PORTLAND SCHOOLS-RESIGNATION
Portland Public Schools chief of staff resigns
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The chief of staff at Portland Public Schools has resigned, leaving another high-level opening in a district trying to make a comeback from a lead crisis.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Amanda Whalen worked in the district for the past 13 years and in the chief of staff role since 2012.
Interim superintendent Bob McKean was hired in August after the lead crisis prompted the ouster of superintendent Carole Smith.
The district’s top lawyer, another veteran employee, has also left.
McKean announced Whalen’s departure and told the newspaper she was not forced out. Whalen said in an email that the decision to leave was hard because she cares deeply about the mission and people in the district.
Her last day is Feb. 10.
District administrator Sascha Perrins will serve as interim chief of staff.
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SEWAGE OVERFLOW
750 gallons of sewage overflow reported in Portland area
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services says hundreds of gallons of sewage overflowed from a manhole into a Fanno Creek tributary.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the bureau urged people Monday to avoid the unnamed tributary and nearby creek for two days.
The 750-gallon overflow comes less than a week after an estimated 5,000 gallons of sewage overflowed from a manhole and went into a ditch leading to Fanno Creek.
The bureau says both incidents are not connected to the city’s combined sewer overflow control system.
An investigation into what caused the most recent sewage overflow is underway.
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OREGON-RAIL EXPANSION
Groups seek to oppose lawsuit over Oregon rail expansion
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three groups are seeking to oppose Union Pacific Railroad’s lawsuit involving a proposed rail expansion along the Columbia River Gorge where a crude oil train derailed last June.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and Columbia Riverkeeper say they want to stop Union Pacific from circumventing laws that protects the Gorge as a national scenic area. They filed a motion Monday to intervene in the case.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific earlier this month sued Wasco County, which rejected the railroad’s expansion application, and the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which is scheduled appeals of that case.
Union Pacific says federal rules govern railroads, so local restrictions like the ones Wasco County approved don’t apply to the project.
The derailment last June sparked a massive fire near Mosier.
OREGON FLU SEASON
Flu season hitting hard in Oregon
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — It’s not even February, and this flu season has already sent more Oregonians to the hospital than the last one.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that 736 people have been hospitalized with the flu this winter. Only 443 were hospitalized during the last flu season.
The elderly, as usual, have been hit the hardest. They account for about two-thirds of those hospitalized based on numbers collected in the Portland area.
Dr. Ann Thomas, Oregon public health physician, says nearly all of the outbreaks affecting three or more people have been in long-term care facilities.
Public health officials say it’s still not too late to get vaccinated. It generally takes two weeks for a shot to take effect.
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OREGON WAVE INJURIES
Giant waves injure 2 at Oregon coast
(Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/)
LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — Strong waves injured two people at the Oregon coast this weekend.
KGW-TV reports a high-surf advisory was in effect Saturday when firefighters responded to a vacation rental property in Lincoln City. The rising tide had partially collapsed a deck, leaving a woman clinging to the edge of an attached hot tub.
Firefighters say the woman’s husband pulled her to safety and she was treated for minor injuries.
Firefighters returned a couple hours later after a sneaker wave hit a woman walking on the beach. She suffered a broken ankle.
The injuries came a week after a man and his 3-year-old son died when they were swept away by a sneaker wave at Cape Blanco.
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JACKET REQUIRED
Oregon lawmakers consider potential life jacket law
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Officials have proposed a law that would require river floaters in Oregon to wear life jackets.
The Bulletin reports that current law requires children age 12 and under to wear life jackets while in a boat. Older boaters must carry a life jacket. The rule doesn’t apply to unmotorized craft, like inner tubes, air mattresses, pool toys and surfboards.
The Oregon Marine Board has suggested that those who flout the proposed new law should also pay $30 in fines.
If the proposed law is passed, it would eliminate the distinction between motorized and unmotorized vessels and require people to wear a life jacket on any Oregon river or steam
Oregon lawmakers have not yet scheduled a hearing on the bill, which will go through the Committee on Transportation policy.
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PORTLAND APARTMENT FIRE
1 critically hurt, 4 others injured in Portland fire
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A fire at a Portland apartment building injured five people, one of them critically.
Lt. Rich Chatman of the Portland Fire Bureau says the fire was reported Monday morning at a building on Northwest Lovejoy Street. They found flames and smoke coming from the apartment’s elevator shaft.
The person who was critically injured from smoke inhalation jumped from a second-story window to escape.
Investigators have yet to say what caused the fire.
The American Red Cross has opened a shelter for displaced residents of the 65-unit building.
CONSUMER AGENCY-LEGAL FIGHT
17 state attorneys general ask to defend CFPB; cite Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys general from 17 states are seeking to defend the U.S. consumer watchdog agency in court amid speculation that President Donald Trump may fire its director.
The attorneys general said in a court filing Monday they have “a vital interest in defending an independent and effective” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
They said it’s urgent for them to intervene in the case because Trump as a candidate expressed opposition to the 2010 law that tightened regulation of the financial industry and created the CFPB.
A federal appeals court ruled in October that the agency’s structure violates the Constitution’s separation of powers by limiting the president’s ability to remove the agency’s director.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.