#incart_river

Hey everyone, it's time to play our favorite new orleans game.. Find the dead bodys scattered around the city. http://wgno.com/2015/06/04/womans-body-found-on-i-10-in-new-orleans-east/ http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/06/police_investigate_death_of_ma.html#incart_river Good luck in winning todays prize... and to think I was thinking of going for a walk...

Cover Oregon's new executive director has signed a contract awarding him a base salary of $215,000 a year, more than a $30,000 raise over his predecessor. Aaron Patnode, selected by the health insurance exchange's board after a lengthy search to replace Howard "Rocky" King, starts Monday, July 14. The 36-year-old Kaiser Permanente manager will make more than twice the salary of Gov. John Kitzhaber. Patnode will also receive full state benefits as well as yearly incentive pay of $32,250 if he meets performance measures set by the Cover Oregon board. http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/07/new_cover_oregon_executive_dir.html#incart_river

On Wednesday the Portland Development Commission's board will consider signing off on a plan to buy Michael Wright's property at the base of the Chinatown Gate in a deal worth up to $1.5 million. The deal also includes a provision that would open the door for Right 2 Dream Too to remain in Old Town Chinatown until late 2016 or early 2017, four months after the City Council authorized directing $846,000 to help fund the entrenched community a new home as soon as possible. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/06/portland_development_commissio_27.html#incart_river

If you ever doubted that governing is a lot more difficult and nuanced than campaigning, consider Clackamas County's attempt to sell timber on county-owned forestland near Brightwood. The proposal has been somewhat controversial, and one possible resolution might come as a surprise given commissioners' focus on employment and the strongly stated frustration of one commissioner, Tootie Smith, with the management of federally owned forestland. First, some background. The so-called Boulder sale covers about 180 acres of a 340-acre parcel the county acquired decades ago through tax foreclosure. It's been forestland – and subject to harvest – for a long, long time, though the timber in question is well over the county's 55-year rotation age. In all, about 6.4 million board-feet would be cut, and the revenue would be used to support county parks. The county manages a portfolio of roughly 3,000 acres of timberland for this purpose.... http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/06/post_124.html#incart_river

Lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Oregon nonprofit health insurer Regence BlueCross BlueShield, saying it is acting like a for-profit company by stockpiling excess funds that support large salaries rather than health care for policyholders. The suit lists Regence policyholder Tanya March and her two children as plaintiffs as well as Dischinger Orthodontics of Lake Oswego. Cambia Health Solutions, the parent company for Regence and its sister companies in Washington, Utah and Idaho, does not report total executive compensation that includes income from for-profit subsidiaries, making those figures difficult to ascertain. However, in 2012, Cambia CEO Mark Ganz told The Oregonian he earned $1.94 million. http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/06/lawsuit_claims_regence_bluecro.html#incart_river

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer joined in the verbal histrionics Friday as IRS Commissioner John Koskinen was hauled up to Capitol Hill to explain why the agency has lost thousands of emails sought by investigators. While Koskinen was angrily berated by Republican lawmakers who questioned his integrity, Blumenauer got his own share of the spotlight by fervently defending a tax agency he charged is under constant assault from the GOP. The House Ways and Means Committee is looking into the missing emails involving seven employees at the center of the investigation into charges that the agency mistreated conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. Blumenauer defends this outrageous behavior by the IRS? Give Us a Break Earl. Vote James Buchal For US Representative!! Time for a change! http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2014/06/earl_blumenauer_says_gop_assau.html#incart_river

A large number of people who've signed up for private health insurers through the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange have not paid their first month's premiums, meaning they are at risk of going without coverage through November. This year, for the first time, most people who don't have health coverage risk a federal tax penalty that runs as much as 1 percent of household income. Once the first month's premium is paid and the policy is in place, under the Affordable Care Act consumers will have a much longer grace period – 90 days—to reinstate insurance after failing to pay. http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/05/thousands_have_not_paid_premiu.html#incart_river

The longtime chief clerk of the Oregon House has been bounced from her post over her lobbying for a 2007 bill amendment that may have benefited her financially. The resignation comes as The Oregonian had launched an investigation into the 2007 bill and Line's role. The amendment Line lobbied for allowed a very limited group of PERS members to repurchase past service credit and retirement account balances they had previously liquidated with money rolled over from the state's deferred compensation plan. The repurchase gave Line full credit for her retirement, plus interest while she continued working. She was among a small number of PERS members who qualified under the amendment. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/chief_clerk_of_oregon_house_ra.html#incart_river