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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2017)
WEATHER East Oregonian Page 2A REGIONAL CITIES Forecast SUNDAY TODAY Periods of clouds and sun Mostly cloudy 51° 32° 54° 45° MONDAY TUESDAY A shower in the morning Warmer; a shower in the p.m. PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 51° 35° 50° 43° 60° 50° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 53° 44° 52° 30° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 49° 48° 75° (1908) 35° 33° 4° (2014) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.82" 0.76" 14.52" 10.69" 10.75" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday LOW 52° 50° 73° (1932) Trace 0.62" 0.64" 8.42" 7.62" 7.92" SUN AND MOON Nov 26 Bend 48/27 Burns 42/15 Full Dec 3 6:59 a.m. 4:21 p.m. 6:54 a.m. 5:01 p.m. Last Dec 9 Caldwell 48/28 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 52 45 48 53 42 43 48 51 52 47 46 45 44 51 53 54 47 54 51 51 50 51 43 45 50 52 52 Lo 44 22 27 41 15 27 32 32 30 30 18 31 30 27 41 39 24 31 32 37 24 35 31 25 37 37 29 W c pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc c pc pc c pc c pc c c pc c pc c NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Sun. Hi 53 47 52 54 45 47 53 53 53 53 49 48 47 52 53 56 46 54 54 50 53 54 45 49 49 55 51 Lo 42 32 40 49 31 35 44 43 44 41 35 37 37 41 46 47 34 41 45 43 40 45 39 37 43 45 38 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W r c c pc c c r c c c pc c c c r r pc c c r c r c c r c c WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 41 80 74 48 76 36 50 61 34 73 61 Lo 21 64 54 37 44 32 44 40 19 66 45 W s sh pc pc s c pc s s t r Sun. Hi 44 73 68 47 68 36 49 58 38 75 52 Lo 23 63 50 43 44 29 37 42 23 64 41 W c c pc pc pc c pc pc pc pc pc WINDS Medford 51/27 PRECIPITATION Nov 18 John Day 47/30 Ontario 47/24 37° 33° 6° (1961) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First Albany 49/33 Eugene 48/32 TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records 56° 47° Spokane Wenatchee 43/31 45/31 Tacoma Moses 53/38 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 48/31 45/33 51/45 51/39 52/29 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 51/40 52/37 Lewiston 53/32 Astoria 48/33 52/44 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 51/37 Pendleton 43/27 The Dalles 52/30 51/32 51/30 La Grande Salem 45/31 51/35 Corvallis 49/33 HIGH 47° 40° Seattle 52/43 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 54° 34° Today WEDNESDAY Cloudy, a shower in the p.m. Saturday, November 18, 2017 (in mph) Boardman Pendleton Klamath Falls 46/18 REGIONAL FORECAST 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. SW 4-8 SW 6-12 0 Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today. 2 2 2 0 0 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. Cascades: Times of sun and clouds today; milder. Partly cloudy tonight. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Northern California: Partly sunny today. Mainly clear tonight; cold. Intervals of clouds and sun tomorrow. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — www.eastoregonian.com Sunday UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Clouds and sun today. Mainly clear in central parts tonight; low clouds elsewhere. Eastern and Central Oregon: Intervals of clouds and sunshine today. Partly cloudy tonight. Western Washington: Mostly cloudy today. Mainly cloudy tonight; a little rain at the coast. Today WSW 3-6 SW 4-8 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: A potent storm will spread heavy rain and gusty thunderstorms from the lower Great Lakes to the Gulf coast today. Snow will fall over the upper Great Lakes, while much of the Plains and West are dry. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 94° in Altus, Okla. Low 4° in Westby, Mont. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 54 70 59 54 42 74 47 51 75 62 46 55 71 48 52 69 -5 27 82 84 60 79 51 63 72 77 Lo 28 41 53 49 28 41 29 48 58 40 27 36 41 26 33 40 -10 14 68 47 30 60 29 41 38 54 W s pc pc pc pc t pc r pc r r r s s r pc c pc pc pc r pc sh pc c s Sun. Hi 56 53 57 53 47 55 50 57 66 40 35 38 65 60 39 67 5 41 83 68 37 71 52 65 58 77 Lo 33 32 36 31 35 30 39 32 37 26 29 28 41 32 28 40 -17 23 68 43 27 41 38 44 32 56 Today W s s pc pc pc s pc r c c s sn s s sf s pc s s s pc sh s pc s pc Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 65 70 83 44 36 69 81 52 58 48 54 80 43 53 66 46 52 61 64 44 72 62 52 80 57 56 Lo 35 38 67 26 19 37 51 51 31 26 50 53 41 50 51 22 26 36 30 27 55 46 43 50 52 28 W r t s sn pc t pc r s s r pc r r pc s s s sh pc s s c s pc s Sun. Hi 43 53 85 36 40 48 64 54 59 54 56 80 53 56 58 55 59 61 46 48 71 61 49 80 55 58 Lo 28 31 68 29 28 27 46 35 36 34 34 54 26 30 31 30 39 47 33 31 55 53 41 50 36 37 W pc s s pc s s s pc s s pc s r r s s pc pc s s pc pc r s pc s Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Ethics commission denies Kitzhaber settlement OHA director details $112M in possible Medicaid errors By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Government Ethics Commis- sion on Friday voted 7-to-1 to deny a proposed settle- ment in which former Gov. John Kitzhaber agreed to pay $1,000 to resolve ethics complaints that he and first lady Cylvia Hayes used their public positions for profit, failed to disclose conflicts of interest and inappropriately accepted gifts. Kitzhaber on Wednesday admitted he violated state ethics laws on four occasions and said he did so uninten- tionally. The former governor said he did not disclose a conflict of interest related to Hayes’ paid consulting contracts based on the advice of his attorney at the time. Kitzhaber said he was surprised by the commis- sion’s decision, because ethics commission staff members had proposed the terms of the agreement. He had made no further comment as of press time Friday. News of the proposed settlement earlier this week spawned criticism that the penalty was too lenient on Kitzhaber’s missteps during his role as the state’s highest elected official. Several ethics commis- sioners said they wanted to require Kitzhaber to pay a more severe fine given the former governor’s high-pro- file position. Accepting the settlement could threaten the legitimacy of the watchdog agency, they asserted. “That is really troubling to me that we are excusing the behavior of the highest official of our state because he sought counsel,” said Commissioner Charles Starr. “I think a larger fine is necessary for our reputation as a commission ... because anybody serving at the highest level has a greater responsibility to the public.” Commission Chairman Dan Golden was the Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accu- rate. If you notice a mis- take in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. Don Ryan/Associated Press The Oregon Government Ethics Commission on Friday voted 7-to-1 to deny a proposed settlement in which former Gov. John Kitzhaber agreed to pay $1,000 to resolve ethics complaints that he and first lady Cylvia Hayes used their public positions for profit. dissenting vote in the rejec- tion of the settlement. He said the $1,000 sanction was appropriate, based on the commission’s formula for calculating fines. Kitzhaber had no prior ethics viola- tions, which factored into the recommended penalty, said Ron Bersin, commission executive director. The proposed settlement “treated this former governor like we do other officials at a higher level,” Golden said. “There is no amount that addresses the loss of credibility and the things associated with the fall of this public figure.” Friday’s denial means that ethics investigators will write a report on the findings of their probe of the allegations. Once submitted to the commission, the report becomes a public record. Flower Topicals Edibles Concentrates and more Settlement negotiations could continue simultane- ously. The proposed settlement, which Kitzhaber signed, stated that he violated Oregon law four times by benefiting from frequent flier miles he accrued from state travel between 2011 and 2013 and failing to disclose conflicts of interest related to Hayes’ consulting company in 2013. The company, 3E Strate- gies, received paid consulting contracts from 2011 to 2013. In a statement Wednesday, Kitzhaber said he accepted full responsibility for the violations. “I apologize to Orego- nians for failing to disclose a potential conflict of interest, although the ethical viola- tions at issue were wholly unintentional,” Kitzhaber said. “In the case reviewed by the Ethics Commission, I did not perceive a conflict of interest because I under- stood the work that Ms. Hayes was doing for various non-profit organizations was not directed at trying to shape or influence state policy but, rather, to educate people regarding the issues to which she had committed her professional career.” Kitzhaber argued that he also received advice from his attorney that he did not need to disclose a potential conflict. Ethics Commissioner Alison Kean said she would like to see evidence of that legal advice, which had not been revealed to date as part of the investigation. The commission voted unanimously in July to pursue an official investiga- tion of the former governor and his fiancée. The agency in February 2015 had suspended a preliminary review of three complaints of alleged ethics violations against the couple, triggered by pending state and federal investigations. Kitzhaber and Hayes had been under criminal inves- tigation for more than two years after Willamette Week reported the first lady may have used her position to win several consulting contracts. The scandal eventually prompted Kitzhaber to resign from office in February 2015. The commission resumed its ethics investigation in late June after the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced no crim- inal charges would be filed against the couple. Open 7 days A week 8-10 Mon-Sat 10-10 Sunday Adults 21+ • Keep Out of Reach of Children • Do not drive while under the infl uence of Marijuana By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon may have erroneously paid, allo- cated, inaccurately recorded or over-claimed $112.4 million in health care funds, according to a letter Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen sent to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Friday. That figure is on top of the state’s estimated overpayment of $74 million to coordinated care organizations, or CCOs, the state’s regional networks of Medicaid providers, between 2014 and 2016. Allen’s letter follows his statement to legislators this week that the state was likely to see more processing problems come out of the state’s health agency. “...We note that this is likely not an exhaustive and final list of all known issues facing the agency,” Allen wrote Friday. “It is also likely that the details of these issues will evolve as we research them and consult in more detail with subject matter experts.” Allen documented two main types of issues: those relating to $44.5 million in possible payment errors; and issues relating to the allocation of about $67.9 million of funds, which range from charging the wrong section of the state’s budget to claiming federal funds for certain procedures that cannot be paid for with federal money. Allen was careful to note that all of those numbers are estimates, and subject to change based on deeper research into the problems. Two weeks ago, it came out that the state had overpaid CCOs by approx- imately $74 million for certain patients who were eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare due to classi- fication errors. But the state says $74 million is still an estimate. Medicare, a program funded solely by the federal govern- ment, may share some of the tab. The state has already recouped $10.1 million of that $74 million figure from CCOs. In Oregon, about 1.1 million people are on Medicaid, which is funded jointly by the state and the federal government and covers the poor and other qualifying groups. Medicare is the health care coverage program for those 65 and older. Allen said in the Friday letter that the agency will create an issue log to docu- ment ongoing problems and provide bi-weekly reports to the governor and state lawmakers. The news also comes prior to the completion of an OHA audit by the secretary of state, expected to be released by early December.