PUD Increase - Coast Guard Crab Safety - Lane ACT

Coastal Residents to see higher power bills this month…
Even with a three-and-a-half percent rate increase, customers of Central Lincoln PUD enjoy some of the lowest electricity costs in the nation according to PUD General Manager Paul Davies. With this month’s electric bill, rate-payers in Reedsport, Lakeside, Florence and Mapleton will see slightly higher rates. “Significant cost increases from Bonneville Power Administration” force the increases says Davies. He attributed some of the BPA increases to delayed maintenance at the group’s nuclear facility in Washington State as well as several hydro facilities along he Columbia River. In addition to a 3.5-percent rate increase, residential customers will see a hike in the basic monthly service rate from $16 to $17. Davies says most of Central Lincoln’s power is ‘green’ or sustainable. 93-percent is generated without creating air pollution. Central Lincoln PUD is Oregon’s fourth largest electric utility, serving most of the Central Oregon Coast from Newport to Hauser.

Oregon’s Dungeness Crab fishery is set to open in the next three weeks, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to focus on safety for the fleet. Over the next week Coast Guard personnel will conduct vessel safety spot checks and volu8ntary dockside exams in various northwest ports. Crews will be looking at primary lifesaving equipment and pot loading practices while in port, as well as watertight integrity and survival suits. It’s part of ‘Operation Safe Crab”, the Coast Guard’s continuing initiative to reduce the number of fisherman’s lives lost at sea. Commercial Dungeness Crabbers operate in some of the winter’s worst weather, hazardous waters and have some of the highest fatality rates of any west coast fishery.

The Oregon Transportation Commission approved formation of the Lane Area Commission on Transportation or Lane ACT. The O-T-C divides the state into 12 areas, most of which already have ACTs… advisory bodies that provide input to the transportation commission on all aspects of the transportation system. Lane Act was one of the last to be formed, Lane County Commissioners had balked at the initial formation of the panel, and wanted more control over who would serve on the commission.

Associated Press Regional News:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police have found a man dead inside a
southeast Portland home from an apparent suicide, hours after
officers surrounded the house where he was eventually found. Police
used a video-equipped bomb squad robot to explore the home and find
the 42-year-old man inside. The Oregonian reports no one else was
at the home. Nearby homes were evacuated during the probe but
residents were later allowed to return.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - One person is dead after a Saturday night
accident on a downtown Portland bridge. The Oregonian reports a
Mercury Cougar with five people inside was traveling westbound
across the bridge and went out of control on the steel grating in
the middle of the bridge. The Oregonian reports a back seat
passenger in the Cougar was killed; three others suffered injuries
that weren't life-threatening. No names were released.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Diving teams have again searched a
northwest Portland island for missing 8-year-old Kyron Horman.
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Lt. Mary Lindstrand says the
teams were at Sauvie Island on Saturday looking for clues. The
island has been a past focal point in the search for Kyron, who
vanished June 4.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon state dollars for special education
have decreased because of budget cuts. Now, state officials are
working to avoid federal sanctions. Federal special education law
requires states to support special education at the same level or
higher from year to year or face penalties. But Oregon's 2010-11
special education funding is about down $19 million compared to
2009-10.

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - A North Albany man has filed a claim against
the city of Albany, claiming he was mistakenly arrested more than a
year ago. Lawrence Lee Jones Jr. says he remains shaken by having
to spend a night in jail and he's had to wait a year before he
could start to get his arrest expunged.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Judges who hear Social Security disability
cases are facing a growing number of violent threats from claimants
angry over being denied benefits or frustrated at lengthy delays in
processing claims. One of at least 80 threats in the past year was
in Eugene, where a man who was denied benefits said he is "ready
to join the Taliban and hurt some people."

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon state dollars for special education
have decreased because of budget cuts. Now, state officials are
working to avoid federal sanctions. Oregon's 2010-11 special ed
funding is about down $19 million compared to 2009-10.

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) - Two Oregon counties say a federal plan for
managing lower Columbia River fish hatcheries is "flawed" and
"inadequate." Officials from Clatsop and Columbia counties and
those in two Washington counties said the 1,100-page draft is
divisive and assumes that fish production will not increase.

NEW YORK (AP) - Boise State has jumped back ahead of TCU for
third in The Associated Press college football poll after the
Horned Frogs played their closest game of the season. No. 1 Oregon
and No. 2 Auburn held their places, though the Ducks' narrow escape
in a 15-13 victory Saturday night at California cost them 11
first-place votes and left them with 38. LSU is fifth, followed by
Wisconsin, Stanford, Ohio State, Nebraska and Alabama.

UNDATED (AP) - There's no change among the top 10 in the latest
BCS standings, with Oregon still holding the top spot. Auburn
remains second but drew closer to Oregon following the Tigers'
49-31 win over Georgia and the Ducks' 15-13 squeaker against Cal.
TCU and Boise State round out the top four.

Prep Football:
The La Grande Tigers scored first, but Siuslaw came back with 20 unanswered points in the first half, then held on for a 48-21 win in the opening round of the OSAA 4A playoffs Friday night in Florence. Kaleb Schneider carried the ball 19 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, Sonny Tupua 27 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns and the number one seeded Vikings advance to the quarterfinals. Siuslaw will host Estacada Friday night at Hans Peterson Field Friday night.

College Football:
Top-ranked Oregon stayed unbeaten and survived a huge scare in Berkeley by holding off upset-minded California 15-13. Jeff Maehl caught a 29-yard pass for the only touchdown by No. 1 Oregon's usually high-powered offense. The Ducks' defense shut down California for most of Saturday night. Cliff Harris returned a punt 64 yards for the only touchdown in the first half by the 10-0 Ducks.

Washington State snapped a 16-game conference losing streak with a 31-14 win over Oregon State. Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley said the first half Saturday was probably the worst he's seen while he's been in Corvallis, the Beavers lost for the third time in the last four games - and the first time in seven games at Reser Stadium – and are in jeopardy of missing the bowl season for the first time in five years. Oregon State still has USC, No. 6 Stanford and top-ranked Oregon left on the schedule.

College Men’s Basketball:
Oregon held on for a 97-92 win over the North Dakota State Bison Friday night at Mac Court in the first game of the BTI Invitational. In their opening weekend of play under head coach Dana Altman, the Ducks came from behind in the second quarter Saturday for a 58-56 win over the University of Denver Saturday. Sunday, they edged UC Santa Barbara 72 / 70. The Oregon State Beavers trailed by 15 in the second half Sunday against UT Arlington, coming out on top 71 / 56.