Backyard and commercial flock owners beware: Bird flu is highly infectious and deadly for birds, causing high mortality rates, and it can spread to other wildlife, but it does not pose a problem to people.
Lynne Terry - Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon needs thousands of construction, government workers to close housing gap
Oregon’s housing shortage is worse today than it was before the start of the Covid pandemic, a state economist told lawmakers Wednesday during a hearing to discuss ways of easing the statewide crunch.
As monkeypox spreads in Oregon, wait lists grow for the vaccine
Hundreds of people have been vaccinated against monkeypox in Oregon, which has nearly 100 cases, but even more await a shot.
A vaccine approved for use against monkeypox remains in short supply. What’s more, infectious disease experts don’t know how effective it is.
Health officials confirm six cases of monkeypox in Oregon
The Oregon Health Authority is working with community groups to try to prevent the spread that has mainly affected gay and bisexual men in the current global outbreak. Two of the cases were in Washington County.
State advises Oregonians to watch out for snapping turtles
State wildlife officials are on the hunt for invasive snapping turtles. These prehistoric-looking creatures, native to the eastern part of Canada and the U.S. , have settled into the Tualatin River watershed and been spotted elsewhere, including the Clackamas, Willamette, Columbia, Sandy, Molalla, Pudding and Umpqua rivers and the Columbia Slough. [Read More…]
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen returns to work after weeks of recovery
Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen during a press conference held December 17, 2021. Photo from YouTube Patrick Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority, returned to duty this week after a long absence. The agency declined to respond to requests for more information. He was working at his[Read More…]
Oregon Legislature passes bill mandating overtime pay for farmworkers
Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, called the farmworker overtime bill a “good beginning.” (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon is headed towards becoming the eighth state to mandate overtime pay for farmworkers. The pay bill passed its final legislative hurdle on Thursday and heads to Gov. Kate Brown, who appears ready[Read More…]
Oregon, California, Washington will lift most mask mandates on March 12
File photo: Chas Hundley In a surprise move, Gov. Kate Brown said Monday that Oregon, Washington and California will jointly lift their indoor mask mandate on March 12. Masks will no longer be required in schools but state officials will recommend they still be used, according to a news release.[Read More…]
Proposal to pay farmworkers overtime overcomes first hurdle in Legislature
Grain at a farm outside of Forest Grove. Photo: Chas Hundley A controversial plan to require overtime pay that would affect the 86,000 farmworkers in Oregon advanced on Tuesday along partisan lines. All seven Democrats on the House Committee on Business and Labor voted for House Bill 4002, which would require[Read More…]
Peak of omicron hospitalizations and cases in Oregon is over, forecast says
File photo: Chas Hundley The surge of people hospitalized or infected with omicron is over, according to the latest forecast from Oregon Health & Science University. The forecast, which influences the policy of the Oregon Health Authority, indicates that Oregon reached its peak, and the number of Oregonians infected or[Read More…]