Date: 04/20/2016 03:20 AM
AP-OR–1st Right Now/1122
TROOPER KICKS MOTORIST-LEGAL FEES
State to pay $318,000 in legal fees to man kicked by trooper
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – A judge has ordered the state to pay more than $318,000 to lawyers representing a Eugene man who was kicked by an Oregon State Police captain after a chase.
The Register-Guard reports that U.S. District Judge Michael McShane’s March 29 order blames Oregon Department of Justice attorneys who represented Capt. Rob Edwards for the costly legal bill. McShane says during the January trial state lawyers filed 22 “groundless” objections and one attorney pretended to be asleep while plaintiff Justin Wilkens was testifying.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum issued a statement saying the DOJ is working to make sure lawyers are aware of standards regarding courtroom behavior.
The state has appealed the jury’s ruling that found Edwards violated Wilkens’ civil rights in the 2012 incident.
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COUGAR-GRESHAM
Cougar spotted in Gresham
(Information from: KOIN-TV, http://www.koin.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police say a cougar has been spotted in a Gresham neighborhood and they are warning people to stay away from the animal.
KOIN-TV reports that police say the cougar was seen roaming around Tuesday night near Highland Elementary School.
Three cats in the area have reportedly been found dead.
Police are asking residents to call 911 if they see the cougar.
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CLATSKANIE-PUBLIC INDECENCY
Clatskanie mayor’s husband sentenced to probation
(Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The husband of Clatskanie’s mayor has pleaded guilty to public indecency charges for exposing himself at a drive-thru coffee stand.
Sixty-four-year-old Raymond Pohl was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation and ordered to complete a sex offender treatment program. He previously pleaded not guilty to 30 counts of indecent exposure, but 28 counts were dropped as part of a plea deal.
Court documents say Pohl exposed his genitals repeatedly to an employee at the coffee stand for two years until September 2015. The victim had told police the incidents were unsolicited and unwanted.
KGW-TV reports a statement from the victim read in court Tuesday says she’s faced threats from the public after coming forward.
Pohl is the husband of Clatskanie Mayor Diane Pohl and a former member of the city’s planning commission.
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OVERDUE EARTHQUAKES-SIERRA
Sierra’s eastern front long overdue for large earthquake
RENO, Nev. (AP) – Scientists say the Sierra’s eastern front is long overdue for a large earthquake along the California-Nevada line, where a magnitude-7 event expected on average every 30 years hasn’t occurred in six decades.
Nevada Seismology Laboratory Director Graham Kent plans to discuss what he calls the earthquake “drought” at a forum Tuesday ahead of the Seismological Society of America’s annual meeting beginning Wednesday in Reno.
Kent says a magnitude-6 earthquake or larger typically strikes every decade along the Sierra Nevada frontal fault system running from south of Yosemite National Park to north of Reno and Lake Tahoe.
He says there were seven magnitude-6.5 or larger in the region from 1915 to 1954, but none since. The last magnitude-6 was 22 years ago in the Carson Valley south of Carson City.
BODY FOUND-5 MONTHS LATER
Woman’s body had been in Oregon home for 5 months
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
LA PINE, Ore. (AP) – Investigators say a body recovered from a La Pine, Oregon, home is that of a woman who has been dead for about five months.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office tells The Bend Bulletin that paramedics went to the home Friday after the woman’s sister called to report that she had fallen outside. After arriving to help the woman, the paramedics noticed a strange smell and called the sheriff’s office.
The woman who fell told authorities her sister had died five months earlier. Instead of reporting it, the woman said she became depressed and started drinking.
Sheriff’s Capt. John Bocciolatt said he believes the woman has a “psychological malady.”
The cause of death has yet to be determined. An autopsy has been scheduled.
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INDEPENDENT PARTY
Independent Party gets clarity on presidential nominations
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Independent Party of Oregon got some clarity this week about how it’ll be allowed to pick a presidential nominee during its first state-run primary election next month.
The Oregon Department of Justice said Monday that whichever presidential candidate wins the most write-ins on the ballot doesn’t necessarily have to be the party’s nominee. Instead, party leaders can have the final say, under certain parameters.
Party leaders say it gives them the same rights afforded to Republicans and Democrats, who use mostly delegates to select presidential nominees.
The Secretary of State has urged the Independent Party of Oregon to communicate with voters to avoid confusion.
CONGRESS-ENERGY
Senate takes up energy bill after 2-month delay for Flint
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has revived a wide-ranging bill that would promote various forms of energy, from renewables such as solar and wind power to natural gas, hydropower and geothermal energy.
The bill also would speed federal approval of projects to export liquefied natural gas to Europe and Asia. Senate passage is expected this week.
The bipartisan bill is widely popular, but was delayed in early February amid a partisan dispute over sending hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid to Flint, Michigan, to fix and replace the city’s lead-contaminated pipes.
Michigan’s Democratic senators dropped the Flint provision last week after a months-long standoff with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters said they would seek another way to get the Flint aid package.
RANCHING STANDOFF
2 Bundys seeking release from jail in Nevada standoff case
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A son of rancher Cliven Bundy wants more time to prepare to seek release from federal custody pending trial in an armed confrontation with government agents in Nevada two years ago.
Ammon Bundy argues in documents filed ahead of a Wednesday detention hearing in Las Vegas that he’s no flight risk and no danger to the community.
His brother, Ryan Bundy, is also seeking release.
A delay would create a conflict with a court order from a federal judge in Oregon. She wants Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy and several co-defendants returned to Portland by Monday.
There, they face charges in a U.S. wildlife refuge occupation this year.
In Nevada, the defendants are among 19 people facing charges in an April 2014 standoff that stopped federal agents rounding up cattle.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
