Date: 11/15/2012 03:59 AM
OR–1st NewsMinute/292
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – More indications emerged in October that Oregon’s sluggish economic recovery has slowed. The state Employment Department said yesterday that payroll employment for the month dropped by an estimated 2,400 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. The losses were evenly divided between public and private employment. The department said the unemployment rate for the month was 8.6 percent, statistically unchanged from the previous month, at 8.7 percent.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Portland City Council has approved a settlement with the Justice Department on police reforms. Federal investigators found in September that police engaged in a pattern of excessive force against people with mental illness. The Oregonian reports the vote was unanimous yesterday, although two of the five members said they had concerns about costs. Several community activists and attorneys have urged the council to slow down and complained that the agreement didn’t go far enough.
ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) – Douglas County authorities say skeletal remains found west of Roseburg this summer have been identified as those of 55-year-old Deborah Schneider of Myrtle Creek, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. Sheriff’s spokesman Dwes Hutson says Schneider was reported missing Jan. 24, 2011. Her remains were discovered 17 months later on private property off Coos Bay Wagon Road.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Department of Forestry has quietly withdrawn more timber sales that are the target of a lawsuit by conservation groups trying to protect nesting trees for a threatened sea bird called the marbled murrelet. The annual operations plan for the Coos District, dated Sept. 19, says the Elliott State Forest will look for alternative timber to sell while the lawsuit over protections for marbled murrelet habitat moves through federal court.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
