Oregon endures another hot year, but after cool, wet spring
Oregon recorded its 10th-warmest year ever in 2022, but for Oregon State Climatologist Larry O’Neill what stood out was the extreme contrast between the wet, cool spring and the boiling hot late summer and early autumn. “Oregon received the most precipitation from April to June on record, and it really was impactful at reducing projected drought severity in much of the state,” O’Neill said. But that was followed by a historically hot summer of “four months from July to October that were the warmest such period in state history.” (Zach Urness/Salem Statesman Journal)
UO moves forward with efforts to build a new Portland campus
The University of Oregon’s efforts to create a new satellite campus in Northeast Portland are moving forward. In recent months, officials have been assessing the site of the former Concordia University campus UO purchased last June for $60.5 million. Architecture firms and a construction manager have been chosen, and up to $10 million in funding has so far been approved with several projects already slated for the coming years. The first group of students and employees are expected to transition to the new site this summer while the rest remain at the White Stag Block and Naito Buildings in the city’s Old Town neighborhood. (Miranda Cyr/Eugene Register-Guard)
Woodburn sues Oregon in battle over community center funding
Woodburn has filed a lawsuit against two state agencies over their refusal to sell $15 million in bonds approved by the state Legislature two years ago to help pay for the city’s proposed community center project. The state says it won’t sell them because the city has yet to come up with funding to cover its share of the ambitious expansion. Woodburn officials initially tried to get the Legislature to pay for the entire project, but lawmakers in 2021 authorized the state to sell $15 million in lottery bonds toward the project. According to the lawsuit, the bonds the Legislature approved are only authorized until June 30. City officials have talked about putting a bond measure before voters but not until November or possibly in 2024 or 2025. (Bill Poehler/Salem Statesman Journal)
Bend fined for wastewater treatment plant infractions
Bend’s wastewater treatment facility is finally complete after years of delays and obstacles. But the facility got off to a rocky start last fall when the state fined the city of Bend $30,000 for discharging more pollution than allowed and failing to collect some required data. Bend’s utility director, Mike Beuttner, partially chalked up the violations to misinterpretation. The violations occurred before the new facility was completed and working at full capacity. As a result, Buettner said, the city negotiated the fines down to $15,000. (Anna Kaminski/Bend Bulletin)
Work begins on Redmond’s first low-barrier homeless shelter
People experiencing homelessness in Redmond will have a new option for shelter this fall. Shepherd’s House Ministries is currently in the middle of a nearly $2.2 million renovation of a building located off Highway 97. It will be a comprehensive center that offers beds, showers, three free meals a day, case management and other opportunities. The new building will replace the organization’s current winter warming shelter at Mountain View Fellowship Church, which is open from Nov. 15 through March 15. (Nick Rosenberger/Redmond Spokesman)