Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt has announced that the Multnomah County DA’s Office has received $300,000 in supplemental grant dollars to fund a dedicated bias crimes investigator. Funding was awarded to MCDA by the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program. MCDA previously received a $400,000 grant to partially fund a bias crimes prosecutor, bringing the total amount awarded to $700,000.

The DA’s bias crimes investigator will work with the bias crimes prosecutor, Deputy DA Charlie Weiss, on increased investigations, community outreach, education, and overall efforts to overcome barriers to reporting and identifying bias crimes. MCDA has filled the position, and the start date was December 18, 2023.

“Addressing bias crimes and helping repair the damage of these crimes to victims and communities is a top priority for me and my office,” said DA Mike Schmidt. “This funding will allow us to increase and improve our investigations, which will ultimately result in more prosecution, accountability for perpetrators, and justice for victims of bias crimes.” Schmidt is currently running for re-election as Multnomah County District Attorney.

“Hate and discrimination have no place in our communities,” said DA Schmidt. “I am pleased that this grant award will allow us to dedicate a prosecutor to effectively address bias crimes, which have a disproportionate ripple effect on our communities. The grant allows for a more proactive approach to address community concerns and advocate for people who have been victims of bias crimes to come forward so that we can hold perpetrators accountable.” Schmidt has been criticized by some for being soft on drug crime -- a concern cited by the Portland Central City Task Force in their recent report.

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“It’s no secret that there’s been a surge in bias crimes and incidents across the country, and Multnomah County is not immune to that,” said Deputy DA Weiss. “It’s important that we meet people where they are, that we work with community partners to address bias issues head on, and that we stand together in saying that hate is not part of who we are as Oregonians.”

To report bias incidents to a confidential advocate, contact the Oregon DOJ Bias Response Hotline at StandAgainstHate.Oregon.gov or 1-844-924-BIAS (2427). Community members can report in any language, and the hotline accepts all Relay calls. Emergencies should be reported to 911.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-21 16:00:26

Oregon Representative Anna Scharf (R-Amity) and Senator Brian Boquist (R-Dallas) have filed a request for a one-day Special Legislative Session next month to rebalance the weight mile tax. They say Democrats have ignored an unconstitutional disparity in how heavy trucks are being taxed.

Article IX 3a of the Oregon Constitution requires the State Highway Fund to be fair and equitable to light and heavy users alike to ensure that cars and trucks pay their fair share of the usage of the road. Cars pay the gas tax, while diesel trucks pay their portion through the weight mile tax. Both pay registration fees.

The biennial Highway Cost Allocation Study (HCAS) is used to understand the cost responsibility of each class of vehicle. The 2021-2023 report showed that heavy vehicles were overpaying by 16%, while the 2023-25 report shows heavy vehicles are overpaying by 31%. During the 2023 session, the Majority party knew of this imbalance and refused to address it and have no plans to address it in the upcoming 35-day session in 2024. This leaves a Special Session to address this constitutional violation.

Based on the 2023-2025 HCAS, the Department of Transportation has estimated that trucks will overpay by approximately $193 million per year. That is over $500,000 in taxes being collected every day in violation of the State Constitution. While the weight mile tax is paid by trucks, the cost is passed onto Oregonians as increased prices on goods and services they use every day. The real people overpaying are the working class, seniors on fixed incomes, and families.

“Without trucks, families and communities in Oregon would not have access to the products they rely on. Yet, the State is knowingly overtaxing them in violation of the constitution,” Rep. Scharf said about her effort to call a Special Session. “It is more expensive to operate a truck in Oregon than any other state in the nation. We simply cannot force trucking companies and independent truckers to shoulder the burden of Oregon’s transportation taxes and continue to knowingly violate Oregon’s Constitution. A one-day special session can remedy this situation now.”

Under Article IV Section 10a of the Oregon Constitution, as outlined in ORS 171.015, a member from each chamber may submit a formal request for a Special Session. Each member of the Legislature will be sent a ballot this week, and a majority of both chambers will need to vote in favor of the Special Session for it to take place. They have 14 days to return their ballot. The estimated date that a Special Session could take place would be the week of January 8th, which coincides with preplanned Legislative Days, a week in which lawmakers are already planning to be in Salem to prepare for the February Short 35-day Legislative Session.

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Can an imbalance be resolved in such a short period of time? If you squeeze the balloon for large trucks cutting costs on the transportation budget, where will the bulge be absorbed? Scharf suggested Democrats should find money to make up any resulting budget shortfall for ODOT in other places.

Oregonians pay the eighth highest gas tax in the nation, which contributes to one of the highest prices at the pump. There is already a money problem with the attempt to ban new gas vehicles by 2035. The Oregon Department of Transportation relies on the gas tax and weight mile tax for revenue to maintain roads, bridges and for other projects. Since 2001, Oregon has piloted OReGO where drivers voluntarily sign up to pay-per-mile driven. Currently the rate is under 2-cents per mile. A bill to make the program mandatory for everyone passed out of committee last session.

If rebalancing highway usage taxes becomes a reality, watch for pay-per-mile legislation to be pushed even though it presents a heavier burden on rural areas, creating another imbalance.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-20 11:23:38

Last Update: 2023-12-19 22:04:58

Replacing the aging Interstate Bridge with a modern, earthquake resilient, multimodal structure is a high priority for Oregon and Washington. The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program was awarded $600 million federal grant to move the project forward. As of March 2022, both states have dedicated a combined $90 million for initial Interstate Bridge replacement planning work and have pledged $1 billion from each state. Replacing the bridge is expected to cost around $6 billion, and planners are hoping to see $2.5 billion of that come from federal grants.

A bistate legislative committee, composed of 16 Oregon and Washington lawmakers, provides additional guidance and oversight for the program. A recently passed Move Ahead Washington transportation revenue package allocated $1 billion to fund Washington’s share of the anticipated costs needed to complete the IBR program. Given the funding reality for large transportation projects nationwide, it is assumed that construction of a bridge replacement will require revenue from a diverse range of sources, including federal funds, state funds from both Oregon and Washington, and tolling.

I-5 is the only continuous north-south freeway between Canada and Mexico that makes the Interstate Bridge a critical trade route for regional, national, and international commerce. It is projected that a major earthquake would likely damage, potentially beyond repair, and bring the west coast commerce to a standstill. A new bridge would meet seismic standards and built tall enough so river trade will not disrupt bridge traffic.

The IBR is working toward replacing the I-5 bridge with a plan that would solve congestion for some 143,000 vehicles each day with improved merging lanes, adding light rail and an auxiliary lane for walking and biking to optimize traffic flow.

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Planning priority is on equity to help shape program work and realize economic and transportation benefits. An Equity Advisory Group provides a framework that outlines the program’s approach to equity and the resources it will use to advance equity, including equitable tolling and pricing strategies.

The public is invited to share their thoughts and sign up to receive updates.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-19 13:25:43

Last Update: 2023-12-19 17:38:12

A coalition of environmental and social justice groups sent a letter to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum asking her to investigate NW Natural for spreading misinformation about the health and climate risks of gas-burning stoves. They are asking Rosenblum to use her powers under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act to investigate and sue NW Natural.

The coalition wants NW Natural to inform customers via mail, email and the company’s website the health risks of gas appliances and the role natural gas and methane play in global climate change.

Representative Mark Gamba (D-Milwaukie) said in a news conference, “Gas companies have a moral and legal obligation to accurately represent the risks their products pose to consumers. Unfortunately, they have continuously and egregiously failed to do so.”

Does this not apply to all public utilities? The coalition uses reports from 1970s stating nitrogen dioxide emitted when natural gas is burned is not healthy. That also applies to an EPA report of electric power plants as being the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions burning fossil fuels for electricity? Electric power plants are also the largest source of airborne emissions of mercury, a potent neurotoxin which affects the nervous system and brain functions, particularly in children. EPA reports that “Among the 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or air toxics, that are emitted by power plants, mercury has been a principal HAP of concern.”

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That same report states, “Electric power generation is the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide pollution, contributing to climate change, which is threatening public health and affecting ecosystems at multiple levels, from the biological communities that make up ecosystems to the services they provide to communities, economies, and people.”

EIA Annual Natural Gas Deliveries For Electric Power, 2021 shows that Oregon electric utilities rely on about as much natural gas for power generation as all the natural gas utilities in the state deliver to customers.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-18 11:30:27

Last Update: 2023-12-18 14:11:35

Oops
--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-15 01:19:58

As calls for a ceasefire mount in the conflict in Israel and Gaza, Oregon State Representatives are making it clear that they support Israel and stand against the genocidal terrorist group Hamas.

Representatives Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany), Cyrus Javadi (R-Tillamook), and Boomer Wright (R-Florence) issued the following statement:

“After meeting with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, we affirm our strong support for Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that perpetrated a horrific attack resulting in the murder of more than 1,200 Israelis and abduction of over 240.

“While we support more humanitarian aid for non-combatant civilians in Gaza, even a humanitarian pause, we oppose calls for a premature ceasefire, which would leave Hamas’s oppressive regime in power and capable of perpetrating more terrorism against Israel. We also stand firm against antisemitism, which has risen by over 300 percent since the October 7 attack and has made members of our Jewish community feel unsafe. That is unacceptable, and we urge all Oregonians to speak out against this vile form of hate.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-14 20:04:24

Oregon Legislature's House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) has released a blistering statement after Multnomah County prosecutors allowed suspected drug kingpin Luis Funez to walk out of jail and into the wind.

The Willamette Week reported that Funez had been caught selling drugs in an open-air drug market in Portland in January. Weeks later, he was caught again with 100 fentanyl tablets during a traffic stop. He was booked on 10 felonies and allowed to leave jail.

In December, law enforcement raided an Airbnb rented by Funez that held 52 pounds of fentanyl, or 11 million doses. Again, Funez was allowed to walk free from jail, and he skipped his court appearance.

“A suspected drug dealer – caught selling drugs in an open-air drug market and later caught again in possession of 11 million doses of fentanyl – is walking free today because of the outrageous detention practices of the Multnomah County district attorney’s office. There seems to be no will whatsoever in the prosecutor’s office to keep drugs and the criminals who traffic them off the streets. Releasing drug dealers, vilifying law enforcement, and coddling criminals is a recipe for continued decline. It is clear to me that the district attorney’s priorities lie with appeasing radical, soft-on-crime special interest groups, not with public safety. The people deserve better,” said Helfrich.

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Synthetic opioid overdoses have spiked in recent years, according to the National Institute of Health. In 2021, more than 106,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses with fentanyl being the leading cause of such deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control found that Oregon had the highest rate of increase, 67 percent, in fentanyl poisoning fatalities and drug overdoses in 2023 compared to the previous year.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2023-12-13 21:11:56

Last Update: 2023-12-13 21:23:32

When Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer announced his retirement, he was apprehensive stating, “It is a difficult decision especially after the amazing success of the last several years. The stakes are still very high, and Democrats are positioned to reclaim the House of Representatives.”

Blumenauer describes his decision in this way, “it is time to continue my life's mission without the burden of day-to-day politics. I will not seek re-election for any office in 2024. I have dedicated my career to creating livable communities where people are safe, healthy, and economically secure. This mission guided my involvement in Congress on a wide range of issues that have been very rewarding for me and productive for our community.”

There is no lack of interest in running on Blumenauer’s coat tails. Two Democrats have filed their candidacy. Nolan Bylenga wants to reform the criminal justice system, fix the education system, give back to veterans and lower the cost of living. Rachel Lydia Rand, a software engineer and jazz trombonist for the U.S. Navy, has also filed.

Three Democrats have expressed their intent to run. Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal resigned her position to run for Congressional District 3. Jayapal was an advocate on the board to house and shelter thousands of families and individuals, support victims of domestic violence, and recently secured a federal grant to help form a tech partnership to improve housing coordination and move more people experiencing homelessness into long-term housing.

Blumenauer has similar goals that includes, “being a champion of making our community more livable. Portland is broken and I want to help fix it. Most of all it means my being able to spend more time here with my wonderful life partner, Margaret, who shares my zeal and commitment to solving problems here in Oregon. And my children and grandchildren whose future is invested here. But I'm not done with Congress yet.”

Most recently, State Representative Maxine Dexter, a physician, expressed her life-long goal to run for Congress by joining the growing field of Democrats wanting to replace U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. She said in an interview with the Capital Chronicle she will focus on building trust in D.C. “I believe that attitude of just wanting to get the right policies passed and helping people do that will help me gain influence over time. The fact of the matter is I listen, I lead and I’m effective, and people will give me opportunities over time."

A fifth candidate expressing interest is Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales who has the backing of major national figures. Another name speculated as number six is former Chief of Staff to Governor Kate Brown and former Biden Administration official Nik Blosser.

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In the heart of solid blue Portland a storm is brewing with American Israel Public Affairs Committee evaluating congressional races. Willamette Week reported that the Jewish Insider nodded to the possibility of national money coming here. “The Portland contest is among a few House races in the Pacific Northwest that Democratic strategists and Jewish activists in the region expect to draw spending from leading pro-Israel groups, even as they have yet to disclose their plans.”


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-13 12:16:03

Last Update: 2023-12-13 13:45:22

A cross-section of Oregonians sue the Oregon Governor, Secretary of State, and Elections Director over a violation of free speech in Thielman vs. Kotek filed in U.S. District Court of Oregon. The Secretary of State of Oregon is poised to launch an “Elections False Information Solution” contract with a UK-based artificial intelligence agency. The intent is to create a sophisticated citizen surveillance technology to “combat” and “disarm,” citizen speech about elections. This runs counter to the state’s official assertion that Oregon elections are “safe and secure.”

The Elections False Information Solution began last year as a test pilot. The Secretary of State issued a new requested for proposal (RFP) this year to officially launch the program. Its purpose is to surveil and collect citizen’s speech about elections and then the state will determine if it is mis/dis/mal information. The program describes this process as “threat detection.” The program will monitor social media platforms, websites, Oregon news sites, websites, podcasts, radio programs, videos on YouTube, and blogs.

In order for the new AI technology to surveil election speech, it must surveil all speech to determine if it is aimed at elections. As this AI technology surveilles election speech in public media, it will then create notifications and reporting of “threats” it detects. The Elections Division will share information it collects with partners such as the FBI, Oregon State Police, National Guard, Oregon TITAN Fusion Center, CISA, and the US Attorneys’ Office.

In addition, the AI media-sifting and reporting program will then create counter-narratives to “manage authoritative public information,” according to their program Solutions Requirements. These intimidating referrals to law enforcement and the state’s messaging efforts to discredit citizen views are some of the “countermeasures” they are using to “combat” citizen speech. Other countermeasures include violating citizens expressing their election views to social media platforms, and thus shadow banning, de-monetizing, and de-platforming ensues.

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Through this initiative, the state of Oregon has appointed themselves as the arbiter of what constitutes mis/dis/mal information. Instead of allocating taxpayer money to improving Oregon’s election systems, the state has allocated citizen monies to surveillance, “fact checking,” and law enforcement referrals.

The plaintiff citizens of Oregon aim to receive a permanent injunction to this program. The complaint reads, "It is a bedrock principle of our constitutional system that the government does not get to decide what speech is acceptable or true. Under the First Amendment, Americans have a right to speak freely regardless of whether their speech upsets the preferred narrative. In fact, that's when it needs the most vigorous protection."

Chilling the speech of any citizen for any purpose is a violation of the First Amendment and thus a growing coalition of Oregonians are joining this case Thielman vs. Kotek. Plaintiffs include a cross-section of affected Oregonians, including state senators, candidates for office, businessmen and women, election integrity researchers, broadcasters, radio hosts, and political party leaders.

Plaintiffs have also filed a "preliminary injunction order prohibiting Defendants from surveiling and/or suppressing speech concerning alleged misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation. This includes an order halting any performance of work pursuant to the Secretary of State’s Office Request for Proposal titled “Election False Information Solution.”"

To help defend free speech, donations can be made to Joncus Law PC or Battleground Oregon.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-13 12:12:49

Last Update: 2023-12-13 13:45:49

Governor Tina Kotek and Co-Chair Dan McMillan, president and CEO of The Standard, released a set of 10 priority recommendations from the Portland Central City Task Force to be carried out in early 2024, as well as a long term strategic vision for economic prosperity for the region and, by extension, the entire state. Click here to view the PCCTF recommendations in detail.

“Confronting our most pressing challenges requires the hope and fortitude of an entire community,” Governor Kotek said. “Over the course of the last four months, members of the task force, the broader Portland community, and people across Oregon who know Portland’s success is a bellwether for the entire state have contributed to this effort in ways large and small, and I am incredibly grateful.

“We have a set of concrete recommendations, some the first of their kind, others that tap into Portland’s strengths in innovation, collaboration, art, and culture. The reward for a strong start is more work. I am committed to this effort and excited to see this work unfold.”

“When I look at this list from our Task Force committees, I see a set of refreshing, bold solutions that are smarter, stronger, and will be more effective than what any one person or governmental entity could achieve alone,” Dan McMillan said. “When the Governor and I convened the task force in late summer, it was under the theory that Portland’s challenges don’t solely rest on the shoulders of government, community, or business and that you need diverse, and sometimes unlikely, partnerships to get big things done. I believe we have proven our theory and we’re eager to move into implementation.”

Summary of top 10 recommendations for 2024:

• Declare a tri-government fentanyl emergency. The State of Oregon, Multnomah County, and the City of Portland should each declare a 90-day emergency on fentanyl and establish a command center within the Central City, led by the State, where daily communication, coordination, and triage of the fentanyl crisis will be carried out. The command center is focused on enhanced coordination and does not change authority or oversight of existing bureau or department management. Community-based providers (including outreach workers and peers), public health efforts, and law enforcement resources across all three governments should be leveraged for this effort, with an emphasis on refocusing existing resources, including expanding hours of operation during which providers can accept clients, to better meet the Central City’s needs and carve out a path to exit the emergency.

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• Ban the public use of controlled substances and reduce barriers to prosecuting drug delivery. The Legislature should consider legislation to ban public use of controlled substances and to restore law enforcement’s ability to prosecute for attempting to deliver controlled substances to another party based on the amount of drugs in possession.
• Ramp up existing infrastructure for effective and speedy implementation of a Public Use Ban, pending legislative approval. Ramp up Multnomah County’s Promoting Access To Health program to meet the needs of Portland’s Central City and be at the ready in the event of a statewide public use ban on controlled substances.
• Focus peer delivered services and street outreach workers in the Central City. Peer delivered services and outreach workers, which will be leveraged under the emergency declaration recommendation above, should be coordinated to focus outreach in the Central City where the need is most acute to yield better client outcomes.
• Increase safe and accessible options for unsheltered people. Hundreds of people sleep unsheltered in the Central City and lack adequate daytime safety off of the streets. Daytime services for unsheltered people should be sustained and increased, including exploring options to expand access to publicly available bathrooms and hygiene services. Multnomah County has allocated $3 million towards daytime services that will be procured through early 2024. In early December, the County Chair and Mayor proposed a three-year contract for the Joint Office of Homeless Services with clear measurable outcomes including a 50 percent reduction in unsheltered street homelessness in 2 years, improved data available in a public budget dashboard, daily shelter bed availability and quarterly report on goals and an improved governance structure to address the full Homelessness Response System.
• Expand Central City’s homeless shelter capacity. Increasing and sustaining shelter capacity is a top priority. Multnomah County is directing $9 million to improve flow-through from existing shelters to permanent housing. Additionally, the County is funding 50 additional shelter pods at existing safe village sites and 300 shelter spaces at two Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites. They are projected to open in spring 2024.
• Further elevate law enforcement response in the Central City. The City and State should build on recent enhanced patrols action, including the following tactics:
  • Extend the additional police presence from the Portland Police Bureau and Oregon State Police in the Central City into 2024.
  • Increase the number of City Park Rangers assigned to Central City parks through April.
  • Request that PPB evaluate opportunities for additional utilization of Public Safety Support Specialists to strengthen police response throughout the city while sworn officers are deployed in Central City.
  • Immediately amend the Clean and Safe contract to allow flexibility for staffing and deployment of additional officers in the Central City.
  • Ensure that the Department of Public Safety Standards & Training maintains the needed class sizes to accommodate the training needs of PPB.
• Clean up the city. Conduct community mapping of the Central City’s biggest trouble spots, informed by a pilot program developed last fall. Activate SOLVE, AdoptOneBlock, and Trash for Peace to systematically work through a prioritized list of trash and graffiti hotspots. The Governor will seek $20 million in ODOT funding in the 2024 legislative session for trash and graffiti removal and prevention. Prosper Portland has also identified up to $500,000 to commission public art investments.

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• Bring down the 2020-era fences and plywood. The boarded up condition of the Federal Courthouse, The Justice Center, and some downtown businesses sends the wrong signal to visitors. The federal General Services Administration, the County and City, and businesses should prioritize taking down fencing and plywood before the 2024 Rose Festival.
• Declare a moratorium on new taxes and offer targeted tax relief. Portland is the second highest taxed city in the nation; we trail New York City by only a fraction. Elected officials should agree to a three-year pause, through 2026, on new taxes and fees. A Tax Advisory Group should be established to study and evaluate improvements to our taxing structure, and state and local governments should identify a few targeted incentives, including an expansion of the Business License Tax downtown tax credit.

"The elephant in the living room has to be the fallout from the train wreck that Measure 110 has become," said one former legislator who declined to be identified. "These people are reaping what they have sown."

Multnomah county voted for Measure 110 by a whopping 74%. The Democratic Party of Oregon -- which Governor Kotek belongs to -- issued an official statement in the 2020 Voters' Pamphlet indicating that the party supported a yes vote on Measure 110 and many critics are quick to point out that the heavily Democratic county that supported Measure 110 is now asking the government to resolve the issue.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-11 20:24:55

Last Update: 2023-12-11 22:56:30

Oregon Health Sciences University Assistant Professor of Surgery Dr. Blair Peters, M.D. has been called out by newly elected Congressional House Speaker Mike Johnson for his work in gender reconstructive surgery. Johnson is critical of the practice which is going on at OHSU.

In an October 28th speech on the floor of the US House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson played a clip of an interview with Dr. Peters and then said, "I'm going to speak the truth here plainly and I think the vast majority of the American people agree with what I'm going to say. What you've just heard there is a little sample of barbarism. This is the mutilation of our children and it should be prohibited by our law.

During the interview, which is embedded in the video below, Dr. Peters says:

The one thing that is very new is genital surgery in someone who has underwent pubertal suppression. [It is] not so much an issue in someone with assigned female at birth anatomy that undergoes a bowelplasty because we're crating something new with a free tissue transfer -- a flap anyway, but a much bigger issue for a person undergoing a penile inversion vaginalplasty because we use all that tissue to create the vulva as well as lining the internal vaginal canal and as a specialty those of us who do a fairly high volume of genital gender-affirming surgery -- we've maybe done a couple, a handful, of fully purebertally suppressed adolescents as the field and no one's published on it yet, OHSU is still just putting our first series together as we're kind of learning and figuring out what works.

Speaker Johnson summarized his criticism in his speech.

we see adults inflicting unspeakable harms on helpless children to affirm the adults' own worldview: that gender is somehow fluid, that sex can be surgically altered, that there are no lasting consequences of all this madness as the result of the sex-change procedures. What is even more alarming is that the central tenet of the trans-gender movement and its allies is to exclude parents as much as possible from making decisions about the health of their own children. Medical professionals and schools increasingly see parents as "trans-phobic bullies who must be prevented from standing in the way of a medical sexual transition of their own kids.

--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-11 10:01:11

Last Update: 2023-12-11 20:23:11

A coalition of three county’s legislators, commissioners and city mayors has sent U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez a letter urging a modification to his 2021 order and expressing concerns of dam drawdowns in the Willamette Basin. The drawdowns across the Valley seems to vary in purpose. Some are for the future of hydropower in the Valley, and some are part of a federal injunction to try and save endangered fish, but all have related impacts.

The deep drawdown of Green Peter Dam and Lookout Reservoir has impacted communities of Lowell, Lebanon and Sweet Home with muddy waterways, dried-up wells and economic losses. Businesses in Sweet Home report declining profits due to reduced tourism, and water treatment challenges persist. Lebanon and Lowell face increased chemical use and sediment build up. Tourism-dependent Detroit struggles with reservoir management changes, impacting recovery efforts post-wildfires.

The letter to U.S. District Judge Hernandez highlights the frustrations people in these rural communities are experiencing with his order made without local input. These communities were already facing economic challenges due to the loss of timber, and now fear further loss of revenue from loss of recreational activities.

Representative Jami Cate (R-Lebanon) pushed for the coalition and says, “the letter accurately expresses growing community concerns about the management of dams, particularly Green Peter Dam and Lookout Point Dam, following deep drawdowns that have had severe and wide-ranging impacts. The drawdowns, aimed at studying hydropower elimination and promoting fish passage, have raised questions about long-term goals of the advocacy groups that promoted them, and have caused major disruptions affecting water quality, recreation, and economic stability… the letter urges a modification to the 2021 order and advocates for community involvement in dam management decisions, emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts for informed and equitable solutions that consider both environmental and community needs.”

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The 20-member coalition wrote, “We also understand that your decision was made based on the available knowledge you had at the time. However, it has become increasingly apparent that the eventual outcomes of the drawdowns were more severe than what advocates had led you to believe. The deep drawdowns in particular have left a path of destruction that has outweighed any benefits that they sought to bring.”




--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-12-09 17:52:58

Last Update: 2023-12-10 00:57:07