AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1205
MISSING IN SNOW
Man feared missing after van found stuck in snow
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (AP) — Lane County authorities fear a 54-year-old man is missing near Brice Creek southeast of Cottage Grove after his empty van was discovered stuck in the snow.
The Register-Guard reports Michael Scott Rosenberg’s white Ford van was found Sunday by a citizen who reported a “suspicious vehicle” to sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies located the vehicle Monday, still stuck in the snow, but did not find Rosenberg. They did find what looked like the start of a small campfire that never caught fire nearby.
Deputies say the area is heavily wooded, and colder overnight temperatures in the area can be dangerous without proper clothing or gear. Deputies are concerned about Rosenberg and are asking for the public’s help to find him.
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WYDEN-VOTE BY MAIL
Sen. Wyden wants Oregon’s voting system expanded nationwide
SALEM, Oregon (AP) — Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says he’s going to introduce a bill that would enable every voter in federal elections to receive a ballot in the mail, expanding the “Oregon way” nationwide.
Wyden, with Gov. Kate Brown at his side, told reporters Tuesday that he wants to sweep away costs, long polling lines and politically motivated registration complications by having the U.S. follow Oregon’s lead. Here, voters can mail in their ballots or put them in a drop box.
The Democrat said expanding the Oregon way will make for a “more open, more accountable, fairer future.”
Brown said a new state law in which residents automatically register to vote when obtaining their driver’s license has added an estimated 50,000 voters.
HEALTH INSURANCE RATES
Oregon health insurers plan to raise rates in 2017
(Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A majority of Oregon’s health insurance companies are proposing rate hikes for the individual and small group markets in 2017.
The Oregonian/OregonLive.com reports that every state insurer, excluding Health Net Health Plan of Oregon, is proposing a double-digit percentage rate increase for the individual market next year. For the small-group market, seven of 12 insurers plan to raise rates.
The increases come after the Oregon Insurance Division reported that the state’s seven largest insurers lost $171 million in 2015.
If the rates get approved, it’ll mark the second straight year of significant increases since implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The proposed rates apply to small businesses and people buying their own coverage, which accounts for about 10 percent of Oregon’s insurance customers.
The state will announce final rates July 1.
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APP-SUSPECT CAUGHT
Mobile app helps Woodburn police catch wanted suspect
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police in Woodburn say they have caught one of their most wanted suspects after a resident identified the man on the police department’s new mobile app.
Wilfrido Manriguez-Dominguez was arrested Tuesday and is being held on identity theft charges. He’s scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
City of Woodburn spokesman Jason Horton says police had showed a resident the new app on Monday when the resident identified the suspect and told police he frequents a 7-Eleven. The resident then called police Tuesday and reported that the suspect was at the store, where police came and arrested him.
The Woodburn Police Department’s new app allows users to receive emergency alerts, send anonymous crime tips and report suspicious activity.
Officials say police have already received several tips through the app.
PORTLAND WOMAN KILLED
3 indicted in 2014 killing of Portland woman
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three men have been indicted on murder charges in the fatal shooting of a Portland woman nearly two years ago.
The indictment handed down in April and announced Tuesday charges 22-year-old DeAnthony Simmons, 22-year-old Geontae Jones and 21-year-old Demetrius Brown.
The killing described by police as gang-related happened about an hour before sunrise on Aug. 17, 2014. Homicide detectives responded to a report of several suspects firing shots at an apartment.
Inside, they found the body of a 21-year-old Ervaeua (er-VAY-uh) Herring. She was the mother of a 1-year-old boy and in the early stages of pregnancy.
Jones and Brown pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Tuesday. Brown is awaiting trial in an unrelated homicide.
Simmons is in state prison and will be arraigned later.
HIKER RESCUED
Searchers rescue lost hiker on Mount Hood
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Searchers found an Oregon man who became lost during a day hike on Mount Hood.
Sgt. Paul Coleman of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office says Brian Woldrich of Welches was in good condition when found early Tuesday.
The 49-year-old phoned his mother Monday afternoon, informing her that he had lost sight of the established trail. He had followed a small creek down the mountain to a larger stream of water, but was still unable to find the path.
Searchers late Monday made audible contact with him through the use of whistles. He was near a large stream or river with high banks and surrounding cliffs.
Because of the darkness and the threat posed by the water and cliffs, it took another 3 ½ hours for searchers to meet him.
CHILOQUIN POLITICS LAWSUIT
Judge sides with Chiloquin in free-speech lawsuit
(Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A magistrate judge sided with Chiloquin, Oregon, in its defense of a $1.35 million federal lawsuit filed by a man who says a city official abused her authority when she tried to stop him from defaming her during city council meetings.
Judge Mark Clarke said in an opinion that Dennis Jefcoat provided insufficient evidence that his right to freedom of speech was violated by City Recorder Teresa Foreman.
He gave the parties until the end of the month to respond to his opinion that the suit should be dismissed.
The (Klamath Falls) Herald and News reports that Jefcoat was an adviser to then-Mayor Patricia Twamley in 2013. He repeatedly accused Foreman of mismanaging city funds, even after the mayor resigned.
Foreman eventually sent Jefcoat a tort notice threatening legal action if he didn’t stop.
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DYING SALMON
Report: Faster response needed to mitigate salmon die-offs
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A draft report taking a hard look at last summer’s massive die-off of sockeye salmon in the Columbia River Basin says Northwest fisheries managers must respond faster to mitigate future fish kills if similar warm-water conditions return.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released last month describes conditions and assesses actions of fisheries managers in a year when 90 percent of the 510,000 sockeye salmon that entered the Columbia died.
Endangered Snake River sockeye perished at an even greater rate. About 1 percent of the 4,000 fish returning from the Pacific Ocean survived the 900-mile journey to central Idaho.
The report recommends real-time monitoring of fish ladder temperatures at dams to provide early warning signals.
Another suggestion is having plans in place to trigger fisheries managers into action.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
