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Oregon lawmakers discuss insurance rates as record wildfires threaten homes
A group of Oregon lawmakers and insurance representatives met to discuss homeowners insurance rates on Aug. 12 as the record wildfires burning around the state have destroyed at least 25 homes and threaten many more.
Community dinner to temporarily close Stewart Park Drive Bridge
ROSEBURG, Ore. — If your usual commute takes you over the Stewart Park Drive Bridge, AKA the "Green Bridge", you may want to plan an alternate route next Saturday. On August 24, 2024, Thrive Umpqua is set to host a free farm-to-table community dinner on the bridge as a culmination for the non profit's “Love Your Neighborhood” campaign. Up to 500 guests are anticipated to attend the event, according to officials with the City of Roseburg.
Coos Bay advising of two leaks at wastewater plants
On the evening of Monday July 29, 2024, a power failure occurred at Plant 1. The power failure only occurred for a few seconds, however the plant sent out an alarm (as designed) to the city’s operators. This alarm system ensures that a prompt response occurs to make sure everything is working correctly. Nationwide, wastewater treatment plants have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. These permits have strict water quality limits for discharging effluent to receiving waters. One limit in the permit for...
Coos Bay police investigating body found near park as homicide victim
COOS BAY, Ore. – Authorities are investigating a deceased body found near a Coos Bay park on Tuesday morning as a homicide, according to the Coos Bay Police Department. CBPD officials said that North Coos 911 dispatchers received a report at 7:22 a.m. on August 13 of a man down near Eastside Park at 5th Avenue and E Street in Coos Bay. Responding police officers arrived to find the body of Braxton Busch who had died of homicidal violence, authorities said. Police said the multiagency Coos County Major Crime Team was activated in response to the investigation.
The town buzz: Beekeeper extracts beehive from downtown facade
Southern Oregon Swarms makes hive ‘bee gone’ from The Village Baker on Main Street. Two stories of scaffolding leaned up against The Village Baker on Monday afternoon, providing a platform for a beekeeper to reach up and remove a colony of unwelcome tenants: honeybees. Tristen Tartaglia, owner of...
Car accident turns a car onto its side, sends two people to the hospital
CAVE JUNCTION, Ore.- A car accident in Cave Junction turns a car onto its side and sends two people to the hospital. According to the Illinois Valley Fire District, the accident occurred on Redwood Highway around 7:00 p.m. When units arrived, two cars were found off the side of the...
Humane society gives update on dozens of kittens abandoned at its gate
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Rogue Valley Humane Society has been hard at work caring for a large number of cats abandoned at its gate. The group has been affectionately dubbed the “Saved by the Bell Crew.”. As NBC5 News previously reported, last week two groups of cats...
Private contractors and their speed, expertise play key role in helping Oregon Dept. of Forestry battle wildfires
SWEET HOME, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Feller bunchers, bulldozers, water tenders and other specialized equipment play a key role in the initial attack and suppression of Oregon’s wildfires. Much of that equipment is provided by local operators under a contract agreement with the Oregon Department of Forestry. “One piece of...
Oregon legislative Democrats join governor, Republicans in opposing rebate ballot measure
Democratic leaders in the Oregon House and Senate have come out swinging against a November ballot measure that would hike taxes on corporations to send checks to every Oregonian. Top Democrats in the House and Senate joined their Republican colleagues and Gov. Tina Kotek in opposing Measure 118, also referred to as the Oregon Rebate. The ballot measure, one of five statewide questions that will appear on the November ballot, would increase by 3% the corporate minimum tax on sales above $25 million and distribute...
Environmental regulators say NW Natural misleading customers about Oregon's climate credit program
Oregon environmental regulators are concerned that the state’s largest natural gas utility is misinforming customers about a key climate change policy aimed to reduce greenhouse gases. NW Natural, which provides natural gas to more than 2 million people in Oregon and southwest Washington, told its customers in a newsletter this month that the state is proposing a carbon crediting program that might not lead to direct greenhouse gas emission cuts. ...
There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
The late Portland icon Tom Peterson famously declared, “Free is a very good price.”. But the new freebie offered up by schools around the Northwest comes at a price too great to measure. Government-run schools in Oregon and Washington fail students miserably, with reading and math scores steadily declining...
Opera singer Marian Anderson, denied Washington, D.C., stage, was welcomed at this southern Oregon theater
A sold-out recital in March 1940 forever changed the story of downtown Medford’s Holly Theatre. Classical singer and Black civil rights activist Marian Anderson, who was denied performing in the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall in segregated Washington, D.C., a year earlier, stood on the Holly stage and faced the audience of 1,200 people, about 10% of Medford’s population at the time.
Jackson County Commissioners talk future of Bear Creek Greenway
MEDFORD, Ore. – The future of the Bear Creek Greenway was front and center at the recent Jackson County Commissioners’ work session. Mike Sellinger from Alta Planning and Design presented survey results and recommendations on the 22.4 mile paved trail linking Ashland to Central Point. Of the 3,000+ people surveyed, many of them were concerned with the Greenway’s safety and maintenance.
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