INMATE SPITS-DEPUTY
Jury convicts jail inmate of spitting at sheriff’s deputy
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Eugene has convicted a county jail inmate of spitting at a sheriff’s deputy.
The Register-Guard reports the jury voted 11-1 Wednesday to convict 29-year-old Adam Anderson of felony aggravated harassment.
Jail deputy Jeremy Fifer testified Wednesday that he was evaluated at a hospital after Anderson’s spit hit him in the left eye July 4.
Anderson is scheduled to face another jury in November for trying to kill two other inmates with a self-made weapon in separate attacks earlier this year.
Anderson was booked into the Lane County jail in October on a federal charge of felon in possession of a firearm. That case was dismissed after the jail incidents.
In court, Anderson denied spitting at Fifer but acknowledged he has been a security risk while in jail.
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PORTLAND-VEHICLE BOOTING
Portland booting program
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland has begun booting vehicles around the city as part of an effort to collect on $7.5 million in unpaid parking tickets.
The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports that the booting program kicked off Wednesday and the city was able to track down four alleged violators who owed a total of more than $25,000. A 2014 Ford Mustang accounted for more than half the first day’s total with nearly $16,000 in unpaid citations.
The city boots vehicles that have racked up at least six citations in which the fines have doubled because of nonpayment or reached totals of at least $500.
City officials say drivers can pay off the fines or set up a payment plan with the Multnomah County Circuit Court to get the boot removed.
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SALEM HOME BURGLARY
Salem homeowner bitten, bruised by intruder
(Information from: KOIN-TV, http://www.koin.com/)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man accused of breaking into a Salem residence and biting the homeowner and his teenage son.
KOIN-TV reports that the victims of the attack suffered bite wounds and bruises.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies had responded to the scene to find the 25-year-old suspect being held down by the two people in the home.
Authorities say the suspect struggled and tried to bite deputies who were attempting to detain the man.
Deputies were eventually able to handcuff the suspect, who was taken to the hospital after the incident.
He faces charges of burglary, assault and resisting arrest.
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CANADA LYNX
Judge says US should reconsider habitat for Canada lynx
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge says the U.S. government was wrong to exclude large portions of the Rocky Mountains when it designated critical habitat for the imperiled Canada lynx.
U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Montana issued an order Wednesday requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider adding new habitat for the wild cats in the southern Rockies of Colorado and parts of Montana and Idaho.
Christensen agreed with the government that a critical habitat designation wasn’t needed in Oregon and Washington state.
Lynx are elusive, forest-dwelling animals.
They’ve been listed as a threatened species since 2000, but a dispute lingers as to where they should receive the strongest protections.
Wildlife advocates sued the government in 2014 after areas including the southern Rockies were left out of almost 40,000 square miles of critical habitat.
PORTLAND’S HOMELESS EMERGENCY
Portland homeless crisis sows dissent in tolerant city
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland is booming and the homeless are more visible than ever before.
Skyrocketing rents, low vacancy rates and a severe shortage of affordable housing are forcing the popular city to re-examine its approach to homelessness.
The issue peaked this year when Portland declared a homeless state of emergency and Mayor Charlie Hales made it legal to sleep on city streets.
Portland is welcoming 1,000 new residents a month and the average rent has increased about $100 a month.
The metropolitan area needs 24,000 more affordable housing units and vacancy rates are some of the lowest nationally.
The city recently cleared out a huge homeless camp and is debating a 400-bed shelter in a vacant industrial terminal.
Meanwhile, the nearly 1,900 people who are unsheltered want answers as winter approaches.
CALIFORNIA POWER GRID
California governor pushes plan for Western power grid
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown says he remains committed to expanding California’s power grid to include other Western states, despite a delay announced this summer.
Brown told a meeting Wednesday hosted by the California Independent System Operator that the efficiency of a wider grid is “unmistakable.”
He says a consortium with neighboring states would also create elegance and intelligence “in the way we use and produce electricity, the way we market it and the way it goes around the system.”
California has been working with leaders in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming on establishing a broader power grid.
The Democratic governor, a strong backer of renewable energy, acknowledged that there are differences in philosophy, including some states’ reliance on coal energy.
He says California won’t compromise on its tough environmental mandates.
COUNTY LAWSUIT-LAND MANAGEMENT
Judge: County’s lawsuit against Oregon likely a class action
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — A judge signaled he plans to certify Linn County’s timber lawsuit against the state as a class action, meaning it would include other counties.
The county filed the lawsuit earlier this year, asserting insufficient logging had cost it and more than a dozen other timber-rich counties more than $1.4 billion.
The complaint says the counties turned over ownership of forestlands to the state in the early 20th century with the expectation that timber revenues would be maximized. But a forest management plan adopted more than a decade ago emphasized improvements to fish and wildlife habitat and other conservation measures.
Linn County Judge Daniel Murphy said Tuesday the lawsuit meets the requirements for a class action. But he won’t formally decide the issue until the lawsuit survives further motions to dismiss.
SALEM SHOOTING DEATH
Man fatally shot in Salem; 32-year-old man arrested
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Salem police detectives have made an arrest in the fatal shooting of a man early Wednesday.
Lt. Dave Okada said the dispatch center received a call at about 3:30 a.m. from a man who said he had just shot someone. When officers arrived, they found a body near 32-year-old Christopher Gerberding.
Okada said investigators believe Gerbeding shot the man following an altercation. The victim has not been identified and an autopsy is pending.
Gerberding has been charged with manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon. The Salem resident is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press
