Roblan Says It’s Time for Smart Legislation on Guns
Senator Arnie Roblan says it is past time to take a look at gun laws. Recent legislation in Oregon that can take away the right to own a gun from someone that has been convicted of stalking is a step forward according to the State senator. But the momentum created by the students from the shooting in Parkland, Florida is an indication that the next generation will not tolerate inaction by their elected representatives. Roblan, himself a gun owner, reiterates the importance of smart legislation. He is a supporter of universal background checks, but he says is makes sense to require potential owners to know something about the guns they are buying.
“You can go down and buy a gun, that doesn’t mean you know anything about what you just bought. And maybe there needs to be some training anytime you buy a firearm.”
Roblan says the next debate will likely be about the idea that because the military and police own certain weapons means that the citizenship should have the same right.
“The bigger question in our state and across the country will be what kinds of weapons should people get to own?”
Roblan says the debate will continue with the hopes of finding common ground from which to establish smart legislation. Senator Roblan was a guest at last night’s Boys and Girls Club open house. He will be a guest on the May edition of Our Town.
No Signs on Highways
The Oregon Department of Transportation has issued a reminder with the May primaries approaching that political signs are not allowed in the right of way on state highways. Only traffic control devices are permitted in the right of way and no political signs can be displayed along that area whether on poles, in trees or fencing. ODOT says that any signs improperly placed will be confiscated and held at local ODOT district offices. Private properties within the view of state right of way have some specific requirements in order to be allowed. They must be limited to 12 square feet, cannot contain any flashing or intermittent lights and they cannot mimic any official highway sign or device.
Military Heritage Day
The Oregon Coast Military Museum will host a Military Heritage Day on Saturday, April 21st at the Florence Municipal Airport. The event will be hosted at the hangar of Sam Spayd beginning at 2 pm. Special Guest, Russ McBride, will discuss the replica wall in Medford that is under construction. It is an 80% scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. The project is slated to be placed on the state capital and is expected to be completed by Veterans day in 2020.
Group to Teach Benefits of Healthy Eating
A diabetes/pre-diabetes support group will hold a meeting on April 17th at 2pm at the Siuslaw public library Bromley room with a cooking demonstration to show the benefits of Kale. Mary Shaw and Frances Klippel will provide nutritional information and the benefits of kale during the demonstration. The ladies received a grant from Siuslaw Vision 2025 to take their food cart around town to help people learn how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals using predominantly local ingredients.
Brown Signs Net Neutrality Bill
(AP News) Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill Monday withholding state business from internet providers who throttle traffic, making the state the second to finalize a proposal aimed at thwarting moves by federal regulators to relax net neutrality requirements. The bill stops short of actually putting new requirements on internet service providers in the state, but blocks the state from doing business with providers that offer preferential treatment to some internet content or apps, starting in 2019. The move follows a December vote by the Federal Communications Commission repealing Obama-era rules that prohibited such preferential treatment, referred to generally as throttling, by providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.
