Sunday could be the last time Oregonians spring ahead
Whether you love the change or hate it, you will need to set your clocks forward one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday. We will lose an hour of sleep, but we will see more daylight in the evenings. The question is: Will we turn the clocks back on Nov. 5 as planned or will it be the last time Oregonians observe daylight saving time? In 2019, Oregon lawmakers passed a measure to keep most of the state — Malheur County would remain on Mountain Time — permanently on daylight saving time. Washington and California want to do the same, but there’s a hitch. While federal law allows states to remain on standard time like Arizona and Hawaii, it doesn’t allow states to stay on daylight saving time. To do that, the West Coast will need approval from Congress. (Makenzie Elliott/Eugene Register-Guard)
Kotek names new interim director of OHA
Gov. Tina Kotek announced Tuesday she will appoint the Oregon Health Authority’s current chief financial officer, Dave Baden, as the agency’s interim director, effective March 17. Patrick Allen, the director who led OHA through the early COVID response, stepped down in January of this year. Allen’s interim replacement, James Schroeder, submitted his resignation last week. Kotek said in a press release that Baden led the state’s vaccine rollout and helped bring in more than 2,000 people to help staff overwhelmed health care providers. Before coming to OHA, Baden was deputy CFO for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (OPB staff)
California man dies after fall at Cape Kiwanda
A 25-year-old California man died at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area on Saturday after falling from a rocky bluff and getting swept into the ocean, marking the eighth fatal accident at the popular site since 2009. Henry Minh Hoang of West Covina was hiking beyond a safety fence in an area known as the punchbowl when he slipped and fell approximately 20 feet to the water’s edge, Oregon State Police said in a news release. Police said Hoang was likely knocked unconscious from the fall and swept into the ocean. His body was located on the shoreline Sunday. Cape Kiwanda has long been the deadliest spot on the Oregon Coast. (Zach Urness/Salem Statesman Journal)
Amtrak brings back route between Portland and the farther Vancouver
As of Monday, Amtrak has restored its round-trip service between Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia. The service was suspended in 2020 after Canada closed its border to non-essential travel due to the pandemic. The service includes 13 stops at train stations throughout western Washington. Every day, a train will depart from Portland around 3 p.m., arriving in Seattle by 6:30 p.m. and Vancouver by 11 p.m. U.S. travelers arriving in Canada will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 — and they need to carry their vaccine card. Passengers are required to wear masks on trains traveling through Canada. (OPB staff)
Oregon Coast tourism group making the case for local seafood
The practice of restaurants buying, fileting, storing and serving locally caught seafood continues to become more of a rarity on the Oregon Coast. The Oregon Coast Visitors Association commissioned a study that found that about 90% of seafood sold and served on the Oregon Coast doesn’t originate from the region and is often imported from other countries, while the majority of Oregon’s bounty is shipped elsewhere. The visitors association is making a push to change that trend and says increasing consumption of local seafood could reel in up to $90 million more for the coastal economy. (Ethan Myers/The Astorian)
Bend woman charged in crash killing 3 Warm Springs tribal members
A Bend woman faces charges of first-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants after a head-on collision that killed three Warm Springs tribal members north of Madras in November. Audrey Cooper McHugh, 29, was arrested by Oregon State Police troopers at her Bend home on Friday. She pleaded not guilty through her defense attorney in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Monday. She is accused of acting with “extreme indifference” to human life when she caused the crash that killed siblings Jesiah Johnson, 13, and Jessica Johnson, 15, and their aunt, Saralee Lorette Spino-McCormack, 29, according to court records. (Bryce Dole/The Bend Bulletin)
