AP-OR–1st NewsMinute/301 Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A coalition of ratepayer advocates and water-purity activists have filed an initiative petition to take the management of Portland’s water and sewers from the City Council. Drive organizers point out that water and sewer rates have jumped by 160 percent since 2000. Advocates must collect almost 30,000 valid signatures to get the initiative on the May ballot. If voters approve, an elected board of seven unpaid representatives would oversee the city’s water, sewer and storm-water systems.
HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) – A suburban Portland teen accused of trying to kill his parents by setting their house afire has been convicted in juvenile court of attempted aggravated murder, arson and assault. Hillsboro police say they believe the 14-year-old poured an accelerant on the carpet near his parents’ bedroom door, then lit the area with a match on the night of April 19. The Oregonian reports Washington County juvenile court staffers say a judge decided the case Wednesday. Sentencing is on Sept. 3.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon woman overheard in a Canadian bar bragging about getting away with killing someone in a 1997 drunken-driving accident has been returned to the U.S. to face manslaughter charges. Jean Keating is in custody in Linn County. She is accused of first-degree manslaughter in connection with the April 13, 1997 death of 65-year-old Jewel Anderson.
BEND, Ore. (AP) – Bend police say they evacuated the Deschutes (duh-SHOOTS’) Public Library and temporarily blocked traffic nearby after a report of an item that looked like a hand grenade. Turns out it was a bicycle lock, made to look like a grenade. Sgt. Dan Ritchie says a woman found the item yesterday in bushes near the library, put it in a garbage can and called police.
