A group of volunteer advisors to the Oregon Health Authority has voted Tuesday to make the state the third in the nation to seek federal approval for a basic health program.
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The West is Burning Documentary Screening
See the screening for a new documentary, The West is Burning. Learn more here.
Article and photograph by Cascade Business News
The West is Burning examines the history of forest management and social conflict that has contributed to current forest conditions, causing longer fire seasons and unprecedented destruction. The film emphasizes the need to act now to generate positive change in our forests, watersheds, and communities. Click here to watch a trailer of the film.
SEE THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL CBN ARTICLE HERE
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Oregon becomes 3rd in nation to seek federal approval for a basic health program
Oregon is seeking fed approval for a basic health program. Learn more here.
Article by Oregon Public Broadcasting (By Amelia Templeton (OPB)) – SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
OHA advisors say yes to free health care for adults at 138-200% of the poverty level
Article by Oregon Public Broadcasting (By Amelia Templeton (OPB)) – SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Photo Credits: The emergency wing of the Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland on July 28, 2023. Caden Perry / OPB
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Oregon opens applications for new paid family leave program
Oregon’s new paid family leave program begins in September. Learn more here.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Oregon’s new paid family leave program opened for applications Monday, following four years of preparation — disrupted by COVID — after the Legislature authorized it in 2019 with bipartisan support.
Why it matters: Lack of paid family leave often forces workers to choose between paying the bills and caring for a loved one.
State of play: The program allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new child, a seriously ill family member or their own health or personal safety. It will cover the entire paycheck of a minimum wage worker and scales down as income climbs.
- Oregon is now one of a dozen states where most workers will have this benefit regardless of employer.
- It’s one of five that include “affinity” relationships in the definition of family.
How it works: Both employees and employers have been paying into the Paid Leave Oregon fund since the beginning of this year. Sept. 3 is the earliest that benefits can start.
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California sending five strike teams to boost firefighting capacity in Oregon
Image Courtesy Bedrock Fire 2023 Facebook
Learn more here:
KVAL, SALEM, Ore. – Five CalOES strike teams are headed to Oregon to provide additional capacity as the state deals with a continued forecast of triple-digit temperatures, extreme fire danger, and forecasted lightning, the Oregon State Fire Marshal said.
The strike teams are able to mobilize to Oregon after the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) made the request Monday through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and the Oregon Department of Emergency Management.
The strike teams will be pre-positioned in the Willamette Valley to be available to support existing wildfires or any new fire starts that break out.
“With several fires burning on the west slope of the Cascades and the fire danger increasing by the hour, our agency has decided to take the proactive step to bring in additional capacity to support the Oregon fire service,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “We are thankful for our strong and storied partnership with CalOES and the California fire service. We work extremely well together and offer each other support when our communities are impacted by wildfire and other disasters.”
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Gov. Kotek signs six bills aimed at addressing Oregon's mental health, addiction issues
Gov. Kotek signed bills that will address Oregon’s mental health. Learn more here.
KGW8, SALEM, Ore. — Gov. Tina Kotek vowed to make meaningful strides for behavioral health in Oregon on Tuesday. She signed into law six bills that aim to strengthen the state’s response to mental health and substance abuse issues.
“The bills I am signing mark progress towards building a behavioral health continuum of care that incorporates harm reduction, suicide prevention, stronger tools against substance abuse among youth and adults, and improvements to the implementation of Measure 110,” Kotek said to a group of lawmakers and advocates.
Among the bills signed into law, two focus on preventing overdose deaths. House Bill 2395expands the access of short-acting opioid overdose reversal medications like Narcan and naloxone, making them more readily available in public buildings, stores, police departments and schools.
The second bill, Senate Bill 1043, requires hospitals, sobering and detox facilities to provide two doses of opioid overdose reversal medication to patients when they’re discharged.
“The goal is to help people be healthy and stay alive,” Kotek said.
Then there’s the bill to fix issues with Measure 110, or HB 2513. The governor’s office said it will strengthen Measure 110 by increasing staffing and improving application processes to speed up approval and get funds out the door, centralizing the support hotline to get people connected to services more efficiently, and improving program data collection and accuracy.
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Oregon deputies make largest fentanyl bust in county history
Portland police prevented 138,000 fentanyl pills from hitting the streets in a recent bust. (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office)
Deputies in Oregon made the largest fentanyl bust in their county history last week, seizing tens of thousands of pills and powder packed into gallon-sized plastic bags, authorities said.
The bust happened Tuesday as investigators were watching a wanted person in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies took the person into custody “at the opportune time” after watching him walk to a vehicle.
Deputies with the sheriff’s Special Investigations Unit obtained a search warrant for the individual’s car and apartment, finding gallon-sized plastic bags stuffed with fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder, a manual-operated pill press, a commercial grade pill press, $5,000 in cash and a stolen handgun, the sheriff’s office said.
The bags held approximately 58,000 individual fentanyl pills and 16 pounds of fentanyl powder, according to authorities.
Deputies determined that 10 of the 16 pounds of powder was ready to be pressed into an estimated 50,000 pills using the machines. The remaining six pounds of powder, which would have yielded about 30,000 additional pills, was meant to be sold in powder form, officials said.
In total, deputies estimate that their effort prevented approximately 138,000 pills from hitting Portland-area streets. The combined street value of the seizure was estimated to be between $320,000 and $400,000.
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Archaeologists find new evidence in Southern Oregon that suggests human habitation 18,000 years ago
New evidence suggests humans were in Oregon more than 18,000 years ago.
Photo Courtesy of Becky Raines / University of Oregon
By Ella Hutcherson (Jefferson Public Radio)
Archaeologists have new evidence suggesting that humans occupied Oregon more than 18,000 years ago. This makes it one of the oldest known sites of human occupation in North America.
A 2023 radiocarbon dating analysis was made based on findings at the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter near Burns, Oregon. The University of Oregon Archaeological Field School has been excavating at the site, which features a shallow overhang in an otherwise open environment. The field school has been working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management since 2011.
UO staff archaeologist Patrick O’Grady said in 2012 the team found telling objects — camel tooth enamel fragments and a human-made tool — deep in the rock shelter, buried underneath the ash of a Mt. St. Helens eruption from over 15,000 years ago.
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ON OPB HERE
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Oregon facing threats from invasive vine mealybugs
Invasive vine mealybugs have been found in Southern Oregon. Find out more here.
By Rolando Hernandez (OPB)
An invasive vine mealybug was found in Southern Oregon in 2021 and since then, vineyards have been fighting to eradicate the insect. The pest can cause significant damage to Oregon’s grape vines, affecting fruit quality and mold growth. State funding from SB 5506 will invest more than $400,000 to monitor, research and suppress the insect before it becomes widespread in the state.
Brian Gruber is the president of the Oregon Winegrowers Association. Greg Jones is the vice chair on the Oregon Wine Board’s board of directors. And Vaughn Walton is a professor at Oregon State University’s horticulture department . They join us now to share how this bug can potentially affect Oregon’s vineyards and the potential impact of the funding to address the threat it poses.
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Oregon Parks now offers same-day online coastal camping reservations for available sites
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Cape Lookout Beach on the Oregon coast.
You can now book same-day camping reservations on the Oregon coast. Find out more here.
SALEM, Ore (KTVZ) — Visitors hoping to camp last-minute at the coast can now check online to view and book same-day openings when sites are available, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Wednesday.
Previously, visitors could only make online reservations 24 hours or more in advance of their arrival. Now coast visitors can make online reservations on the same day that they plan to camp.
The new option is part of a pilot program at the coast. The goal is to offer campers the security of knowing they have a site booked before they leave home, and to give park staff more time to offer interpretive opportunities and maintain park facilities and landscapes and provide a safe camping experience.
“Same-day reservations at the coast give those traveling the peace of mind that there is a place ready for them when they arrive,” said Coastal Region Director Dennis Comfort.
The coast is the busiest region in the Oregon State Parks system, with an estimated 1.9 million camper nights reserved each year across the 17 campgrounds. A camper night is one camper for one night, so a group of four camping two nights totals eight camper nights.
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Minimum wage changes in Oregon on July 1
The minimum wage is set to increase July 1st. Learn more here.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Anyone who works a minimum wage job in Oregon will get a raise starting July 1.
In all parts of the state, the minimum wage will increase. However, in Oregon, the minimum wage is not equal across the state.
Oregon’s minimum wage is divided into three areas: the Portland metro area, the “standard” area, and the non-urban area.
In the Portland metro area, minimum wage will top $15 per hour for the first time. On July 1, 2023 it will jump from $14.75 to $15.45 per hour.
The standard minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $14.20.
The non-urban minimum wage will increase from $12.50 to $13.20.
