Oregon colleges will look very different in the fall, according to new state guidelines released Friday

June 12, 2020

By TERESA CARSON/Oregon Capital Bureau College life will look a lot different when students return to school in the fall, with students being asked to stay 6 feet apart and many traditional campus activities off limits. “The guidelines make it very clear” that campus life will indeed be different this fall, Ben Cannon, executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating

Eastern Oregon county representatives meet to express frustration with governor’s COVID-19 reopening plan

June 12, 2020

By STEVEN MITCHELL/Oregon Capital Bureau A group of Eastern Oregon county commissioners met unannounced Thursday in Prairie City to share common frustrations over Gov. Kate Brown’s closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Fed up with Brown’s unilateral authority to reopen the state and control of how federal aid money will be disbursed, representatives from seven Eastern Oregon counties strategized about getting

Customers wearing masks in Oregon businesses is still a personal — and business — preference

June 12, 2020

By CHRISTIAN WIHTOL/The Lund Report Despite the surge in COVID-19 cases in Oregon, and a new federal recommendation urging use of face masks at big public events, the wearing of masks by customers in retail stores, other public facilities and large gatherings remains largely a matter of personal preference. Under Gov. Kate Brown’s emergency orders, almost all workers at retail

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown explains Friday why she halted state’s reopening plans for a week

June 12, 2020

By BEN BOTKIN/The Lund Report Citing a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Kate Brown ordered a one-week pause on decisions that would allow counties to advance to the next phase of reopening. Brown said her decision is a cautionary “yellow light” to keep the state from moving forward too quickly in reopening. The pause means that Brown will

Oregon Supreme Court backs governor’s powers during a pandemic; overrules Baker County judge Friday

June 12, 2020

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic will stay in place until either she or the Oregon Legislature ends the state of emergency she invoked. The Oregon Supreme Court upheld the governor’s orders, the first dating back to March 7, in an unsigned opinion released Friday, June 12. The high court reversed a

Oregon State Police/Newport activity log for June 10-11

June 12, 2020

OREGON STATE POLICE DAILY MEDIA/DESK LOG SP20156315 06/10/2020 12:25 Officer #41617 ESKRIDGE, BRIAN Crash – Non-injury Location 101 HWY and SAMS CREEK RD, OR USA Narrative Summary ***E-CRASH*** On 06/10/20 at approximately 12:30 PM, a single-vehicle crash occurred on US-20 around milepost 10.5. Eastbound Vehicle #1 (black Dodge pickup) was pilot vehicle for an oversized load. #1 moved to the right to allow eastbound

Coast Guard rescues mother and son from Cape Arago cliffs near Coos Bay

June 12, 2020

Coast Guard rescues mother, son from cliffs near Cape Arago, OR Editors’ Note: Click on image to download a video of rescue. COOS BAY, Ore. — The Coast Guard rescued a mother and son Thursday after they had fallen from the cliffs while hiking at Cape Arago near Coos Bay. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received an agency

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issues one-week pause in state’s reopening plans because of COVID spike

June 11, 2020

By the OREGON CAPITAL BUREAU Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday evening issued a one-week pause in the schedule to reopen counties closed for weeks because of the pandemic quarantine. Oregon’s most populous county, Multnomah County, was scheduled to go into Phase 1 of reopening Friday. The announcement came as the state reported 178 new positive cases of the virus on

Oregon Health Authority’s coronavirus report for Thursday, June 11

June 11, 2020

PORTLAND — COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 171, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Oregon Health Authority reported 178 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 5,237. The new cases are in the following counties: Clackamas (47), Clatsop

Oregon’s minority legislators pledge to seek new laws to tighten accountability on police

June 11, 2020

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau The nine minority-group members of the Oregon Legislature will promote bills to tighten the accountability of police after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the subsequent protests in Portland and other cities. The People of Color Caucus, which numbers two senators and seven representatives among the 90 legislators, seeks two bills during an