Early releases from jail; Ponzi schemer gets 9 years; Marine reserves funded

Lane County Jail releases 78 prisoners early…

Ten prisoners characterized as “high risk” walked free from the Lane County Jail during a six-day period earlier this month. It wasn’t a mass breakout, but instead an early release of a total of 78 prisoners as Sheriff Tom Turner is trying to make ends meet. Turner ordered the 84-bed jail “annex” closed at the first of this month and laid off 52 department employees in an effort to close a $3.2-million funding shortfall. Of the prisoners released last week 48 were considered to be ‘low risk’ and another 20 were ‘medium risk’. The other ten may include, say officials, people charged with violent crimes. Names of the prisoners weren’t released. It’s estimated that as many as 750 Lane County prisoners will see their sentences shortened over the next 12-months because of the funding shortfall. The closure of the ‘annex’ reduces the jail capacity from 410 to 326… 110 of those beds are reserved for state and federal corrections inmates. That leaves just 216 jail beds funded by Lane County.

A 69-year-old California man who swindled more than 100 people out of nearly $19 million has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Most of the victims were elderly and retired residents of the Florence area. U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan sentenced Louis J. Borstelmann of Thousand Oaks, California Tuesday, ordering him to repay his victims upon his release at a minimum rate of $200 per month. Borstelmann previously forfeited $100,000 and a Lexus SUV. He pleaded guilty in March to mail fraud and money laundering. Through his company, Sunburst Associates, he falsely promised high rates of return and a security interest in property. He has admitted the alleged investments never existed and it was all a Ponzi scheme, in which he used new investor money to pay older investment obligations.

Funding for implementation of a series of five marine reserves off the Oregon Coast is in place thanks to the 2011 Oregon Legislature. The reserves, one of which will be just offshore Cape Perpetua north of Florence, have been in planning for several years and now will move to the implementation stage. The Governor will now coordinate a process with lawmakers and government agencies to draw up the actual guidelines for administering the reserves. The other four reserves will be near Port Orford on the south coast; Otter Rock near Newport and Cascade Head on the Central Coast; as well as Cape Falcon in the north. A sixth reserve had been proposed for near Cape Arago, southwest of Coos Bay, but there was no local support.

For the third week in a row the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded has risen… this week it’s up four cents to $3.68 according to Triple-A. Meanwhile, Oregon’s average price held steady this week at $3.75 a gallon. In Florence, the average also held steady… it’s ten cents less than the statewide average at $3.65.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Surveillance video from an Oregon
convenience store shows a woman calmly talking on the phone and
buying cigar wrappers hours before she and her four children were
found stabbed in their home. Tabasha Paige-Criado was reported
missing Monday by her husband, Jordan Adam Criado. He's now
suspected of killing her and their children and setting the house
ablaze.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - One of Oregon's largest public employee
unions has reached an agreement for a contract with the state. The
AFSCME (AFS' me) union says the agreement reached yesterday calls
for workers to pay 5 percent of their medical, dental and life
insurance premiums and to take 14 unpaid days off work. Bargaining
with the Service Employees International Union will resume on
Friday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland Fire Bureau spokesman says two
men installing gutters on the third floor of an apartment building
were shocked, burned and knocked to the ground when a gutter
section made contact with an overhead power line. A bureau
spokesman says the men were knocked off their ladders yesterday.
They suffered life-threatening injuries and were rushed to area
hospitals.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Environmentalists and Portland General
Electric have settled a lawsuit over the utility's coal-fired
electricity plant in Eastern Oregon. The deal announced yesterday
includes additional limits on sulfur dioxide emissions during the
Boardman plant's final years. The plant is the only one of its kind
in Oregon and a major source of greenhouse gases and regional haze
pollutants.

TORONTO (AP) - Rajai Davis stole two bases before scoring on
John McDonald's sacrifice fly in the 14th inning and the Toronto
Blue Jays beat Seattle 6-5 last night, extending the Mariners'
losing streak to 10 games. It's their longest slide since a 12-game
skid in 2008. Davis hit a one-out single off Jamey Wright in the
14th and stole second and third before scoring on McDonald's fly to
center.

RITZVILLE, Wash. (AP) - The head volleyball coach at Eastern
Oregon University has been killed in a two-vehicle crash near
Ritzville, Wash. Troopers believe 25-year-old Hailey Pearce of
LaGrande didn't see a pickup truck ahead of her Monday on Highway
395. The trooper says the pickup was a rear escort for a farming
combine. Pearce joined Eastern Oregon's coaching staff in 2010.

RENO, Nev. (AP) - The BLM is starting a roundup of more than
1,700 wild mustangs in Nevada now that a federal appeals court has
lifted a temporary injunction. The federal agency said the roundup
that had been scheduled to begin last week would start today in
northeast Nevada near the Utah line, weather permitting.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) - All-Stars Sylvia Fowles and Epiphanny
Prince combined for 47 points to lead the Chicago Sky to a 78-69
win over the Seattle Storm. Fowles, the WNBA scoring leader, had 24
points and nine boards, and Prince had 23 points for Chicago. Both
players were announced as All-Star reserves at halftime. Sue Bird
scored 26 points for the Storm, who dropped their third game in a
row.

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) - U.S. Open qualifier Beau Hossler shot a
5-under 67, the low round of the tournament, yesterday and earned
medalist honors at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain Golf
Club in Bremerton, Wash. Hossler, from Mission Viejo, Calif., was
at 9-under 135 through 36 holes. Will Starke of Cary, S.C., the
first-round co-leader, shot a 71 and was in second with a 139.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Taking a look at Coast Radio Sports…

Nic Canaday had quite the day at the plate yesterday, as did Kyle Davis on the mound. The Three Rivers Sandblasters swept the Springfield Titans in a double header to wrap up the regular season. Davis earned the win on the mound in both games, coming in for relief of Ryan Smith in the eighth inning of game one as the ‘Blasters fought back, coming from behind for the 7-6 victory. He then went the distance in game two, throwing a complete 7-inning game for the 5-4 win. Canaday posted three home runs on the day, a solo shot in the opener and a pair of two-run dingers in the nightcap. The Sandblasters have done their part, now must await the outcome of a double header today between Albany and Corvallis to see if they’ll make the regional playoffs.

The Eugene Emeralds slide continues on the road. They were virtually untouchable just a couple-weeks ago, but gave up four runs in the seventh inning last night and the Vancouver Canadians rallied for a 4-run victory in Vancouver. It was the fourth straight loss for Eugene, and the sixth in the last seven games. At one point Eugene held an 8-game advantage in the West Division of the Northwest League but are now only one game ahead of the Canucks… the two teams wrap up the first half of a six-game split series tonight at Scotiabank Field in Vancouver before heading to PK Park in Eugene tomorrow.

For Florence and the Central Oregon Coast…

The Forecast says cloudy skies this morning… but we can’t all be right. Today’s high near 62 degrees and calm conditions early, with a north northwest wind developing to around seven to ten miles an hour.

Mostly cloudy overnight with a low around 51 degrees… along with a 40-percent chance of rain late.

Tomorrow… a chance of morning showers, mostly cloudy skies and a high near 62.

Partly sunny Friday, mostly sunny Saturday, then mostly cloudy on Sunday…

The marine forecast shows a west marine wind five to ten knots becoming northwest at ten to 15 knots by this afternoon. Low tide will be at 10:58; high tide at 5:22.