The latest news stories and stories of interest in Eugene-Springfield area and around the state of Oregon from the online digital home of the valley, WillametteValleyMagazine.com.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Willamette Valley Weather
Today’s Headlines
COVID-19 has claimed five more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 742, the Oregon Health Authority reported for Wednesday, yesterday. Oregon Health Authority reported 876 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 52,770.
The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (8), Benton (11), Clackamas (67), Clatsop (2), Columbia (7), Coos (10), Crook (1), Curry (3), Deschutes (19), Douglas (32), Grant (5), Harney (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (50), Jefferson (14), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lake (5), Lane (51), Linn (10), Malheur (8), Marion (83), Morrow (2), Multnomah (298), Polk (11), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (32), Union (1), Wallowa (2), Wasco (1), Washington (102), Yamhill (31).
Coronavirus cases have continued rising since Governor Kate Brown announced a two week pause for nine Oregon counties.
As a result of increasing COVID-19 cases, hospital bed availabilty across the state is decreasing. Brown says Oregon is heading in the wrong direction, but it’s not too late to turn it around if people follow her guidelines for the state as we near the holidays.
The governor was joined by doctor Dana Harganani from the OHA. The health official reported 3 new deaths statewide today alone. Now, 285 Oregonians sick from the coronavirus occupy hospital beds in the state. Currently, 146 beds are open for people needing intensive care. Another 130 beds are open for pediatric intensive care. According to the Lund report, hospitals can now follow coronavirus cases as they happen.
The two-week pause measures include:
- Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
- Pausing long-term care facility visits that take place indoors to protect staff and residents.
- Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
- Reducing the maximum capacity of other indoor activities to 50 people (includes gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools and museums).
- Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than six people total if the gathering includes those from outside your household. Reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period) and keeping the same six people in your social gathering circle.
A major winter storm carrying high winds, drenching rain and heavy snow is headed for the Pacific Northwest on Friday, according to weather experts.
The storm due to arrive at the end of the week will be the strongest seen in months, meteorologists with AccuWeather said Wednesday. Snow falling in the mountains in Washington state caused spin outs on highways and forced the closure of Snoqualmie Pass on Tuesday night for the first time this season.
The pass was open by Wednesday morning with compact snow and ice in places. Rain will fall along the coast and in Seattle and Portland late Thursday morning or early Thursday afternoon, the weather service said. Some snow may fall in the Cascades, they said.
Around the state of Oregon
Oregon residents and businesses continue to struggle with the Covid-19 issues, and the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board announced today it has approved more than $128 million to help Oregonians impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes funding for childcare providers, Oregonians in need of shelter, small businesses, long-term care providers and victims of domestic and sexual violence. The Emergency Board approved $35 million from the state’s Emergency Fund to support the Project Turnkey Statewide Pandemic and Homelessness Response.
The Oregon Community Foundation will use funding to support the acquisition, retrofitting and potential operation of hotel and motel properties to be used as emergency shelter.
This funding is in addition to $30 million the Emergency Board approved on October 23 to begin Project Turnkey in wildfire-affected areas.
Oregon’s elections director was abruptly fired in a text message by the secretary of state after he pointed out serious issues with the state’s aging and vulnerable technology for running elections.
Elections Director Stephen Trout learned in a text message Thursday night, as his department and county elections officials were still counting votes from the Nov. 3 election, that he was out. On Friday, Secretary of State Bev Clarno, a Republican appointed to the position by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, announced to elections officials in Oregon’s 36 counties that “today is also Steve Trout’s last day with the Agency.”
Clarno’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Oregon Secretary of State-elect Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, said she will examine the “critical warnings” that the state’s former elections director voiced before he was fired last week by the incumbent secretary of state.
In a blunt memo to Fagan and her Republican challenger on the eve of the 2020 election, Oregon Elections Director Stephen Trout said some of the state’s election systems are running on an operating system that Microsoft stopped supporting last January, pointed out an absence of multifactor authentication to access those election systems and raised other issues.
Crater Lake National Park’s North Entrance Road and Rim Drive have been closed for the winter season. All visitors to Crater Lake National Park must use Highway 62 to access the park from the south or west during these closures.
The North Entrance Road and Rim Drive, with elevations from 5,850 to 7,960 feet above sea level, receive an average of more than 40 feet of snow each year and are not plowed from fall to late spring because of deep drifts, avalanche risk, and other dangerous conditions.
The North Entrance Road and Rim Drive will reopen in the late spring or early summer of 2021. Exact dates for road openings depend on snow depths each year. Effective Nov. 1, Crater Lake National Park has been charging winter entrance fees of $20 per car, $15 per motorcycle, and $15 per person on foot or bike. This fee is good for seven days and is collected at the Annie Creek Entrance Station.
It is also possible to purchase an annual pass for Crater Lake National Park for $55, which is honored at both Crater Lake and Lava Beds National Monument. Annual passes for Lava Beds are also accepted at Crater Lake.
FATAL CRASH ON HWY 26 – WASHINGTON COUNTY
On Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at approximately 1:50 P.M., Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a three vehicle collision on Hwy 26 near milepost 35.
Preliminary investigation revealed a Toyota 4Runner, operated by an adult male from Portland, was westbound when it went into the eastbound lanes and collided with a Ford Transit commercial van operated by Michael Kromm (34) from Salem. The 4Runner then collided with a Toyota Tacoma operated by Michael Young (69) from Portland.
The operator of the 4Runner sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. His name will be released when it is appropriate.
Kromm was transported to an area hospital.
Young and his passenger, Lea Young (68) from Portland, were not transported.
Hwy 26 was closed for approximately three hours.
A man is facing nearly two years behind bars after being convicted of beating a man during a protest in Portland over the summer.
A judge sentenced 26-year-old Marquise Love to 20 months in prison yesterday for the assault August 16th near Southwest Taylor and Broadway. Love pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and felony riot. Video of the incident shows Love beating Adam Haner until he was unconscious. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office says Love apologized and expressed remorse during yesterday’s sentencing hearing.
Associations representing Oregon’s home builders, bankers and REALTORS® are partnering for the second annual Oregon Housing Economic Summit to be held virtually on January 14, 2021.
The event brings leading housing industry experts, economists, and Oregon legislators together to discuss the state’s housing and economic environment, barriers facing the industry and what the future holds.
Presented by Oregon Home Builders Association, Oregon Bankers Association, and Oregon REALTORS®, the Oregon Housing Economic Summit aims to build consensus around solutions to Oregon’s housing crisis. According to Freddie Mac, Oregon’s housing supply deficit is the worst in the nation.
“Oregon’s housing shortage, combined with the devastation of over 4,000 homes in the recent wildfires, makes it clear that now more than ever we need to come together to discuss solutions to our housing crisis,” says Mark Long, CEO of the Oregon Home Builders Association.
“The pandemic has re-enforced the value of ‘home’ as not just a place to live but now as a place to work and to go to school,” says Jenny Pakula, CEO of Oregon REALTORS®. “Yet home is out of reach for so many in our community because of Oregon’s housing shortage. The Housing Economic Summit will bring together economists, industry leaders, nonprofits and policymakers to discuss how to make it a reality for more Oregonians.”
The Summit is open to the public, but space is limited by the virtual event platform. The event will begin at 9 a.m. with a keynote address on Oregon’s economy, followed by economic, industry and legislative panel discussions. The program concludes at Noon.
Individuals interested in attending are encouraged to register early. Registration is $49 per person. Sponsorships are also available. To register, become an event sponsor, or for general information. visit http://oregonhousingeconomicsummit.com.