Temperatures will be near the triple digits in areas of Oregon and Southwest Washington Thursday through Friday. With the extreme heat setting in, local officials are beginning to offer up resources to stay cool.
Jamie Test of Portland wipes the water from his face after cooling off in the fountain at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Sept. 5, 2024. “The heat waves are getting real,” said Test, who brought his family to the waterfront for relief from the heat. Excessive heat warnings will remain in effect on Friday.
Alan Zhou / OPB
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for much of the Willamette Valley where temperatures are forecasted to peak at 102 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday. That warning is set to last until 10 p.m Friday, although temperatures are expected to stay hot through Saturday. Other areas across Central Oregon and the coastal range are also under a heat advisory.
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The late-season heat wave has prompted several county officials to open up cooling centers and offer up resources.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson declared a state of emergency effective at 10 a.m. Thursday and opened two cooling centers. One is at Cook Plaza located at 19421 Southeast Stark Street in Gresham, the other is at Portland Covenant Church at 4046 Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland. Those centers are open from noon to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Chris Voss, the director of emergency management at Multnomah County, said TriMet, the Portland-area transit agency, will not turn away anyone riding to or from the cooling centers.
“If people are headed to one of those cooling centers and they cannot afford a fare, we want to let them know that they can actually ride or head to one of those locations for free,” he said. “They do not have to pay the fare if they don’t have the ability to pay that fare.”
Chris Voss, Multnomah County Emergency Management director, at a Sep. 5, 2024 press conference. Voss said the Portland-area public transit system, TriMet, will be offering free rides to and from cooling centers for free.
Alejandro Figueroa / OPB
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Multnomah County Library will keep the Central Library open until 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, along with several other branches regularly scheduled to remain open until 8 p.m. The Gresham, Hillsdale and Hollywood libraries are also open until 8 p.m.
In Multnomah County, officials activated outreach protocols on Wednesday to ensure cooling kits and other hot weather supplies reach people experiencing homelessness.
Cooling centers are available at other counties, including one in Washington County where the Beaverton City Library Main, with extended lobby hours, will be open until 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
For more information about cooling centers, splash pads or any other available resources, people are asked to call 211 or visit the website.
Willamette Valley-area county resources:
Multnomah County will have two main cooling centers open Thursday and Friday until 9 p.m. Several library branches will stay open longer. Parks with misting stations, interactive fountains and splash pads are listed on this map.
Washington County will have several community centers and libraries open with extended hours; those locations are listed on this map.
In Clackamas County, Father’s Heart Street Ministry at 603 12th Street, Oregon City (which phone number is 503-722-9780) will be open Thursday until 8 p.m. The county website also has a list and a map of several locations to cool down.
Marion County has a list of available cooling centers here.
Lane County has a list of cooling centers here and other heat- and smoke-related resources here.
Clark County in Washington state has a hot weather safety resource site here and a cooling center map list. The Council for The Homeless in Clark County also posted a list of additional sites to cooldown.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
