OREGON IMMIGRANT ARREST
‘Dreamer’ immigrant in Oregon detained by US authorities
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Activists say a 25-year-old man who had been allowed to stay in the U.S. because he was brought into the country as a child has been detained by immigration agents.
Immigration lawyer Stephen Manning says in a statement that Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez was picked up Sunday morning at his home by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The Oregon chapter of the ACLU says in a statement that he arrived in the U.S. from Mexico when he was 5 years old. He has lived in the Portland area since then.
The ACLU says Rodriguez Dominguez participates in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which grants two years of permission to work and protection from deportation to certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. These immigrants are known as “Dreamers.”
The Oregonian/Oregonlive reports that Immigrations and Custom Enforcement officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
GOVERNORS-ENVIRONMENT
Washington, Oregon governors vow to fight Trump
SEATTLE (AP) — The Democratic governors of Washington state and Oregon say they will fight attempts by President Donald Trump to weaken environmental protection laws in the two states.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown at a joint news conference Saturday in Seattle said they support more renewable energy, caps on emissions and policies to limit pollution.
Inslee says the two states won’t allow the president to risk the health of area residents.
Brown says Oregon and Washington aren’t willing to go backward.
The budget proposed by Trump earlier this month cuts the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 31 percent — nearly one-third — and eliminates more than 3,200 jobs.
The president has often called climate change a “hoax.”
BEACH FATAL
Girl dies on Oregon coast after log rolls on top of her
BANDON, Ore. (AP) — A 14-year-old girl playing on an Oregon coast beach near Bandon died when a log rolled on top of her.
Oregon State Police in a news release Sunday say the girl from Eugene was playing on the log during a strong receding tide at about 4 p.m. Saturday when it rolled.
Police say other beachgoers got the girl out from under the log after several attempts. A responding Bandon police officer administered life-saving measures as did paramedics.
But the girl was pronounced dead at South Coos Hospital. Her name hasn’t been released.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department says the ocean can move large logs and even those that look small can be waterlogged and quite heavy.
DEMONSTRATOR ARRESTED
Police arrest 1 at Trump rally, protest in Salem
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police arrested a central Oregon man when supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump clashed at simultaneous rallies in the same area in Salem.
Oregon State Police on Saturday took into custody 31-year-old Matthew Curtis Heagy of Terrebonne on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm.
Officials say up to 300 participants took part, with one rally called the “Oregon Make America Great Again March,” and the other called “Salem Stands for Love.”
One rally started at 9 a.m. and the other an hour later with both lasting until 2 p.m.
Police say the groups clashed at about 11 a.m. near the Oregon World War II Memorial and that Heagy used pepper spray that hit a state trooper.
Police say they detained Heagy and discovered he was a convicted felon and had a gun.
WOLVES-CHICKENS
Officials: Wolves kill chickens and a goose in E. Oregon
(Information from: Capital Press, http://www.capitalpress.com/washington)
FLORA, Ore. (AP) — Wildlife officials say a wolf pack killed at least eight chickens and a goose in eastern Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife tells the Capital Press that a GPS tracking collar on a wolf shows its location about 300 yards from the attack site at about 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The state agency says wolf tracks filled the site near Flora on the northern edge of Wallowa County.
Officials say the wolf with the tracking collar is from the Shamrock Pack.
The flock owners say they had 16 chickens and eight geese on Wednesday evening.
They say they heard wolves howling at 4 a.m., and later discovered 16 chickens and seven geese missing.
State officials identified parts of at least eight chickens and a goose.
___
DEPUTY DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT
Former E. Idaho deputy settles lawsuit for $475,000
(Information from: Argus Observer, http://www.argusobserver.com)
VALE, Ore. (AP) — A former Malheur County sheriff’s deputy has settled his federal discrimination lawsuit against the county for $475,000.
The Argus Observer reports in a story on Sunday that attorneys for Brad Williams and the county completed the agreement on Thursday.
The attorney representing the county says the agreement does now admit any wrongdoing by Sheriff Brian Wolfe or the county.
The lawsuit filed in October 2015 contended that Wolfe used discriminatory employment practices involving religion and used retaliation in violation of Williams’ civil rights.
Wolfe says he did nothing wrong and the settlement was a decision made by the county’s insurance company.
Williams, now a member of the Vale city council, dropped his claims against the sheriff and county as part of the agreement.
___
LEAD DUST-SALEM
6 Salem businesses close due to lead dust
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Six businesses in Salem have temporarily shut down after it was discovered they had extremely high levels of lead dust.
The Statesman Journal reports that the building’s owner closed the facility on Thursday at the request of state health and safety officials. The six closed businesses were the building’s tenants. Some of them catered to athletes and children.
Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie says the building has had deed restrictions since the late 1990s after cleanups to remove concrete flooring and soil contaminated with lead.
DEQ will inspect the building, and Oregon OSHA will work with the building owner to conduct air monitoring during and after cleanup of the interior. The owner also has agreed to fence the entire property.
___
MARIJUANA-EVADING A CRACKDOWN
Colorado weighs strategy for guarding against pot crackdown
DENVER (AP) — Colorado is considering an unusual strategy to protect its nascent marijuana industry from a federal crackdown, even at the expense of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax collections.
A bill in the Colorado Legislature would allow pot growers and retailers to reclassify their recreational pot as medical pot if a change in federal law or enforcement occurs.
It is the boldest attempt yet by a marijuana state to avoid federal intervention in its weed market.
The bill would allow Colorado’s 500 or so licensed recreational pot growers to instantly reclassify their weed.
It’s a provision getting a lot of marijuana industry attention following recent comments from members of President Donald Trump’s administration.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said “there’s a big difference” between medical and recreational pot.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
