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US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River
by
The Associated Press
Thursday January 15, 2009, 1:14 PM
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090116033148im_/http://blog.oregonlive.com/news_impact/2009/01/large_hudson.jpg)
NEW YORK -- A US Airways plane crashed into the frigid Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after striking a bird that disabled two engines, sending 150 on board scrambling onto rescue boats, authorities say. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown says the US Airways Flight 1549 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, N.C., when the crash occurred in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.
Continue reading "US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River" »![comment icon](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090116033148im_/http://www.oregonlive.com/images/impact/comments.gif)
Update: Plaid Pantry pulling snacks in salmonella outbreak
by
Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 6:00 PM
Portland-area Plaid Pantry stores began pulling a popular peanut butter snack off their shelves on Thursday as the list of people sickened in a nationwide salmonella outbreak grew longer.
"We are sending out a memo tonight," said Tim Cote, vice president of marketing for the Beaverton-based company, which has 95 stores in Oregon and four in Washington.
Continue reading "Update: Plaid Pantry pulling snacks in salmonella outbreak" »Portland polluter gets year in prison
by
Michael Milstein, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 5:50 PM
The owner of a Portland electro-plating company was sentenced to a year in prison for illegally storing cyanide and other hazardous waste without a permit and letting hazardous pollution flow into storm sewers.
Larry Anson, 62, the owner of Columbia American Plating, had already pleaded guilty to violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act. He admitted that he operated his company in violation of industrial wastewater standards imposed by the city. He also admitted storing spent cyanide plating bath solutions from electroplating operations without a permit.
Continue reading "Portland polluter gets year in prison" »Update: No sign of parachutist who reportedly landed in Willamette River
by
Rick Bella, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 5:19 PM
Clackamas County authorities called of their search tonight after investigating a report that a man using a parachute landed in the Willamette River about 5 p.m. south of Milwaukie.
Emergency workers from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, American Medical Response and Lake Oswego Fire Department searched the area but found no sign of a parachute or person in the water.
-- Rick Bella; rickbella@news.oregonian.com
Oregon joins lawsuit against feds on endangered species
by
Michael Milstein, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 5:12 PM
Oregon will join California and seven other states Friday in a lawsuit seeking to block changes the Bush administration made in endangered species rules.
The states say that the changes weaken protections for endangered species. The changes, enacted by the Bush administration in December, make it difficult to use the federal Endangered Species Act as legal leverage to curb pollution that contributes to global warming.
State praised in handling December snow
by
The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 4:48 PM
SALEM -- Local officials Thursday generally praised the state's response to the winter
storms that battered northwest Oregon last month and urged lawmakers to replenish an emer´
gency fund that local govern´ments can use as matching money to obtain federal disaster
grants.
At a hearing of the House Veterans and Emergency Services Committee, the officials said there should be a uniform statewide procedure for local governments to declare an emergency and that trees that closely line some of the state's highways in heavily forested areas are a safety hazard and should be removed.
The emergency fund was set up with $500,000 by Legislature last year. It now contains about $200,000, said Kenneth D. Murphy, director of Oregon Emergency Management.
Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde said that in some cases local governments have missed out on federal grants because they lacked the required 25 percent in matching funds.
One complaint was voiced by Sen. Martha Schrader, D-Canby, who was a Clackamas County commissioner until her recent appointment to the Senate seat that was vacated when her husband, Kurt, was elected to Congress. She said Clackamas County declared an emergency during the storm but did not get requested snow removal help
from the state.
"There needs to be clarification on the procedures for declaring an emergency," she said.
Describing a "squabble" over access to equipment that delayed a snow removal operation, Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, said "it is imperative that there be snow plans at every level of government. We'd like to know where that stuff is prior to 18 inches of snow being dumped on us.
-- Edward Walsh
Sherwood schools to make up snow days
by Melissa Navas, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 4:33 PM
The Sherwood School Board approved four make-up instructional days for students who missed a week of school in December due to weather.
Students will attend school on Feb. 16, which is President's Day; March 30, which was a staff development day; and June 11 and 12.
The board approved the plan 3-0 on Wednesday. Members Mark Christie and Connie Hansen were absent.
Continue reading "Sherwood schools to make up snow days" »Five things people are talking about this week
by The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 4:27 PM
1. The Virtual Congress
If you're a Gen X-er, you probably learned about lawmaking from Schoolhouse Rock's cuddly little cartoon bill. Now YouTube wants to update that lesson with a live-action version: the real thing.
The Internet video behemoth has created new pages for the U.S. House and Senate that are designed to be a "central hub" for Congress' efforts on the site. "People out there don't really know what senators and congressmen do on a daily basis," YouTube's Steve Grove told the New York Times. "This will give them a sense of what they are doing."
And there, of course, is the rub. Members of Congress should remember Bismarck's warning about laws: Like with sausages, it's better not to see them being made. At least not without a singing cartoon guide.
Gladstone woman admits gunning down ex-boyfriend
by Steve Mayes, The Oregonian Thursday January 15, 2009, 4:18 PM
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090116033148im_/http://blog.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty_impact/2009/01/small_soniaulness.jpg)
A Gladstone woman who ambushed and killed her former boyfriend at his Milwaukie workplace pleaded guilty today to manslaughter and was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison.
Sonia Marie Ulness, 41, who appeared in Clackamas County Circuit Court, had faced a murder charge that required she serve 25 years in prison. She said she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to spare her family further emotional pain.
Continue reading "Gladstone woman admits gunning down ex-boyfriend" »Wanted sex offender turns himself in at Lincoln County Jail
by Stephen Beaven, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 3:51 PM
A registered sex offender wanted on accusations of sodomy, kidnapping and assault turned himself in at the Lincoln County Jail, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said today.
Michael Bowers, of the Siletz area, surrendered Wednesday and is scheduled to be transported to the Polk County Jail. He's being held on bail of $500,000. Bowers also faces an accusation of felon in possession of a weapon.
On Nov. 14, deputies of the Polk and Lincoln County Sheriff's offices responded to a kidnapping and sexual-assault call near Green Mountain Road, a rural wilderness area in Polk County. A warrant was later issued for Bowers' arrest.
--Stephen Beaven; stevebeaven@news.oregonian.com
Clackamas robbery case spirals into murder investigation
by Steve Mayes, The Oregonian Thursday January 15, 2009, 3:41 PM
The plan to steal marijuana from some Clackamas County pot growers quickly derailed when one of the residents grabbed a shotgun and blasted the would-be thieves as they pummeled his roommate with a chunk of pipe.
The October 2007 incident was a turning point for everyone involved - thieves and their intended victims alike. They ended up in jail. Or in the hospital. Or dead.
Continue reading "Clackamas robbery case spirals into murder investigation" »Wyden, Merkley split votes on financial rescue
by Charles Pope. The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 3:31 PM
WASHINGTON -- Oregon's Democratic senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were on opposite sides of a major economic issue Thursday as Wyden voted to deny the federal government $350 billion to help stabilize a tottering economy while Merkley voted for it.
The division came as the Senate considered a Republican-sponsored resolution to deny releasing the second half of the $700 billion rescue package approved last fall. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, has come under withering criticism by lawmakers from both parties who said the money was misspent and failed to achieve its primary purpose -- helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Continue reading "Wyden, Merkley split votes on financial rescue" »Congressman wants investigation into social security fraud
by Bryan Denson, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 3:16 PM
A Texas congressman called on House leaders today to examine efforts by Social Security to crack down on people who collect disability checks but are no longer disabled.
"We need to do more to make sure those who are able to work are not gaming the money that is set aside for those who truly are disabled," U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady said in a written statement.
Continue reading "Congressman wants investigation into social security fraud" »Evening commute: I-5 and the Banfield jamming up, watch for repaving projects
by Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
Thursday January 15, 2009, 2:53 PM
ODOT speed map Reload page for most current map
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090116033148im_/http://www.tripcheck.com/images/map/SpeedMap.gif)
Interstate 5 northbound and the Banfield were already clogging up at 3 p.m.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as the evening commute approaches:
• Also, watch for work crews repaving parts of Southeast 82nd Avenue between Powell Boulevard and Oregon 224. There will be some intermittent lane blockage.
• Paving on Oregon 99e will keep a lane closed in each direction at Glen Echo Avenue until 7 p.m.
• Gresham: A crash was tying up Northwest First Street at Eastman Parkway shortly before 3 p.m..
• Portland: A wreck on was clogging up Southeast 122nd Avenue at Bush Street
- HARD DRIVE: COMMUTER BLOG
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By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian
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