man by the name of Josh Capello. All of those were bogus.
The Oregon Department of Insurance and Business Services says Capello is one alias they believe used by Umer M. Masood. The other name, they said, was Ahmed Salam. Masood apparently operated under three false business names: Proactive Indemnity Corporation; Proactive Financial Services; and Contingent Cargo Company. The primary business addresses listed for the companies are in Los Angeles, however, there are no registered businesses in the State of California with those names; and none of those businesses are licensed to sell insurance in Oregon.
State officials say the premiums paid were deposited into banks in Pakistan.
Oregon Insurance Commissioner Laura Cali said there may be more Oregon companies who have done business with the companies.
Chip Seal process to restrict travel on 35th Street this week
An approximately 12-block long stretch of 35th Street between Highway 101 and Rhododendron Drive will be subject to delays over the next three days.
A contractor for the City of Florence will be applying a “hot oil chip and fog seal” to the road surface between Pine… two blocks west of Highway 101… and Siano Loop… just a block east of Rhododendron Drive. That work begins Wednesday and is expected to wrap up by Friday.
Public Works Director Mike Miller said a hot oil application will be followed by fine chips of rock, then topped with a ‘fog’ sealer of more oil to strengthen and renew the street surface.
He said the bike and pedestrian lanes on either side of the street will get a special “micro-coat” surface without the rock chips. But, it will have a pigment added to it that will create a definite distinction between the vehicle lanes and the bike lanes. That, he added, will increase safety.
BLM plan draws legal action from both sides
A federal timber management program on Bureau of Land Management forest in Western Oregon was enacted Friday morning and by the end of the day it was facing legal challenges from both sides.
The plan to increase potential timber harvest by about 37-percent on the 2.5-million acres is expected to increase jobs, tourism and recreation according to BLM Managers.
But, the American Forest Resource Council; a regional trade association for the logging industry; claims the logging levels in the plan are still too low. Environmentalists, led by the group Earth Justice also filed suit against the plan citing concerns over threatened species, such as the Northern Spotted Owl.
Fish Cleaning Station on Siuslaw removes carcasses
The Port of Astoria shut down fish cleaning stations in their marinas last week due to environmental concerns over fish guts being tossed into the Columbia River.
On the Siuslaw however, fish cleaning will continue because the carcasses and entrails don’t wind up in the river.
Port of Siuslaw Commission President Ron Caputo said state regulations do allow fishermen to clean their catch and return the entrails into the same body of water from which they came.
But, concerns over a variety of issues… including the attraction of harbor seals to the plentiful feed… led local officials some time ago to collect and haul off the carcasses.
Part of the local policy is also in response to a lack of response from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Port manager Steven Leskin said he has asked DEQ twice for written clarification as to why carcasses should not be dumped in the river… neither request has generated a response.
Master Recyclers
A free course that will lead to certification as a Master Recycler will be offered in Lane County twice in the coming months. The first will be in Eugene, every Tuesday evening from September 13th through November 10th.
The second will be offered in Florence, Friday afternoons from January 13th through March 10th at Lane Community College.
The Master Recycling training course is a total of 35 hours of classroom instruction, coupled with two field trips to area solid waste and recycling sites. The classes are organized by the Lane County Waste Management Division.
The course is free, but students are required to spend an additional 30-hours over the next year volunteering to educate and assist their communities about the benefits of recycling.
You can still take the course if you don’t want to volunteer, but you may be asked to pay a small fee.
Information about how to register for either class can be had by calling the Waste Division at 541-682-2059.
