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Winter weather may be headed for the Willamette Valley

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It’s early, but weather forecasters are beginning to raise the possibility that in a worst case scenario, the next few weeks could see something resembling the winter assault that pummeled the Northwest last December. According to forecaster Rufus LaLone of The Weather Café, the time period to keep an eye on would be the middle […]

Researchers look at robots in horticulture

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A consortium of researchers from universities, private industry and the federal government is taking a new look at how robots could be used in specialty crop production. Several heavy hitters are on board, including Carnegie-Mellon University, so this is an effort to take seriously. One such technology already being used in fruit orchards is called […]

USDA’s new Conservation Stewardship Program up and running

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for its new Conservation Stewardship Program, a voluntary program providing financial aid and technical assistance for agricultural and forestry producers that adopt or maintain certain conservation activities (PDF). The program was authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill, and enrollment will be limited to 12,769,000 acres during each […]

25,000 more H-2B visas made available

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last week that more than 25,000 additional H-2B guest worker visas are now available for the 2009 filing period. Petitions will be accepted immediately. The agency had announced way back in January that all 66,000 visas allocated for fiscal 2009 were already spoken for, nine months before the […]

Headed to the governor

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Senate Bill 570 (HTML|PDF) received final approval from the Legislature today and is headed for Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s desk. The bill would address metal thefts by requiring scrap dealers to keep more thorough records, produce them when demanded by law enforcement, and pay sellers by check mailed to their street address, rather than cash.

Metal health

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The metal theft bill we talked about yesterday, Senate Bill 570 (HTML|PDF), has been approved by the Oregon House of Representatives by unanimous vote, 60-0. Since the House version differed from the earlier Senate version, it moves back to the Senate for concurrence and then the governor’s signature. Here’s more on the bill from one […]

Riding out the storm

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“It was the fastest hitting and departing storm I’ve seen,” said Grace Dinsdale, owner of Blooming Nursery in Cornelius, Ore. Last Thursday’s sudden squall raced its way through Western Oregon, bringing dust clouds, high winds, harsh rains, thunder, lightning, hail, and even flash floods, funnel clouds and tornadoes. Some 50,000 people lost power, and temperature […]

Illegal worker law struck down

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UPDATE 2009.04.14 10 a.m.: Here’s coverage in two local newspapers: The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) South County Spotlight (Scappoose, Ore.) Columbia County’s illegal worker law – approved by the voters last fall as Initiative 5-190 and then implemented by the county Board of Comissioners as Ordinance 2008-6 – was struck down this morning by Columbia County […]