Date: 05/14/2015 03:59 AM
AP-OR–1st NewsMinute/265
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
WARRENTON, Ore. (AP) – The Coast Guard has towed to shore a 34-foot boat whose operators had reported an engine room fire as they drifted at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The agency says the Sea Nile’s onboard suppressant systems had extinguished the fire yesterday by the time a Coast Guard rescue boat crew reached the vessel. No one was injured.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A taxidermist has pleaded guilty to purchasing and transporting black rhinoceros horns from Oregon to Iowa. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 39-year-old James Hess, of Maquoketa, Iowa, entered his plea yesterday to one count of violating the Lacey Act, which criminalizes sales of animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. Black rhinos are classified as critically endangered.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A former environmental inspector for Clackamas County has been sentenced to a year in prison for defrauding the county and the Oregon Department of Human Services. The Oregonian reports that Aaron Ae Chaynam was sentenced yesterday. Prosecutors say Chaynam billed Clackamas County for hours he did not work.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Taiwanese company Chunghwa Telecom says construction has started on a Microsoft-sponsored plan to build an undersea cable connecting Hillsboro to four Asian nations. The Oregonian reports that Microsoft and Chunghwa are members of a consortium constructing the 8,000-mile cable, including telecommunication companies from China, South Korea and Japan. Hillsboro city spokesman Patrick Preston says officials are optimistic about the opportunities that the investment will bring to residents and employers.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
