PORTLAND POLICE CHIEF
Mayor returns Portland Police Chief Mike Marshman to job
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland’s police chief has been returned to full duty by the city’s mayor.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Mayor Ted Wheeler returned Mike Marshman to duty Wednesday.
The mayor says Marshman didn’t violate policy based on an initial review of an investigation into whether someone signed the chief’s name on a training log in March, when he hadn’t attended the session.
Wheeler had placed Marshman and his executive assistant, Lt. Mike Leasure, on paid administrative leave March 24 pending an investigation.
The investigation resulted from two allegations: that Marshman had directed Leasure to sign an attendance sheet on the chief’s behalf, and that statements made by Leasure and Marshman during the inquiry did not match.
Officials say Leasure later changed his account, saying the chief hadn’t directed him to sign the log on his behalf.
Leasure remains on paid leave, and the investigation continues.
___
CLUB KINGPIN SENTENCED
Strip club kingpin pleads guilty to promoting prostitution
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 75-year-old man who authorities say promoted prostitution at his Portland strip clubs has pleaded guilty to federal charges, but is expected to be out of prison by the end of the month.
Lawrence Owen pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and conspiring to use an interstate facility to promote prostitution.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon sentenced Owen to 2 ½ years in prison. Owen has been behind bars since he was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border more than two years ago. With credit for time served, he is expected to be free in two weeks.
Owen operated more than a dozen adult-themed businesses, mostly strip clubs. Prosecutors say they served as fronts for a sprawling prostitution ring.
Defense attorney Noel Grefenson sought a lenient sentence, saying his client is in poor health and wants to be with his 7-year-old daughter.
FATAL PARK SHOOTING-PORTLAND
Police say victim in Portland park shooting was boy, 17
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police have identified a teenager as the victim in a fatal shooting that happened in a park near the Lloyd Center mall in northeast Portland.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner says 17-year-old Shawn Scott Jr. died Tuesday of a single gunshot wound. He was from Vancouver, Washington.
Sgt. Chris Burley of the Portland Police Bureau says detectives have yet to make an arrest and believe there are witnesses who have yet to come forward.
SALMON FISHING CLOSED
Salmon fishing in southern Oregon closed for 2016
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Oregon officials say there will be no salmon fishing at the southern Oregon coast this year.
The Mail Tribune reports the Pacific Fishery and Management Council made the decision to shut down chinook and coho salmon fishing for sport and commercial fishers Tuesday.
The action is due to a crash in chinook headed for the northern California’s Klamath River. The PFMC says there is a low forecast for returning 4-year-old chinook to the Klamath River since estimates were first made in 1985. The council says the fish faced many challenges such as low food supply, predators and an inland drought.
The PFMC had released three draft seasons last month which listed no chinook fishing for either sport anglers or commercial fleet.
Officials believe they may issue another closure in 2018.
___
PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE
Democrats cancel assisted-suicide hearing, opponents amass
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Patients, physicians and advocates are speaking against physician-assisted suicide at the Nevada Legislature despite Democratic lawmakers cancelling a hearing on the issue.
Opponents say it’s dangerous that a deadly dose of prescription drugs is often cheaper for patients than long-term treatment.
Doctors said at a Wednesday press conference that life expectancy is not an exact science.
They argue a proposal to give life-ending drugs to terminally ill people if a doctor believes they have less than six months to live could cut those lives short by years.
They were joined by a chronically ill patient from California, Stephanie Packer, who has outlived diagnoses by two years. She’s urging policymakers across the country to reconsider the “death-with-dignity” movement.
Five states allow clinical aid in dying as Nevada’s Senate Bill 261 seeks.
INJURED BALD EAGLE
Injured bald eagle taken to Oregon wildlife clinic
HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police say a man on a dirt bike discovered an injured bald eagle on the side of a road outside Hood River.
The agency says wildlife officials responded Tuesday and took the large eagle to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic, where it was reported to be conscious and alert. The clinic has yet to determine what’s ailing the bird. The staff has taken blood samples and will be taking X-rays.
In addition to the report from the dirt biker, witnesses told police the eagle had been flying very low and was unsteady before it crashed into a small creek.
UO BUILDING-NEW NAME
University of Oregon open to name suggestions for Dunn Hall
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon is taking suggestions for the new name of a building that was originally named after a Ku Klux Klan leader.
The Register-Guard reports students, faculty, alumni or any interested people can submit suggestions online by April 19. UO President Michael Schill says he would like the hall to be renamed after a black or minority rights activist.
The university’s governing board typically prefers to name buildings after people that have been dead for at least a year.
Frederic Dunn was a UO professor and KKK member. The board voted to remove his name in 2016.
Three finalists will be presented to Schill by early May and he is expected to send his recommendation by the end of the month. The board will cast its vote in early June.
___
COVER OREGON PAYOUT
Ex-official to get $1.3M in botched health care rollout case
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The state has agreed to pay $1.3 million to a former Oregon Health Authority official who claims she was made a scapegoat for the state’s failed health care exchange website.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday that the authority’s former chief information officer, Carolyn Lawson, alleges she had to quit in 2013 to avoid firing. As part of the settlement, Lawson has agreed not to sue the state for wrongful termination and defamation.
Action on her initial 2014 complaint was put on hold while the state battled Oracle Corp. in a lawsuit related to the Cover Oregon website.
The state paid Oracle $240 million to create the website that never worked and ultimately abandoned the project.
Lawson’s settlement was negotiated by the Justice Department. Department spokeswoman Kristina Edmunson declined to comment.
___
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.