While owning a forest offers many benefits, major responsibility comes with forest ownership. The use of heavy equipment and chainsaws, especially during fire season, increases the risk of landowner and operator liability for the costs of fire suppression. Under Oregon law, forest landowners are responsible for controlling and extinguishing wildfires that occur on their land….
Each year three to five million people in the United States and its territories participate in parasailing, a recreational activity that is dependent on the skill of the parasail operator and condition of the equipment. Yet, there are no federal regulations or guidelines for training or certifying parasailing operators, no requirement for inspection of equipment,…
The Portland Police Bureau’s Youth Services Division invited local kids to bring their bikes and helmets to its second annual Bicycle Safety Fiesta on Saturday, July 19th at the Rosewood Initiative, 16126 SE Stark Street, Portland. Co-sponsored by Providence Health & Services and Walmart and featuring refreshments, cultural dancers, and chances to win a free…
Ignited July 14th by multiple lightning strikes and fanned by hot, dry windy conditions for days, over a dozen wildfires blazed in Oregon and Washington, threatening lives, homes and livestock, making the Pacific Northwest the nation’s number one wildfire priority with over 800,000 acres burning. Governor Kitzhaber Declares State of Emergency To mobilize the Oregon National…
For centuries, mariners have battled the Columbia River Bar, naming it the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” This June the treacherous Bar, where the Columbia River’s mighty current collides with Pacific Ocean swells, claimed another fatality. On June 20, 2014 at 9:20 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard reported that a boat had capsized while attempting to…
Back in the old days insurers would offer peanuts on injury cases worth less than $10,000 because insurers believed few personal injury lawyers would take such cases due to the cost of litigation relative to the value of a case. To address this problem the Oregon legislature enacted ORS 20.080. That law provides for attorney fees and…
Who in the world earns 5 Bronze Stars, a Purple Hart and two Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry? My military school mentor—Master Sargent James Smith. 1980… Mount St. Helen erupts showering Portland with ash. Meanwhile, I was 17-year-old high school junior attending military school. I marched, saluted and fired howitzers for four years as a cadet at…
We’ve seen quite a number of auto accidents occurring in the presence of icy road conditions in Oregon already this winter, making it especially important that you secure your most precious and vulnerable love ones in the event of an accident. On January 23, 2014 at approximately 7:45 a.m., an Oregon State Police sergeant who…
To make roads safer for cyclists, states and cities around the country have enacted laws requiring a “buffer zone” between cars and bicycles. Buffer zones increase the space between bikes and cars, and are usually marked with painted strips and sometimes with images of bicycles on the pavement. A raised strip of pavement between cars and…
The purpose of the 529-ABLE Act is to provide a tax‐deferred savings vehicle for persons with disabilities. It would help those with disabilities and their parents and caregivers, allowing them to put money into tax-deferred savings plans like the 529 plans that parents use to save for college. 529-ABLE accounts would be especially helpful for…