On this day, May 21, 2001, in Seattle, Wa., members of the Earth Liberation Front torched the Univ. of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture causing about $6 million in damage. An Oregon tree farm owned by Jefferson Poplar Farms was also burned. four people were later convicted of taking part in the firebombing. One later committed suicide in prison.
Also on this day, May 21, 2002, The George W. Bush administration said it will allow new mining to resume on nearly one million acres of the Siskiyou region.
Also on this day, May 21, 2006, demolition crews destroyed the 499-foot cooling tower of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. Demolition of the containment dome was scheduled in 2008.
Also on this day, May 21, 1998, 15 year-old Kipland Kinkel killed one classmate and wounded 19 more at Thurston High School. His parents, William and Faith, were found shot dead at home and a 2nd student died the next day. He had been expelled from school the previous day for bringing a gun to school. Kinkel dropped an insanity plea in 1999 and pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and 26 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced over 111 years in prison.
Or does she?
Many are confused on when the pandemic can be put in the history file and burned. Oregon headlines has an excitement in the air. Indoor mask mandate will be dropped on March 19, but Governor Kate Brown announced that she will be lifting Oregon’s COVID-19 state of emergency on April 1. Why the difference?
Most of the Governor’s executive orders regarding COVID-19 were rescinded on June 30, 2021. In responding to the subsequent Delta and Omicron surges of COVID-19, the Governor for the most part did not use her executive authority to issue new emergency orders. She did take other steps, such as activating the Oregon National Guard to help support hospital workers, and coordinating with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to bring skilled healthcare workers to Oregon to support hospital and long-term care facility staff. Let’s not forget OHA’s temporary masking rules turned permanent just three weeks ago for no good reason except to have that option available for instant access to use against citizens.
Since June 30, 2021, the state of emergency was shifted to an emergency declaration that provided the Governor with flexibility and resources for COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, including allowing for the use of SERV-OR volunteer medical providers in hospitals, providing flexibility around professional health licensing, and ensuring Oregon could access all available federal disaster relief funds available, such as enhanced SNAP benefits. To codify that flexibility, SB 1529 is being rushed through by Senator Deb Patterson (D-Salem), chair of the Senate Committee on Health Care.
SB 1529 redefines ‘Health care emergency’ to allow the Public Health Director (OHA) to declare if there exists a disease outbreak, epidemic or other condition of public health importance statewide or in a specified geographic area of this state.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The Governor made sure to exonerate herself and let us know more restrictions are on the horizon without her declaring a state of emergency. Safety requirements in place today regarding masks, vaccinations for K-12 educators and staff, and vaccinations for healthcare workers do not rely on the state of emergency declaration––instead, they are covered by state or federal agency administrative rules issued under existing non-emergency state or federal authority.
SB 1529 is headed to the House floor for its final vote.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2022-02-24 17:39:43 | Last Update: 2022-02-24 18:14:46 |
