2nd Oregon News Minute from the AP

Date: 06/29/2015 09:23 AM

AP-OR–2nd NewsMinute/286
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland fire officials have modified a county-wide burn ban, citing improved weather conditions. Recreational fires, ceremonial fires and legal fireworks are again allowed within city limits. Cooking with standard barbecue equipment is also allowed. Other types of outdoor burning are still prohibited in the City of Portland and Multnomah County.

WESTFIR, Ore. (AP) – Officials in a small Oregon city are easing water restrictions that banned outdoor uses like watering lawns or washing cars. The Register-Guard in Eugene reports that a forgotten piece in the city of Westfir’s past should restore its seniority in water rights. In 1924 a sawmill secured its first water right, predating the water right established for the river’s fish that shut down Westfir’s hoses in April. A voluntary water restriction will take the place of a mandatory one.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The fifth mass bee death in Portland in the past several days has state investigators on the hunt for a cause. The Oregonian reports that dead and dying bumblebees littered the sidewalk in some parts of the city. The Oregon Department of Agriculture says lab results from the earlier die-offs are expected this week.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – A retired psychologist is suing after he claims Lane County sheriff’s deputies used excessive force and injured his shoulder last year after a drunken relative falsely accused him of assault. The Register-Guard reports that 79-year-old Jack Dresser filed a federal suit last week in Eugene. Dresser says after he was booked into jail a deputy grabbed his left arm and began walking him toward a cell. A second deputy grabbed Dresser’s right arm and pulled it upward, causing the injury.

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.