Protecting Yourself From Common Scams

Scammer or scamster (n.): a person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud; chiseler, chiseller, defrauder, grifter, swindler, gouger

(SALEM, Ore.) - Most people believe that they would never be fooled by a scam artist, and that those who do fall for them aren't very bright.

The thing is, there are several different types of scams, from the subtle to the absurd, and scam artists spend a lot of time perfecting ways of separating people from their money and their identities.

Army Backs Out of Proposed Free Land Deal with Eastern Oregon's Economic Development Leaders

As in many cases, the answer may be found when you follow the money...

(SALEM, Ore.) - If the Umatilla Chemical Depot is closed, and all munitions have been safely destroyed, why hasn’t the Army passed the land to Eastern Oregon’s economic development leaders?

According to Don Chance, project manager for the Columbia Development Authority, the United States Army may be backing out of their agreement to gift the land at no charge.

142nd Fighter Wing to Conduct Night Flying

Training flights will be completed each evening before 10:00 p.m.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing will conduct routine F-15 night flying training missions January 26-29.

The night training allows the Citizen-Airmen pilots based at the Portland Air National Guard Base to stay current with mandatory Air Force requirements.

Night flying is conducted almost monthly as it provides essential training for nighttime maneuvers.

SPECIAL SECTION Cannabis De-Classified

PTSD - Medical Marijuana Toxicology - Pharmacology

City of Salem Considers New Streetlight Fee

The Salem City Council is expected to hold a public hearing on the streetlight fee in February.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Keeping Salem's more than 10,550 streetlights operating has squeezed funding for road repairs.

What's the crux of the problem? Streetlights and road repairs in Salem both depend on a shrinking pool of gasoline tax revenues. Money for basic road pavement maintenance has largely evaporated.

Fully Disclose 9/11 Report

"Omission is the most powerful form of a lie." - George Orwell

(Saint James, MO.) - The real issue we Americans should pay attention to in upcoming weeks is the on-going effort yet again underway in Congress that is being driven by various politicians of both political parties to disclose the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 Report that still remain classified. At the very least, doing so might provide some form of closure and relief for the families of 9/11 victims.

Further, the full disclosure may possibly open the door for more robust probing into what really happened on 9/11 and why.

SWAT Stand-off with Suspect in Drive-by Shooting Ends in Arrest

OSP troopers are continuing the investigation of a drive-by shooting in Northern Klamath County

(LA PINE, Ore.) - Information from on-scene commanders indicates that just before 2:00 A.M., Sunday morning, 9-1-1 call centers received a report of shots being fired at or into a residence, south of La Pine. Troopers learned the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Gary Davis, of La Pine, had threatened a man at that location previously.

Shortly before 7:00 A.M., troopers tracked Davis to a residence in La Pine where he was staying with his girlfriend.

Over 20 Trucks and Vehicles in Major Crash on I-84

4 people were transported with minor to serious injuries.

(EASTERN OREGON) - I-84 Eastbound is now open to single lane travel at MP 318, 12 miles east of Baker City. Both lanes of the Eastbound freeway had been blocked since around 4:54 a.m. due to a crash involving over 20 semi-trucks and other vehicles.

The Eastbound freeway is also open at La Grande and Pendleton.

Oregon Gas Prices Keep Tumbling Down

Lower gas prices are a welcome relief for consumers across the U.S.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - U.S. motorists are paying an average price at the pump today ($2.13 per gallon) that is more than forty percent lower than the 2014 peak of $3.70 reached on April 28.

The national average continues to test lows not seen since May 2009 and has now dropped a record 109 consecutive days for a total decline of $1.22 per gallon during this span.

Two People Critically Injured in South Marion County Crash

Two vehicles collided head-on with each other at about 2:30 pm this afternoon on Liberty Rd S near Bunker Hill Rd S.

(SALEM, Ore.) - One the vehicles is a Green 1993 Ford Explorer, driven by 39-year old Michael Lowe of South Salem and the other is a Black 2013 Hyundai Elantra, driven by 58-year old Randy Harrison, also of South Salem.

Lowe was extricated from his vehicle by fire personnel. Both Lowe and Harrison were injured in the crash and transported by ambulance to Salem hospital where they are in critical condition.

Oregon Medical Marijuana Doctor and WWII Veteran

He's been a fighter since his days in the Army during World War Two, when he captured 26 Nazi officers. These days this veteran physician fights for the rights of patients who use marijuana as a medicine.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Nov-11-2014 Note from Publisher: On this Veteran's Day, we recall our first published article with Dr. Phil Leveque, WWII Veteran and survivor of innumerable life-altering obstacles.

Dr. Leveque is a true friend to humanity, an unceasing fighter for his fellow man (and woman)... we have much admiration, appreciation and love for "Doc"...who has given so much, and continues, unwavering, for all of us.

When They Kill Journalists - Lasantha Wickrematunge; Six Years On

“I was surprised to see that this day (January 8th) was chosen for the presidential election, as the present administration is suspected to be behind the murder, and have done nothing to solve it.”- Johan Mikaelsson, author

(LOS ANGELES) - Six years ago in 2009, on a day like today (January 8th) was when I received the most dreadful phone call of my entire life, thus far.

At the time, I was residing off-Attidiya Road in Dehiwela, when a close friend living in Kalubowila rang me, and stated that Lasantha had been attacked a few minutes ago. That was all I recall hearing from the other end; it indeed was a brief phone call, yet, at the same time, I went completely blank with the malicious news that my ears did not want to perceive, and my heart did not want to accept.

EBOLA! EBOLA! EBOLA!

Exclusive interview with Dr. Phil Leveque, Forensic Toxicologist and Pharmacologist, on the Ebola Epidemic.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - It spreads very easily. An infected person doesn't need to touch you, or have you touch them; nor sneeze on you, or have sex with you. It’s their aura, the infected person’s atmosphere around them carries the moisture-born Ebola virus, their own contaminated body fluids. Yes, their sweat evaporating into the air around them is infected, and contagious.

Because of the virulence of this stuff, it doesn't act like measles or small pox or anything like that, something far, far worse. You can’t say that this is from person-to-person contact; it’s just not possible that it can be that way.

Thousands March on Washington to End Prescription Drug Epidemic

Attorney General Eric Holder resigns! Lois Lerner, Commissioner of the I.R.S. resigns! Julia Pierson, Secret Service Director resigns! It's time for Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the F.D.A. to resign -- or better -- be fired!

(MYRTLE BEACH, SC) - This past weekend I attended and was a speaker in Washington, DC at the FED UP Rally for a Federal Response to the Prescription Opioid/Heroin Epidemic. It was an experience I will never forget.

Below are the names of the organizations sending representatives to the reception and march to The White House. Pretty impressive don't you think?

Children of a Lesser God?

Founder of the Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl and many of his followers were atheists, perhaps using the Bible and God as justification to steal other people’s land.

(LONDON) - There is a thought that has been brewing in my head since the latest massacre in Gaza and what followed. How to define a relationship between two peoples who live on the same piece of land but are, in terms of cultural, religious and political affiliations, oceans apart.

In this article I shall try to define the relationship between religion, race and democracy in Palestine. In particular when it comes to the relationship and sense of entitlement that many Zionist Jews have with Palestine.

OSP F&W Troopers in Bend - Arrest Suspect in Trophy Mule Deer Kill

The illegal harvest of deer is taken very seriously.

(BEND, Ore.) - On November 24, 2014, Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife troopers in Central Oregon received information about a trophy class, 205" mule deer, killed the day prior under suspicious circumstances in the Metolius Wildlife Management Unit.

Members of the team began an investigation and as the investigation unfolded the hunter who shot the animal was contacted and ultimately provided a full confession to the illegal harvest of the buck deer.

Gary Monaco, Guilty of Manslaughter, Arrested in Bend

Monaco had been found guilty of Manslaughter in the First Degree for the 2012 crash that caused the death of Laura Schaefer

(BEND, Ore.) - At about 7:50 p.m. On Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, officers with the Bend Police were dispatched to a call of a suspicious male attempting to break into a vehicle and possibly using drugs at 63492 Hunnell Road in Bend.

Upon their arrival, police contacted Gary Monaco -- who was found to have a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

Follow The Sand To The Real Fracking Boom

The frac sand business is a huge element of the US oil boom but one that very few investors know anything about.

(LONDON / Oilprice.com) - When it takes up to four million pounds of sand to frack a single well, it’s no wonder that demand is outpacing supply and frack sand producers are becoming the biggest behind-the-scenes beneficiaries of the American oil and gas boom.

Demand is exploding for “frac sand”--a durable, high-purity quartz sand used to help produce petroleum fluids and prop up man-made fractures in shale rock formations through which oil and gas flows—turning this segment into the top driver of value in the shale revolution.

Woodlark Building listed in the National Register of Historic Places

The Woodlark Building is alive and well today, offering a convenient and historic downtown address for businesses and private offices.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Woodlark Building in Portland, Oregon is among state’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Woodlark Building was constructed in 1911-12 in downtown Portland, which is in Multnomah County, Oregon. The nine-story building is sited within the Portland Park Blocks. It is a unique building.

Students in Gaza Reveal Tragedy and Loss to Instructor

"We want to exchange personal experiences, Sir."

(CHICAGO) - This report conveys the horror of war experienced by young Palestinian college students in Gaza during recent summer weeks of unrelenting and vicious attacks by Israel.

The author, Nazmi Al-Masri, a professor at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) writes: “This day is carved in my memory” As all academics in Gaza, I had given much thought to my students who were suffering all sorts of agonies and worries caused by Israel’s aggression.

Update On Springfield Police Officer-Involved Shooting In Linn County

Amanda Gatewood is listed in stable condition

(ALBANY, Ore. ) - The Linn County Major Crime Team is continuing to investigate the officer-involved shooting by a Springfield Police Officer on Thursday, August 28, 2014, at about 1:30 a.m. The shooting took place at the Jackson's Chevron station located at 33157 Highway 34 in Linn County following a vehicle pursuit.

The surveillance video shows the driver of the vehicle, 44-year-old Amanda Lynn Gatewood, run towards the store entrance holding the replica handgun to her head. Amanda Gatewood is then seen pointing the replica handgun back at officers.

Vehicle vs. Bicyclist collision on NW Hill Road

The bicyclist was transferred to OHSU via Life Flight Network helicopter and is listed in serious condition.

(McMINNVILLE, Ore. ) - A bicycle collided with a Freighliner tractor/trailer today on a common thoroughfare in McMinnville, Oregon.

Bicyclist Richard Barrett, a 67 year old resident of Corvallis, Oregon, was riding a bicycle southbound on the west shoulder of NW Hill Road. 33-year old Kasey Kauer, from Amity, was also southbound on NW Hill Road operating a 1993 Freightliner tractor pulling a low-boy trailer with an agricultural spray rig secured to the deck.

Six Forest Fires in Oregon Still Raging

No new fires 10 acres or larger were reported on lands protected by ODF in the past 24 hours.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Lost Hubcap Fire was reported around 1:30 p.m. on August 29th, and quickly burned on Bureau of Land Management and private forestlands protected by ODF. On August 29, 2014, Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 2 (Incident Commander Chris Cline) was deployed to the Lost Hubcap Fire, assuming command of the fire from the local ODF unit of the Central Oregon District at 1200 hours PDT on Saturday.

Rare Video of Glowing Phytoplankton on Oregon Coast

A summer swim turns into a glowing experience!

(NEHALEM BAY, Ore.) - Angelina Martin of Portland acquired some extremely rare video of a fantastic phenomenon on the Oregon coast that virtually no one knows about. She recently caught the glowing phytoplankton – which is downright impossible to photograph. But she caught it on video.

It’s also a sign you may find what is known as “glowing sand” along the coast right now – an absolutely stunning sight, but too faint to be photographed when on the sand. At least, here in Oregon.