The latest news stories of interest in the Rogue Valley and around the state of Oregon from the digital home of Southern Oregon, Wynne Broadcasting’s RogueValleyMagazine.com
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Rogue Valley Weather
Today– Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind.
Wednesday– Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Saturday– Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Medford Modular Apartment Project Could Address Housing Needs In Southern Oregon
The project is being funded in part by a state initiative aimed at helping communities recover from the Labor Day fires of 2020.
It’s also an experiment aimed at tackling multiple issues at once: rising material costs, a severe shortage of construction labor, and an urgent need for housing for working families and fire victims.
In the fall of 2020, just after the Almeda Fire had devastated the Rogue Valley, Tom Cody traveled through the burn zone. Driving along Highway 99, he witnessed block after block of destruction—homes, businesses, apartments, and RV parks reduced to ash and rubble. Cody, founder and managing partner at Project^, a Portland-based real estate development firm, felt compelled to help rebuild.
If all goes according to plan, his new apartment development will break ground in Medford this summer. But MOSAIC is no ordinary construction project; instead, the 148 units will be built in a modular factory, then trucked to the site. The project is being funded in part by a state initiative aimed at helping communities recover from the Labor Day fires of 2020. It’s also an experiment aimed at tackling multiple issues at once: rising material costs, a severe shortage of construction labor, and an urgent need for housing for working families and fire victims.
The devastating fires that torched off in September 2020, destroyed over 4,000 homes in at least nine Oregon counties. Between the Almeda and South Obenchain fires, Jackson County suffered the worst impacts. More than 2,300 dwellings were lost, many of them manufactured homes and RVs.
“The fires burned through where our most vulnerable populations live: retirees, older people, Latinx, and working people,” says Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, who represents southern Jackson County. “Where we are now is an example of climate injustice.”
The fires exacerbated what was already a dearth of affordable and workforce housing in the Rogue Valley.
Housing for the ‘missing middle’ — Through the governor’s office, Cody learned about the state’s push to find innovative ways to deliver new projects quickly, including modular prefabrication. He was already developing a modular apartment project for Bend—a first for his company—so he decided to apply the same concept to a new wildfire relief project in the Rogue Valley.
“My attitude is, it’s always easier to talk about something if you have a case study,” says Cody.
He started looking for land for the development, initially focusing on those in the burn zone. Soon Cody learned about an undeveloped 7.5-acre property owned by Ivanko Gardens Apartments. Last spring Project^ purchased the property, a long, narrow parcel tucked between a residential neighborhood and an apartment complex in northeast Medford.
In June of 2021, the Oregon Legislature approved a $600 million dollar package which included $150 million for wildfire recovery housing supply and land acquisition. As part of that funding, then-Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, chair of the House Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery, championed an initiative called Oregonians Rebuilding Oregon.
“The original idea was to provide temporary shelters for fire victims that could be repurposed, possibly for those experiencing homelessness,” says Clem. The initiative would also create economic activity in the state by requiring the units to be built by Oregon companies and labor, and, possibly, use lumber salvaged from burned roadways.
Marsh, who also served on the House committee, thought the MOSAIC project was a “perfect fit.”
“It’s really hard to develop workforce housing in the Rogue Valley,” says Marsh. Subsidies and incentives are not available for projects in the “missing middle” between affordable and market-rate housing. From a developer’s standpoint, it’s hard to make them pencil out.
Project^ negotiated with Oregon Housing and Community Services on the terms of a $10 million loan, which was offered at 0% for the first 24 months and 1% thereafter. In exchange, 100% of MOSAIC’s apartments must be marketed as workforce housing. The units will be available to those who earn at or below 120% of area median income, and rates will be set so households don’t pay more than 30% of their income on rent.
“We wouldn’t be doing MOSAIC in Medford were it not for OHCS,” Cody says.
Another stipulation is that the units must be built in Oregon. Cody is negotiating with a company in Klamath Falls called InteliFab to produce the structures. If all goes according to plan, says Cody, MOSAIC will cost 30% less and will be built 40% faster than a conventional multifamily project.
Prefab solution? — Prefabricated modular construction, or “prefab,” can save both time and materials, says John Mick, owner of InteliFab. The modules can be framed while the sites are being excavated and concrete foundations poured, and work can carry on without weather delays. Extensive preplanning can also help managers catch errors before construction begins.
MOSAIC will consist of nine three-story buildings and will include one, two, and three-bedroom floorplans. Amenities, such as kids’ play areas, will be tailored for working families. The project will be built to Earth Advantage Platinum, a green building standard that addresses five “pillars” of sustainability: energy, health, land, materials and water.
Modules are built using conventional light-wood construction methods, and while machines supplement human labor, the process in not so different from site-built construction, says Mick. “The biggest difference an employee sees is that they are less impacted by weather, and their job is always in the same place.”
Modular methods also reduce the carbon footprint of construction, says Cody, in part because building material deliveries to the site are drastically reduced.
Going modular can also potentially speed up the permitting process. While projects must seek land use approvals and permits for site improvements from the local jurisdiction, most of the building permitting happens in the factory, at the state level. Oregon also offers a “master permit” for prefabricated construction.
“If you get permitted for a particular building, you can use it on multiple sites,” explains Cody. Project^ intends to use module plans approved for the Bend project in Medford. Modular construction also offers flexibility, says Cody. Once cranes swing the factory-built modules into place on site, siding and roofing will be installed, selected to best fit the character of the neighborhood.
The need to innovate — There is great demand for housing across the state, especially affordable and workforce housing, says Greg Wolf, executive director at Oregon iSector, a nonprofit that supports public-private partnerships that are addressing various community challenges.
“We really have a serious problem here in Oregon,” says Wolf. “We’re tied for last in having [the] worst housing deficit in the country.”
According to Wolf, Oregon underbuilt 150,000 homes between 2000 and 2015, and the state must build at least 29,000 units a year just to keep up with demand. A severe labor shortage, gaps in the supply chain, and growing homeless population are worsening the crisis.
In some regions, the housing shortage is directly impacting economies, says Wolf. On the coast, for example, while vacation rentals proliferate, people in service industries like teaching and firefighting can’t afford to work and live in their communities.
To tackle these issues, the Oregon iSector’s board of directors is spearheading an effort called the Housing Innovation Partnership, which launched late last year. Composed of representatives from public, private, and civic organizations from across the state, its main objective is to identify innovative approaches that help build housing more quickly and affordably. Marsh and Megan Loeb, senior program officer at the Oregon Community Foundation, are co-convening the effort.
Working groups have formed to tackle different issues—financing models and modular housing, for example. Cody is part of a group studying incentives that could help make workforce housing projects viable. Ultimately, the partnership will develop an “innovation agenda” they can present to the Oregon Legislature in 2023.
Several promising ideas are already cropping up. The Port of Portland, for example, is exploring the possibility of building a modular housing manufacturing facility that utilizes cross-laminated timber panels. These strong but lightweight panels are composed of layers of solid wood that are glued together. They can be made from small-diameter trees, including those thinned to improve the health of Oregon forests.
In Eastern Oregon, the towns of Lakeview, Burns, and John Day are partnering in a new intergovernmental agency aimed at spurring new housing, in part by utilizing 3D-printing technology to build foundations and walls. A lack of quality housing stifles economic development in these towns, but they lack the labor to build enough new housing quickly. By teaming up, they hope to garner enough resources to build 100 houses in each community over the next five years.
A test case in Medford — Back in Medford, MOSAIC will be a test case to see if alternative construction methods can get units on the ground more quickly. Cody hopes the project can break ground this summer, but it will depend on scaling up a manufacturer like InteliFab to build the boxes.
“There’s currently no modular builder or factory in Oregon that is capable of building the modules, yet we have this state requirement [to build them in Oregon],” says Cody. “That is our biggest challenge right now.”
InteliFab is in the process of shifting its operations from panelized construction to modular prefabrication. To that end, the company has enrolled four current and two new employees in a 12-week basic construction skills course at Klamath Community College (KCC). WorkSource Oregon will reimburse InteliFab for half of the cost of tuition. Employees will see a wage increase once they complete the course.
“We have to start doing something different on the housing front,” says Marsh, who wrote a letter urging the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission to provide grant funding for KCC’s training program. “If we keep just swinging hammers we’ll never get ahead.”
Oregon Department of Forestry Opens Public Comment Period For Fiscal Year 2023 State Forest Activities
The Oregon Department of Forestry is inviting public comment on annual operations plans for state-owned forests in fiscal year 2023. These plans lay out the on-the-ground activities expected to take place in the coming fiscal year, such as timber harvests, reforestation, and trail improvements.
The public can weigh in starting Monday, March 21, through Thursday, May 5, on the draft annual operations plans for state forests in the Astoria, Forest Grove, North Cascade, Klamath-Lake, Tillamook, West Oregon, and Western Lane Districts, which includes the Tillamook, Clatsop, Santiam, Sun Pass and Gilchrist state forests and other scattered parcels.
By law, state forests must provide social, economic and environmental benefits to Oregonians. These lands are managed to create healthy, productive forests that provide high-quality habitat, clean water, revenues for rural communities, and recreation opportunities. Overall management policies and goals are established in long-range forest management plans and mid-range implementation plans.
Annual operations plans describe activities to achieve the policies and goals laid out in those longer-range plans. Activities that affect fish and wildlife habitat are reviewed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, while operations that may affect threatened and endangered fish and wildlife habitat are shared with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Draft plans are available at http://tiny.cc/oregonstateforests.
You can also view planned operations on an online map by using this link.
ODF is offering several convenient avenues for those who want to provide input on the draft plans:
- An online survey
- Online comments are also received through ODF’s comments page: http://tiny.cc/orstateforestcomment
- Comments can be emailed to odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov
- Comments can also be mailed to ODF Public Affairs, 2600 State St., Salem, OR 97310.
Oregon reports 560 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are five new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,975, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
OHA reported 560 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 701,729.
The five new deaths and 560 new cases reported today include data recorded by counties for the three-day period between March 18 and March 20.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (14), Clackamas (42), Clatsop (7), Columbia (6), Coos (7), Crook (2), Curry (4), Deschutes (52), Douglas (3), Hood River (3), Jackson (27), Jefferson (9), Josephine (14), Klamath (7), Lake (1), Lane (51), Lincoln (3), Linn (19), Marion (42), Multnomah (139), Polk (8), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (2), Union (2), Wasco (1), Washington (82) and Yamhill (9).
Oregon reports 296 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases on March 18, 157 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases on March 19 and 107 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases on March 20.
As people move from precautions against COVID-19 to influenza, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) wants Oregonians to take their shots. It says today the flu virus is circulating as COVID-19 masking guidelines are easing. OHA says Oregon is experiencing a late flu season as cases are rising.
It says flu season generally peaks around late January or February. OHA says the flu increase comes as as mask requirements for public indoor spaces and schools ended this month, allowing the flu virus to spread more easily from person to person.
OHA says that during the week of March 6 to March 12, Oregon reported that 3.1% of influenza tests were positive, compared with 2.5% the week of Feb. 27 to March 5, 1.6% the week of Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, and .6% the week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12. During the same week of the 2020-2021 season, a scant .1% of flu tests were positive. The vast majority of flu cases have been influenza A.
Statewide Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program Closed
Over $302 million in federal emergency rental assistance paid to nearly 46,000 households so far
SALEM, ORE. – Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) closed the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program (OERAP) portal and stopped accepting new applications after 11:59 p.m. PDT today, March 21, 2022. The portal remained open an additional week after $16 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Treasury were allocated to Oregon on the day the portal was to close. Governor Brown, Oregon’s federal delegation and OHCS Acting OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell actively advocated for more funds to help tenants pay rent and remain stably housed.
“We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Treasury for reallocating additional emergency rental assistance (ERA) funding to Oregon, thus recognizing the galvanization of community-based organizations, culturally specific organizations, community leaders and the department in helping a record number of Oregonians stay housed during the pandemic. This has always been about Oregonians helping all Oregonians,” OHCS Acting Executive Director said Andrea Bell. “Housing continues to be a vital determinant of health for all of Oregon’s beloved communities and our work continues.”
The agency paused accepting new applications for OERAP at the beginning of December 2021 when the agency successfully hit a critical milestone when available federal funding had been paid or requested. However, the portal reopened on Jan. 26, 2022, after the Oregon Legislature allocated $100 million in additional rental assistance funding along with an additional $100 million in state resources to plan, develop and implement eviction prevention measures for Oregonians who have not yet financially recovered from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The impact of this program has been historic. A record number of Oregonians across the state in urban and rural communities have received critical funding during these unfathomable times,” continued Bell. “Throughout the pandemic, OHCS and our partners have been relentlessly working to distribute critical emergency resources quickly and as thoughtful as we can to create stability for vulnerable renters and cash-strapped landlords—all in service to supporting an equitable recovery. Yet we know the demonstrable need remains high and are urging Oregonians to submit their application today.”
Five counties and the city of Portland received allocations from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and are running their own rental assistance programs. After the portal closes tenants can continue to contact their local community actions agencies to inquire about additional available rental assistance resources. Renters can call 2-1-1 or visit oregonrentalassistance.org for additional information.
Information for renters about portal closure
Here’s some important information for renters:
- Anyone who has not applied for OERAP in the past and has fallen behind on rent is encouraged to apply for emergency rental assistance before 11:59 p.m. on March 21, 2022, at oregonrentalassistance.org.
- Applications to the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program are approved for payment or denied based upon the highest need, not on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Applicants can continue to log on to the OERAP portal to complete their application or check the status of their finished application. They will be alerted by email as their application advances.
- If a tenant has an incomplete application in the portal, they now have until March 28, 2022, to complete it. This extension applies to applications that are incomplete at the time of closure. New applications will not be accepted after March 21, 2022.
- Tenants who submit new applications can access protections from eviction for nonpayment of rent while their application is being reviewed and processed. Tenants must show proof to their landlord that they applied for the program to receive the protections.
- Tenants at immediate risk of eviction should apply for rental assistance right away to access safe harbor eviction protections and contact a legal organization:
- Oregon Law Center’s Eviction Defense Project: 888-585-9638 or evictiondefense@oregonlawcenter.org
- Oregon State Bar: 503-684-3763 or legalhelp@oregonstatebar.org
Oregon sees decrease in suicide rates in 2020, yet remains above the national average
The state is one of seven across the nation to experience a decrease in 2020 compared to 2019
PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon had the nation’s 13th highest suicide rate across all ages in 2020—an improvement from the year before when the state was ninth in suicide deaths, according to suicide mortality data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The state had 18.3 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in 2020 with a total of 833 deaths. In 2019, the suicide death rate was 20.4 per 100,000, which amounted to 906 total deaths. Oregon was one of seven states that showed a decrease in suicide rates between 2019 and 2020, according to CDC data released in February 2022.
According to the recently published Youth Suicide Invention and Prevention Plan annual report, Oregon had success in reduction of suicide deaths for youth. The number and rate of suicides for youth aged 24 and younger decreased in 2020 by nearly 14%, from 118 deaths in 2019 to 102 deaths in 2020. The decrease placed Oregon 18th highest in the nation – an improvement from 2019 and 2018, when Oregon ranked 11th highest in the nation for youth suicides.
“While we are encouraged by 2020’s downward trend that shows our work with partners to address youth suicide is helping in some counties, we still have a long way to go to improve outcomes among all Oregon communities,” said Oregon Health Authority Behavioral Health Director Steve Allen. “Racial and economic inequalities impact the overall health of many of our communities and we have much work to do to alleviate this injustice. Our hearts grieve alongside the Oregon communities and families that have experienced suicide loss.”
Call volume to Lines for Life, a regional substance abuse and suicide prevention nonprofit that operates several crisis helplines, has increased annually since 2016. Of the crisis calls staff answered, roughly the same percent of callers reported thinking about suicide in 2020 as in 2019.
What we know about Oregon in 2021
Preliminary 2021 data for Oregon indicate a three-year decreasing trend in youth suicide numbers for youth aged 24 and younger. While Oregon’s youth suicide deaths have decreased, it must be noted that Oregon’s youth suicide rate was much higher than the national average for the years preceding the decrease. Despite the downward trend, far too many Oregon families and communities experienced the devasting loss of a loved one to suicide in 2021, and preliminary data for all ages combined indicate an increase in the number of suicides in 2021.
Further, it is important to note that the number of youth suicide deaths in 2021 did not decrease in every county in Oregon. Last week, Lane County Public Health declared a public health emergency due to an increase in youth suicides since November 2021. In response to this increase, additional resources and supports are being made available to Lane County schools, healthcare providers, and community members.
Oregon Health Authority responds
Since March of 2020, Oregon’s suicide prevention team has met weekly to analyze data, plan prevention efforts, and bolster the state’s ability to respond to emerging needs.
OHA has invested heavily in several suicide prevention, intervention, treatment, and postvention programs, collectively referred to as Big River programming. Each of the programs is available statewide, has a coordinator to support local efforts, and has seen robust growth since they became available in 2020. More information about the programming is here.
OHA also:
- Launched the Remote Suicide Risk Assessment and Safety Planning phone line and created a tool to support school administrators, school counselors and other school based mental health
- Created the Oregon Behavioral Health Support Line, which offers live support.
- Developed the Youth Suicide Assessment in Virtual Environments (YouthSAVE) training, created specifically for mental health professionals who serve youth. This training equips school- and community-based mental health professionals to use virtual tools to reach youth who have thoughts of suicide. More than 700 youth-serving providers in Oregon have taken YouthSAVE since its launch in December 2020.
- In collaboration with the Oregon Department of Education, set up a School Suicide Prevention and Wellness team to provide support to school districts for suicide prevention planning and implementation.
OHA works together with other state agencies, counties, Tribal partners, communities and advocacy groups across the state to prevent suicide in Oregon.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please know that help is available:
- Oregon launched the Safe + Strong Helpline and website at the beginning of the pandemic to provide to support for those struggling with the loss of loved ones and lifestyle changes. The Safe + Strong Helpline, 1-800-923- HELP (4357), is available 24/7. More help and resources are available in multiple languages on the Safe + Strong website.
- Additional resources include:
- 24/7 Suicide Prevention National Lifeline number: 1-800-273-8255
- 24/7 Spanish Lifeline: 1-888-628-9454
- 24/7 Crisis Text Line: Text “OREGON” to 741741
- 24/7 Crisis Line for Veterans: 1-800-273-8255 and Press “1” or text 838255
- Senior Loneliness Line: 503-200-1633 or org
- YouthLine for teen-to-teen crisis help. A phone line and a texting support line are offered through Lines for Life. Trained teens respond from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, PDT. Adults are also available 24/7.
- Call 1-877-968-8491
- Text teen2teen to 839863
Read full details in the 2021 Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan Annual Report.
Lines for Life in Oregon will receive $432,000 in extra federal funding to help reduce the risk of youth mental health crisis and suicide, according to US Senator Ron Wyden.
Due to the pandemic, Wyden said that youth face greater mental health stressors than ever before.
The federal money will go toward Oregon’s YouthLine , which is operated in part by 170 adolescent volunteers. Volunteers take calls and text messages from people experiencing mental health crises, referring them to treatment and support. The $432,000 in federal funding coming to Lines for Life in Oregon aims to change that trajectory.
State Lawmakers Looking At Option To Pause Gas Taxes In An Effort To Lower Gas Prices
Several states have issued a suspension of their local gas taxes to aid with elevated gas prices and Oregon could follow suit if state legislators see fit.
The current fuel tax for the state of Oregon is 38 cents, and in theory a suspension of the tax would lower the average gas price by that much. According to experts though, it’s not as simple as that.
“There are a number of questions that would need to be answered about such a proposal, including the legal mechanisms that would be used,” Liz Merah, press secretary for Governor Brown said, “it’s not clear at this point that suspending state and/or federal gas taxes would have a significant impact on prices for individuals for even a short amount of time.”
The tax plays a significant role in not only the funding of the Oregon Department of Transportation, but city budgets as well. Merah added if they were to suspend the tax, it would require bipartisan action to replace the revenue lost.
Travis Brouwer is ODOT’s Assistant Director of Revenue, Finance and Compliance. He said Oregon was the first to implement a fuel tax, and to his knowledge it’s never been lifted or suspended. This doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though Brouwer said he has no indication that it is on the way.
Maryland, Georgia and Michigan are among the states who have suspended their gas tax in some capacity.
First-Time Raffle Player Wins $1 Million Top Prize
A first-time Raffle player won $1 million after learning about the game from her boyfriend. Janelle Visaya of Corvallis claimed her $1 million prize Thursday after using the Oregon Lottery app to check her tickets on the day of the Raffle drawing.
Visaya said when she let her boyfriend know, he was also very happy, surprised and glad he had pointed out the game to her. Visaya bought the winning ticket, number 089715, at the Corvallis Fred Meyer in early February.
The company will receive a 1-percent winner bonus of $10,000 for selling the top winning ticket. A Fred Meyer spokesperson said they congratulate Visaya on her big win. With more than 1,800 prizes, Oregon Lottery Raffle winners can be found in every corner of the state. With 300 prizes of $500 and 1,500 prizes of $100, players should check their tickets as many of the smaller prizes remain unclaimed.
Oregon Senators Request Funds for Port of Coos Bay
Several of Oregon’s U.S. lawmakers, including Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, have asked President Joe Biden to invest in the container port in Coos Bay. In a letter, the lawmakers said it is important to invest in the country’s rural ports because of supply chain issues, job growth and economic benefits.
The lawmakers said establishing a container port in Coos Bay would immediately increase West Coast port capacity by up to 10 percent. The project would also have significant environmental benefits, according to the letter. This is because while other U.S. ports rely heavily on truck transportation, the port of Coos Bay will be the first ship-to-rail port facility on the West Coast.
New Museum Exhibit Marvels at High Desert Dark Skies and Explores Conservation Efforts
BEND, OR — The High Desert boasts some of the darkest night skies in the continental United States. But with the region’s population growth, dark skies are a natural resource being lost. Increasing light pollution emanating from developed areas threatens the health and populations of species that depend on the dark including insects, migrating birds and even humans.
A new, original exhibit examines this issue. Vanishing Night: Conserving Dark Skies in the High Desert opens at the High Desert Museum on Saturday, April 16. The exhibit features breathtaking large-scale imagery of the changing High Desert skies and information about the harm light pollution causes to wildlife. It also offers simple solutions for all residents to cut back their use of artificial light.
“People might not think of dark night skies as a type of natural resource,” says Hayley Brazier, Donald M. Kerr curator of natural history and curator of Vanishing Night. “We’re excited to inspire visitors to make small changes that can help local ecosystems.”
The exhibit examines the ways that light pollution negatively affects wildlife. Given the fact that 60 percent of invertebrates and 30 percent of vertebrates are nocturnal, sky glow can have an overwhelming impact on an ecosystem. For example, moths are critical nighttime pollinators and are also drawn to artificial light. Their populations can be decimated when they exhaust themselves from frantic movement around artificial light. Predators can also easily find them en masse at those sites.
Also, humans depend on circadian rhythms like other animals. Light pollution is associated with hormonal imbalances and higher cancer rates. Artificial light suppresses melatonin, the hormone that fights cancer cells.
For simple solutions that everyone, homeowners and renters alike, can do, a variety of down-facing outdoor lights will be on display and other tips will be shared including putting lights on timers, motion sensors and more.
“Living in an urban area, it’s difficult to notice the slowly brightening night sky,” says Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “Vanishing Night helps us build appreciation for both the beauty and importance of keeping night skies dark.”
The Museum’s popular Natural History Pub lecture series at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in April focuses on light pollution. “For the Love of Dark Skies: Good for People, Ecosystems and the Economy” takes place on Monday, April 4 from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm and features Mary Coolidge of Portland Audubon and a board member of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) Oregon Chapter and Dr. Bill Kowalik, board chair of the IDA Oregon Chapter. Natural History Pub is free, and registration is required at highdesertmuseum.org/natural-history-pub-april. Participants ages 12 and older will be required to show a COVID-19 vaccination card or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event and a photo ID.
Vanishing Night: Conserving Dark Skies in the High Desert (highdesertmuseum.org/vanishing-night) will be on display through July 10. The exhibit is possible with support from Central Oregon Radiology Associates and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
THE HIGH DESERT MUSEUM opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Police Ask for Public’s Help in Search For Victim’s Roommate In Albany Homicide – A 42-year-old woman, the roommate of a 75-year-old man whose death was ruled a homicide, is wanted for questioning in the case, Albany police officials said.
Elvin “Al” Pierce was found dead by officers around 9:10 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller reported a man was unconscious and not breathing. Investigators at that time said the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious.
APD said Pierce’s roommate, 42-year-old Elizabeth Nicole Tyler Jimenez, wasn’t there at the home when officers found Pierce dead and they don’t know where she is. Authorities did not specifically state whether Jimenez is a suspect or if there are any charges against her.
Pierce’s car, a tan 2004 Buick Park Avenue with Oregon license plate 081FAX, is also missing.
Jimenez, who investigators believe is currently without a job, is described as often visiting local soup kitchens. She also has skills as a masseuse and a seamstress, officials said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact APD at 541-917-7680 or APD Lt. Buck Pearce at 541-917-3209.
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Asks for Public’s Help in Search For Trucker Suspect
The first real clue to come in on all the missing person cases in the area. Help Klamath Falls Oregon Sheriff Office ID this trucker. He was the last to see this woman alive and could be the key to not only solving this woman’s disappearance but a number of the hundred other women missing in PNW. IF you have any information, please call (541) 883-5130
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/