Today
Thursday
Friday
High: 50 High: 56 High: 61
Low: 35 Low: 39 Low: 46
Precip: 80% Precip: 50% Precip: 40%
Gas prices in Oregon
continue to climb
PORTLAND — The statewide aver
age for a gallon of gas is now at $2.46,
14 cents above the previous record set
over Memorial Day weekend last year.
Gas prices are most expensive in the
Medford-Ashland area, where they av
erage $2.59 per gallon, according to
AAA Oregon-Idaho.
Prices at the pump rose about 16
cents last week to top out well above
the national average of about $2.27,
according to AAA.
In Portland and Eugene, the average
price for a gallon of gas is now $2.43,
and $2.36 in Salem.
Oregon’s average price, tied with
Washington’s average, ranks fourth
highest in the nation.
California tops the list at $2.63, fol
lowed by Hawaii and Nevada.
New Jersey has the lowest average
price at $2.08.
Senate endorses end to
double majority law
SALEM — The automatic defeat of
local property tax measures if a major
ity of Oregon voters do not cast ballots
could be a thing of the past under a
proposal endorsed Thesday by the
state Senate.
The Senate passed the proposed bal
lot measure to scrap the “double ma
jority” rule on a 20-8 vote, sending it to
the House.
House approval would give voters
the final say because the rule is part of
the state constitution, which can be
changed only with voter approval.
The current provision says property
tax measures can be approved only if
a majority of votes are in favor and at
least 50 percent of registered voters
cast ballots.
The requirement was passed by vot
ers in 1996, and a repeal measure nar
rowly failed in 1998.
Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tbalatin,
said the requirement is undemocratic
because people effectively vote “no”
by not voting.
The voter participation requirement
was meant to discourage local officials’
attempts to raise taxes by holding lit
tle-noticed and low turnout special
elections, Devlin said. But, he said,
sending measures to “obscure elec
tions is no longer feasible or possible”
because voters now get ballots in the
mail for all elections.
The League of Oregon Cities says
that out of the 963 local property tax
measures voted on from 1997 through
2003,122 failed because of the double
majority requirement.
Taxi driver involved in
accident loses permit
PORTLAND — The van driver
involved in the accident that killed
the mother of a top U.S. figure
skater has lost his permit under a
decision made by Portland’s top
taxicab regulator.
The driver, Sergey Anikin, 36, did
not appeal the decision, city taxicab
supervisor John Hamilton said.
Anikin’s van collided with a car
while merging onto Interstate 205 on
Jan. 12. Passenger Delores Nikodinov,
the mother of a skater scheduled to
compete in the U.S. Figure Skating
Championships at the Rose Garden,
died in the rollover.
Her daughter, skater Angela Nikodi
nov, withdrew from competition.
Police cited Anikin on accusations
of careless driving and failing to main
tain his line of travel.
An investigation found that at the
time of the accident, Anikin had been
working 18 consecutive hours, a vio
lation of city regulations that restrict
taxi drivers from working more than
14 hours in any 24-hour period,
Hamilton said.
— The Associated Press
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