NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
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Illinois group threatens legal
action over Oregon union dues
PORTLAND (AP) — A
Chicago-based conservative
group is threatening to sue
Oregon government officials
if they don’t stop collecting
union dues and agency fees
from workers’ paychecks,
a
newspaper
reported
Wednesday.
The Liberty Justice Cen-
ter has sent cease-and-de-
sist letters to state officials,
The Oregonian/OregonLive
reported.
The nonprofit helped rep-
resent an Illinois child sup-
port worker in his land-
mark case before the U.S.
Supreme Court, resulting
in a June ruling that public
employees can’t be required
to pay union dues or fees if
they opt out of membership.
The decision ended a
provision in Oregon and 21
other states that required
public employees to pay
what’s known as “fair share”
or “agency” fees as a con-
dition of their employment,
even if they opted out of
union membership. The fees
are supposed to cover bar-
gaining and contract admin-
istration, including handling
grievances.
Lawyers from the Liberty
Justice Center say the court’s
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Feds: ‘Vast’ Oregon
pot trafficking schemes
prompt 6 arrests
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File
In this May 20, 2011, file photo, Deb Ueltzen, center, shouts during a union rally with
thousands of state workers at the Oregon Capitol, in Salem, Ore.
decision means that pub-
lic employers must get writ-
ten consent from employees
before collecting all union
dues. The group argues in
the letter that the employ-
ees’ consent was based on
a false choice: become a
union member and pay dues
or pay an agency fee as a
non-member.
Oregon Attorney Gen-
eral
Ellen
Rosenblum
says the high court’s rul-
ing only applies to agency
fees or union dues from
non-members.
The interpretation has
huge implications for Ore-
gon’s unions.
They collected nearly $21
million in dues from 25,000
state employees who are
union members, and another
$5 million in fair share fees
from 6,000 state work-
ers who opted out of union
membership, according to
the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services.
The state has stopped
deducting fair share fees from
non-members’ paychecks.
PORTLAND — Fed-
eral prosecutors in Oregon
on Wednesday announced
charges against six peo-
ple involving two “vast”
interstate trafficking oper-
ations that delivered mar-
ijuana to Texas, Virginia
and Florida.
Proceeds from the
black
market
sales
returned to Oregon as
cash stuffed in airplane
luggage or through the
U.S. mail, said U.S. Attor-
ney for Oregon Billy J.
Williams.
In one case, the mari-
juana was grown in Port-
land and distributed in
Houston, Texas and Vir-
ginia. In the second case,
the marijuana was grown
in Hood River and sent
to Florida, according to
court documents.
All six defendants are
charged with conspiring
to manufacture, possess
and distribute marijuana
— which remains illegal
under federal law. Other
charges include money
laundering, kidnapping
BRIEFLY
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SATURDAY
FRIDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Wolf pups photographed
in Cascade Mountains
Not as warm with
hazy sunshine
Partly sunny and
nice
78° 55°
78° 49°
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Nice with plenty of
sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 51°
84° 52°
81° 50°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
82° 50°
83° 56°
83° 50°
87° 52°
OREGON FORECAST
84° 48°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
66/55
71/50
81/48
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
79/58
Lewiston
71/55
83/56
Astoria
66/54
Pullman
Yakima 81/51
71/50
78/55
Portland
Hermiston
72/57
The Dalles 83/56
Salem
Corvallis
69/53
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
76/50
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
72/54
74/44
79/50
Ontario
87/58
Caldwell
Burns
91°
45°
85°
54°
102° (1972) 36° (1937)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
73/53
0.00"
0.05"
0.19"
5.15"
6.65"
6.11"
WINDS (in mph)
87/58
80/39
0.00"
0.03"
0.40"
6.52"
11.37"
8.35"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 73/44
73/55
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
78/55
77/57
86°
51°
84°
55°
106° (1915) 36° (1927)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
70/51
Aberdeen
73/48
78/55
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
70/55
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
82/55
Fri.
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
WSW 6-12
WSW 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
79/43
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
6:14 a.m.
7:37 p.m.
9:54 p.m.
10:22 a.m.
New
First
Full
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 107° in Thermal, Calif. Low 24° in Daniel, Wyo.
Sep 2
Sep 9
Sep 16
Sep 24
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
MOUNT HOOD (AP) — Two wolf
pups have been seen near Mount Hood,
marking the first known reproduction by
wolves in the northern part of the Cascade
Mountains in Oregon since wolves began
returning to the state in the past decade.
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife said Wednesday that a remote
camera on the Warm Springs Indian Res-
ervation captured images of two pups on
Aug. 10.
Wolves in western Oregon are pro-
tected by the federal Endangered Species
Act.
The state Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice and the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs are monitoring the wolves.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports
that as of 2017 Oregon was home to at
least 124 wolves, mostly concentrated in
the northeast corner of the state.
Pro-choice group donates
$500,000 to Brown campaign
PORTLAND (AP) — Gov. Kate
Brown’s re-election campaign has
received a $500,000 contribution from a
national political group.
Brown’s most recent campaign filing
disclosures shows the contribution from
EMILY’s List as her largest contribution
to date.
The political action committee backs
female Democratic candidates who sup-
port abortion rights.
The EMILY’s List website shows
Brown is one of nine gubernatorial can-
didates the PAC is supporting this elec-
tion cycle, calling her “a progressive
leader with the experience to move Ore-
gon forward.”
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports
the influx comes nearly a year after her
Republican opponent Knute Buehler
received a donation in that amount from
Nike co-founder Phil Knight.
As of the most recent reporting, Brown
has nearly $4 million more on hand than
Buehler, who spent money to fend off
challengers during the May primary.
Dufur track coach sentenced
to prison for sex abuse
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
— 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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and using a firearm to
commit a drug trafficking
crime and interfere with
commerce.
“These cases provide
clear evidence of what
I have repeatedly raised
concerns over: Oregon’s
marijuana industry is
attracting organized crim-
inal networks looking to
capitalize on the state’s
relaxed regulatory envi-
ronment,” Williams said
in a statement.
Oregon law allows the
manufacture and sale of
marijuana within state
boundaries for growers,
processors and retailers
who are permitted by the
state.
Williams has repeat-
edly called on Oregon
regulators to tighten their
monitoring of the mar-
ijuana industry to limit
diversion out-of-state.
Oregon’s
adult-use
market has struggled for
months with too much
marijuana, an outcome
fueled by state regula-
tions that didn’t limit the
number of growers and
allowed each grower to
have multiple licenses.
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
DUFUR (AP) — A man who worked
as a track coach, custodian and bus driver
at a Wasco County school has been sen-
tenced to prison on charges he sexually
abused two female students.
The Dalles Chronicle reports that
27-year-old Ty Lee Wyman had worked
at the Dufur School for about a year and
was arrested May 1.
Wyman must report to prison on Jan. 2
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after striking a plea deal with prosecutors.
Court documents show Wyman was
accused of giving alcohol to at least one
student and having sex with her.
Dufur School is a public school with
280 students in grades K-12 in rural
north-central Oregon.
Once released from prison, Wyman
must register as a sex offender.
Schools delayed as teachers
picket in Washington state
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The
school year has been delayed for more
than 75,000 students in southwest Wash-
ington this week as teachers and districts
failed to reach contract agreements over
teacher salaries.
Teachers in at least seven school dis-
tricts were picketing Wednesday. Two
districts in Vancouver are among the larg-
est in the state.
Meanwhile, teachers in Seattle and
other cities have authorized strikes if they
don’t reach salary agreements by the time
school starts either this week or next.
Teachers in nearly all 295 school dis-
tricts in the state opened contract nego-
tiations after the Legislature in March
approved an additional $1 billion for edu-
cator salaries for the upcoming school
year. The state had been under a court
order to fully fund K-12 school.
Teachers in Longview, Battle Ground
and Ridgefield are among those on strike.
Second Hanford radioactive
tunnel collapse expected
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Officials
say the possible collapse of a second Han-
ford tunnel storing radioactive waste is
both more likely than thought a year ago
and the effects potentially more severe.
The Tri-City Herald reported Tuesday
that the risk of failure, based on Depart-
ment of Energy nuclear safety standards,
has increased from “unlikely” to “antic-
ipated.” The potential severity has been
increased from “low” to “moderate.”
Chief operating officer of Hanford
contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remedia-
tion Co. Dan Wood said the severity of
the possible collapse is still not ranked as
“high,” but it would be a significant event
with the potential for the airborne release
of radioactive particles.
After the partial collapse in May 2017
of the older of two tunnels storing radio-
active waste at Hanford’s PUREX pro-
cessing plant, an initial structural analysis
of the other tunnel was conducted.
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