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First Marijuana Coffee Shop Opens In America The first marijuana coffee shop in the US has opened, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax the policing of medical use of the drug. "We hope to have classes, seminars, even a cannabis community college, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis." The cafe is in a two-story building which formerly housed a speak-easy and adult erotic club called Rumpspankers. It is technically a private club, but is open to any Oregon residents who hold an official medical marijuana card. There are...

Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 16, 2009 Time: 1:30 p.m. PDT Farm tractor driven through fence at Umatilla Chemical Depot Umatilla Chemical Depot, Hermiston, Ore. –A large farm tractor drove through a Umatilla Chemical Depot fence last night, and the driver abandoned it. The person responsible has not been apprehended. Security at the depot remains high. The tractor did not get near the depot’s chemical weapons storage area. Depot security and off-post law enforcement officials are investigating. No damage was sustained to chemical munitions or the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF). The UMCDF...

New federal data shows that deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington this past year spiked by nearly 40 percent, while overall removals dropped slightly. The data released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency shows that for fiscal year 2009 - which spans from October, 2008 to September of this year - 10,793 people were deported from the Pacific Northwest, a drop of 117 compared to the previous year. That marks the first time in the last five years deportations from the Northwest have dropped. But removals of people with criminal records went...

Medford teacher Shirley Katz, who was denied permission to take her handgun to South Medford High School, has lost her appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals. The court opinion, issued Wednesday by Judge Jack Landau, upheld a November 2007 decision by the Jackson County Circuit Court that affirmed the Medford School District's authority to prohibit employees from carrying firearms on school grounds.

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D.-Ore.) says that Congress derived the constitutional authority to make Americans purchase health insurance as part of its "very first enumerated power." He was referring to the language at the beginning of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which says: "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States." CNSNews.com asked Merkley: “Specifically where in the Constitution does Congress get its authority to mandate that individuals purchase health care?” Merkley said: “The very first...

Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right Oregon Firearms Federation alerted its members about the Southern Poverty Law Center training Eugene police: The Southern Poverty Law Center, which considers opposition to draconian gun control laws to be "crackpot," has sent one of their "experts" to Eugene to teach police from multiple agencies about "Hate in America Today- a National Overview of Far Right Domestic Terrorism." You will recall that in the brave new world of Obama, "right wing terrorists" include gun owners, Constitutionalists, military veterans and supporters of limited government. Here's the EPD new release. Among other things, it says: The...

Children from a small school near Forward Operating Base Scania line up to receive school supplies and gifts, Oct. 27, during a Civil Military Operation conducted by the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Iraqi Army. Photo by Spc. Cory Grogan, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. FOB SCANIA — U.S. Soldiers here are working with the citizens surrounding this Forward Operating Base to ensure local children have the tools needed for a proper education. Oregon National Guard members with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry Regiment, based out of Springfield, Ore., from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, were...

EUGENE, Ore. -- Tim Crossan has some serious battle wounds from a brutal attack. His legs are covered in bruises and bite marks. "The teeth went in all the way to the back of the calf on this one, on both sides, " said Crossan. The wounds are from both an intruder and a Eugene Police K9 Unit. Crossan said he was asleep Tuesday night. He awoke to police cars in his cul de sac, reportedly searching for a man accused of trying to break into his neighbor's house. Crossan heard something and said it was then that he found...

PORTLAND, Oregon — The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug. The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it — as long as they are out of public view — despite a federal ban. "This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members," said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization. "Our plans go beyond serving food...

Unions are pushing state lawmakers to pass legislation that would make organizing workers easier, as efforts to rewrite federal organizing laws remain stalled in Congress. Oregon passed the Worker Freedom Act, which prohibits companies from holding mandatory employee meetings to talk about organizing. Employers say mandatory meetings, known as "captive audience meetings," are necessary to counter misleading information disseminated by union organizers. Unions say employers use the meetings to gauge worker sympathies and pressure workers not to join the union. It is unclear if the bill -- which was signed into law in June but doesn't take effect until January...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A shooting has been reported and confirmed at a Tualatin strip mall, police said. Few details were available. According to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, there may be as many as 10 victims. The shooting was reported at 7575 SW Mohawk at the Martinazzi intersection. Police first confirmed that a shooting had occurred sometime after 11 a.m.

Probably you have heard the expression, ‘Seeing is believing’, but is that always true? In fact, quite often it’s the other way around: ‘Believing is seeing’. This is true of geology, for example. Geological evidence does not speak for itself, and so it must always be interpreted. And how we interpret that evidence is always influenced by our beliefs. A good example of this is found on a roadside interpretive sign near the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in central Oregon. This is where the John Day River flows through a water gap[1] called...

Karen Hankins said Monday she doesn't think she'll ever get over what happened last week, when she says she fatally shot her ex-husband in self-defense. But she wants to share her story to help heal and bring awareness of the dangers of mental illness. In her first TV interview, the Redmond woman talked tearfully about how, on a night much like any other, she had to react to a situation not many people could ever dream of facing. "I dropped the phone and took both hands on the gun, and pulled the trigger. Without even thinking. It wasn't a choice....

We need to start blasting all his phones, emails , twitter account, facebooks, and writing to the newspapers. Even if you don't live in his state you need to still be active on them and tell them no business in Oregon if Wyden votes in favor of Obama's reckless Obamacare and cap n trade. Portland, OR 1220 SW 3rd Avenue Suite 585 Portland, OR 97204 (503) 326-7525 Eugene, OR 405 East 8th Avenue Suite 2020 Eugene, OR 97401 (541) 431-0229 La Grande, OR SAC Annex Building 105 Fir St Suite 201 La Grande, OR 97850 (541) 962-7691 Medford, OR Federal...

Dear Friends, Tonight I cast a historic vote to overhaul America’s failing healthcare system to improve the healthcare of all Americans. This bill prohibits exclusions based on preexisting conditions and ensures American families will no longer be one illness or job loss away from bankruptcy. It also protects America’s senior citizens by fixing the donut hole sooner and allowing more drug price-negotiation to ensure seniors are getting the best prices for their medications. For the first time in our nation’s history, we will say that every American deserves access to affordable quality healthcare. I also believe that controlling escalating healthcare...

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon police have charged a man with drunken driving after he called 911 to report his marijuana as stolen but the dispatcher couldn't understand him because he was vomiting while on the road. Marion County sheriff's deputies say 21-year-old of Salem, told dispatchers early Tuesday that someone had broken into his truck and stolen cash, a jacket and a small amount of marijuana while he was at a tavern in Salem.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

This part has some powerful songs

Here is the Video of Portland's TPE II I will try to have some more shots this afternoon. Pray for America and the TPE II

State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows. Records also show that the program, a favorite of Kulongoski's known as the Business Energy Tax Credit, has given millions of dollars to failed companies while voters are being asked to raise income taxes because the state budget doesn't have enough to pay for schools and other programs. The incentives are now under intense scrutiny at the Oregon...

After noticing similarities between the brains of meth users and stroke victims, Portland researchers Marilyn Huckans and Jennifer Loftis theorized they could devise a more effective treatment for addicts. All they needed was a good chunk of money to prove it. And they got it -- nearly $1 million -- courtesy of the federal stimulus act, which in its first eight months has showered $1.8 billion on Oregon, according to reports released Friday. "This is our big opportunity," said Huckans, who works with Loftis at Oregon Health & Science University. The money will be used to hire support staff and...

They're back and feisty as ever. Protesters clutching anti-Barack Obama and pro-Constitution signs braved damp, chilly weather Thursday in Alba Park as they waited for the arrival of the Tea Party Express II. Two Express buses wound their way up from San Diego to Medford as part of a cross-country tour to spread the belief that the federal government has lost its way. Jeff Krump, of the Americans for Prosperity, took to the gazebo to address the 100 or so protesters. "We believe in the founding fathers' vision of a constitutionally limited government," Krump said to a round of cheers....

The Multnomah County commissioners never seem short of resolutions to pass and proclamations to make, but today's unanimous vote to support the federal Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was particularly emotional for both the commissioners and the audience who came to support it. Known as the DREAM ACT, the legislation that would allow children brought into the country illegally to attend and pay in-state tuition at public universities, was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in March. But as it has stalled in the past year, it again has yet to be heard on...

Southern Oregon University has stopped airing the Rogue Valley Community Television show "Wilde Life" because of the indictments of its producer and host. The weekly show about issues facing gay men was suspended by SOU Associate Provost Paul Steinle because of the indictments, and it will stay off the air until the charges are resolved in court, he said. Scott Clay, 55, the show's host, and Dennis Vickoren, 62, of Eagle Point, the show's producer, both have been indicted on charges relating to child pornography. Clay was fired in August from his job with the city of Jacksonville after child...

LATEST RALLY DRAWS OVER 1,000+ IN LIBERAL SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (ON THE ROAD IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA) - Crowds continue to build as the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day (www.TeaPartyExpress.org) gains momentum! Yesterday in the very liberal San Francisco Bay Area, more than 1,000 people turned out to show their support for smaller government, less deficit-spending, and opposition to government-run healthcare. The rally held particular importance as a Special Election for Congress takes place on November 3rd in California's 10th Congressional District. Conservative candidate for Congress, David Harmer, spoke at the event. The Tea Party Express II...

Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs sued the American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) and others for alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Specifically, the plaintiffs objected to the creation of "wanted" posters that listed the names and contact information of various abortion providers and the Nuremberg Files website, which contained anti-abortion advocacy and the names and addresses of over 200 abortion providers, who the site characterized as "war criminals." The website said that this information would be used in future war crimes trials in...

Earth First! made headlines with its tree-spiking in the 1980s, but the guy who helped make the anti-logging tactic famous didn't invent it. Mike Roselle even titled one chapter of his new book "Why I Quit Spiking Trees." In it, the co-founder of Earth First!, the Rainforest Action Network and the Ruckus Society described how the practice brought old-growth timber cutting to national awareness, but became a public relations disaster for the protesters. "I think the Wobblies can take credit for it if they want, but it's been around as long as logging," Roselle said, referring to the Industrial Workers...

Tremayne Durham still wants his money back. Three years ago Durham killed one man and held another hostage in an unsuccessful attempt to get back $18,000 he thought he was due. He is now serving a life sentence in the Oregon State Penitentiary, but he hasn't given up trying to collect. Today, he's using the courts instead of a .357 magnum -- and so far, he's having more success. Durham has filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Rob Chambers, whom he paid nearly $18,000 to build a soft-serve ice-cream truck in December 2005. Durham changed his mind a...

A Multnomah County jury Monday ordered the city of Portland to pay three men a total of $175,000 for a 2007 encounter with police at a downtown parking garage in which the men accused officers of battery, assault and false arrest. The jurors found the testimony of two independent witnesses especially compelling. The witnesses, a young college couple, saw the entire episode and corroborated the stories of the three men: Harold Hammick, Ri'Chard Booth and Alex Clay. "Justice does work," Clay said after the verdict. "The system does work." A city attorney had argued last week during the trial that...

A Brownsville man convicted of violating his lifetime hunting suspension has been sentenced to 10 months in the Linn County Jail. Sgt. Mari Chambers of the Oregon State Police says 58-year-old Raymond Hillsman was caught trespassing on private land while retrieving beagles he used to hunt rabbits. Hillsman has not been allowed to hunt since a 1999 racketeering conviction. In that case, he was convicted of killing bears illegally and selling their gall bladders. According to police, Chambers got a six-month sentence for violating the suspension, three months on a charge of criminal trespass with a firearm and another 30...

Does human activity affect Earth's climate? A simple question, no? It's been settled with a ringing "yes" among the scientific community. Yet, the so-called "climate debate" still pops up on editorial pages, political blogs and television talk shows. Apparently, we scientists have failed to explain to the entire public how we have come to understand the climate system. For this we owe another attempt to engage readers who still feel there is some doubt about the role of human activity in Earth's climate. What follows is a no-frills, nonpartisan explanation of how a group of scientists working on a particular...

ASHLAND — Mayor John Stromberg has called for a city ordinance prohibiting nudity around schools after a naked man was seen walking near school grounds several times in recent days. Stromberg previously voted against banning nudity around schools, but said he changed his mind because of the new episode of nudity. A man who told police he hails from Minnesota has been spotted at different times exposing his genitals near Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School and Walker Elementary School, according to a flurry of e-mails between city officials, school staff and police. "I'm changing my position because this latest...

An Oregon apartment complex reversed its ban prohibiting residents from flying American flags from dwellings and parked vehicles after the property manager decided she didn't have the legal standing to do so, KATU in Portland reported Wednesday. The American Civil Liberties Union said that Barb Holcomb's ban at Oaks Apartments did not violate any laws, but Holcomb said her legal cousel led her to believe otherwise so she reversed the decision. "If people want to fly any flag of any nationality, it's their right," she told KATU. "When a tenant rents the unit, the inside of the unit belongs to...

An Oregon apartment complex is banning its residents from flying American flags, not only from their dwellings but also their vehicles, KATU in Portland reported. Residents' outrage started when Jim Clausen, whose son is in the military and on his way back to Iraq, was told he couldn't fly an American flag from the back of his motorcycle. If he didn't take the flag down, he was told he'd face eviction, the station reported. "It floored me," Clausen told the station. "I can't believe she was saying what she was saying. It [the flag] stands for the people that can...

<p>PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland man who attacked his ex-girlfriend and impaled her pet fish this summer has been sentenced to two years probation, a psychological evaluation and community service. Donald Earl Fite III, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to animal abuse and domestic violence assault.</p>

At the Oaks Apartments in Albany, the management can fly their own flag advertising one and two bedroom apartments - but residents have been told they can't fly any flags at all. Jim Clausen flies the American flag from the back of his motorcycle. He has a son in the military heading back to Iraq, and the flag - he said - is his way of showing support. "This flag stands for all those people," said Clausen, an Oaks Apartment resident. "It stands for the people that can no longer stand - who died in wars. That's why I fly...

Kevin's homebuilding business collapsed in the recession, and they couldn't pay the mortgage. Their bank, JPMorgan Chase, rejected the Martins' request for a mortgage modification and took legal possession of the house Aug. 19. On their anniversary two days later, the Martins and their two young children moved in with Kevin's aunt in her small condominium in Charbonneau. They're broke, unemployed and visibly stunned at their rapid plunge from the middle class to the newly poor. A bomb of debt vaporized the Martins' once-comfortable life. The heavy load of leverage they had assumed in hopes of grabbing their piece of...

A STRONG PACIFIC STORM MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN AND CENTRALCALIFORNIA LATE TUESDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY WILL BRING SOMEIMPACTS TO EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. THE STORM WILL GENERATE A LARGE WEST SWELL WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGHTHE COASTAL WATERS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY BRINGING HIGH SURF TOEXPOSED WEST FACING BEACHES WITH SOME BREAKERS EXCEEDING 10 FEETPOSSIBLE. THIS SURF WILL CAUSE DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS. OTHER IMPACTS MAY EXTEND INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERNCALIFORNIA WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE AS FAR SOUTHAS THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS AND STRONG...GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLEIN MOUNTAIN AND DESERT AREAS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. ANYMODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE MUD AND...

They became good buddies during the war, the young American soldier and his invaluable Iraqi translator, an easygoing guy who could spot dangers in the shadows and calm jittery nerves in the streets. When it was time to go home, Joey Coon, then an Army National Guard sergeant, set up an e-mail account for Bandar Hasan. He gave his friend a quick lesson on how to use it so they could stay in touch. Joey didn't expect much; Bandar wasn't familiar with computers. But he did call on occasion, and the two joked about him coming to America one day,...

The federal and state governments have Web sites to with lots of data and cool interactive charts and graphs. Unfortunately, actual expenditure data is thin. But Saturday is the first major deadline for states to report, so perhaps President Barack Obama's promised "unprecedented transparency and accountability" is around the corner. Brian Shipley, chief of the Governor's Economic Recovery Team, sounded upbeat in a Monday interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting. He didn't reveal all of his cards, but Shipley did state that 4,600 transportation jobs will be created by the end of next year. Let's hope that's not the best news...

Nature has recently published an interesting paper which places severe limits on Darwinian evolution...

GLENDALE, Ore. (AP) - The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says the shooting death of a 93-year-old man in southwest Oregon appears to have been in self-defense. Spokeswoman Andrea Zielinski said detectives learned Clarence Hartley had been pointing a gun before he was shot by 75-year-old Clement Dewart on Friday. She says Hartley was a relative of the Dewart family and lived on their property in Glendale. Zielinski says the investigation remains active. When it's finished, the results will be forwarded to a grand jury for a review of any possible criminal charges.

They represent a migration that turns conventional wisdom on its head. Urban planners have until now proceeded on the assumption that retiring baby boomers will downsize to a high-rise and spend their days lapping lattes and taking the streetcar to the art museum. A lot of them will. But new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says baby boomers will head to the country in big numbers, in the Northwest changing the face of rural Oregon, Washington and Idaho. And it's not just because the 83 million boomer generation is the largest in U.S. history and all of their...

In what is being touted as the world's biggest dam-removal project, an agreement was reached Tuesday to remove four dams on the Klamath River and restore a 300-mile migratory route for California's beleaguered salmon. The tentative agreement was reached after a decade of negotiations among 28 parties, including American Indian tribes, farmers, fishermen and the hydroelectric company that operates the dams and distributes the water. The plan would set in motion one of the most ambitious efforts in U.S. history to restore the habitat of a federally protected species if it receives final approval by the parties in December, as...

...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER... RECOMMENDED ACTIONS A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD IMPACT THE ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES. - PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS. FORECASTS INDICATE THAT A TSUNAMI WITH AMPLITUDES IN THE RANGE OF 20 TO 65CM IS EXPECTED...

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Vicky* remembers the moment she first held her adopted baby in her arms. "He was destined for us. There was never a doubt in my mind that he wasn't mine," says Vicky, who, along with her partner, Beth*, is raising a 6-year-old boy they adopted from Guatemala. Parenthood didn't come easily for the couple. They struggled with infertility problems and then took a tremendous risk by adopting internationally, which is illegal for an openly gay couple. But once the tumultuous adoption process was finalized, this non-traditional family continued living a very ordinary, suburban life. "It's just like any other family...

A Loveland man was arrested Thursday for the attack on two women ... Larimer County sheriff's spokeswoman Eloise Campanella named the suspect as James Bondsteel, 38, of Loveland. He was booked into the Larimer County Jail on charges of kidnapping, attempted sexual assault, first and second-degree assault and menacing with a deadly weapon. The attack occurred on Sunday, Sept. 13, when the two women were confronted by a man with a knife on the Signal Mountain Trail in Poudre Canyon. He apparently tried to sexually assault them, but the women fought him off with a hiking stick...