Legislature may need to pare things down; Florence Council has 3 options on Sr Center; Reedsport care center for sale?

Oregon Legislators back to work today…

Lawmakers in Oregon are sitting pretty… at least prettier than most. They open up a special session today in Salem with something that legislatures in many other states don’t have…. and that’s cash. Voters approved tax increases on corporations and wealthy Oregonians last week totaling an estimated $727-million between now and June 2011. That means leaders aren’t in the position of having to take a ‘chainsaw’ to the state budget in order to make ends meet. They may have to take a pocket knife to it though. An economic forecast is due out this month and Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney says it could show a shortage of about $100-million. That’s less than one-percent of the state’s general fund and in a range that will allow budget-makers to talk about simply ‘adjusting’ the budget and not make major changes.

02-01-10 7,8,9 AM; Noon; 5,6, PM
RBS

The Florence City Council will hear three options tonight on the future of the current senior center on 15th Street. Once the new center around the corner is complete, the 58-year old structure on Airport Road will be vacant. In anticipation of that, public works director Mike Miller has been surveying the building to determine the overall condition. Consultants have reviewed the electrical system, the structural integrity and even checked out whether or not there is asbestos present. There is, but Miller says it’s not a large amount. The structural integrity however is in question. Over the years there have been several additions of varying degrees of quality, and little maintenance over the past decade because the Booster-Seniors have been anticipating moving to a new facility. The three options are to demolish the building; renovate it; or moth-ball it to a later date when it can be renovated and reused for another purpose. The council meets at seven tonight at city hall.

Lower Umpqua Hospital in Reedsport has reportedly received an offer to sell their nursing home portion to Aidan Health Services of Salem. The sale could save the hospital somewhere between 200-and-500 thousand dollars a year in operating costs. Officials say they will hold public meetings before making a final decision. The nursing home houses up to 29-patients with long-term care needs.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) - The second faith healing trial in
Oregon in less than a year is in the hands of a jury. Jeff and
Marci Beagley of Oregon City are charged with criminally negligent
homicide in the 2008 death of their 16-year-old son of a urinary
tract blockage that doctors said was treatable. They belong to the
Followers of Christ Church, which does not condone medical care.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama said in his State of
the Union that "one in 10 Americans still cannot find work." But
in Oregon, the so-called underemployed rate is 20.7 percent,
third-highest in the nation. The official unemployment rate of 10
percent doesn't include people who are working part-time but would
prefer full-time work, or the unemployed who have given up looking
for work.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The board of the Oregon Public Employees
Retirement System has voted to take some of the edge off a coming
increase in pension rates for some employers. Rates are expected to
rise next year because of the 2008 market downturn. The new policy
bases them on a sliding scale tied to how well-funded each
employer's pension fund is.

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) - NOAA says it will review whether there was
a workable alternative to moving its Pacific fleet of research
ships to the Oregon coastal city of Newport. The agency says it's
responding to a Government Accountability Office decision to
sustain a protest by the Port of Bellingham, Wash. to award the
lease to Newport.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A new report shows that Oregon added more
wind turbines than all but three other states last year. The
American Wind Energy Association said in its Year End 2009 Market
Report that developers installed 691 megawatts worth of wind towers
last year in Oregon. One megawatt of wind capacity is enough to
supply from 225 to 300 homes.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…
Prep Basketball:
Eric Tipler scored 30-points and the Siuslaw Vikings outscored the Douglas Trojans 11-2 in overtime to claim a 57-48 Far West League Boys’ victory Friday night at home. Other scores in the Far West… Brookings Harbor edged Sutherlin 46-45 and North Bend downed South Umpqua 63 – 51. In Sunset League play Rogue River beat Reedsport 77 – 52; and in the Mountain West is was Mapleton over Oak Hill 48 – 27. // For the girls, Siuslaw is still looking for their first Far West victory, falling at home to Douglas 61- 38. North Bend downed South Umpqua 61 – 36; and Brookings-Harbor upset Sutherlin 37 – 35. // Rogue River beat Reedsport in the Sunset League 59 – 37. Mapleton had the night off.

College Basketball:
The Oregon men completed their home sweep of the So-Cal schools Saturday with a 67 – 57 victory over the USC Trojans. Jeremy Jacob had a career high 19 points, Malcom Armstead 18. // UCLA used a 12-2 run late in the game to pull away for a 62-52 win Saturday evening over the Oregon State Men in Corvallis. For the women, Oregon snapped a five game losing streak, outrunning USC 85 – 77. Taylor Lilley scored a career-high 37 points for Oregon. Over in Westwood, the UCLA Bruins beat the Oregon State Women 70 – 44.