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The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved the $2.5-billion US Jordan Cove liquefi ed natural gas import terminal and related pipeline project that will help meet growing natural gas demand in the Pacific Northwest. The terminal, to be located on Coos Bay in Oregon, would provide up to one billion cubic feet of gas a day. The 377-kilo-metre Pacific Connector pipeline that was also approved by the commission would transport the terminal's gas to the Oregon-California border. The import terminal is owned by a subsidiary of Fort Chicago Energy Partners and the pipeline is a limited partnership between...

SALEM — The number of Oregon residents caught committing fraud to get Medicaid and unemployment benefits has increased since the state plunged into a severe recession last year. Investigators confirmed 1,459 cases of unemployment fraud in October — a 122 percent increase from a year earlier, the Oregonian newspaper reported Friday. Medicaid fraud, meanwhile, increased 23 percent in the past two years, with 386 confirmed cases in the first 10 months of 2009. Investigators give cheaters a chance to confess and pay back the money — with interest. There’s also the possibility of prosecution, but it’s uncommon. State officials say...

LEBANON — When a parent complained in the fall that putting “Silent Night” on a school’s holiday program was focusing too much on a single religion, Principal Mark Finch scratched the carol. But after the Pioneer School pupils finished their concert Tuesday, members of the audience sang it anyway.

'The Nude' exhibit at downtown gallery to feature portraits and live, naked people ASHLAND — City Councilman Eric Navickas and his partner, Amy Godard, will hold a nude show at their downtown gallery in January in response to an attempt to ban nudity in the city. "The Nude" exhibit will feature traditional nude portraits and conceptual art involving live, naked people. "We feel that the nude ban is not only an attack on freedom of expression but also an attack on the human body itself," Navickas said. "We wanted to have a show to celebrate the nude body and differentiate...

18 states allow for recall votes on US Senators. The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. The Senate oath of office is: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well...

Propostions 66 and 67 have been put on the ballot to reverse tax increase enacted by the Oregon legislature earlier this year. The vote is in late January. A "no" vote is a vote against the taxes. I'm looking for how I can join the "No" campaign, but I can't find a website for it. The other side is much more organized. Can someone help me with this?

Portlanders have been saying for years that they listened to public radio more than anything else. But it turns out they aren’t as refined or cerebral as they claimed to be. A new — and more accurate — way of measuring radio listenership shows Portland-area residents are soaking up soft rock and oldies to a much greater extent than previously reported. And while public radio station KOPB once reigned as No. 1, preliminary statistics from new electronic measuring devices indicate that it dropped to 11th-highest in total listenership among local stations in October. K103, which airs adult contemporary music, rocketed...

University of Utah scientists say seismic images of the plumbing feeding the Yellowstone supervolcano show a magma plume much larger than previously thought. Scientists say they've imaged a plume of hot and molten rock rising at an angle from the northwest at a depth of at least 410 miles, contradicting claims there is no deep plume, only shallow hot rock moving like slowly boiling soup. A related University of Utah study used gravity measurements to indicate the banana-shaped magma chamber of hot and molten rock a few miles beneath Yellowstone is 20 percent larger than previously believed, so a future...

-- Rescuers hoping to find two hikers missing on the frigid slopes of Oregon's Mount Hood faced worsening weather conditions Monday night as forecasters predicted white-out conditions that could severely hinder search efforts. == Up to 2 feet of snow is expected to fall Monday night into Tuesday at the elevation where rescuers are searching for any signs of Anthony Vietti, 24, and Katie Nolan, 29, who have been missing since early Friday. A third hiker who was with them, 26-year-old Luke Gullberg, was found dead Saturday.

A man says a three-month-old kitten apparently hitched a cold, 200-kilometre ride in the wheel well of his SUV. Marc Lichty left Olympia, Washington, after finishing a day of work on Wednesday. He heard meowing when he stopped at a rest stop along the way home but couldn't see a cat, KPTV-TV reported. When he reached his home in Tualatin, Oregon, he heard the meowing again and grabbed a flashlight. Sure enough, he says, "the cat was up underneath in the spare tire spot." Daughter Jenna helped coax the passenger out with a bit of salmon. Lichty says he can't...

SEATTLE - Police say an 18-foot-tall totem pole stolen from a West Seattle park has been found about 200 miles away in Oregon. The Seattle Times reports a 69-year-old West Seattle man led investigators to the pole. Police say he apparently had a crew with a crane help move the totem, but it's unclear if the crew knew the man didn't have permission to take the landmark.

Power company Caithness Energy has given General Electric a $1.4 billion contract to supply wind turbines and 10 years' worth of maintenance for an Oregon wind farm, GE announced Thursday. The massive 845-megawatt wind farm, Shepherds Flat, will be located near Arlington, Oregon, but span approximately 30 square miles and cover parts of Oregon's Gilliam and Morrow Counties. GE estimates that it will supply 338 of its 2.5-megawatt wind turbine models to be installed between 2011 and 2012. Although they have been used in Europe and Asia, the company says the Shepherds Flat project will include the first U.S. installations...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Scientists want to determine if killing the aggressive barred owl that has invaded old growth forests of the Northwest would help the protected spotted owl. Federal biologists are doing a formal study to decide whether to do the experiment, and laying out the terms if they go ahead. The study will be available for public comment and is expected to be completed by fall 2010. "This is to be done experimentally so we can nail down whether, in fact, removing barred owls could improve spotted owl demographics, and also to look into the feasibility of doing...

Party officials say they are working hard to get their message out. The Bend Tea Party Patriots is seeing more interest in their cause to stop higher taxes and to prevent the loss of liberties.  Tea Party Patriot spokesman John Carrigg says the group has a lot of work ahead of it: “The Measure 66 and 67 Issue is coming up. And we want to make sure that Central Oregon knows that we are trying to stop those taxes.”  “Those taxes" are the corporate and personal income tax hikes passed by the Democrat-controlled State Legislature last spring but referred to...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Army captain from Oregon pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he stole nearly $700,000 from the U.S. government while serving in Iraq. U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty set sentencing for March 1 after Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen entered guilty pleas to theft and money-laundering charges. The maximum sentence for each offense is 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. A federal grand jury indictment alleged that between April 2007 and February 2009, the 28-year-old stole more than $690,000 in U.S. currency entrusted to him as the battalion project purchasing officer in Muqdadiyah, Iraq....

Most police officers hope they'll never get the call Kelly Krohn did on Aug. 12, 2006. His 24-year-old son, Jason, was in the back of a Portland patrol car. Though Krohn was disappointed in his son, who was drunk, the veteran police sergeant grew even more disappointed with the bureau he served for 26 years. Krohn picked up his son that morning, took him home and listened: An officer who helped take him into custody after a confrontation downtown did a knee-drop on his neck while he was on the ground handcuffed and deliberately slammed the door of a patrol...

San Francisco » The Mormon church and Boy Scouts of America were named as defendants in lawsuits Monday claiming childhood sexual abuse by youth leaders decades ago. Alleged victims filed suits against both organizations in San Francisco and Seattle, and against the church alone in Portland, Ore. The plaintiffs are all represented by Portland attorney Kelly Clark, who has brought similar suits against the church and the Boy Scouts in the past. In the suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, three brothers claim the church ignored their complaints about being molested by their Silicon Valley Boy Scout and Mormon...

GRESHAM, Ore. -- A person who kicked down an apartment door was shot and injured Thursday night, Gresham police said. Officers were called at 9:11 p.m. on Thursday about someone trying to kick in Nathan Brown's apartment door in the 1200 block of East Powell Boulevard. Brown said his 2-year-old daughter was sleeping when he heard a loud noise. "I heard three distinct loud bangs like someone was kicking my door. It wasn't like a knock, it was emotionally charged. It scared me," Brown said. He grabbed his handgun and cracked the door to see who was there. Brown said...

Did The War Make Him Do It? Iraq veteran Jessie Bratcher shot the man he was told had raped his girlfriend. An Oregon jury found he had been legally insane at the time because of post-traumatic stress disorder. Kim Murphy November 28, 2009 Reporting from John Day, Ore. - When Jessie Bratcher's fiancee told him the baby might not be his, that she had been raped two months earlier, he went quiet. The former Oregon National Guardsman hung his head for the longest time. Then he went into the next room, put the barrel of an AK-47 in his mouth...

LA GRANDE -- Three years ago, multimillionaire hotel chain owner Mark Hemstreet and his wife, Shannon, faced 19 citations for alleged game violations on their Wallowa County ranch. The allegations, brought by Oregon State Police fish and wildlife officers, included shooting a bull elk without a valid elk tag, falsely applying for resident-of-Oregon hunting licenses while living elsewhere and lending a big-game tag. Then the case fell apart. Now state police have agreed in a settlement to pay $295,000 to Mark Hemstreet, 59, and his longtime friend and political ally Gregg Clapper, 59, of Portland. State police brought charges against...

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...