UO LAWSUIT-PROFESSOR
UO professor sues school over gender discrimination
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon has been hit with a lawsuit by one of its psychology professors over claims that she is being paid substantially less than several of her less-experienced male colleagues.
The Register-Guard reports Jennifer Freyd filed the lawsuit Tuesday alleging she was subject to sex-based discrimination in violation of the federal Equal Pay Act.
University spokesman Tobin Klinger provided data showing Freyd’s current salary is more than $155,000 and she receives benefits totaling about $70,000.
Freyd has been a professor in UO’s psychology department since 1992 and is the department’s most senior faculty member, but her lawsuit says she is paid less than three of her male colleagues.
Klinger says UO officials are aware of the allegations and will review the case.
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TEENAGER KILLED-SENTENCE
18-year-old gets life in prison for Oregon stabbing death
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An 18-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing her son’s aunt, who was several months pregnant at the time of her death in northwest Oregon.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Tannekqwa Thompson was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to murder. The murder conviction was modified as part of a plea deal to not include 18-year-old Charreen Stanford’s unborn child.
The two teens had been arguing at a Washington County home they shared in May 2016 before Thompson stabbed Stanford five times with a kitchen knife.
Prosecutors say Thompson fled and was later found by a police dog hiding in bushes near the home.
Thompson apologized to Stanford’s family in court, saying what she did was wrong and that she didn’t know how to control her anger.
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MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT
Astoria man sues hospital for $9 million for negligence
(Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com)
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — An Astoria man has filed a $9 million medical malpractice lawsuit against a city hospital alleging a radiologist was negligent and missed signs of a stroke.
The Daily Astorian reported Tuesday that John Pierce Christie filed the lawsuit last week against Columbia Memorial Hospital.
According to the complaint, Christie had slurred speech and a facial droop during an August hospital visit but the radiologist found no abnormalities after an MRI.
Christie was transferred to a Portland hospital, where doctors detected blockage to his basilar artery, which provides blood to the brain and central nervous system.
Christie says he suffered respiratory failure and was left with a traumatic brain injury and partial paralysis.
He claims his treatment for neurological care was delayed by Columbia Hospital’s negligence.
A spokesman says the hospital is unable to comment on pending litigation.
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PORTLAND POLICE SHOOTING
Grand jury finds officer deadly force on teen justified
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A grand jury has found that a Portland officer was justified in using deadly force when he shot and killed a 17-year-old boy in February.
Portland Police Sgt. Pete Simpson said in a news release the grand jury made the determination Tuesday that Officer Andrew Hearst was justified regarding the death of Quanice Hayes.
Police say Hayes allegedly used a replica gun Feb. 9 to rob a man of his state food benefits card while the man sat in a car outside a motel.
Shortly after, police responded to a reported car prowl at a pet hospital. Simpson says police encountered Hayes, who fled.
Simpson says police eventually found him in a home’s alcove where Hearst shot and killed Hayes after Hayes reached for his waistband instead of putting his hands up.
No one else was injured.
Police will next conduct an internal review of the incident.
RANCHING STANDOFF-OREGON
Judge: 4 in Oregon ranching standoff guilty of trespassing
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Oregon has found four men guilty of misdemeanor charges of trespassing and tampering with government vehicles and equipment during last year’s high-profile takeover of a wildlife refuge.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown issued her verdict Tuesday after a bench trial.
She found defendants Jason Patrick, Darryl Thorn, Duane Ehmer and Jake Ryan committed the crimes during the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in a protest over federal land use policy.
Patrick was also found guilty of destruction and removal of property.
Patrick and Thorn were previously convicted by a jury of conspiracy to impede federal officers. They face up to six years in prison.
Ehmer and Ryan were acquitted of conspiracy but found guilty of depredation of government property for digging trenches.
XGR-POT USER DATA
Oregon senate approves proposal to shield pot users’ data
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Lawmakers in the Oregon Senate have approved a bill that would shield thousands of recreational pot customers from having their names, birthdates, driver’s license numbers or any other identifying information exposed.
Senate Bill 863, a bipartisan proposal, is one of the first state responses to mixed signals coming out of Washington D.C. about the new White House administration’s stance on enforcing federal marijuana laws. It passed Tuesday and now goes to the House.
The proposal would require legal pot retailers in Oregon to destroy the names, birthdates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and other private information of their recreational customers within 30 days of becoming law.
Any future record-keeping would also be banned, with some exceptions. Medical marijuana cardholders were excluded from the provisions.
OREGON-UNEMPLOYMENT
Oregon jobless rate tumbles to new record low
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — State economists say the rate of unemployed Oregonians fell again in February to 4 percent, marking the lowest figure the state has seen in at least the past four decades.
February was the second month in a row that Oregon’s jobless rate declined to record lows since the state began tracking the data in 1976. The 4 percent figure was notably lower than the 4.7 percent nationwide average. It has also dropped by a full percentage point since December’s 5 percent rate. In January the state’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent.
February’s jobless rate represents about 82,000 unemployed Oregonians out of the labor market’s overall 2 million-plus workers. Nonfarm payrolls also added 8,200 jobs last month, up from 700 in January. More than half of those job gains came from the government sector, which lost 3,400 workers in January.
SATURATED SOUTHERN OREGON
Southern Oregon is saturated after snowy, rainy winter
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Weather data shows that southern Oregon has received above average rainfall and snowpack totals since measurements began last falls.
The Mail Tribune reports that the National Weather Service has measure 21.5 inches of precipitation at the Medford airport since the water year began on Oct. 1. That’s 8.33 inches above average for the period.
Snowpack numbers range from 120 inches at Crater Lake to 175 inches at Mount Ashland.
Chris Park, a forest hydrologist at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in Grants Pass, says the past winter might not be remembered for any catastrophic moments. Its sustained precipitation, however, is noteworthy.
Park says he can’t remember anything in recent history like the current saturated conditions, which are about 150 percent of the normal conditions.
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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
