As the latest COVID boosters dribble into Oregon, state health officials urged residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves against an expected rise in respiratory infections in the months ahead. Officials with the Oregon Health Authority on Thursday urged residents to protect themselves by getting shots against COVID, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Southern Oregon health professionals hope to start administering the latest COVID vaccines this week. The shots were approved by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee Tuesday, a day after the Food and Drug Administration approved new COVID-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna.
The average Oregonian who buys health insurance on the individual marketplace will see costs increase 6.2% in 2024 after state regulators approved final rates. That’s a slightly smaller increase than last year’s 6.7%, but insurance rates for small businesses will increase slightly more than they did in 2023.
Oregon officials can do more to increase public awareness about an obscure civil court tool that can prevent gun violence and suicides, according to an Oregon Secretary of State report released Wednesday. The tool is based upon Oregon’s “red flag” law, which allows family members or law enforcement to petition the court for someone to turn in their firearms if they are a risk to themselves or others.
An air quality alert issued Sunday afternoon by the Medford office of the National Weather Service (NWS) says wildfires burning in the region combined with forecast conditions will cause air quality levels to fluctuate, possibly into unhealthy levels. The advisory remains in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Wildfire smoke prompted the city of Ashland to open a clean-air shelter at Calvin Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Ashland, 1615 Clark Ave., Friday afternoon, which is scheduled to also be open from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the city’s website.
Gov. Tina Kotek on Tuesday joined advocates to celebrate the state’s push to strengthen abortion access and enact minimum nurse staffing standards for hospitals. At a ceremonial bill signing, Kotek signed two health care bills: House Bill 2002, which shores up abortion rights and access to transgender health care and House Bill 2697, which puts minimum nurse staffing standards in place for hospitals.
A heat wave arriving Sunday will threaten and possibly break previous temperature records and last several days, and the National Weather Service is advising Rogue Valley residents to be extremely cautious. NWS also issued a fire weather watch for 2 p.m. through 8 p.m. Monday.
Those planning to dip their toes into Lithia Creek near the Lithia Park playground should make other short term plans. An elevated level of E. coli has been found in that portion of Lithia Creek, the city of Ashland announced Thursday afternoon, prompting the city to prohibit wading, bathing, or swimming in Ashland Creek near the Lithia Park playground.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced on social media platforms on Wednesday afternoon that multiple performances have been canceled this week due to COVID-19 cases among its performing and understudy company.
There’s still three months to go for this year’s Oregon Cabaret Theatre, but plans are already being firmed up for 2024, the Cabaret’s 39th year. “Clue,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Legally Blonde,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “Pine Mountain Lodge” promise a mix of comedy, song and suspense.
If you haven’t seen this Halloween world on East Main Street yet, prepare to be impressed. If you’ve visited the family’s yard and trick-or-treat room in previous years, prepare for even bolder and scarier displays this year.
Ashland City Council’s Monday evening study session will focus on the new shelter at 2200 Ashland St. The meeting will include 15 minutes of time for public comment, a City Council discussion, an “operations overview” presentation and a presentation from the city’s possible contractor to run shelter operations — Options for Helping Residents of Ashland (OHRA).
With less than 36 hours until the federal government shuts down, frustrated Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation and federal employees called on congressional Republicans to hurry up and pass a continuing resolution keeping the government open.
Plans are moving along for a wide, landscaped wildlife overpass spanning Interstate 5 about 2 miles north of the California-Oregon border. The Oregon Department of Transportation earlier this year agreed to spend $1.5 million toward design of the crossing, and the agency in August applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a grant to build it, at an estimated cost of $20 million.
The Frontier Conference is sending its best to Raider Stadium this fall. There may be none better at the moment than Montana Tech, Southern Oregon’s guest Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
(It’s free)
