Weekday Wrap: PCC bond passes, Astoria adopts homeless camping ordinance

By OPB staff (OPB)
Nov. 9, 2022 9:53 p.m.

Stories you may have missed from staff reports and our news partners around the region

Voters pass Portland Community College bond

A $450 million bond measure to renovate and modernize Portland Community College’s facilities and equipment passed Tuesday in three of the five counties where it appeared on the ballot. Voters in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties approved the bond while Columbia and Yahmill counties rejected it. PCC said bond funds would increase hybrid learning options, expand career technical education in Washington County, upgrade existing facilities at the college’s Rock Creek and Sylvania campuses and provide HVAC, lighting and plumbing upgrades at its sites. Bond opponents criticized PCC for seeking money when the college has seen an 18,000-student drop in enrollment since its last bond passed in 2017. (Courtney Vaughn/Portland Tribune)

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Astoria adopts new homeless camping law

After months of discussion and review, Astoria’s City Council has adopted a new camping ordinance regulating when and where people experiencing homelessness can camp. Under the ordinance, people can only sleep on sidewalks if 6 feet of space can be maintained, with 10 feet from building entrances and stairwells. The law also outlines a camping program in parking lots of churches, nonprofits and businesses and potentially in some vacant lots. (The Astorian)

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Horch leads in race for Clark County sheriff

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It appears Clark County voters have chosen their next sheriff. Early returns in Tuesday’s general election showed John Horch with 59.6% of the vote, leading Rey Reynolds with 40.4%. A 33-year sheriff’s office employee, Horch had the support of his two predecessors and most recently served as chief criminal deputy at the agency. Reynolds, a corporal in the Vancouver Police Department, had touted his years of law enforcement experience and remained confident that uncounted votes will swing the race in his favor. (Becca Robbins/The Columbian)

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Christmas tree permits available soon in Oregon

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and for many families that means it’s time to prepare the family vehicle for a journey into the woods to cut down this year’s Christmas tree. Starting tomorrow, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will begin offering permits for $5 to cut down a tree. Several stores will sell the permits but you can also purchase them online at recreation.gov. (Mail Tribune staff)

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Oregon school districts sue e-cigarette, vaping companies

Silver Falls School District is joining more than 1,000 districts nationwide filing lawsuits against e-cigarette manufacturers, according to a Silver Falls news release. Silverton officials said others in the area, including Dallas, Dayton, McMinnville, Sheridan, Yamhill-Carlton and Willamina school districts, are filing as well. Defendants of the lawsuit include JUUL Labs, Inc. and the Altria Group, Inc., the parent company of Philip Morris USA and one of the major investors in JUUL Labs. The lawsuits come after Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced in September a $438.5 million agreement between JUUL Labs and 34 states and territories following a two-year investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices. (Natalie Pate/Statesman Journal)

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