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MULTNOMAH COUNTY AMBULANCE DELAYS SKYROCKET: The number of “late” ambulances in Multnomah County climbed to alarming levels last year, according to a new report obtained May 8 by WW. In March 2022, ambulances responded on time to more than 87% of life-threatening calls in the county’s urban areas. By February, that number had fallen to 68%. A late ambulance in an urban area is one that takes more than eight minutes to arrive. The numbers were included in a report from the county’s “six-month review” of its contract with American Medical Response, which provides ambulance services in the county. The contract is up for renewal this year. The report also provided a timeline of reforms, which include triaging low-priority calls and sending out “Basic Life Support” ambulances staffed with emergency medical technicians, not paramedics. AMR has long advocated that the county change its unusual policy of requiring two paramedics to staff each ambulance. Aaron Monnig, the county’s health officer operations manager, defended AMR in a statement to WW and noted the county was not fining the contractor for its failing performance: “What we’re experiencing now in Multnomah County—and what we have experienced since 2020—is not really within AMR’s control.”
REFORMERS UNVEIL RANKED-CHOICE VOTING INITIATIVE: The city of Portland and Multnomah County adopted ranked-choice voting last year, and House Bill 2004, which would convert statewide elections to ranked-choice voting, remains alive in Salem. On May 9, proponents also filed the Voter Choice Act with the secretary of state, an initiative aimed at the November 2024 ballot. It would implement ranked-choice voting in statewide and legislative contests. It joins already-filed measures on campaign finance reform and open primaries. “We know voters—especially people of color, working-class people, rural residents, and young people—are losing trust in our elections. Ranked-choice voting is one step towards restoring that trust,” says Sol Mora, lead organizer for the statewide coalition of 35-plus organizations supporting HB 2004. “We are excited that if the Legislature fails to act and refer this critical reform, voters will still have the option through the Voter Choice Act.”
PROTECTIVE ORDER UPHELD AGAINST STATE LAWMAKER: In an opinion that painted freshman Rep. Brian Stout (R-Columbia City) as a hothead with a questionable commitment to the truth, Columbia County Circuit Judge Cathleen Callahan ruled this week that a five-year sexual abuse protective order will stay in place against him to protect a woman who worked on his losing 2020 campaign for the Oregon House. Callahan labeled Stout’s testimony during a three-day hearing “not credible” four times in her 13-page order, while ruling that the woman had proved she was subjected to sexual abuse and had reasonable fear for her personal safety. (It is WW’s policy not to name the victim in sexual abuse cases.) Stout, who is married, started a consensual relationship with the woman in 2020 under grim terms, set down by him, Callahan wrote. “After the agreement vis-à-vis their new status, [Stout] stated, ‘If you ever tell anyone about this, I’m going to push you off a cliff at Multnomah Falls,’” Callahan wrote. Stout then “slapped her bottom and grabbed her arm to pull her back towards him.” Stout’s attorney, Nicholas Herman, says his client plans to appeal. House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) and Majority Leader Julie Fahey (D-Eugene) called on Stout to resign.
KOTEK WITHHOLDS SIGNATURE ON BUNNY BILL: When lawmakers passes a bill, the governor signs it into law or vetoes it. On May 8, Gov. Tina Kotek did neither when House Bill 2689 came to her desk, allowing the bill to become law without her signature. That hasn’t happened since 2007. The new law will allow the slaughter of up to 1,000 rabbits a year without a license, mirroring an existing law that allows the unlicensed slaughter of poultry. Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Vale), a co-sponsor of the bill, knew some Oregonians would object to “butchering and eating cute little bunny rabbits,” but Findley noted Eastern Oregon has no year-round rabbit processing plant, and the animals are a cheap, healthy source of protein. Lawmakers agreed: The bill passed with bipartisan support. But Kotek kept her pen in her pocket. “Gov. Kotek supports the intent of the bill, allowing meat processing for small-scale, local farms,” says Kotek spokeswoman Elisabeth Shepard. “She also has a personal belief that animals should be treated humanely before being slaughtered, and believes rabbits and chickens should be added to Oregon’s humane slaughter statutes.”
CANNABIS LAW FIRM MUST PAY $4.9 MILLION: The state’s largest cannabis law firm, Portland-based Emerge Law, was ordered by a Clackamas County jury this week to pay $4.9 million to a local weed company. The company, Tidewater Investments, alleged in a 2019 lawsuit that Emerge helped the company acquire a Canby property in 2016 without warning Tidewater it would not be allowed to operate an indoor cannabis grow there due to zoning restrictions. Tidewater, based in Lake Oswego, sued for legal malpractice. “We are disappointed and disagree with the verdict, but it doesn’t affect our ongoing work serving our clients,” the firm said in a statement to WW. “We are evaluating next steps with respect to the litigation with our insurer providers.”