LA GRANDE — As the calendar flips into November and winter weather looms on the horizon, the state transportation department is reminding motorists to be prepared for adverse driving conditions.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For the first time in four years, kids and parents, and Halloween party goers will be dealing with some spooky, soggy conditions for their evening festivities.
Portland hasn’t seen rain on Halloween since 2017 and not a heavy dose of moisture since 2015.
Monday evening that will change.
Thanks to the arrival of an atmospheric river, the rain arrived in the metro area before the morning commute was over and is expected to last through the day.
And, while temperatures may not quite be comfortable, they will be tolerable.
Most of the metro area will be wet through the morning with a breeze out of the southwest and temperatures in the 50s. The rain picks up a little, but there won’t be much for wind during the lunch hour.
By the time school gets out, most of the area will be dealing with at least a drizzle, but there could be some dry patches. The steady rain returns just before sunset and the temperature will dip into the low-50s in most places.
Here’s an in-depth look at your hour-by-hour, trick-or-treat forecast.
It would be smart to pair those costumes with a poncho and rain boots.
The future of affirmative action is on the table as the nation’s highest court wades into another contentious issue.
WASHINGTON — The future of affirmative action in higher education is on the table as the Supreme Court wades into the admissions programs at the nation’s oldest public and private universities.
The justices are hearing arguments Monday in challenges to policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard that consider race among many factors in evaluating applications for admission.
Following the overturning of the nearly 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade in June, the cases offer another test of whether the court now dominated by conservatives will move the law to the right on another of the nation’s most contentious cultural issues.
The Supreme Court has twice upheld race-conscious college admissions programs in the past 19 years, including just six years ago.
But that was before three appointees of President Donald Trump joined, as well as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s first Black woman.
Lower courts upheld the programs at both UNC and Harvard, rejecting claims that the schools discriminated against white and Asian-American applicants.
The cases are brought by conservative activist Edward Blum, who also was behind an earlier affirmative action challenge against the University of Texas as well as the case that led the court in 2013 to end the use of a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act.
Blum formed Students for Fair Admissions, which filed the lawsuits against both schools in 2014.
The group argues that the Constitution forbids the use of race in college admissions and calls for overturning earlier Supreme Court decisions that said otherwise.
Colleges and universities can use other, race-neutral ways to assemble a diverse student body, including by focusing on socioeconomic status and eliminating the preference for children of alumni, Students for Fair Admissions argues.
The schools contend that they use race in a limited way, but that eliminating it as a factor altogether would make it much harder to achieve a student body that looks like America.
The Biden administration is urging the court to preserve race-conscious admissions. The Trump administration had taken the opposite position in earlier stages of the cases.
UNC says its freshman class is about 65% white, 22% Asian American, 10% Black and 10% Hispanic. The numbers add to more than 100% because some students report belonging to more than one category, a school spokesman said.
White students are just over 40% of Harvard’s freshman class, the school said. The class also is just under 28% Asian American, 14% Black and 12% Latino.
Nine states already prohibit any consideration of race in admissions to public colleges and universities: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.
In 2020, California voters easily rejected a ballot measure to bring back affirmative action.
Public opinion on the topic varies depending on how the question is asked. A Gallup Poll from 2021 found 62% of Americans in favor of affirmative action programs for racial minorities. But in a Pew Research Center survey in March, 74% of Americans, including majorities of Black and Latino respondents, said race and ethnicity should not factor into college admissions.
Jackson and Chief Justice John Roberts received their undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Two other justices went to law school there.
But Jackson is sitting out the Harvard case because she was until recently a member of an advisory governing board.
A decision in the affirmative action cases is not expected before late spring.
The car was parked outside the woman’s apartment building when it was stolen. Since September 2021, Portland police have responded to 12,218 stolen vehicles.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A North Portland woman was reunited with her 10-month-old puppy who was stolen along with her car Friday afternoon.
This is one of the more than 12,000 car thefts Portland police have responded to since September 2021, that’s according to the Portland Police Bureau’s Stolen Vehicles Statistics.
It happened around 2:30 Friday afternoon when Michelle Chavez Hudson was unloading groceries from her car which was parked outside her North Portland apartment building.
She left the keys in the front seat and her dog in the back when someone hopped in, started the car and drove off, taking the dog along with them.
“I see it driving away and I’m screaming ‘Just stop.’ I’m in a panic, I don’t know what to do, I was dumbfounded,” said Hudson.
Portland police posted on Twitter asking for help in the search. On Saturday night, they finally found the car and puppy who was luckily unharmed.
“I thought she was probably gone by the second day, I thought she’s probably not coming home,” Hudson said.
When Hudson got her car back, she found it filled with trash, human and animal waste.
“They wrecked it, the inside is a trash can,” she said. “She was in it, that’s so sad to think that she was living like that,” she said of her dog who was trapped inside the car for roughly 48 hours.
“She’s probably my best friend, she’s all I pretty much have,” she said.
Of those more than 12,000 stolen vehicles in the past 13 months, data shows 858 of them were taken last month. Portland police have been able to find 81% of them within 30 days, like in this case where it took them roughly 48 hours.
Hardesty campaign called accusation ‘ridiculous’
PORTLAND, Ore. (Portland Tribune) — The campaign for City Council candidate Rene Gonzalez is accusing incumbent Jo Ann Hardesty of inciting the most recent vandalism to its downtown campaign headquarters.
Windows of the headquarters were shattered late Oct. 29. The Gonzalez campaign complains it followed a Hardesty campaign mailing falsely accusing Gonzalez of being a right wing Republican.
“Last night we got a call from the police informing us they had picked up ‘chatter’ indicating a group gathered for a ‘direct action protest’ had identified our office as a target. When I arrived this morning at 7 a.m. our doors and windows had been smashed in, with a large rock lying in our volunteer seating area and shattered glass everywhere,” Gonzalez campaign manger Shah Smith said after the headquarters was attacked.
Hardesty campaign manager Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons called the accusation “ridiculous.”
Although City Council seats are nonpartisan, the Hardesty campaign recently sent out a mass mailer identifying her as “True Blue” — code for Democrat — and strongly suggesting Gonzalez is a Republican with far right ties, even though he is a registered Democrat.
Gonzalez strongly denies the accusations, saying he is a Democrat who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage.
The Gonzalez campaign said such false accusations are encouraging violence again their workers.
“This follows a week of Commissioner Hardesty repeating and amplifying demonstrably false claims about Rene and our campaign,” Smith said in an email calling on Hardesty to cease and desist from such claims.
The four-page Hardesty mailer features a blue tinted photo of Hardesty and a red tinted photo of Gonzalez. The text says Gonzalez “surrounds himself with right wing Republicans” and “His team is overrun with Republican consultants whose clients include: Oregon Right to Life PAC, Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
The mailing comes as Hardesty is badly trailing Gonzalez in the only independent poll reported in the race so far. Gonzalez is ahead of Hardesty by a margin of 50% to 26% in a DHM Research poll commissioned and published by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Oct. 5.
Whoever receives more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election will win.
Hardesty was asked about the mailer during the KOIN 6 News debate with Hardesty and Gonzalez on Thursday, Oct. 27. Portland Tribune reporter Jim Redden pointed out that the City Council is nonpartisan and Gonzalez is a Democrat.
In response, Hardesty said, “The reason you have that flier, and I got it today as well, is my opponent has only worked with Republican folks, all his staff are Republican folks, they’ve only worked for other Republican people who have been elected. So if you walk like a duck talk like a duck, chances are it’s a duck.”
The day after the debate, the Portland Tribune asked the Hardesty campaign to identify the Republican or conservative consultants working on the Gonzalez campaign. The campaign responded by identifying the Eagle Mailing Service, a printer and direct mail service in Salem, and Anedot Inc., a national payment processor that says it serves “churches, campaigns, schools, and other nonprofits.”
The Hardesty campaign also provided a link to a website that claimed Gonzalez’s campaign manager, Shah Smith, is a Republican.
The Gonzalez campaign denies the accusations that its campaign consultants are Republican or conservative. The campaign says its consultants are Cerillion N4 Partners and Lake Research Partners.
CN4 describes itself as “a political consulting and campaign media strategy firm that specializes in helping Democratic candidates, progressive organizations, and labor unions win.” The Gonzalez campaign has paid it $438,531.29 to date.
LRP describes itself as the most consistently accurate — and consistently progressive — Democratic research firm in the country. The Gonzalez campaign has paid it $28,031 to date.
The campaign describes Eagle Mailing Service and Anedot Inc. as vendors that provide specific but limited services.
Smith said he is a Democrat.
PPB officials told KOIN 6 News the damage to the building with the Gonzalez headquarters is about $8000. There are no suspects and no confirmed motive, but investigators said they “are investigating the possibility of a connection between the “direct action” event and the campaign office vandalism.”
PENDLETON — The Pendleton Urban Renewal District showcased some examples of its work Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 26.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephanie Terrell bought a used Nissan Leaf this fall and was excited to join the wave of drivers adopting electric vehicles to save on gas money and reduce her carbon footprint.
But Terrell quickly encountered a bump in the road on her journey to clean driving: As a renter, she doesn’t have a private garage where she can power up overnight, and the public charging stations near her are often in use, with long wait times. On a recent day, the 23-year-old nearly ran out of power on the freeway because a public charging station she was counting on was busy.
“It was really scary and I was really worried I wasn’t going to make it, but luckily I made it here. Now I have to wait a couple hours to even use it because I can’t go any further,” she said while waiting at another station where a half-dozen EV drivers circled the parking lot, waiting their turn. “I feel better about it than buying gas, but there are problems I didn’t really anticipate.”
The great transition to electric vehicles is underway for single-family homeowners who can charge their cars at home, but for millions of renters like Terrell, access to charging remains a significant barrier. People who rent are also more likely to buy used EVs that have a lower range than the latest models, making reliable public charging even more critical for them.
Now, cities from Portland to Los Angeles to New York City are trying to come up with innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, stand up their own private charging stations on city right-of-ways and line up at public facilities.
The Biden administration last month approved plans from all 50 states to roll out a network of high-speed chargers along interstate highways coast-to-coast using $5 billion in federal funding over the next five years. But states must wait to apply for an additional $2.5 billion in local grants to fill in charging gaps, including in low- and moderate-income areas of cities and in neighborhoods with limited private parking.
“We have a really large challenge right now with making it easy for people to charge who live in apartments,” said Jeff Allen, executive director of Forth, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in electric vehicle ownership and charging access.
“There’s a mental shift that cities have to make to understand that promoting electric cars is also part of their sustainable transportation strategy. Once they make that mental shift, there’s a whole bunch of very tangible things they can — and should — be doing.”
The quickest place to charge is a fast charger, also known as DC Fast. Those charge a car in 20 to 45 minutes. But slower chargers which take several hours, known as Level 2, still outnumber DC fast chargers by nearly four to one, although their numbers are growing. Charging an electric vehicle on a standard residential outlet, or Level 1 charger, isn’t practical unless you drive little or can leave the car plugged in overnight, as many homeowners can.
Nationwide, there are about 120,000 public charging ports featuring Level 2 charging or above, and nearly 1.5 million electric vehicles registered in the U.S. — a ratio of just over one charging port per 12 cars nationally, according to the latest U.S. Department of Energy data from December 2021. But those chargers are not spread out evenly: In Arizona, for example, the ratio of electric vehicles to charging ports is 18 to one and in California, which has about 39% of the nation’s EVs, there are 16 zero-emissions vehicles for every charging port.
A briefing prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy last year by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory forecasts a total of just under 19 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, with a projected need for an extra 9.6 million charging stations to meet that demand.
In Los Angeles, for example, nearly one-quarter of all new vehicles registered in July were plug-in electric vehicles. The city estimates in the next 20 years, it will have to expand its distribution capacity anywhere from 25% to 50%, with roughly two-thirds of the new power demand coming from electric vehicles, said Yamen Nanne, manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s transportation electrification program.
Amid the boom, dense city neighborhoods are rapidly becoming pressure points in the patchy transition to electrification.
In Los Angeles, the city has installed over 500 pole-mounted electric vehicle chargers — 450 on street lights and about 50 of them on power poles — to meet the demand and has a goal of adding 200 EV pole chargers per year, Nanne said. The chargers are strategically installed in areas where there are apartment complexes or near amenities, he said.
The city currently has 18,000 commercial chargers — ones not in private homes — but only 4,367 are publicly accessible, Nanne said. Demand is so high that “when we put a charger out there that’s publicly accessible, we don’t even have to advertise. People just see it and start using it,” he said.
“We’re doing really good in terms of chargers that are going into workplaces but the publicly accessible ones is where there’s a lot of room to make up. Every city is struggling with that.”
Similar initiatives to install pole-mounted chargers are in place or being considered in cities from New York City to Charlotte, N.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. The utility Seattle City Light is also in the early stages of a pilot project to install chargers in neighborhoods where people can’t charge at home.
Mark Long, who lives in a floating home on Seattle’s Portage Bay, has leased or owned an EV since 2015 and charges at public stations — and sometimes charges on an outdoor outlet at a nearby office and pays them back for the cost.
“We have a small loading area but we all just park on the street,” said Long, who hopes to get one of the utility’s chargers installed for his floating community. “I’ve certainly been in a few situations where I’m down to 15, 14, 12 miles and … whatever I had planned, I’m just suddenly focused on getting a charge.”
Other cities, like Portland, are working to amend building codes for new construction to require electrified parking spaces for new apartment complexes and mixed-use development. A proposal being developed currently would require 50% of parking spaces in most new multi-family dwellings to have an electric conduit that could support future charging stations. In complexes with six spaces or fewer, all parking spaces would need to be pre-wired for EV charging.
Policies that provide equal access to charging are critical because, with tax incentives and the emergence of a robust used-EV market, zero-emissions cars are finally within financial reach for lower-income drivers, said Ingrid Fish, who is in charge of Portland’s transportation decarbonization program.
“We’re hoping if we do our job right, these vehicles are going to become more and more accessible and affordable for people, especially those that have been pushed out of the central city” by rising rents and don’t have easy access to public transportation, Fish said.
The initiatives mimic those that have already been deployed in other nations that are much further along in EV adoption.
Worldwide, by 2030, more than 6 million public chargers will be needed to support EV adoption at a rate that keeps international emissions goals within reach, according to a recent study by the International Council on Clean Transportation. As of this year, the Netherlands and Norway have already installed enough public charging to satisfy 45% and 38% of that demand, respectively, while the U.S. has less than 10% of it in place currently, according to the study, which looked at electrification in 17 nations and government entities that account for more than half of the world’s car sales.
Some European cities are far ahead of even the most electric-savvy U.S. cities. London, for example, has 4,000 public chargers on street lights. That’s much cheaper — just a third the cost of wiring a charging station into the sidewalk, said Vishant Kothari, manager of the electric mobility team at the World Resources Institute.
But London and Los Angeles have an advantage over many U.S. cities: Their street lights operate on 240 volts, better for EV charging. Most American city street lights operate on 120 volts, which takes hours to charge a vehicle, said Kothari, who co-authored a study on the potential for pole-mounted charging in U.S. cities.
That means cities considering pole-mounted charging must also come up with other solutions, from zoning changes to making charging accessible in apartment complex parking lots to policies that encourage workplace fast charging.
There also “needs to be a will from the city, the utilities — the policies need to be in place for curbside accessibility,” he said. “So there is quite a bit of complication.”
Changes can’t come fast enough for renters who already own electric vehicles and are struggling to charge them.
Rebecca DeWhitt rents a house but isn’t allowed to use the garage. For several years, she and her partner strung a standard extension cord 40 feet (12 meters) from an outlet near the home’s front door, across their lawn, down a grassy knoll and across a public sidewalk to reach their Nissan Leaf on the street.
They upgraded to a thicker extension cord and began parking in the driveway — also a violation of their rental contract — when their first cord charred under the EV load. They’re still using their home outlet and it takes up to two days to fully charge their new Hyundai Kona. As of now, their best alternative for a full charge is a nearby grocery store which can mean a long wait for one of two fast-charging stations to open up.
“It’s inconvenient,” she said. “And if we didn’t value having an electric vehicle so much, we wouldn’t put up with the pain of it.”
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said that firefighters rescued multiple people and pets from the burning building early Saturday morning.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Multiple people were injured and dozens displaced after a fire broke out at an apartment building west of Portland in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.
Around 3 a.m., multiple callers reported seeing flames coming from a building on Southwest Barnes Road, part of the 81 Fifty at West Hills complex. Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were first to arrive at the scene, TVF&R said, and they helped evacuate residents of the apartment building.
As firefighters arrived, they saw flames coming from the windows, roof and stairwell of the building. Crews began putting water on the fire as some firefighters went inside, ultimately rescuing seven people and multiple pets who were trying to escape the smoke and flames, TVF&R said.
As the firefight continued, officials called for a second alarm, bringing in three units from Portland Fire & Rescue.
Ultimately, eight people were taken to the hospital with fire-related injuries. Some were hurt when they jumped from the second floor of the building to escape, TVF&R said, while others were suffering from smoke inhalation or burns. A firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.
Multiple units inside of the apartment building were heavily damaged, resulting in the displacement of about two dozen people. TVF&R said it was working with the sheriff’s office and apartment managers to arrange shelter for the residents.
Investigators from both the fire agency and sheriff’s office are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
Last week was a momentous occasion for the Oregon Ducks, as they finally got mentioned inside the top 10 for Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, one of the most respected voices in the sport. Oregon had been on the outside looking in for a while, but after their win over the UCLA Bruins, Klatt couldn’t help but move the Ducks up the rankings.
This week is almost equally as important, with a trio of Pac-12 teams moving into the top 10 following a chaotic Saturday that saw seven ranked teams end up losing.
Why is this important? Because it gives the Pac-12 some respect after several down years out west. The conference is now tied with the SEC — Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama — for most teams inside the top 10, according to Klatt, and ahead of the Big Ten — Ohio State, and Michigan.
Of course, the three SEC teams are much higher in the rankings than the three Pac-12 teams, but after the past half-decade out west, you take what you can get.
Here’s how Klatt sees the rankings shaking out after Week 8:
1
Tennessee Volunteers (8-0)
Oct 29, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) passes the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
2
Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0)
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) makes a pass during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Oregon Ducks at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021.
Oregon Ducks At Ohio State Buckeyes Football
3
Georgia Bulldogs (8-0)
Sep 3, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Kenny McIntosh (6) runs against Oregon Ducks linebacker Jeffrey Bassa (33) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
4
Michigan Wolverines (8-0)
5
TCU Horned Frogs (8-0)
Oct 8, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan (15) dives forward against Kansas Jayhawks linebacker Craig Young (15) during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
6
Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)
Sep 24, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws a touchdown pass against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
7
Clemson Tigers (8-0)
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney celebrates a fumble recovery by Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba (1) during the fourth quarter Oct 30, 2021 in Clemson, South Carolina.
Ncaa Football Florida State At Clemson
8
Oregon Ducks (7-1)
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 29: Noah Whittington #22 and Kris Hutson #1 of the Oregon Ducks celebrate after Whittington scored a touchdown against the California Golden Bears during the third quarter of an NCAA football game at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
9
UCLA Bruins (7-1)
UCLA wide receiver Jake Bobo (9) runs during an NCAA football game against Bowling Green on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
10
Utah Utes (6-2)
SALT LAKE CITY UT- OCTOBER 15: Cameron Rising #7 of the Utah Utes rushes the ball away from Tyrone Taleni #31of the USC Trojans during the first half of their game October 15, 2022 Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)
11
USC Trojans (7-1)
TUCSON, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 29: Running back Raleek Brown #14 and quarterback Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans warm up before the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
12
Ole Miss Rebels (8-1)
Mississippi Head Coach Lane Kiffin returns to Neyland Stadium before an SEC football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.
Kns Tennessee Ole Miss Football
13
LSU Tigers (6-2)
Quarterback Jayden Daniels scores a touchdown as the LSU Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Saturday October 22, 2022
Lsu Vs Ole Miss Football V2 7585
14
Illinois Fighting Illini (7-1)
Oct 8, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown (2) runs the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
IRRIGON — Morrow County School District students recently did something special. Soon, they will do it again.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A rollover crash happened at Vista House Saturday morning causing major damage to the viewing area.
In a tweet from Corbett Fire at around 4:13 a.m., they shared that a crash had occurred near the historic landmark.
Officials said that the driver of the car had minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.
Photos of the scene show heavy damage to the viewing area.
No other details were immediately available.
See the photos below:
As America loads up on an estimated 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween, some companies are trying to make it easier to recycle all those wrappers.
Halloween treats have a tricky problem: plastic packaging that’s difficult to recycle.
As America loads up on an estimated 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween, a handful of companies are trying to make it easier to recycle all those wrappers. But they acknowledge their efforts are only making a small dent and say more fundamental changes are needed.
Since the beginning of October, Mars — the maker of Snickers and M&Ms — has distributed 17,400 candy waste collection bags to U.S. consumers through its website and at community events. The bags can be filled with wrappers and packaging from any brand and mailed free to a specialty recycler in Illinois. That recycler, G2 Revolution, forms the packages into pellets and uses them to make waste bags for dogs.
The bags fit around 4 ounces of material; if all 17,400 are returned, that would equal more than 2 tons of recycled wrappers. But even then, the recycling program would still address just a fraction of the problem.
“What I’d like to see is this program actually goes away over time and we have a solution where it’s no longer required and we’re fully recyclable,” said Tim LeBel, president of sales for Mars Wrigley U.S.
Mars is partnering with Lexington, Kentucky-based Rubicon Technologies, a consultant and software provider that connects companies and municipalities to recyclers. Since 2019, Rubicon has had its own program called Trash or Treat, which mails one free box to schools, businesses and community groups to collect candy wrappers for recycling. An additional box, or a box for personal use, is $100; Rubicon says that covers the cost of making the box, shipping it both ways and recycling the wrappers. Rubicon expects to send out 5,000 boxes this year.
Mars and Rubicon won’t say how much they’re spending on their Halloween programs. Rubicon notes that it pays extra to UPS to offset the carbon emissions from shipping.
Plastic wrappers are ideal for candy for lots of reasons. They’re cheap and lightweight, which cuts down on shipping costs, said Muhammad Rabnawaz, an associate professor in the school of packaging at Michigan State University. They’re also easy to modify for different functions; some might have a coating so candy doesn’t stick to them, for example.
But plastic wrappers are a challenge for recycling companies. They often contain a mix of materials, like foil, which must be separated. They’re small and flimsy, making it easy for them to bypass typical sorting equipment. They have to be cleaned to remove grease, oil and other food waste. They’re multi-colored, so when they’re mixed together they come out as an unappealing brown.
Even when companies do go to the effort of recycling candy wrappers, they produce such a low-value plastic that it doesn’t recoup the cost of recycling.
“It’s got to be profitable. These guys aren’t social workers,” said Brandon Wright, a spokesman for the National Waste and Recycling Association, which represents waste management companies.
As a result, a lot of plastic packaging ends up getting thrown away. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, containers and packaging made up 21% of trash going into landfills in 2018.
That’s why it’s critical to have food companies or individual consumers funding recycling efforts, said Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle.
The New Jersey-based recycling company recycles candy wrappers in the United Kingdom through partnerships with Nestle and Ferrero. In the U.S., the company will ship boxes to consumers to collect candy and snack wrappers and return them for recycling. A small box is $86; a large one is $218. TerraCycle said that covers the cost of shipping and the multi-part recycling process.
Szaky said TerraCycle has recycled approximately 40 million candy wrappers worldwide since 2014.
Leah Karrer, a conservationist in Washington D.C., bought a TerraCycle box in 2020 and collected 5 pounds of Halloween candy wrappers from about 20 neighbors. She liked raising awareness about the problem and supporting TerraCycle, but she hasn’t done it again because the box was so expensive.
“This is not a cost-effective solution for most families, when the items can simply be thrown into a trash container to be picked up for free,” she said.
This year, she ordered a free bag from Mars, so that she can send a message that consumers care about plastic waste and want companies to switch to sustainable packaging.
“The onus cannot be on the customer to fix the massive plastic waste problem,” she said. “The solution is system change.”
Candy makers say they’re spending millions to develop new packaging that would be easier to recycle or compost.
Mondelez’s Cadbury introduced more easily recyclable packaging — made of 30% recycled plastic — in some markets this year. Mars recently partnered with Danimer Scientific, a biotech company, to develop compostable packaging. Hershey has set a goal of making all its packaging easily recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2030.
The National Confectioners Association, which represents the candy industry, says federal, state, and local governments also need to invest in more advanced recycling.
But Janet Dominitz, the executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, said recycling alone will never keep up with amount of packaging waste people generate. Dominitz said single-use plastic packaging needs to be eliminated altogether.
“The problem isn’t the number of candy wrappers on Halloween, but the 365 days a year that our infrastructure is set up to throw away,” she said.
While there was no definitive date announced by city leaders, the non-profit managing this particular Safe Rest Village believes it will open mid-November.
PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s taken almost a year longer than expected, but the second of Portland’s six Safe Rest Villages is about to open, set up at the Menlo Park and Ride near 122nd and East Burnside.
To be clear, this is one of the smaller tiny home villages that’s been in the works for a long time– not one of the larger camps proposed by Mayor Wheeler earlier this month.
Commissioner Dan Ryan told KGW on Friday that they’ve faced multiple challenges in opening up the Safe Rest Villages, from supply chain issues, to bureaucracy, to concerns from neighbors. Moving forward, he said he’s optimistic the additional four villages will be on a faster timeline.
“These are on-ramps,” he said, “So people can get safe, and build their resilience. We can get to know them by name, know what kind of services they need. And I know when we track the data, we’re going to see if someone spent some time in a Safe Rest Village – they’re going to be in permanent housing, permanently. That’s the goal.”
Menlo Park Safe Rest Village is on property owned by TriMet and will house 55 people. Each person will get a tiny home and share amenities like restrooms, a kitchen, and laundry.
Cultivate Initiatives, a non-profit supporting the homeless community in East Portland, will manage the village. They hope to officially open mid-November.
The fenced-in, low barrier village will be staffed around the clock in order to keep residents safe.
“When people choose to be inside an environment where there’s 24/7 supervision, they’re making a decision on a pathway to building resilience,” said Commissioner Ryan. “And the fact that more and more Portlanders who are unhoused want that – that’s why we have to keep offering these services.”
As for the four additional Safe Rest Villages, Commissioner Ryan could only say they would be opening in the “coming months,” after pushing back the timeline more than once.
“I’ve learned with the issues around supply chain right now, it’s just hard to predict exactly when,” he said. “And then the Joint Office at the county is our partner picking the providers so they have they’ve made selections on the provider for the site out in outer Lents, and we’re still waiting for information on who will run the site, which is basically almost ready to open, which is a Sunderland Safe Park site.”
MISSION — Economic development in Native communities across the Northwest was the focus this week at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Mission.
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From naked bike rides to city-stopping snow, here are a few things that Portland newbies may not know
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Long-time Portlanders may be well-educated on the city’s quirks, fun facts and norms, but Portland transplants have a lot to learn.
Here are just a few Portland-isms that newbies may not already be aware of.
1. Portland gets a lot of rain, like… a lot of rain. But the city definitely isn’t built for snow. Just earlier this year, the historic April snow resulted in downed trees and power lines, school closures and delays, highway shutdowns and many vehicle crashes.
2. Did you know Portland was home to the longest performing drag star? In 2016, Linnton-raised Walter Cole, or Darcelle XV, broke the Guinness World Record for oldest drag queen.
Today, the Darcelle XV nightclub named after the performer is still open for partygoers.
3. Some word pronunciations aren’t as straightforward as they may seem. Northwest Portland’s Couch Street is not pronounced the same as that piece of furniture that most people have in their living rooms. It’s pronounced cooch.
Also, the Willamette River is pronounced Will-AM-ett, not Willa-Met. Northeast Glisan Street is pronounced Glee-son, not Gliss-an.
4. The world’s largest independent bookstore, Powell’s Books, is right here in Portland. As great as its selection of nearly one million books is, the city has plenty of other independent bookstores worthy of a visit.
Mother’s Foucault’s Bookshop on SE Morrison, Broadway Books on NE Broadway and Annie Bloom’s Books on SW Capitol Hwy are just a few places where you can pick up a new novel.
5. Portlanders are passionate people, and that’s shown through the many protests that have occurred throughout the years. In the summer of 2020, the city gained national attention after protesters took to the streets for months following George Floyd’s death.
Even dating back to the 1990s, anti-war demonstrators burned flags, threw eggs and more when president George H.W. Bush visited the city. It is believed that either Bush or a member of his administration referred to Portland as ‘Little Beirut’, because the actual city of Beirut was the site of severe civil unrest during the Lebanese Civil War.
6. Ever seen a plaque on a tree in your neighborhood? That’s probably because it’s a Heritage Tree. According to the city of Portland, “Heritage Trees are trees that have been formally recognized by City Council for their unique size, age, historical or horticultural significance. Once accepted by Council, Heritage Trees are designated with a small plaque and listed in the Heritage Tree database.”
There are nearly 400 Heritage Trees across the city, and more trees can be nominated here.
7. You may have heard of the Portland Saturday Market that happens every Saturday from early March to late December, but there are plenty of other markets you can stop by that are fun for all ages.
The PSU Farmers Market is open year-round, and has up to 130 vendors every Saturday. The Montavilla Farmers Market also has a year-round schedule, but is open on Sundays. There, you can find local fruit and vegetables, baked goods and more special treats. The Beaverton Farmers Market is just a few miles outside of Portland, but it has a variety of fresh, local foods as well.
8. Out with the old, in with the new… or maybe not. Thrift shopping is pretty popular in Portland, and there’s no shortage of secondhand shops throughout the city. One vintage store owner told Travel Portland, “The Portland vintage scene is thriving, and people from all over the world seem to know about it.”
William Temple House Thrift Store, Xtabay Vintage Clothing Boutique and Rerun are a few of the local stores where you can shop for stylish clothes, without contributing to fast fashion.
9. Drivers should always proceed with caution, but especially if they’re downtown where there’s an abundance of one-way streets and biking lanes. Although they might derail your drive, the one-way streets aren’t that hard to conquer as long as you pay attention to the signs.
Drivers should also be mindful of sharing the streets with bikers. After all, Oregon is one of the most bike-friendly states. Despite this, it has had its fair share of fatalities involving drivers and bikers.
10. This bike-friendly city also participates in the annual World Naked Bike Ride, although the pandemic canceled the event in 2020 and 2021. In 2019, about 10,000 riders joined the ride to promote bicycling and body positivity.
Some cyclers are, in fact, fully naked. Helmets are still suggested, though.
