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ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2008) — One in four terminally ill patients in the State of Oregon who opt for physician assisted suicide have clinical depression and the Death with Dignity Act may not be adequately protecting them, concludes a study published on the British Medical Journal website. In 1997, the State of Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act that allows physician assisted dying for terminally ill patients. The extent to which potentially treatable psychiatric disorders may influence patients' choices to hasten death is hotly debated. There are several safeguards in the Act to ensure patients are competent to make...

Portland police are testing a high-tech camera system that rivals anything in a science fiction movie. It can reach back in time and track your movements across the city — and even produce photos of your previous locations. But — while some are raising Big Brother civil liberties questions about the concept — the police promise they will only use it to solve crimes, like finding stolen cars or locating wanted criminals. The system features a series of cameras that mount on patrol cars that automatically read and photograph the license plates of all passing vehicles — including those parked...

PORTLAND, Oregon, October 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied a father's appeal to keep his six frozen embryos alive, and ordered that the embryos be destroyed by thawing, as ordered by his ex-wife.  The court also ruled that the embryos' fate fell under the issue of "property rights."The court unanimously agreed that the father, orthodontist Dr. Darrell Angle, had no right to "impose a genetic parental relationship" on his ex-wife, pediatrician Dr. Laura Dahl, who did not wish to be considered the mother of the preborn children in the event that they were carried...

PORTLAND, Ore. — When identity theft suspect Christina Herrera was arrested, she didn't have to wait long to tell her husband. He was in the next holding cell. Herrera and Jason Keno were arrested a half-hour apart, and the coincidence helped police and prosecutors link what had appeared to be separate identity theft investigations. "It was kind of like crook karma that they're both picked up within a half-hour of each other, and we found evidence on each that tied the cases together," Portland Officer Barbara Glass told The Oregonian newspaper. "We're not surprised, never; but we're entertained, always." A...

The prediction caused a collective grimace among the mayors, city councilors, engineers and planners in the audience. By 2060, a Metro economist said, the seven-county Portland area could grow to 3.85 million people -- nearly double the number here now. Then Lorna Stickel, a planner with the Portland Water Bureau, stood to ask a question. Does the population projection, she asked, account for the possibility of climate change refugees? Brains have been spinning ever since. Because what if? What if the American Southwest dries up, browns out, and those people now misting their patios in Arizona head to the still-green...

SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline)-The Bush administration has "refused to accept the reality" that greenhouse gas emissions are harming the environment, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers told Legal Newsline. Myers said for that reason a group of five states, including Oregon, is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Clean Air Act to force the U.S. government to set emissions standards for planes, ships and off-road vehicles. "I share the view that global warming is a very, very serious threat, and the unmistakable pattern that's emerged under this administration is a refusal by the federal government to recognize that,"...

The Bush administration has "refused to accept the reality" that greenhouse gas emissions are harming the environment, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers told Legal Newsline. Myers said for that reason five states, including Oregon, are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Clean Air Act to force the U.S. government to set emissions standards for planes, ships and off-road vehicles.

O n Thursday night in a Midwestern city, a gray-haired senator from the East Coast squared off against the folksy, rookie governor of a remote Western state. It was an occasion to give curious Americans a chance to get to know them better. In Joe Biden's case, this was a good thing. The longtime senator displayed a calm authority and breadth of knowledge that helped explain why he plays such a key role in the Senate, not to mention the Democratic caucus. And his brief moment of anguish as he recalled the tragedy that killed his wife and daughter and...

Marci Rae BeagleyA Clackamas County grand jury has indicted an Oregon City couple on charges of criminally negligent homicide in the death of their 16-year-old son, who died from a medically treatable condition during attempts to heal him with prayer. The parents, Jeffrey Dean Beagley and Marci Rae Beagley, are members of the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City, which practices faith healing. » An archive of previous stories on faith healing Neil Jeffrey Beagley died at his grandmother's home June 17, a week after first complaining of stomach pain and shortness of breath. As Beagley's family and...

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Nationwide polling on the presidential race seems to shift with every news cycle. One moment, Republican John McCain seems to have the big mo' and the next Democrat Barack Obama suddenly seems to be running away with it. Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat and veteran of plenty of elections, offered the following analysis: "I don't believe a poll out there today. This is just me. I think a large percentage of the people who are going to make the determination who the next president is, my belief is they don't know what they're going to do. "I don't think they're...

NEWBERG -- Students and campus leaders at George Fox University denounced the hanging of a life-size cardboard cutout of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on campus, vowing to work together to fight racism and intolerance. A custodial crew at the 3,355-student Christian university found the Obama likeness hanging by fishing wire from a tree at 7 a.m. Tuesday and tore it down before students arrived for classes. A sign taped to the cutout said, "Act Six reject," referring to a scholarship program for Portland students, many of whom are minorities. President Robin Baker, standing with dozens of Act Six students and...

Police in Oregon town ordered to kill coyotes on sight September 19, 2008 SHERWOOD, Ore. -- Coyotes in Sherwood aren't going to be asked to leave town. After a high school student said two followed him home, the police got shoot-to-kill orders. "We don't want people to panic, to think that coyotes are on the rampage," Sherwood Sgt. Dwight Onchi said. "We just want them to know that if you see one, tell us, and we'll do our best to take care of it safely and humanely." Onchi said police will make sure of their backdrop before shooting. Bob Sallinger,...

The president of George Fox University this morning denounced the hanging of a likeness of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on campus along with graffiti aimed at minority recipients of a scholarship program. President Robin Baker discussed the incident today during the twice-weekly campus service, which was packed. With dozens of Act 6 students and student leaders in front of the stage, he urged students to show that the display, found Tuesday, has no place in Christian ideals. "We absolutely cannot hate those around us and say we love God," he said. "It is not possible." "Yesterday was not a good...

For some 85 years, homesteaders, pot hunters and archaeologists have been digging at Paisley Caves, a string of shallow depressions washed out of an ancient lava flow by the waves of a lake that comes and goes with the changing climate. Until now, they have found nothing conclusive-arrowheads, baskets, animal bones and sandals made by people who lived thousands of years ago on the shores of what was then a 40-mile-long lake, but is now a sagebrush desert on the northern edge of the Great Basin. But a few years ago, University of Oregon archaeologist Dennis Jenkins and his students...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Police took a waterfront Lady Godiva down a notch this week.

Oregon Senator Gordon Smith is in dangerous territory again, virtually tied with Jeff Merkley, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. The incumbent Republican holds a statistically insignificant 46% to 45% lead over Merkley. The race is now the closest it’s been since regular tracking began in February. Just one month ago, Smith had an eight-point lead but still received under 50% support from voters. Any incumbent senator who polls under 50% is considered vulnerable. In July, Merkley was ahead 43% to 41%.

Repeating a pattern seen across the country, John McCain has gained ground on Barack Obama in Oregon. In August, before the running mates were selected and the conventions held, the Democrat enjoyed a ten-point lead in this traditionally “Blue” state. Now, however, McCain has pulled to within four points with results that are virtually identical to the actual Oregon vote in Election 2004. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Oregon voters shows Obama attracting 51% of the vote while McCain earns 47% (see crosstabs). This is the seventh Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Oregon for Election 2008, and it’s...

OREGON CITY -- An illegal immigrant pleaded guilty today to murdering 15-year-old Dani Countryman in a case that drew national attention and exposed flaws in the process for deporting criminal offenders. Alejandro Emeterio Rivera Gamboa admitted in Clackamas County Circuit Court that he stepped on Countryman's throat to help subdue her while his cousin, also a Mexican national from the Guadalajara area, allegedly raped the girl. Countryman died in the early hours of July 28, 2007, after a night of partying at the Balboa Apartments in Milwaukie. The Texas teenager was vacationing in Oregon, visiting her older sister, and planned...

Obama Maintains 7 Point Advantage Over McCain Following Conventions On Monday Sept 8th and Tuesday Sept 9th, the Hoffman Research Group surveyed a crosssection of Oregon voters to ascertain voter preferences in the Presidential election following the two major party conventions. The resulting data found Barack Obama currently leading John McCain by a 46% to 39% margin. Ralph Nadar and Bob Barr who will both appear on Oregon ballots drew 1% and 1% respectively. When pushed, undecided voters split almost evenly between the two major candidates. Not unlike most of the nation, McCain fared best in the more rural areas,...

HEPPNER, Ore. — Roadkill: It isn't just for dinner anymore. A new roadkill compost center near Heppner will ensure that many deer, cattle and other animals killed along Eastern Oregon highways won't simply decompose in a ditch. Instead, they will become productive compost. The Morrow County Planning Commission has approved a permit for a roadkill composting facility. Officials say roadside carcasses are becoming a larger problem as Oregon's population grows, and that roadkill attracts scavengers such as coyotes, which bother farmers and boost the likelihood of more roadkill. Tom Strandberg, the regional spokesman for Oregon Department of Transportation, said the...

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) made headlines this week by decrying the export of LNG from Alaska to Japan and complaining about the high price of natural gas. Oh, the hypocrisy. Wyden and other Left Coast liberals such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and my governor, Ted Kulongowski (D-OR), have done everything they can to stonewall LNG terminals proposed for the West Coast, including three proposed terminals right here in Oregon. There are currently no LNG terminals on the U.S. West Coast, the nearest terminal is across the border from San Diego in Baja California. The Baja terminal just opened two...

Not all of them are legal. WESTON—Up on a hill overlooking this Eastern Oregon town of 701 people, Smith Frozen Foods turns raw produce from the surrounding fields into ready-to-eat products. Smith’s goods appear in grocery stores under other brand names. But in tiny Weston, a water tank emblazoned with the capital letters S-M-I-T-H sits like a sentry greeting travelers on nearby Highway 11. Gordon Smith, a United States senator from Oregon and the only Republican senator representing a West Coast state, has owned the plant his grandfather founded in 1919 for nearly 30 years. “Son,” father Milan Smith once...

Amtrak Passenger Stabbed While Sleeping September 3, 2008 Amtrak Passenger Stabbed While Sleeping - Considering the recent beheading in Canada an a Greyhound bus, an attempted beheading on another bus, and this… I may consider alternatives to public transportation.A 24-year-old man was stabbed while sleeping on an Amtrak train just south of the Oregon state line.The suspect, Armando Avalos, jumped from the train and suffered a broken ankle, authorities said. Avalos, 48, of Oxnard, Calif., was arrested Saturday on charges of attempted murder, parole violation and manufacture and possession of a dangerous weapon.He was being held without bail Tuesday...

OREGON CD-1: Businessman Joel Haugen announced Tuesday he was withdrawing as the GOP nominee but would remain in the race against Congressman David Wu (D) as the nominee of the Independent Party. Although a registered Republican, Haugen had been running with dual ballot spots. Haugen came under fire in recent days when he announced his support for Barack Obama. The deadline for GOP to replace a nominee has passed, so they will not be able to field any candidate against Wu on the November ballot.

Consumer activist Ralph Nader has found an unconventional way to get on Oregon's ballot this year: He will be the presidential nominee of a brand-new party.

New York and 11 other states are suing federal environmental regulators over greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries, the New York attorney general's office said on Monday. The suit, led by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, charges that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the federal Clean Air Act by refusing to issue standards, known as new source performance standards, for controlling global warming pollution emissions from oil refineries. Note: Other states in the suit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. New York City and Washington D.C. also joined in...

Medford teen gets 20 years in prison for drive-by shooting. A man who fired seven rounds into a car full of teenagers in a drive-by shooting was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Jackson County Circuit Court judge Thursday. It was miraculous that none of the six victims was seriously injured or killed as the bullets blasted through the front windshield of the packed vehicle, said Judge Ron Grensky. "It is a miracle that there isn't somebody dead out of this," said Grensky, adding the phrase, "dodging a bullet" was never more apt. German "Negro" Reyes-Real, 18, of...

The Oregon Constitution says voters have the final say over any laws passed by the state legislature. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, says they don't. After Oregon voters passed a marriage protection amendment declaring marriage to be only the union of one man and one woman, liberal lawmakers tried to sidestep the amendment by passing a "domestic partnership" law. As Austin R. Nimocks -- senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund -- explains, lawmakers are not supposed to have the final say in Oregon. "The citizens of Oregon reserve to themselves in their constitution the right...

Pierpont's findings suggest that low-frequency noise and vibration generated by wind machines can have an effect on the inner ear, triggering headaches; difficulty sleeping; tinnitus, or ringing in the ears; learning and mood disorders; panic attacks; irritability; disruption of equilibrium, concentration and memory; and childhood behavior problems.

It has been lightning and thunder since 7am.The Emerg radio is in action all day.I called my vendor to see if it was wise to put on the p.m. mist and O2 for KV and he brushed me off. So I called the local non emerg. Fire Dept and they said if your gut says no go with it.. Folks we are being hit with Lightning and thunder and no 1 elephant counts. The local FD said that they had a hit in one substation and all I could think was to say I CAN PRAY we have NO STRIKES..we...

Like other government forays into universal care, the Oregon Health Plan has trouble balancing its promises of health care "at little or no cost" with the reality that taxpayers can't afford the costs of "free" coverage. So, inevitably, OHP must ration care to its 380,000 members, meaning "the state" gets to choose who shall live and who shall die. OHP has condemned Barbara Wagner, 64, of Springfield, Ore., one of the plan's many terminally ill clients who cannot afford the life-extending cancer drugs prescribed by oncologists. Her therapy would have cost $4,000 a month for perhaps six months. Though OHP...

An appeals court ruling has trashed the right of Oregon residents to vote on issues in their state by affirming the state's refusal to count referendum signatures even when they were verified in person by the voter. "In America, every citizen's vote should count. The court has tossed aside one of the most important rights we have as Americans," Austin R. Nimocks, a senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said. "Oregon voters deserve to be heard on this referendum. More than enough Oregonians signed the petitions for it. The people didn't thwart this effort; government bureaucracy did. That...

Yelling homophobic or racist names is free speech protected by the Oregon Constitution if the insults don't lead to violence. In a unanimous ruling...The Associated Press PORTLAND — Yelling homophobic or racist names is free speech protected by the Oregon Constitution if the insults don't lead to violence.

[Two days after the invasion of Georgia by Russia] Questioner: With your national security background, what do think about what's going on in Georgia. Merkley: [munch... munch... munch] Questioner: I know you've been on the road, so you probably haven't exactly kept up... Merkley: I haven' heard about what's going on in Georgia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B6furdKP1k

Vancouver, WA - U.S. Sen. Patty Murray offered a bleak financial assessment this week for replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge, saying it would be “extremely difficult” for the federal government to provide even the minimum contribution backers expect. Murray, D-Wash., told The Columbian the project faces a number of potential obstacles, including a projected $3.4 billion shortfall in the federal highway trust fund and the possibility of a John McCain presidency. The Arizona Republican has promised to veto any “pork barrel” earmarks that direct federal dollars to projects outside the regular appropriations process. Preliminary financial plans call for using $400...

Hundreds of giant turbines in the Oregon desert will bring power, but residents nearby raise concerns about health effects and an end to their quiet way of life BOARDMAN -- Sherry Eaton pulled into the driveway of her rural, high-desert home to see one of several giant wind turbines being assembled a half-mile away. "I started to cry," Eaton, 57, recalled of her first sight of the Willow Creek Wind Project in late July. "They're going to be hanging over the back of our house, and now there's the medical thing." "The medical thing" is new research suggesting that living...

MOST WANTED: Josephine Sunshine Overaker on Eco-Terrorism Charges Aug. 13, 2008 Under the cover of darkness on an October evening in 1996, Josephine Sunshine Overaker began her life as an eco-terrorist, officials said. The long-haired, vegan activist, sporting a slight moustache, worked at times as a midwife, sheep tender and firefighter, but this night she ignited her own dangerous blaze, officials said. Along with several other environmental extremists, Overaker slipped into the Willamette National Forest and struck the U.S. Forest Service's station in Detroit, Ore., officials said. Clad in black, they allegedly left graffiti and burned several Forest Service vehicles...

Wind Turbines Whip Up Health Fears By RICHARD COCKLE  BOARDMAN, Ore. — Sherry Eaton pulled into the driveway of her rural, high-desert home to see one of several giant wind turbines being assembled a half-mile away. "I started to cry," Eaton, 57, recalled of her first sight of the Willow Creek Wind Project in late July. "They're going to be hanging over the back of our house, and now there's the medical thing." "The medical thing" is new research suggesting that living close to wind turbines, as Eaton and her 60-year-old husband, Mike, soon will be doing, can cause sleep...

First Congressional District candidate Joel Haugen (R-Scappoose), who is battling Republican officials in that district, called support from Oregon Republican Party officials a farce after they refused to rectify a situation where local county officials would not support his candidacy. “ORGOP's help is likely to be of the order of holding our jewelry while we get water boarded,” Haugen said in an email to PolitickerOR.com sent from Minnesota, where he was attending a wedding. Haugen’s anger comes after Republican Party Chairman Vance Day issued a letter saying that ORGOP would support Haugen no matter who he has endorsed in the...

Most inhumanities start small, like the beginning of a tsunami, but then build, as they head toward inevitable and unstoppable destruction. It is difficult to pinpoint the precise beginning of the cultural tsunami that has devalued human life. Did it begin with the subjugation of women? Did it begin with slavery? The Nazis made their contribution with the Holocaust and Josef Mengele's hideous human experiments. Surely unrestricted abortion added to the growing list of inhumanities. Now we have the next wave. Randy Stroup is a 53-year-old Oregon man who has prostrate cancer, but no insurance to cover his medical treatment....

The news from Barbara Wagner's doctor was bad, but the rejection letter from her insurance company was crushing. Barbara Wagner(Paul Carter/Register-Guard) The 64-year-old Oregon woman, whose lung cancer had been in remission, learned the disease had returned and would likely kill her. Her last hope was a $4,000-a-month drug that her doctor prescribed for her, but the insurance company refused to pay. What the Oregon Health Plan did agree to cover, however, were drugs for a physician-assisted death. Those drugs would cost about $50. "It was horrible," Wagner told ABCNews.com. "I got a letter in the mail that basically...

BEIJING (AP) - A trio of American flags were raised to the rafters at the Olympic Fencing Hall as tears streamed down the face of Mariel Zagunis, winner of the first U.S. gold medal of the Beijing Olympics.

In battleground Oregon, 3 months out, Obama 3 atop McCain...

In an election for President of the United States in Oregon today, 08/06/08, three months till votes are counted, Barack Obama edges John McCain 48% to 45%, within the survey's 4.0 percentage point margin of sampling error, according to this SurveyUSA pre-election poll conducted exclusively for KATU-TV Portland.

Latino immigrants suddenly avoiding the DMV Drop in numbers seeking drivers licenses pegged to new state law By Steve LawThe Portland Tribune, Aug 6, 2008 Christopher Onstott, Tribune File Photo / Portland Tribune With a passport and Brazilian drivers license in hand, Roberual Goncalues De Silva waits his turn in 2006 to apply for an Oregon drivers license at the popular DMV office at SE Powell Boulevard and 90th. A new state law requires Oregon drivers license applicants to prove they are in the state legally. The number of Spanish-speaking people taking Oregon’s driving test plummeted in February, just...

Climate Change? Blame Your Stuff By SCOTT LEARN To cut energy use, save money and, while you're at it, live a greener life, you can turn down the air conditioning, back off the accelerator, hop on a bike. But when it comes to your personal energy tally, there's another big but not as commonly considered source: the stuff you buy. Every product, from televisions to teapots, takes energy to get to the shopping bag — energy to mine raw materials, make the product and ship it.Yet that use goes unreported in the tracking of greenhouse gases and energy. Though some...

Two weeks after federal agents raided the largest Iranian charity in Oregon, employees at Child Foundation have regained possession of their seized cell phones and fax machines. But the feds are still holding the charity’s computers and remaining silent about the reasons behind a raid that’s alarmed Iranians locally and on the Internet after bloggers published WW’s account of the raid (see “Mystery Raid,” WW, July 23, 2008). Online comments ranged from fear of an Orwellian crackdown on Iranian-Americans to speculation about whether Child Foundation was violating tightened U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. “I would like the Iranian-American community…to follow...

After a rough couple of weeks, Barbara Wagner finally got some good news Monday. Last month, she found out that her lung cancer, which had been in remission for about two years, had come back. After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that could slow the cancer growth and extend her life, Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn’t cover the treatment, but that it would cover palliative, or comfort, care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide.

LifeNews.com Note: With a twice-weekly column appearing in over 600 newspapers nationwide, Cal Thomas is the most widely read and one of the most highly regarded voices on the American political scene. A graduate of American University, Thomas is a 35-year veteran of broadcast and print journalism. A writer of force and clarity, Thomas has authored ten books.Most inhumanities start small, like the beginning of a tsunami, but then build, as they head toward inevitable and unstoppable destruction.It is difficult to pinpoint the precise beginning of the cultural tsunami that has devalued human life. Did it begin with the...