WEATHER
East Oregonian
Page 2A
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
THURSDAY
TODAY
Colder with a little
snow
Partial sunshine
41° 24°
39° 26°
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Morning fl urries;
rather cloudy
Mostly sunny and
very cold
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
29° 11°
28° 18°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 29°
45° 23°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
62°
39°
62° (2017)
41°
25°
-7° (1984)
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
Trace
Trace
0.92"
Trace
12.58"
12.39"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
LOW
51°
39°
60° (1933)
John Day
34/17
Ontario
40/24
Bend
35/15
41°
27°
-5° (1984)
0.05"
0.13"
0.94"
8.89"
8.82"
9.41"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
Last
7:32 a.m.
4:13 p.m.
9:10 a.m.
6:42 p.m.
New
Jan 1
Jan 8
Jan 16
Caldwell
41/22
Burns
32/7
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
46
37
35
49
32
34
45
39
45
34
34
35
31
41
48
50
40
45
41
46
38
47
33
32
45
42
45
Lo
28
15
15
35
7
15
23
21
23
17
8
16
14
21
33
32
24
26
24
29
13
26
19
12
28
25
23
W
pc
sn
sn
sh
sn
sn
sh
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
sn
pc
sh
sn
pc
sn
pc
sn
pc
pc
sn
pc
sn
pc
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Thu.
Hi
45
33
37
49
28
31
40
39
41
34
31
32
29
38
46
49
36
40
39
40
39
43
30
33
39
39
39
Lo
36
17
21
36
9
21
23
23
29
23
13
20
19
21
35
32
23
27
26
31
21
28
19
21
29
30
25
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
45
67
70
53
74
34
48
48
35
95
47
Lo
21
54
55
50
46
24
45
30
19
69
38
W
s
s
pc
pc
pc
i
pc
pc
sf
pc
c
Thu.
Hi
43
65
72
54
75
28
50
50
36
75
51
Lo
23
60
55
46
46
24
46
32
25
68
39
W
s
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
c
s
s
sh
pc
WINDS
Medford
41/21
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
Dec 26
Albany
46/25
Eugene
45/23
TEMPERATURE
Yesterday
Normals
Records
28° 18°
Spokane
Wenatchee
33/19
36/20
Tacoma
Moses
43/23
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 39/20
35/22
44/26
44/23
45/23
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
43/26
42/25 Lewiston
45/24
Astoria
42/25
46/28
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
46/29
Pendleton 34/15
The Dalles 45/23
41/24
48/30
La Grande
Salem
35/16
47/26
Corvallis
47/24
HIGH
32° 16°
Seattle
44/29
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
37° 19°
Today
SUNDAY
Cold with plenty of
sunshine
34° 17°
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
(in mph)
Boardman
Pendleton
Klamath Falls
34/8
REGIONAL FORECAST
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
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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.
Eastern Washington: Cloudy this morning,
then some sun near the Idaho border and in
the mountains.
Cascades: Mostly cloudy today with a little
snow, accumulating an inch or two. Partly
cloudy tonight.
Northern California: Partly sunny today;
a bit of snow in the interior mountains; a
coating to an inch.
Thursday
N 6-12
NW 6-12
SSW 4-8
SSW 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Intervals of clouds and sun
today; a brief shower or two, but dry across
the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: A bit of snow
today, accumulating a coating to an inch;
colder.
Western Washington: Partly sunny today;
a shower in spots across the south during
the morning.
Today
0
0
1
1
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
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.
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
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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 storm system will bring periods of rain, some heavy from the
Tennessee Valley into the Carolinas today. Localized flooding will be possible. A storm will
bring snow from Nevada to North Dakota.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 86° in Zephyrhills, Fla.
Low -2° in Wolcott, Colo.
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
48
49
34
72
38
42
74
48
38
35
64
62
35
63
26
21
78
74
44
81
49
67
59
62
Lo
32
50
30
27
12
50
21
21
49
27
29
24
49
22
26
39
7
6
66
50
27
60
40
40
40
45
W
s
t
pc
c
sn
t
sn
s
r
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
sn
sn
c
pc
pc
c
s
pc
r
pc
Thur.
Hi
53
58
42
45
27
69
33
32
59
57
41
41
76
23
38
66
14
10
79
74
49
76
53
54
65
64
Lo
24
48
28
29
18
53
21
23
45
45
34
32
55
10
31
36
6
-3
67
65
37
54
28
34
52
41
W
pc
pc
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
c
c
pc
sn
c
s
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
c
s
s
s
Today
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
49
59
82
33
27
55
77
42
56
46
46
69
39
42
54
49
40
58
51
45
64
55
44
70
51
56
Lo
31
46
65
26
20
40
53
29
42
33
29
44
13
21
35
13
18
35
36
25
48
42
29
44
33
42
W
c
r
s
pc
sn
r
t
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
s
r
pc
sn
pc
pc
r
pc
pc
pc
s
c
pc
Thur.
Hi
55
64
82
38
26
60
72
38
60
40
43
58
27
34
51
25
38
56
55
35
66
57
41
58
46
54
Lo
49
55
66
32
13
50
61
33
31
19
32
36
12
23
38
10
15
28
43
20
42
38
33
28
37
25
W
pc
s
s
c
sn
pc
pc
s
s
c
s
s
s
s
pc
sn
s
s
c
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
s
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
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COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
Oregon officials brace for
shutdown of Medicaid provider
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Workers look over tracks near the rear car of a crashed Amtrak train that remains
standing where the southbound tracks make a curve left Tuesday in DuPont, Wash.
Amtrak didn’t wait for system
that could’ve prevented wreck
By MICHAEL SISAK
and MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press
The rush to launch
service on a new, faster
Amtrak route near Seattle
came at a deadly cost: none
of the critical speed-control
technology that could have
prevented a derailment was
active before the train set
off on its maiden voyage.
Work to install the
sophisticated, GPS-based
technology known as
positive train control isn’t
expected to be completed
on the newly opened
15-mile span where the
train derailed until next
spring, according to Sound
Transit, the public agency
that owns the tracks.
The train was going
80 mph in a 30 mph zone
Monday when it raced off
the rails as they curved
toward a bridge, hurtling
train cars onto a highway
below, investigators said.
Three people were killed,
and dozens were injured.
Federal
investigators
say they are looking into
whether the engineer was
distracted.
A positive train control
system
could
have
detected the speeding and
automatically applied the
brakes to stop the train,
said Najmedin Meshkati,
a University of Southern
California professor who
has studied the technology
for three decades.
“It is another layer of
safety,” he said.
Amtrak
and
the
Washington Department
of Transportation started
publicizing the switch to
the new route in October.
The agencies did not
immediately respond to
questions about why they
did so while the speed-con-
trol technology was still
months away.
Railroads are under
government orders to
install positive train control
by the end of 2018 after the
industry lobbied Congress
to extend earlier deadlines,
citing complexity and cost.
Union
Pacific,
the
nation’s largest freight
carrier, said it was spending
about $2.9 billion on
the technology. Industry
groups estimate railroads
will spend a total of about
$10 billion to install and
implement the systems.
Monday’s wreck is just
the latest example of a
deadly crash that experts
say could have been
prevented if the technology
were in place to slow down
the train when engineers go
too fast, get distracted or
fall ill.
U.S. investigators have
listed a lack of such a system
as a contributing factor in
at least 25 crashes over the
last 20 years, including two
in the last four years where
a train approached sharp
curves at more than double
the speed limit.
A Metro-North train
crashed in New York
City in 2013, killing four
people, when an engineer
with sleep apnea dozed off.
An Amtrak train crashed
in Philadelphia in 2015,
killing eight people, when
investigators say the engi-
neer was distracted by radio
traffic and lost his bearings.
Positive train control
was installed on 23 percent
of the nation’s passenger
route miles and 37 percent
of freight route miles as
of July, the last time the
Federal Railroad Admin-
istration updated its online
tracker for the technology.
It is activated on the
tracks Amtrak owns along
the Northeast Corridor,
from Boston to Washington,
D.C., and on Amtrak’s
Michigan line. Many of its
locomotives are equipped
for positive train control.
Throughout the rest
of the country, Amtrak
operates on track owned
by freight carriers and
other entities that have
made varying progress on
installing the technology.
It is a work in progress
on the route where the train
derailed Monday. Sensors
have been installed, but
the system needs to be
synchronized, tested and
certified before it goes
online, Sound Transit
spokeswoman
Rachelle
Cunningham said.
The new $180.7 million
route was designed to speed
up service by removing
passenger trains from a
route along Puget Sound
that’s bogged down by
curves, single-track tunnels
and freight traffic.
PORTLAND (AP) —
Oregon health officials
are preparing to transfer
Portland-area
Medicaid
recipients to a new health
care provider after their
current carrier announced it
would likely close.
Jeff
Heatherington,
the president and CEO
of the current provider,
FamilyCare, said Monday
the company’s chance of
survival is “probably about
5 percent at the best.” The
state’s proposed reimburse-
ment rates for next year
are too low and estimated
medical costs would exceed
revenues by $95 million,
Heatherington said.
Oregon Health Authority
employees
met
with
FamilyCare representatives
Monday to map out the
transition, The Oregonian/
OregonLive reported.
Oregon Health Authority
Director Patrick Allen on
Monday did not rule out
another contract with Fami-
lyCare.
“We continue to work
with FamilyCare and hope
that they will continue
Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian via AP
In this undated photo, Bruce Goldberg, head of
Oregon’s Department of Human Services, talks with
Jeff Heatherington, second from left, Cindy Becker,
back to camera, and Bill Murray in the hall in front of
the Governor’s office at the Capitol in Salem.
serving the Portland market
in 2018,” Allen said in a
statement. “This is their
business decision to make.
If they decide that their busi-
ness model is not financially
viable, we look forward to
working with them to ensure
an orderly transition of their
clients.”
If FamilyCare closes,
its members would be
transferred to another coor-
dinated care organization
under contract with the
state.
FamilyCare’s
board
voted Thursday to decline
any state contract that would
result in an operating deficit,
Heatherington said. An
initial round of 250 layoffs
will take effect Jan. 5, he
said, and 70 employees will
be retained to help with the
transition.
Job growth slows; unemployment rate stays same
PORTLAND (AP) —
Oregon employment fell off
last month, but not enough
to dent the jobless rate.
The state Employment
Department said Tuesday
that Oregon’s nonfarm
payroll employment dropped
by 1,800 jobs in November,
a sharp reversal from a
robust October. The unem-
ployment rate remained
essentially unchanged at 4.2
percent — down from 4.6
percent at this time last year.
With
unemployment
low, state economist Nick
Beleiciks says businesses
are having a tough time
finding applicants, and that
has slowed Oregon’s job
growth in the second half of
the year.
As for specific industries,
leisure and hospitality did a
lot of hiring in November,
but manufacturing had a
weak month, as did profes-
sional and business services.
Another unemployment
measure, known as U-6, was
at 8.3 percent in November,
well below the 9.9 percent
recorded in November
2016. The figure includes
discouraged workers who
stopped looking and part-
time workers who want but
can’t get full-time jobs.
Merry Christmas
from Michael’s Fine Jewelry
Special Savings Storewide
through December 24th, 2017
Corrections
The East Oregonian
works hard to be accurate
and sincerely regrets any
errors. If you notice a
mistake in the paper, please
call 541-966-0818.
“Creating Memories”
234 S. Main Street • Pendleton, OR 97801 • 541-276-0303
michael@michaelsfi nejewelrystore.com
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