Latest Oregon news, sports, business and entertainment

 

CHURCH PARKING LOT-SHOOTING

Gunfire breaks out in Portland church parking lot

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland church went into lockdown and cancelled services after shots were fired in the building’s parking lot.

Police had responded to Grace Christian Fellowship after reports of gunfire Sunday morning. Pastor Kelly Cohoe says none of the church members were involved or injured in the shooting.

He says footage from the church’s security camera shows a man being chased by two other men, including one who was firing a gun in the air.

Police say officers found two guns nearby.

The church sent out a message to its congregation telling members that the Sunday services were cancelled.

Police have not yet identified any suspects and it’s unclear if any arrests have been made.

SOLAR FORGERY

Seattle energy consultant seeks dismissal of Oregon charges

(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Seattle energy consultant accused of forgery in connection with a major Oregon solar power project is seeking to have the charges dismissed on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.

Martin Shain was the lead consultant on Oregon’s $24 million “Solar by Degree” project. Prosecutors say he created a fake invoice from a fictional subcontractor to help secure nearly $12 million in tax credits from the Oregon Department of Energy.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that last year, investigators persuaded a witness in the case to make a secretly recorded call to Shain in hopes of getting him to incriminate himself.

Shain didn’t incriminate himself, and in a motion filed last week his lawyer argues that the call constituted prosecutorial misconduct — an attempt to question him without counsel, even though the state had already been informed that he was represented by an attorney.

Ken Lerner, a Portland criminal defense attorney not involved in the case, called the investigators’ actions clear-cut misconduct.

The Oregon Justice Department said it “will oppose the motion in court.”

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OREGON MICROBREWERIES

Analyst: Oregon craft beer industry slows

(Information from: Capital Press, http://www.capitalpress.com/washington)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s craft beer industry is slowing down after a decade of explosive growth, but a state economic analyst says the outlook is good for neighborhood microbreweries.

The Capital Press reports that Josh Lehner, of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, gave that outlook in remarks to the annual meeting of the Oregon Brewers Guild last week.

The number of breweries in Oregon jumped from 76 in 2006 to 218 this year, and there’s fierce competition for a limited number of tap handles and shelf space. Flagship Oregon beers such as Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter, Widmer’s Hefeweisen and Ninkasi’s Total Domination IPA can be found in bars and restaurants all over the state, Lehner said, but the state’s five largest breweries now sell only 20 percent of their beer in Oregon.

He said demand remains strong and there are still many parts of the state and country that are “under supplied” when it comes to neighborhood brewpubs.

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DOUBLE FATAL CRASH

Oregon State Police: 2 women killed in crash

SEASIDE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police investigators say they believe speed might have been a factor in a crash that killed two young women near Seaside.

Troopers say the women, both of Cornelius in Washington County, were in a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox that crossed the centerline on Highway 26 and struck an oncoming pickup truck Saturday night. The women were identified as 21-year-old Anali Auilar Gaona and her passenger, 23-year-old Marilyn Manriquez Gutierrez.

The two people in the pickup truck, ages 63 and 69, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to local hospitals.

Highway 26 was closed or partially closed for more than five hours during the investigation.

DNA MATCH-ARREST

Eugene man twice convicted of sex crimes faces new charges

(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A Eugene man twice convicted for sex-related crimes has been charged in a new 2015 attack after Eugene police say they matched his DNA to skin cells collected from the alleged victim’s fingernails.

The Register-Guard reports that 53-year-old Ricky LeVasseur is in Lane County Jail. He has pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse and other charges. He is to appear in court later this month.

Court records show that a woman reported a man attacked her on Nov. 4, 2015 but she managed to escape. DNA collected from her fingernail scrapings were sent to the Oregon State Police crime lab that month.

LeVasseur’s DNA was already in the state’s database because of his 1989 and 2003 sex-related convictions. But authorities did not make a match to LeVasseur’s DNA until a year later.

Eugene police arrested him last month. Eugene police declined to comment.

State police spokesman Bill Fugate declined to speak about the specific case but said rape kit testing can normally take up to five months.

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MOSIER DERAILMENT COSTS

Costs of train derailment along Columbia River adding up

(Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com)

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Six months after a train hauling Bakken crude oil derailed along the Columbia River Gorge, state and other officials are still tabulating a bill to send to Union Pacific Railroad.

Union Pacific said in a statement that it is committed to absorbing all the costs incurred as a result of the fiery crash on June 3 in Mosier, Oregon.

The railroad is not required to disclose costs associated with its cleanup efforts or how much its insurance policy will cover, but an email obtained by the Columbian newspaper shows the railroad has estimated its costs associated with the derailment at about $8.9 million.

Two Washington state agencies responded to the derailment plan to bill the railroad $66,000 next month.

An Oregon state agency is also seeking $240,000 in reimbursement costs though that number could increase.

Meanwhile, an intergovernmental group made up of Mosier city officials, fire district and school foundation is currently in negotiations with the railroad.

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MOTEL SHOOTING

Man in custody after rounds fired inside Richland hotel room

(Information from: KNDO-TV, http://www.kndo.com/)

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Richland Police say an Oregon man is custody after he fired several shots inside a hotel room early Saturday morning.

KNDO-TV says police officers heard multiple gunshots when they arrived at the Shilo Inn after responding to reports of a disturbance between a man and a woman. Police say the woman tried to leave the room and that’s when the man began shooting a rifle inside the room.

Officers blocked off the area around the hotel. A regional SWAT team also responded. No injuries were reported.

Richland Police Capt. Jeff Taylor says about 10 rounds were fired with bullets going through walls and doors.

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UO DORMITORY LAWSUIT

UO to settle lawsuit over cracks in dormitory floor

(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon will be paid $6.9 million to fix concrete floor slabs in a student dormitory that are tilted, uneven and cracked.

The Register-Guard reports that the settlement, approved Friday by the UO Board of Trustees, ends a four-year legal battle over issues with the $55 million Global Scholars Hall.

The UO filed a lawsuit against the dorm’s builder, architect and engineer last year, saying concrete issues would cost between $8 million and $12 million to repair. The school alleged the construction team used a type of concrete slab that allowed twisting and shifting on multiple floors of the dormitory.

Under the settlement agreement, Hoffman Construction of Portland, architect Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP and engineering firm Catena Consulting Engineers will pay more than $6.9 million for engineering services needed for repairs to the floor.

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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press