Coast Radio News

Lane County must pay plaintiffs in open meetings violations…

Under a settlement agreement with plaintiffs the Lane County Commission has acknowledged that they violated the open meetings law in 2009. The county, as well as two of the commissioners will have to pay damages. Coos County judge Michael Gillespie approved the agreement late last week. Former commissioner Ellie Dumdi and retired Eugene business owner Ed Anderson will receive $350-thousand from the county. Commissioners Rob Handy and Peter Sorenson must each pay $20-thousand to the County to help offset legal costs. The two are also prohibited from violating the open meetings law through March of next year or face additional penalties. Lane County has already spent more than $340-thousand for lawyers and other legal fees in defending Handy and Sorenson. Former West Lane Commissioner Bill Fleenor had also been named in the suit but all claims against him were dismissed.

Dunes City Councilor Troy Sathe has responded to charges of having a 'hidden agenda' and being 'out of control'... accusations levelled by former Mayor Eric Hauptman last week as he resigned.
Sathe: "Nobody on our council has a hidden agenda. We brought everything out in the open for the public to see."

Sathe said the problem was with the former Mayor.
Sathe: "We looked into the laws and ordinances and found flaws and were trying to fix them and the Mayor didn't want us to fix the problems and so, that's why he calls me out of control."

Under previous procedures the mayor exercised direct day to day control over Dunes City staff, something Sathe and other councilors took issue with. They wanted to revise procedures and submitted a proposed resolution last week to revise the City Recorder’s contract. Sathe said it was that proposal that prompted Hauptman to resign. The council approved that change Thursday.

Two of the top law enforcement officials in Lane County will be in Florence later this week to kick off a series of community meetings aimed at discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the public safety system. Sheriff Tom Turner and District Attorney Alex Gardner say they also want to hear community concerns and answer questions posed by area residents. The two will be speaking at this week’s Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Noon Forum Thursday. That will be at Driftwood Shores Restaurant from 11:30 to one pm. It’s open to the public.

Early ticket sales began over the weekend for the 42nd annual Oregon Country Fair in Veneta. Admission and parking tickets will be available exclusively online through May First at ticketswest.com. The fair happens July 8th through the 10th and will feature 17 entertainment stages, nearly 80 food booths and hundreds of craft booths. Entertainment featured this year will include the band 7-Walkers… fronted by former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzman. One day tickets are $20 for Friday and Sunday; $23 for Saturday… or three-day passes can be purchased for $51.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) - A 41-year-old man remained in critical
condition yesterday after being shot several times in the head. The
Coos County Major Crime Team and other county law agencies have
arrested his brother-in-law, Jose Perez. The World newspaper
reports Perez admitted to firing the shots Friday. The incident
occurred at an Arago residence. The alleged victim's name wasn't
released.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police say a 6-year-old
told troopers after he crashed his mother's minivan that he had
left his home hungry and wanted to go buy food. They say the boy
was driving and crashed into several mailboxes in the Klamath Falls
area yesterday, and then swerved into an opposite lane before
hitting a pickup truck. The boy told authorities he had taken a
roll of pennies from his family's apartment to get some food. State
police and the Department of Human Services are investigating.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Foster children have a rough go of it after
leaving state care. Many go homeless or into poverty, and few make
it through college. Mindful of that, Oregon legislators are
considering a bill to allow state universities to waive tuition and
fees for foster children. People in both parties are sympathetic,
but The Oregonian newspaper reports the bill is struggling because
its price tag is $1 million. The bill was on its way to a House
vote last week until it was rerouted to the budget committee.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An organization formed three years ago to
improve the business climate in downtown Salem is facing an
uncertain future. Go Downtown Salem was authorized to collect money
from property owners in Salem's Economic Improvement District and
use it to make things better. The Salem Statesman Journal reports
the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce has criticized the organization
as ineffective and lacking focus.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Triple-A reports the average price of a
gallon of gasoline in Oregon is $3.86. That's 3 cents higher than
the national average and up 4 cents in a week and 19 cents in a
month in the state. Today's survey shows Portland prices at $3.83,
Eugene-Springfield $3.90, Salem $3.81, Medford-Ashland $3.89.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon lawmakers today will hear from the
public about giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The
bill would allow people who can't show a birth certificate to get a
limited state-issued license that would allow them to drive. The
license could not be used for other purposes, such as obtaining a
concealed handgun permit or registering to vote.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Michael Pineda pitched six strong
innings and Brendan Ryan drove in two runs as the Seattle Mariners
beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 yesterday to snap a four-game
losing streak. Pineda limited the Royals to one run and three hits
over six innings. He struck out five and walked four to earn the
win. Brandon League gave up a run in the ninth but finished for his
third save.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Kenny Cooper scored against his former
club and the expansion Portland Timbers won their second
consecutive match with a 3-2 victory yesterday over FC Dallas.
Captain Jack Jewsbury and Rodney Wallace also scored for the
Timbers, playing for the second time in three days before a sellout
crowd at their renovated downtown stadium. The Timbers are now
2-2-1.

DALLAS (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers will surely have their
eyes on Jason Kidd tomorrow night. While Kidd expects to return to
his usual role as a ball distributor for the Dallas Mavericks, his
24 points and six 3-pointers on Saturday proved he can be a scoring
threat. Kidd scored three points more than he had in any game this
season. The 24 points was also his most in any playoff game since
2005.

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

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Number 9 ranked Oregon State completed a sweep of #17 Stanford Cardinal yesterday afternoon in Palo Alto with a 6-4 win at Sunken Diamond. The Beavers improved to 27-and-7 on the year and are 8-and-1 on Pac-10 play and have the longest active winning streak in the nation with nine.

The Oregon Ducks fell to the USC Trojans 3-1 yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles to fall to 2-and-7 in conference play. The Trojans swept the series 2-1.

On the track Saturday, several Siuslaw Vikings were in competition at the Crater Classic in Central Point. Sophomore hurdler Alex Dodson posted a personal best in the 110-high hurdles with a time of 18.15 seconds.

On the Diamond… Friday’s baseball and softball contests for the Siuslaw Vikings were postponed until today because of the weather. The boys will be on the baseball diamond in Winston against the Douglas Trojans for two games this afternoon at three…. Viking Softball will host the Trojans, also for a pair of games, at three.