TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalWith a change in state law, crimes against the elderly and intellectually disabled are on the rise
The first time Frankie Martinez called police because one of her elderly father’s roommates was intimidating him and refusing to pay rent, she waited on the side of the road for two hours.
When Aurora Police Department patrol officers arrived, they told Martinez and her father there was nothing they could do. They suggested that if her father was scared, he should go home with her.
“Why should he leave his house?” Martinez said. “I felt so helpless and so did Dad.”
The next time Martinez called the Aurora Police Department because of the roommate, she was put in touch with its Special Victims Unit. That’s when she met two detectives who were focused and passionate about crimes against the elderly. Pretty soon, the roommate was out of the house and facing criminal charges.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/01/crimes-against-elderly-disabled/
Illness among Univ. of Oregon fraternity members raises fears of swift-moving norovirus
University of Oregon officials are wondering if a student brought along an unwelcome, retch-and-diarrhea-producing virus when he returned in the past week for fall term.
Four students from four fraternities were treated Wednesday and Thursday at the UO Health Center with norovirus-like symptoms, according to university officials.
The university has warned all of its Greek organizations of a potential outbreak.
“We have one stool sample that will be tested, (and) we should have the results of that on Monday,” Jason Davis, a spokesman for Lane County Health and Human Services, said Friday.
Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34852075-75/illness-among-uo-fraternity-members-raises-fears-of-swift-moving-norovirus.html.csp
Oregon bans janitorial company from government jobs over wage theft
A Hillsboro janitorial company is forever blacklisted from government work after an investigation by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries found widespread underpayment of workers.
As part of the settlement, Cornerstone Janitorial must pay $144,000 in damages to 46 workers. That's on top of almost $200,000 in back wages collected by the bureau last year, in connection with Cornerstone employees' work on 16 different taxpayer-funded projects.
Cornerstone has worked as a cleanup subcontractor for some of the region's biggest construction firms in the region. The investigation involved health and education related projects in Portland, Eugene, Stayton, Junction City, Salem, Keizer, Philomath, Vernonia, Corvallis, Monmouth and Wilsonville, according to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries press release.
Oregon's prevailing wage laws required workers on those public works projects be paid a certain rate.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/oregon_bans_janitorial_company.html
Deputies refuse security detail after high school students take a knee during anthem
Weeks after San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick began to protest racial inequality by sitting or kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games, the practice has spread to prep sports. And that's got some adults mighty angry.
Some sheriff's deputies in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, have begun saying won't volunteer for patrol duty at Bonnabel High School football games after the team's players kneeled during the anthem in late September.
"The same way Bonnabel players have every right to kneel during the national anthem, my officers have every right not to volunteer to work the Bonnabel high school football game," Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand told the local Fox affiliate.
Normand told the station that just as deputies won't volunteer to patrol during concerts or other events where they don't particularly like the artist or message, they're free to abstain from high school games when student-athletes exercise their First Amendment rights.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2016/10/deputies_refuse_security_detail_to_kids_who_knelt_during_anthem.html
Public Employees Retirement System floats new idea for rising pension costs
TIGARD — State and local districts across Oregon learned this week just how much the state’s public pension system will cost their budgets for the next budget cycle starting next July, under rates approved by the Public Employees Retirement System board Friday.
Bend’s three local districts — the city, parks and recreation and Bend-La Pine Schools — along with most other local governments in Oregon face dramatically higher costs to pay for the state’s underfunded pension system.
For the city of Bend, the higher rates will equate to around $1.9 million more per year, or about 4 percent of the entire current budget.
But a discussion emerged during a joint meeting between the PERS Board and the Oregon Investment Council, the two entities overseeing investments for the system, about a new way to help fund the system. They floated the idea of asking the state to issue more than $20 billion in low-interest bonds to help balance out the system.
Read more: http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/4703600-151/citing-lack-of-action-pers-floats-new-idea?referrer=carousel2
Governor Brown says she was victim of domestic violence
PORTLAND - During a heated exchange with her opponent in the gubernatorial race Friday, Gov. Kate Brown revealed that she has been a victim of domestic violence.
Brown made the disclosure during the second debate with GOP gubernatorial nominee Dr. William “Bud” Pierce, hosted by the City Club of Portland at the Sentinel hotel.
Moderator Laura Gunderson of The Oregonian asked a city club member’s question about what the candidates would do to improve the lot of women. The member referenced a report last week by the Women’s Foundation of Oregon that found Oregon women continue to be victims of domestic violence and sexual assault at high rates.
“I know what it feels like to be a victim of domestic violence,” Brown responded, emotion in her voice.
Read more: http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20160930/governor-says-she-was-victim-of-domestic-violence
Vancouver heart-transplant patient to sue over Legionnaires’ disease
A 32-year-old Vancouver woman who struggled with heart failure for more than a decade received a lifesaving transplant this summer — only to contract Legionnaires’ disease during a deadly outbreak at the University of Washington Medical Center.
Victoria Martin planned to file a claim Tuesday notifying UW Medicine that she intends to sue the hospital for failing to prevent the infection that also has sickened four other people, including two who died.
“You shouldn’t go to the hospital and be doing well and be knocked down by something that shouldn’t have happened,” said Martin, whose chest scar is still fresh from her Aug. 8 heart transplant. “This whole thing is just insane.”
The claim being filed by Martin’s attorneys gives UW Medicine 60 days to respond.
Read more: http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/sep/28/vancouver-heart-transplant-patient-to-sue-over-legionnaires-disease/
Oregon governor candidate Pierce booed for sexual assault remarks at debate
PORTLAND — The Republican candidate for Oregon governor drew boos at a Portland debate when he suggested that successful women aren’t as susceptible to sexual violence.
Dr. Bud Pierce’s remarks came Friday after his Democratic opponent Gov. Kate Brown disclosed that she has been a victim of domestic violence, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
“A woman that has a great education and training and a great job is not susceptible to this kind of abuse by men, women or anyone,” Pierce said.
The line drew groans and boos from the audience at the Portland City Club, KGW-TV reported (https://goo.gl/bU9X7e).
Read more: http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/oct/01/ore-governor-candidate-pierce-booed-for-sexual-assault-remarks-at-debate/
Man bit by rabid bat in south-central Idaho
TWIN FALLS, Idaho – Public health officials say a man in south-central Idaho is receiving treatment after being bitten by a bat that has tested positive for rabies.
Tanis Maxwell, an epidemiologist with South Central Public Health District, said the man was bit in Twin Falls County on Monday, the Times-News reported. The man, whose name has not been released, is being treated at a local hospital.
Maxwell said the bat was captured and sent to the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories for testing. Rabies can only be confirmed in a laboratory.
Nineteen animals have tested positive for rabies across Idaho since June.
Read more: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oct/01/man-bit-by-rabid-bat-in-south-central-idaho/
GOP asks candidate to drop out after offensive Facebook posts
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Republican Party of Kentucky has asked a state House candidate to drop out of the race after he posted several photos on Facebook depicting President Barack Obama and the first lady as monkeys.
Republican Party of Kentucky chairman Mac Brown and House Republican Floor Leader Jeff Hoover both signed the letter. It says while Dan Johnson has a First Amendment right to free speech, elected leaders “must hold ourselves and those with whom we serve to a higher standard.”
“As leaders we are expected to not only understand our rights but also exercise good judgment in how we use them to express ourselves,” Brown and Hoover wrote.
Johnson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Johnson said Friday the posts were satire and that he would not drop out of the race.
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article105435476.html
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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