Nine counties in Oregon have now been ordered by Governor Kate Brown to be further restricted from commerce and social activity on a "two-week pause" starting Wednesday November 11th. Supposedly this will be for two weeks and it comes to be after what only some people are asserting was a significant spike in COVID-19 cases.

The nine counties are:

• Baker (new)
• Clackamas (new)
• Union (new)
• Washington (new)
• Jackson
• Malheur
• Marion
• Multnomah
• Umatilla

These nine Oregon counties will begin a two-week pause of social activities on Nov. 11. Five counties were announced on Friday and four more counties were added to the list shortly after. Counties with a case rate above 200 per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with less than 30,000 people have been placed on the pause.

The two-week pause measures include:

• Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
• Pausing long-term care facility visits that take place indoors to protect staff and residents.
• Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six.
• Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
• Reducing the maximum capacity of other indoor activities to 50 people (includes gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools and museums).
• Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than six people total if the gathering includes those from outside your household. Reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period) and keeping the same six people in your social gathering circle.

Governor Brown has threatened additional restrictions on businesses and individuals in additional counties and further statewide mandates if compliance to her COVID-19 rules are not satisfactorily met.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-11-10 10:24:35

Last Update: 2020-11-10 19:30:33

Oregon, like other states, is experiencing a surge of COVId-19 cases. Does this mean the virus is spreading unchecked? Oregon is one of the most restrictive states in the nation, sitting near the bottom at 44. Have we failed to contain it? Or are our mitigations are for naught. This issue is complex but deserves to be transparently discussed since we have given such sweeping authority over to public health agencies that are keeping schools locked down, businesses restricted and masks mandated down to 5 year-olds as well as the disabled despite their medical conditions which are supposed to exempt them. There is too much at stake to ignore this issue any longer. We already know that testing more will show more cases. But in reality it goes much deeper than that.

First, there is a high chance of false positive results in testing individuals without symptoms. Polymerise chain reaction, or PCR testing is used to directly detect the presence of an antigen, rather than the presence of the body’s immune response, or antibodies. It is generally regarded as unreliable when cycle thresholds are over 35 as is happening in Thermo Fishers used by Oregon and many other states. The Cycle Threshold (Ct) value is defined as the number of cycles of amplification (using rRT-PCR) required for the fluorescence of a PCR product (i.e. the target/amplicon) to be detected crossing a threshold.

In laymen’s terms? You could amplify anything long enough and it will produce a positive result. Remember the goat and papaya that tested positive? This is aside from the fact that dead viral RNA can be detected for twelve weeks.

Secondly, as we saw in University of Oregon football players, BionaxNow Rapid antigen tests produce high false positive results and in fact were not authorized by the FDA to use in individuals who are not showing symptoms. OHA and Lane County Public Health have admitted this is true.

In August, Governor Kate Brown announced an agreement with Thermo Fisher to increase testing capacity. At the same time Thermo Fisher had testing inaccuracies that discovered high false positives per the FDA who told them to fix it. Just over a month later Oregon experienced a “surge in cases”.

Not a surge in hospitalizations or deaths, but cases. Not infections. Cases.

Additionally, contacts of cases such as family members and co-workers are being added to daily case counts as presumptive positives and are never removed even if subsequently tested negative. I realize the task of tracking contacts after the fact would be enormous but why is there no protocol to remove contacts within, say 10-14 days if they never show signs of illness? Case in point, Mercy Hospital in Douglas County had a outbreak but despite their employees testing negative, OHA refused to remove previous presumptive cases off the positive column.

Lastly, there is one glaring example of the fact that too much testing will produce more cases. OSU has been conducting door to door testing campaigns using the Taqpath tests by Thermo Fisher, and as mentioned above are fraught with problems. Thermo Fisher has a notorious reputation for faulty tests prior to receiving a temporary Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. Last year, as parent company of their drug tests, they erroneously produced hundreds of false positives for hundreds of inmates and are facing a class action lawsuit.

One week after testing finished in four counties, they were either added to county watch list or forced to go back to Phase 1 Lockdown. Lincoln county was immediately included in the 7-th county mask mandate on June 24. Of significant note is the fact that the majority of the individuals tested did not have any symptoms. That they are called asymptomatic is highly misleading when test participants should be called false positives in healthy individuals.

Here’s a snapshot:

• Benton County-Testing September; a week later on October 2 added to the County Watch List
• Deschutes County- Testing at the end of May; a week later added to the County Watch List
• Lincoln County-Testing at the end of June; a week later added to the County Watch List
• Umatilla County-testing in August; Locked down to Phase 1

What we began back in March was watch hospitalizations and ICU admissions. We need to prioritize that again. Look at severe disease burden more than cases and distinguish whether a person in hospital tested positive while in hospital or prior to. If we’re relying solely on cases to determine metrics our foundation is woefully flawed. Two weeks to flatten the curve 232 days is too long.


--Nicole DeGraff

Post Date: 2020-11-10 07:03:03

Last Update: 2020-11-10 12:19:42

Oregon Elections Director Steve Trout has left his position at the Secretary of State's office less than a week after the general election, with a small handful of races still pending.

In a memo sent to both of the presumptive top two candidates for Secretary of State, Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) and Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), Trout lets both know about what he thought of the the state of the Elections Division. It's not clear whether he was fired or resigned. It seems to be a case of "you can't fire me, because I quit."

"When one of you takes office in January you will be the fourth Secretary we have had in 4 years and one month, and the fifth Secretary in the past six years. During that time, we have also had four Deputy Secretaries and three Information Services (ISD) directors. As a result of this constant change in the executive team there is a lack of strategic vision and plans for the agency, and staff are not focused due to that lack of vision and leadership. I am not stating this to attach blame because Secretary Richardson’s cancer was no one’s fault, but simply to recognize that that lack of vision and leadership over the past few years has really set the agency back."

As the only Republican held statewide office, the Secretary of State's office under the late Dennis Richardson was the target of budget tightfistedness in the Democrat controlled legislature, under the Democrat administration of Kate Brown, who had other priorities.

Trout's memo contained a laundry list of information technology initiatives which lacked funding due to "Elections Division struggles to get support from the agency support divisions." In a self-critical paragraph he laments that his own people caused some of the damage, because "most of the projects that have been completed and rolled out in the past couple of years have had to be undone because there were changes made that resulted in breaking other things." He also blamed outdated hardware.

His final blow comes near the end of the memo where he apparently dooms his successor. "Finally, I don’t want you to be surprised if you hear I am interviewing for new jobs. It is not because I don’t want to work for either of you, but rather because I cannot succeed with the current state of technology and lack of support in the agency. I don’t believe anyone will be able to succeed."

Shemia Fagan defeated Kim Thatcher in the Secretary of State's race by a margin of 50% to 43%.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-11-09 16:55:22

Last Update: 2022-12-09 16:39:11

The Oregon Republican Party released the following statement in response to the premature declarations by Democrat politicians and many media organizations that the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election has been decided:

“The Presidential election is not resolved,” said Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier. “We live under the rule of law, not the rule of the news media or big tech companies that have censored Republicans and promoted grossly inaccurate opinion polls for months that declared this election over before a single vote was cast.”

“Media outlets are entitled to their opinion, and so are we. However, only state election officials may administer and certify elections, and judges can rule on the merits of the cases being brought. Al Gore got 37 days to resolve an election in one state 20 years ago. There are significant and troubling irregularities being investigated and cases filed in half a dozen states. Certainly, voters deserve the same opportunity for these cases to be heard and adjudicated and recounts in hotly contested states to be completed. No state’s vote results should be decided by illegal votes from ineligible or dead voters, faulty voting machines, suspicious voter turnout well over 100%, mathematically-impossible vote tallies of large batches of ballots, or by ballots received after the election deadlines had passed.”

“Americans deserve to have every legal vote counted, and every illegal vote thrown out. When you cannot even effectively observe, much less investigate very suspicious ballot processing and vote counting results, and when numerous court filings have yet to be heard, and recounts have not even started, it is obvious that this will take time. The same elected officials and media outlets who continuously counseled patience and calm as ballots were being tabulated should continue to do so without bias or political favor to either candidate or party as these cases are resolved, and votes are re-tabulated. Arguments for a Constitutional case with massive implications in Pennsylvania are only just being offered in front of the Supreme Court today.”

“We’ve witnessed during the past four years a constant barrage of false news stories and media narratives, from fake Russian collusion investigations, phony dossiers, anonymously sourced manufactured controversies, coverups of scandalous conduct by President Trump’s opponent, and a hyper-partisan impeachment that was endlessly promoted despite lacking a reasonable basis in fact. When taken together with the censorship of the President, the months of spinning riots, looting, and arson as peaceful protest, and the intentionally inaccurate political polling in swing states, it is time for the media to exercise greater humility and take its own advice to exercise patience as facts continue to unfold. Is it any wonder why Republicans and the millions of non-Republican Trump supporters have a deep mistrust of media declarations regarding this election?”

“We would also like to remind local media that there are several very close races in Oregon in which ballots are still being counted and the outcome is yet to be finalized. Several media outlets have already declared these races over despite this fact. This certainly doesn’t look fair and is very disrespectful of Oregon voters. It is just as important to count every legal vote in our state as it is anywhere else.”

The race between incumbent State Senator Denyc Boles (R-Salem) and Deb Patterson (D_Salem) has not been resolved. There are also still different possible outcomes in House Districts 31 and 52.

“We continue to stand with President Trump and with the rule of law,” said Currier. “One thing is for sure, mobs of Biden voters in the streets will neither hold sway over our court system nor over the integrity of our election recounts. The more than 70 million voters who cast their ballots for the President and other Republicans up and down the ballot deserve a fair election.”

The ORP says that interested persons may contribute to President Trump’s Official Election Defense Fund.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-11-09 12:35:49

Last Update: 2020-11-09 17:17:34

Oregon OSHA has adopted a temporary rule that combats the spread of coronavirus in all workplaces by requiring employers to carry out a comprehensive set of risk-reducing measures.

The rule will take effect Nov. 16, with certain parts phased in, and is expected to remain in effect until May 4, 2021. It is a continuation of the guidance produced by the Oregon Health Authority and enforced in the workplace by Oregon OSHA, including physical distancing, use of face coverings, and sanitation.

The rule is intended to further improve the current structure for reducing risks in the workplace by requiring several measures many employers have voluntarily implemented. For example, it requires employers to notify employees of a workplace infection and provide training to workers on how to reduce risks. Likewise, employers must formally assess the risk of exposure, develop infection control plans, and address indoor air quality within their current capability.

“We believe compliance with this rule will help reduce the serious threat to workers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA. “It does so by establishing a clear, practical, and consistent set of measures for employers.”

Those measures – along with more requirements for exceptionally high-risk jobs, such as direct patient care – are part of Oregon OSHA’s ongoing enforcement and educational efforts to help protect workers from the coronavirus disease.

Beginning in late June, the process to develop the temporary rule included more than a dozen virtual forums dealing with specific issues and industries before the first of four stakeholder review drafts was even developed. And each subsequent draft incorporated changes resulting from Oregon OSHA’s discussion with a large number of employer and worker representatives, as well as feedback from the public at large.

Adoption of the temporary rule brings the requirements within the existing rulemaking authority of the Oregon Safe Employment Act. The law governs workplace safety and health in Oregon, including protections for a worker’s right to raise on-the-job health and safety concerns free from retaliation.

In the weeks ahead, Oregon OSHA will provide educational resources to help employers and workers understand and apply the requirements. Already, the division offers consultation services that provide no-cost assistance with safety and health programs and technical staff who help employers understand requirements. The COVID-19 Hazards Poster – provided by the division and required by the temporary rule to be posted – is now available in both English and Spanish. And the division is providing a user-friendly overview table of the temporary rule, summarizing the requirements and how they apply, and showing the effective dates of the phased-in provisions.

Oregon OSHA encourages a careful reading of the temporary rule which includes an appendix that contains provisions for specific industries and workplace activities. The temporary rule’s requirements include:

Physical distancing

Employers must ensure six-foot distancing between all people in the workplace through design of work activities and workflow, unless it can be shown it is not feasible for some activities.

Masks, face covering, or face shields

Employers must ensure that all individuals – including employees, part-time workers and customers – at the workplace, or other establishment under the employer’s control, wear a mask, face covering, or face shield in line with the Oregon Health Authority’s statewide guidance.

Employers must provide masks, face coverings, or face shields for employees free of cost.

If an employee chooses to wear a mask, face shield, or face covering – even when it is not required – the employer must allow them to do so.

When employees are transported in a vehicle for work-related purposes, regardless of the travel distance or duration, all people inside the vehicle must wear a mask, face covering, or face shield. This requirement does not apply when all people in the vehicle are members of the same household.

Ventilation

Employers must maximize the effectiveness of existing ventilation systems, maintain and replace air filters, and clean intake ports providing fresh or outdoor air. The temporary rule does not require employers to purchase or install new ventilation systems.

Exposure risk assessment

Employers must conduct a risk assessment – a process that must involve participation and feedback from employees – to gauge potential employee exposure to COVID-19, including addressing specific questions about how to minimize such exposure.

Infection control plan

Employers must develop an infection control plan addressing several elements, including when workers must use personal protective equipment and a description of specific hazard controls.

Information and training

Employers must provide information and training to workers about the relevant topics related to COVID-19. They must do so in a manner and language understood by workers.

Notification, testing, medical removal

Employers must notify affected workers within 24 hours of a work-related COVID-19 infection.

Employers must cooperate with public health officials if testing within the workplace is necessary.

If an employee must quarantine or isolate, the employer must follow proper work reassignment and return-to-work steps.

The rule requires more measures for exceptionally high-risk jobs. Such jobs include direct patient care or decontamination work; aerosol-generating or postmortem procedures; and first-responder activities. The additional measures include:

Detailed infection control training and planning

Sanitation procedures for routine cleaning and disinfection

Robust use of personal protective equipment

Operation of existing ventilation systems according to national standards

Use of barriers, partitions, and airborne infection isolation rooms

Screening and triaging for symptoms of COVID-19

Following adoption of its temporary COVID-19 rule for all workplaces, Oregon OSHA continues to pursue permanent rulemaking that would provide a structure for responding to potential future disease outbreaks.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-11-09 11:04:05

Last Update: 2020-11-09 12:57:38

As perhaps a sign that the era of unlimited yes votes on taxation measures in the metro Portland area might be waning, Metro voters have rejected Measure 26-218 by 57% to 42% -- a margin of 15% -- in a decisive statement that people in the region are starting to understand that first, the luster is gone from light rail and other related costly transportation initiatives and second, that if you tax employers, this gets passed on to employees and there is a limit to the amount of taxation people will tolerate.

Most of the local media supported the tax. For instance, Oregon Public Broadcasting, usually seen as a cheerleader for bigger government reported on the loss, but not the vote count, percent or margins. While reporting large corporate backers of the no vote, Stop the Metro Wage Tax, they largely failed to report that much of the support for the yes campaign were businesses that stood to gain from the funded transportation projects.

In a tax that would have fallen squarely on the working people of the Metro region, $4 Billion in spending was anticipated -- much of it on light rail, which is quickly becoming unpopular in the region.



The large donor list for Get Moving PAC reads like a "Who's Who" of big government supporters, labor interests and contracting companies, hoping to get in on projects.

Major donations to Get Moving PAC
Date	Donor	Amount
11/04/2020	Knock Software Inc	$2,500
11/04/2020	Portland Association of Teachers PAC (260)	$5,000
11/02/2020	Kpff	$2,500
11/02/2020	International Union of Painters ad Allied Trades	$5,000
11/02/2020	APANO	$2,500
11/01/2020	David Vernier	$2,000
11/01/2020	Steven Byars	$5,000
11/01/2020	Terrance Aarnio	$2,500
10/30/2020	200 Market Associates LP	$5,000
10/30/2020	Waste Management	$5,000
10/30/2020	Jacobs Engineering Group	$10,000
10/30/2020	William Henderson	$2,500
10/30/2020	OPAL	$4,285
10/27/2020	SEIU 503	$5,000
10/26/2020	Oregon Food Bank	$5,000
10/26/2020	Elisabeth Lyon	$1,000
10/23/2020	Friends of Lynn Peterson (18404)	$5,000
10/23/2020	Oregon AFSCME Council 75	$5,000
10/22/2020	Transportation Yes (14743)	$7,149
10/22/2020	Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.	$50,000
10/21/2020	NW Health Foundation	$5,000
10/21/2020	AECOM Technology Group	$50,000
10/21/2020	AFSCME 3580	$3,000
10/19/2020	Friends of Rob Nosse (16459)	$1,000
10/19/2020	HNTB Corporation	$65,000
10/19/2020	American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon	$12,500
10/19/2020	American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon	$12,500
10/18/2020	Stan Amy	$1,000
10/18/2020	Scott Kocher	$1,000
10/18/2020	Ben Wood	$1,000
10/16/2020	Mott McDonald	$10,000
10/14/2020	Siemens Industry Inc	$40,000
10/13/2020	Iron Workers District Council of the Pacific Northwest (3816)	$5,000
10/13/2020	HDR	$10,000
10/13/2020	Shirley Craddick for METRO Councilor (13893)	$1,000
10/13/2020	Portland Association of Teachers PAC (260)	$5,000
10/13/2020	Burns McDonnell	$5,000
10/13/2020	Hamilton Construction	$10,000
10/13/2020	The Sundt Co.	$10,000
10/13/2020	3 Builds LLC	$5,000
10/11/2020	Herb Fricke	$2,000
10/09/2020	DOWL LLC	$5,000
10/09/2020	Oregon AFSCME Council 75	$10,000
10/09/2020	Shiels Obletz Johnsen Inc	$1,000
10/08/2020	Casso Consulting	$5,000
10/02/2020	WSP	$40,000
10/02/2020	DSK Associates	$2,500
10/02/2020	Parson's Corporation PAC	$10,000
10/02/2020	CDM-Smith	$5,000
10/02/2020	Shannon & Wilson, Inc.	$3,000
10/02/2020	Liuna Local 737 Political Action (20502)	$10,000
09/29/2020	RS&H	$5,000
09/28/2020	Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters	$40,000
09/27/2020	Larry Fox	$1,000
09/24/2020	American Public Transportation Association	$10,000
09/21/2020	Headlight Technologies	$5,000
09/21/2020	OTAK, Inc	$7,500
09/20/2020	James Fuiten	$5,000
09/20/2020	Leah Riley	$1,000
09/20/2020	James McGrath	$1,000
09/19/2020	NW Health Foundation	$15,000
09/14/2020	Titan	$5,000
09/13/2020	Steve Naito	$2,500
09/13/2020	Brad Hart	$10,000
09/11/2020	Harper Houf Peterson Righellis	$1,000
09/11/2020	Friends of Bob Stacey (13836)	$9,500
09/11/2020	Affordable Housing for Oregon (19368)	$4,299
09/11/2020	David Evans & Associates, Inc.	$30,000
09/08/2020	HDR	$15,000
09/08/2020	UFCW Local 555	$10,000
09/08/2020	LTK	$5,000
09/06/2020	Elizabeth Faulkner	$1,000
08/30/2020	Matt Miller	$5,000
08/28/2020	Communications Strategies	$1,000
08/28/2020	Professional & Technical Employees Local 17	$1,000
08/28/2020	Insulators International PAC	$2,000
08/24/2020	Local 48 Electricians PAC (4572)	$100,000
08/21/2020	William Shields	$2,000
08/14/2020	Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.	$150,000
08/14/2020	David Evans & Associates, Inc.	$10,000
08/03/2020	Herb Fricke	$1,000
07/31/2020	Cement Masons Local 555	$5,000
07/27/2020	Warren Rosenfeld	$5,000
07/09/2020	OTAK, Inc	$1,500
07/06/2020	Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters	$10,000
06/29/2020	WSP	$10,000
06/17/2020	American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon	$25,000
06/03/2020	Recology	$5,000
05/02/2020	American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon	$1,000
04/30/2020	Burns McDonnell	$5,000
04/30/2020	Ian McHone	$5,000
04/12/2020	UFCW Local 555	$10,000
04/12/2020	200 Market Associates LP	$10,000
03/30/2020	HNTB Corporation	$10,000
03/20/2020	Jesse Jackson	$5,000
03/20/2020	Rachel L Bruce	$5,000
03/20/2020	Affordable Electric	$5,000
03/20/2020	Jeff Moreland	$5,000
03/20/2020	Chicks of All Trade	$5,000
03/20/2020	Just Bucket Excavating	$5,000
03/20/2020	Raimore Construction	$10,000
03/16/2020	Parametrix	$10,000
03/12/2020	Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.	$10,000
03/09/2020	Walsh Construction Company	$5,000
03/09/2020	AECOM Technology Group	$15,000
01/28/2020	Transportation Yes (14743)	$5,000

--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-11-08 11:32:36

Last Update: 2020-11-08 12:35:49

On Friday there were two separate demonstrations around the State Capitol in Salem. The City of Salem sent out an advisory to businesses of suspected unusual activity planned for Saturday, November 7, 2020 in or near Salem's downtown. According to sources, there was a high likelihood of vandalism and property damage. Police and the City urged residents and businesses in downtown to take precautions.

On Saturday, one rally of around 200 started at the Capitol at approximately 12:00pm including supporters of President Donald Trump to pray during a rally to protest against President-elect Joe Biden.

A second rally started at Pringle Park in Salem at approximately 5:00pm An impromptu march started in the area of Church and Trade Streets blocking traffic. Salem Police asked the group to disperse and leave the area and to get onto the sidewalk and off the streets.

By 5:40pm Court Street in front of the Capitol was entirely blocked. Having little success, a traffic advisory was sent out asking drivers to avoid the area. It took until 8pm to lift the safety advisory for downtown businesses and the community and clear traffic flow.

"Community safety is a top priority," said Steve Powers, Salem City Manager. "We notified our public as soon as we learned of the possible threats and made direct contact with downtown businesses. Our police department increased police officers for Saturday and activated our special teams."

The City does not believe the groups are affiliated with any of our known community organizers. As a result, four people were arrested by the State Police during these rallies.

• 2:00pm - Nathan Arnett (29) of Molalla – Assault IV and Unlawful use of OC (pepper spray)
• 4:37pm - Jeffrey Mustin (37) of Eugene– Assault IV and Unlawful possession of firearm
• 5:00pm - Ryan Swanzey (32) of Portland– Disorderly Conduct and Offensive Littering
• 6:00pm - Jesse Baughman (22) of Salem – Disorderly Conduct and Interfering with Police

Oregon State Police is aware of other criminal behavior during the night and will continue to investigate those reports.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-11-08 10:02:12

The Oregon Health Authority reported more grim news. "Today's cases are the highest number reported on a single day since the start of the pandemic in Oregon. The high number is a stark reminder of the need for the new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 announced yesterday by Governor Kate Brown." While the Oregon Health Authority breathlessly reports a record number of cases, it glosses over the fact that we recently set a new record -- for number of tests administered in one day -- 7,745 on October 29 eclipsing the previous record of July 13 when there were 7,697 test administered.

For a state that has among the lowest case rate and death rate, the official rhetoric would make you think that the state was in the grips of a fatal pandemic. Despite reporting every death that has multiple contributing factors as a COVID-19 caused death -- 12 out of 13 of the most recent deaths had contributing factors -- the chances of an Oregonian of dying of COVID-19 are infinitesimally small. In fact, all metrics are stable: Hospitalizations, hospital capacity, deaths -- you name it.

There may be several reasons for the rise in reported cases.

• More tests are being administered, therefore more cases are being identified.
• Tests are being administered to people more likely to have the disease, therefore more cases are being identified.
• The disease is spreading more rapidly, therefore the rise in cases reflects the spread of the disease.

One final point: One of the factors aiding the spread of COVID-19 is the fact that it can be spread by asymptomatic carriers. Let that sink in. We've crippled our economy and deprived our youth of education for a disease that's so deadly that it can be spread by people who don't even know they have it.




--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-11-07 17:57:50

Last Update: 2020-11-07 18:48:06

On Friday November 6th, Gov. Kate Brown announced a COVID-19 two-week pause for Marion and four other Oregon counties. The order sets limits on indoor gatherings including restaurants, recreation, and household social gatherings.

The recent rise in case counts is concerning to the Marion County commissioners and local public health leaders; however, Marion County believes that data should drive decision making meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. The Marion County Commissioners have released a statement pointing out the following data.

Marion County COVID-19 data indicates:

Restaurants are not a significant source of outbreaks in Marion County. Cases in restaurants have typically been among staff who socialize together while at work or outside of work.

Most of the spread of COVID-19 is occurring in larger private social gatherings and households. Putting additional burdens on businesses will not prevent these private gatherings from happening and has the potential to increase private social gatherings.

We understand Salem Hospital has sufficient capacity to care for COVID-19 and other patients. Marion County has not seen high levels of Covid-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations. This is a metric that the county has met even as case counts have increased.

Marion County supports actions tailored to individual communities based on local data including limiting opportunities for exposure to our loved ones in long term care facilities.

Commissioner Colm Willis, chair, said, "Marion County is in the middle of recovering from devastating wildfires. Much of the work associated with wildfire recovery must be done in person. We have maintained appropriate COVID-19 protocols including physical distancing, mask wearing, and temperature screening at meetings and public events."

Marion County continues to support data driven protocols such as:

Increased testing in Marion County that will enable us to make informed decisions on how we can stem the spread of this disease.

Rapid tests with same day results should be promoted as widely as possible. This way those who test positive can immediately quarantine rather than risk spreading the virus while they are waiting for results.

Commissioner Kevin Cameron reminds us, "As we approach the holiday season it's important to remember we all have a part to play to keep our community healthy. We encourage everyone to wear face coverings, wash hands frequently, stay home if you are sick, and practice physical distancing when you're around people not from your household. Working together we can help keep Marion County safe, strong, and thriving."

Sadly, extensive mandates are increasingly exacting a heavy toll on Oregon businesses.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-11-07 08:31:39

Last Update: 2020-11-07 20:34:15

Governor Kate Brown has announced new measures pausing social activities to help stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 in counties where community transmission is on the rise. These pause measures will be in effect for two weeks, from Nov. 11 through Nov. 25, for Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Jackson, and Umatilla Counties. Based on increasing statewide case counts, as well as increased sporadic case rates in these five counties, the new public health measures to reduce spread are an effort to save lives in Oregon.

Five additional counties––Washington, Baker, Union, Clackamas, and Linn––are close to the COVID-19 thresholds that would necessitate adding them to the Two-Week Pause. The Oregon Health Authority will examine their COVID-19 metrics on Monday to determine if those counties qualify.

“It is alarming that recent high case rates are not linked to any specific outbreaks, but rather reflective of sporadic community spread,” said Governor Brown. “We are seeing in real time how this virus can quickly snowball out of control. This Two-Week Pause is a series of measures and recommendations intended to curb human contact — both through reducing the amount of people we interact with, and the frequency of those encounters. We must stop this virus from spreading. We must preserve our hospital capacity. And we must save lives.”

The Two-Week Pause measures include:

Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.

Pausing long-term care facility visits that take place indoors to protect staff and residents.

Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six.

Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.

Reducing the maximum capacity of other indoor activities to 50 people (includes gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools, and museums).

Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than six people if the gathering includes those from outside your household, reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period), and keeping the same six people in your social gathering circle.

Governor Brown added: “I am also calling on Congress to pass another COVID-19 relief package immediately when they return to DC—including another $600 weekly benefit in enhanced Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation—due to the increase of COVID-19 cases and the need for rollbacks both here in Oregon and nationwide.”

The Two-Week Pause is being instituted in counties with a case rate above 200 per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with less than 30,000 people. These measures replace the County Watch List process that Governor Brown instituted in July.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-11-07 07:45:07

Last Update: 2020-11-07 20:36:36

Multiple rallies starting at noon around the Capitol mall area and could potentially draw a large number of participants that might affect traffic in the area. No street closures have been issued for this event.

The City of Salem has been alerted to credible information of unusual activity planned for Saturday, November 7, 2020, in or near Salem's downtown.

According to these sources, there is a high likelihood of vandalism and property damage. Police and the City are urging residents and businesses in our downtown to take precautions. The City manager has assigned additional police and activated special teams starting tomorrow. The City does not believe the groups who are planning to come to Salem are affiliated with any of known community organizers. The City will continue to post meaningful updates to its website and through the Salem Police Department Twitter account.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-11-06 18:07:02

Last Update: 2020-11-06 18:22:43

Editor's note: this video contains graphic language. Viewer discretion is advised

Sarah Spoon is engaged in a tight re-election race for Canby City Council. Just a few percentage points separate the candidates. As of Friday, Clackamas County still has ballots to count due to some equipment malfunctions, so the race is too tight to call, but as of this writing, she is in second place in a race that seats the top four finishers -- which would put her back on the council.

Citizens of Canby may have second thoughts after seeing this video, where she is seen delivering a profane message for the president.




--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-11-06 16:16:59

Last Update: 2020-11-06 16:50:08