Concern Over EMAC Continues
At Monday evening’s City Council Meeting councilor Sally Wantz expressed concern over the lack of a quorum at March 30th’s EMAC Meeting. Wantz quoted two members of the committee that expressed a desire to have the committee dissolved. The committee has been embroiled in controversy regarding the topic of a potential subcommittee dealing with climate change and the impact of global warming. Several committee members were not present at the meeting and without a quorum, the meeting had to be cancelled. At Monday evening’s meeting Wantz said that it was important to have the discussions about important topics even if volunteer committee members disagree on the subject of the topic.
“And if you don’t like the topic or the agenda at least show up, express your views, here’s the other side, then vote, that’s where the magic is that’s where the power is.”
Mayor Henry rebutted Wantz’s concerns saying that the members that were absent from the meeting had already expressed that they would not be able to make the special session.
ODOT Work
The Oregon Department of Transportion has provided an update on construction at the Siltcoos River Bridge south of Florence. ODOT is in process of widening the deck of the bridge and has removed the east railing. Bridge traffic remains at one lane and is regulated by a temporary stop light on both ends of the bridge. Construction is expected to continue for about 18 months.
Don’t Post Vaccine Card
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is cautioning Oregonians not to post pictures of their vaccination cards on social media. Rosenblum says it could be inviting identity thefy. Items that contain your full name, date of birth, where you got your vaccine and the dates you received it could be used by used by individuals wishing to steal your identity. While the information does not contain every item needed to steal your identity, Rosenblum describes it as a piece of a puzzle that can be added to other information found readily on the internet.
COVID-19 Cases
COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in Lane County and yesterday another 41 cases were reported. This included the 190th case for the Florence area. The uptick in cases is being felt across the state as another 544 cases have been reported. Even as vaccinations have been hitting record daily numbers, the amount of new cases are a cause of concern for the Oregon Health Authority. Numbers of persons consider infectious in the county also continues to be high with 210 individuals in that category. Cases per 100k individuals is currently at 67.91 for Lane County, which is enough to move the county from the low risk to moderate risk category. Governor Kate Brown has given Lane County and 4 other counties a two week stay to see if the numbers will go back down
