Pay attention to redistricting - Yamagata Friendship - Parade applications - Scam alert

Rural Oregonians urged to pay heed to legislative redistricting.

Lawmakers have already held two of what will ultimately be a dozen hearings around the state on redrawing boundary lines between legislative districts. It happens every ten years following the census. Karla Kay Edwards, a Rural Policy Analyst and commentator with the conservative Cascade Policy Institute says the process has a “significant impact” and, if previous trends continue, rural Oregonians will continue to be “victims”. For the past 60-years, she says, some communities have been split up, while others have been paired with dissimilar or geographically remote partners.
215 -- "The small community of John Day is divided at the only traffic light in all of Grant County. Coastal communities are lumped with interior farmland and bedroom communities which share little to no economic commerce or even a common news source."

Hearings around the state are a prime opportunity to be heard, but Edwards is advocating for possibly taking the responsibility away from the legislature.
216 -- "Oregonians must pay attention and engage in redistricting discussions. If we dislike the outcomes, we must insist on an independent redistricting commission."

Four hearings are set for the Portland area tomorrow and Saturday, then committee members will be in Lane County for a two-hour session at the Knight Law Library on the U of O campus Saturday, April 16th.

A data breach at one of the nation’s largest email marketing companies means Oregonians need to be alert for possible attempts to gain personal information. Attorney General John Kroger says computer hackers gained access to millions of names and email addresses from the data base at Epsilon Interactive. It’s possible they would use that information to target customers of a number of national businesses, posing as representatives of those businesses in an effort to get personal data. Kroger says some of the companies affected are US Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Capital One and Visa. He said all companies involved will contact customers directly.

In light of the recent events in Japan, a local group that has promoted an annual cultural exchange won’t be sending high school students this summer as originally hoped. The Florence Yamagata Friendship Association won’t let up on fundraising though. Instead of paying for meals, airfare and ground transportation they’ll be sending the proceeds from their annual tree sale to Florence’s Sister City. Yamagata, in the Gifu Prefecture, wasn’t directly impacted by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, but will distribute the funds to neighboring communities in need. The annual Florence-Yamagata Friendship tree sale is set for Saturday, April 23rd on Laurel Street between sixth and seventh.

How about some free exposure for your business or group? It’s estimated that 20-thousand people will line up to watch the Rhododendron Festival Grand Floral Parade on Sunday, May 22nd. Parade entry applications are available now online at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce website, or at the Visitors Center. Chamber Executive Director Kady Sneddon says an entry can be great fun and community involvement. It can also be a ‘team-building’ exercise, bringing a group together. Entries received prior to April 22nd can get in for free… after that date there’s a nominal entry fee.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An aftershock has rattled Japan's
northeastern coast but officials say there is no tsunami threat to
Oregon. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake was reported Thursday about 25 miles
off the coast of Japan that shook buildings in Tokyo and resulted
in a tsunami warning for Japan. But no tsunami warning was in effect for Oregon or the West Coast. Oregon Emergency Management officials said Thursday there was no
threat to the state.

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) - A number of law enforcement agencies
have joined Oregon State Police in the search for a missing
Canadian couple last seen in Baker City on a trip to Las Vegas.
Police say 59-year-old Albert Chretien and his 56-year-old wife
Rita, of Penticton, British Columbia, were last seen at a Baker
City store on March 19. Nearly 1,400 miles of roads have been
searched.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A key legislative budget committee has
advanced a school funding bill without digging deeper into savings
as education advocates had hoped. An education subcommittee late
yesterday approved $5.7 billion for schools in the next two-year
budget, sending the bill to the full budget committee. The spending
draws on $123 million from reserve funds as recommended last week.

BEND, Ore. (AP) - Sometimes even a hero needs a makeover. Nala
is a lab-pit bull mix who gained a measure of fame last December
after she led a Humane Society of Redmond, Ore., volunteer dog
walker to a ditch where another dog was struggling to survive. But
Nala has been at the central Oregon shelter for about a year now.
So yesterday, KTVZ says she got what the shelter calls her
"extreme dog makeover" - a bath, trim and pedicure donated by a
local groomer.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Officials say a Delta Air Lines flight
carrying 60 people returned to Portland International Airport after
hitting a bird. SkyWest Airlines says Flight 4621 took off for Salt
Lake City late yesterday afternoon but turned around after it hit
the bird and made a safe landing. Passengers were placed on later
flights.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The chief state geologist for Oregon plans
to tell Congress that it's time to get better prepared for a
possible earthquake. Oregon State Geologist Vicki McConnell says
earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand, Chile and Haiti over the past 14
months have already provided some lessons on how to prepare in
Oregon. McConnell is scheduled to testify today before a House
science subcommittee in Washington, D.C., at a hearing on
earthquake risk reduction efforts nationally.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Three unions representing public employees
are airing TV ads targeting Republicans in the state House. The ads
say Republicans are demanding cuts to schools, seniors and public
safety while insisting on putting $440 million in savings. The
unions and House Democrats have argued that the state should spend
all available money to curtail spending cuts.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers are back in the
NBA playoffs despite another season of untimely injuries. Portland
claimed its playoff berth Tuesday night with a whimper: Houston's
loss to Sacramento clinched a spot for the Blazers, who were then
routed 108-87 by the Golden State Warriors. It is Portland's 29th
postseason in the franchise's 41-year history, and the team's third
straight overall.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

On the schedule today the Siuslaw Vikings will host a Far West League Track and Field meet today at Hans Peterson Field. Many of the top athletes will be held out of competition however, giving younger and less experienced student-athletes an opportunity for meet experience. That gets underway at four.