Providence nurses may strike after negotiations stall
After eight months of negotiations, nurses at Providence Portland and Seaside have begun voting on whether to authorize a strike. In a statement released Tuesday, union leaders with the Oregon Nurses Association said the nurses are seeking pay increases, benefits improvements, increased paid leave and increased staffing. “We’ve been telling Providence for years that the wage and benefit package they are offering isn’t retaining staff, and they simply refuse to listen,” said Richard Botterill, RN and bargaining unit chair at Providence Portland. If a strike is called, the union said it will provide Providence with a 10-day notice to allow management adequate time to cease admissions and transfer patients, or to reach a fair agreement with nurses and avert a work stoppage. Voting on the strike authorization ends Sunday, June 4 at 5 p.m. (OPB Staff)
Oregon joins several states suing over illegal robocalls
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that Oregon is among the states suing the company Avid Telecom over illegal robocalls to millions of people. Attorneys general from several states claim the company placed more than 7 billion calls to telephone numbers that were on the National Do Not Call Registry. Those robocalls allegedly included scams about Social Security, Medicare, auto warranties, Amazon, DirecTV and credit cards. The company is accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and other federal and state laws. The Oregon House of Representatives passed legislation last month that would make it illegal to help transmit robo-calls, no matter where they originate. Rosenblum is urging the Oregon Senate to pass the bill. (OPB Staff)
Blind pooch swept away, but recovered safely 2 miles down Rogue River
Leo the blind dog is back home after a big adventure down the Rogue River. Leo is a 7-year-old red heeler and pit bull mix owned by Jose Ramos of Gold Hill. Ramos and his friend Samantha Pittman went out to the river with Leo Saturday at TouVelle State Recreation Site. Ramos often throws a stick in the water and Leo can find the sticks by following the sound they make. But these days, the river is running high and fast. “He had a stick in his mouth, and he wasn’t letting go,” Pittman said. “We couldn’t see his little head no more.” Luckily, Leo survived. A boat captain spotted him Sunday morning and reported his whereabouts. Later that afternoon, the family found him in a remote location, hemmed in by the river and irrigation canals. Leo was covered in ticks but otherwise fine. (Shaun Hall/Rogue Valley Times)
PCC hires a new training center coordinator with a record of embezzlement
Portland Community College’s Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center in Scappoose recently hired a new partnership coordinator with a record of embezzlement in a prior public position. But the college won’t say whether the new hire handles money or if it knew of his record when hiring him. In 2018, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge sentenced Randall “Rand” Brown to 18 months in prison for using his Multnomah County government credit card on $52,000 worth of personal expenditures on items ranging from gold bullion to gas masks and rifle scopes. Brown was an animal control officer and manager at Multnomah County’s animal control starting in 2014, after holding another animal control position in Tennessee. Multnomah County fired Brown in 2017. (Aurora Biggers/Portland Tribune)
Green-energy project clears hurdle in Washington, despite tribal concerns
The Washington Department of Ecology recently certified that a hydropower project along the Columbia River in south-central Washington will not pollute water, advancing a green-energy development opposed by several tribes and environmental groups. Ecology’s approval is a prerequisite for Rye Development of West Palm Beach, Florida, to get a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Goldendale Energy Project. Rye Development’s proposal would make electricity by running water between upper and lower reservoirs and through an underground powerhouse. The system would back up intermittent wind and solar power, according to the company. Rye needs several more federal, state and local permits. An Ecology spokesperson said other environmental issues, including tribal concerns, will be addressed in other government reviews. (Don Jenkins/Capital Press)
Beaverton School District poised to ban nearly all firearms from campus
The Beaverton school board is considering a ban on all firearms on school property, regardless of concealed carry licenses. Districts across the state have been deciding whether to create new rules that would prohibit nearly all guns on campus, after state legislation in 2021 put the decision to ban loaded firearms in the hands of school boards. Previously, Oregon law had a loophole in which students and those who open-carry firearms were prohibited from having guns on campuses, but did not ban those with concealed carry licenses. Other districts in the Portland metro area and across the state have already enacted full firearms bans on campus, including districts in Portland, Tigard-Tualatin, Lake Oswego, Woodburn and Tillamook. (Lauren Bishop/Beaverton Valley Times)
