AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1173
DON’T TOUCH SEALS
NOAA reminding people not to touch or pick up seal pups
SEATTLE (AP) — As harbor seals are born in the Pacific Northwest, marine mammal advocates are urging people not to touch or pick up pups that come up on beaches and shorelines to rest.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that at least five times this season, well-meaning people have illegally picked up seal pups in Oregon and Washington thinking they were abandoned or needed help. Two of the seals died.
NOAA’s regional stranding coordinator Kristin Wilkinson says people’s impulse is to rush in and help, but it’s better to let nature run its course. The risk in taking these animals off the beach is that adult seals may abandon their pups.
NOAA reminds people to leave marine mammals alone, to stay at least 100 yards away and reduce other disturbances, such as keeping dogs on leashes.
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Marine mammal stranding network: http://goo.gl/OfNAaQ
NOAA Q&A: http://goo.gl/krI1ER
WESTERN FOREST HEALTH
US, nonprofit work with landowners to reduce wildfire risk
DENVER (AP) — The federal government and a nonprofit group say they’ll work with private property owners to reduce the risk of major wildfires and protect rivers in the West.
The U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the the American Forest Foundation said Tuesday the $5 million program will include California, Colorado, Montana and Oregon.
Another project will be selected in the Four Corners region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The American Forest Foundation says the work targets areas at high risk of wildfires that could cause erosion and other problems for vital waterways.
The projects include areas in California’s Sierra Nevada range, the South Platte watershed in the mountains west of Denver, the headwaters of the Missouri River in Montana and the Blue Mountains of Oregon.
POT BUSINESS DAMAGED-DUI
Driver crashes into pot business, accused of DUI
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say they have arrested a man on suspicion of driving while high on pot after he crashed into a Happy Valley marijuana dispensary.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the 18-year-old suspect was arrested Sunday. He faces DUI, criminal endangerment and several other charges.
Police say he hit a parked vehicle near Stumptown Cannabis before slamming into the back wall of the business, causing an estimated $1,000 in damage.
A police affidavit shows the driver’s passenger was hospitalized with a concussion.
Authorities say the suspect had admitted to using marijuana before the crash.
A Stumptown Cannabis employee says the business had been closed at the time of the incident and that the damaged wall has been boarded up.
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MOBILE HOME FIRE
1 person hospitalized, 3 dogs rescued after Washougal fire
WASHOUGAL, Wash. (AP) — Firefighters have rescued three dogs from a Washougal mobile home fire that left one person hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Crews had responded Tuesday night to find flames and smoke coming from inside the mobile home and its attached covered porch.
Crews had been working to extinguish the flames, while paramedics treated a person suffering from smoke inhalation. The patient was taken to a hospital for further treatment. It is unclear if they had lived at the home.
The three dogs were found inside the burning home and have been returned to their owners.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but preliminary reports indicate it may have started in a barbecue the homeowner had been using on the porch.
HORSE SPAYING-BACKLASH
Horse advocates oppose BLM horse spaying plans
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Wildlife officials plan to remove the ovaries of 100 wild horses, prompting backlash from a nonprofit horse group.
The Bend Bulletin reports the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Burns District says it plans to go forward with a research effort that involves three methods of surgically sterilizing wild mares, some of them pregnant.
The BLM is working with the Oregon State University on the project, which could help it determine whether those procedures could be used on wild horses in the future.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign denounced the surgeries as dangerous and unnecessary. Campaign director Suzanne Roy says an existing birth control vaccine is a simpler and safer solution.
The BLM says the vaccine isn’t effective enough.
The public has 30 days to appeal the decision.
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GRAHAM RALLY-OREGON
Franklin Graham prayer rally brings out crowds in Salem
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A large crowd waving American flags turned up at the Capitol in Salem as Franklin Graham brought his Prayer Tour to Oregon.
Graham, who is holding prayer rallies in all 50 states, said Tuesday in Salem that he has “no faith in the Democratic Party” and he has “no faith in the Republican Party” to save this country.
KOIN reported that Graham led the crowd in prayer throughout his speech — including prayers for Gov. Kate Brown, law enforcement, state employees and legislators.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and Basic Rights Oregon condemned Graham’s visit and called his campaign hateful. They say Graham has a history of anti-gay attacks and is working to restrict access to abortion.
FATAL SHOOTING-OREGON
Man arrested in triple homicide in Oregon
WOODBURN, Ore. (AP) — Marion County authorities have booked a 29-year-old man on suspicion of aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of two men and a woman at a farm in Northwest Oregon.
Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez was arrested Monday on Interstate 84 in the scenic Columbia River Gorge near the small town of Mosier.
The arrest took place about 100 miles northeast of the farm in Woodburn where the shooting happened.
Deputies responding to a call there earlier in the day found two dead men, a wounded man and a wounded woman. The woman later died at a hospital.
Authorities have not released the names of the victims and have released few details about the shooting.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Oseguera-Gonzalez had obtained an attorney.
He was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.
VOLKSWAGEN-OREGON SETTLEMENT
Oregon reaps $85 million in Volkswagen settlement
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon could receive $85 million from a multi-billion dollar settlement Volkswagen reached with federal authorities and other states to remedy its diesel emissions-cheating scandal.
Gov. Kate Brown and state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Tuesday most of the money, $68.2 million, comes from the federal settlement and will go into a new trust for improving diesel emissions, such as subsidies for environmentally-friendly vehicles.
About 13,000 Oregonians who own or lease VW vehicles at issue — more per capita than any other state, Rosenblum said — will also receive $5,100 each.
The remaining $17 million is from a separate, multi-state settlement led by Oregon and five other states and will fund consumer protection-related issues.
VW’s $15 billion-deal with the U.S. Department of Justice filed Tuesday still needs federal court approval.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
