News Digest:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:24 AM PDT
GOOD AFTERNOON
OREGON
Oregon gas prices drop despite national rise
PORTLAND (AP) — Because it doesn’t depend directly on oil from the Gulf Coast, Oregon has dodged the gas price bullet from Hurricane Ike, for now anyway, the Oregon-Idaho AAA says.
The organization said Tuesday its weekly survey shows a slight drop in prices, 3 cents a gallon, against a nationwide average increase of about 20 cents a gallon.
Oregon’s average price was at $3.73 a gallon.
That’s the 34th-highest in the nation, the AAA said, a contrast to the usual situation in which Oregon is among the nation’s 15 most expensive states for gasoline.
Missing Ore. teacher rescued in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — A 23-year-old teacher who vanished days before the school year began leaped from a pier into a harbor on Tuesday and was rescued by a ferry captain, police said.
Hannah Upp, who jumped into the chilly waters of New York Harbor around noon, was hospitalized in stable condition.
She was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and refused to speak to detectives.
The ferry was headed from Manhattan and was about a mile from Staten Island when Upp was spotted in the water, chief police spokesman Paul Browne said. The ferry captain deployed a rescue craft, and crew members pulled Upp to safety.
Oregon gets $1.5 million influenza grant
PORTLAND (AP) — The Oregon Public Health Division has been picked to receive a $1.5 million influenza preparedness grant for three demonstration products to serve as national models.
The Multnomah County Health Department will get just over $1 million to ensure delivery of essential health services in case of a major influenza outbreak.
Lane County will get just over $260,000 for emergency planning and for organizations serving homeless people.
The Oregon Public Health Division will get about $229,000 to improve electronic exchange of influenza data.
The grant is part of $24 million made available for influenza projects in 62 states and territories by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
