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Oregon Puts Out Stricter Air Quality Guidelines for Outdoor Youth Activities

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Oregon Puts Out Stricter Air Quality Guidelines for Outdoor Youth Activities


The Oregon Health Authority published new, stricter guidelines this week for scheduling youth sports and other outdoor activities when air quality gets unhealthy.

The agency says the change reflects “increasing scientific evidence” that smoke can harm children’s health at levels lower than previously thought.

The guidance is supposed to help youth-serving organizations, such as schools and athletic leagues, make decisions about participation in outdoor activities amid wildfire smoke and other air pollution events.

The guide relies on the Air Quality Index, the system by which health authorities assign a color—green, yellow, red and so on—to reflect smoke and air pollution at a given place and time.

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Now, when the AQI arrives in the yellow (moderate) range, the OHA encourages caution for youth with health conditions participating in short-to-medium-duration activities. This replaced the former guideline which stated: “It’s a good day to be active outside.”

The agency made similar modifications to its “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”—or orange—range. On orange days, the OHA now advises all youth to limit activity intensity and consider canceling or moving the event if the intensity cannot be limited. This is a change from the previous guideline, which on orange days focused on participants with health conditions.

Lastly, the “Unhealthy,” or red, classification has been raised to follow the same guidelines as the “Very Unhealthy” and “Hazardous” categories, which now all recommend that outdoor activities be canceled.

Though Portland historically sees few days of air quality in the orange Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range or worse (only about 3.3 days per year on average), OHA’s tightened guidelines could affect outdoor activities for participants under 18, particularly in the summer months.

Aside from the categorical changes, OHA has widened the range of a “medium-length activity” to be one to four hours, rather than one to two. The agency also added language to its guidelines emphasizing less obvious points of exposure to be aware of, such as walking to school or riding on school buses with the windows down.

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“We fully recognize the importance of outdoor time and exercise for the physical and mental health of children and youth,” said Gabriela Goldfarb of OHA’s Public Health Division in a written statement. “We offer this guide to support adults making decisions that balance those needs with the reality that children are more likely to be affected by health threats from smoke, because their airways are still developing and because they breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults.”

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Oregon Lottery Powerball, Pick 4 results for July 6

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The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 6, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from July 6 drawing

17-44-63-66-67, Powerball: 04, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 4 numbers from July 6 drawing

1PM: 8-8-0-7

4PM: 4-2-9-2

7PM: 8-2-5-5

10PM: 7-7-2-2

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Win for Life numbers from July 6 drawing

18-28-41-70

Check Win for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Megabucks numbers from July 6 drawing

14-19-20-21-25-38

Check Megabucks payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
  • Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Oregon’s Class Surges in Team Recruiting Rankings to No. 3

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Oregon’s Class Surges in Team Recruiting Rankings to No. 3


If you headed to the lake early last week, you missed the best fireworks. Dan Lanning and his staff put on a cup of coffee and closed like the Wolf of Wall Street. Minus the cocaine, probably.

All jokes aside, and believe me, these are jokes, the recruiting this staff is doing is not a joke. From June 28 to July 3, a span of 6 days Oregon added four new commitments and all were four stars or better. If you weren’t paying attention, Oregon landed 12 commits in the months of June and what we’ve had in July so far.

The recruiting class has surged from the teens to No. 9 to start last week to No. 3 overall by Friday afternoon. Only Texas A&M and Notre Dame have better recruiting classes according to Rivals. Oregon has the best class in the Big Ten conference.

The 24 commits sit at an average rating of 90.76 according to Rivals. Additionally 16 of the 24 commits are ranked four-stars or better and that includes the Ducks having a pair of 5-Star commitments. Oregon has 11 defensive commits, 11 offensive commits and 2 listed as athletes.

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Up next is a commitment from four-star linebacker Brayton Feister set for Saturday, July 11. I don’t believe that addition will move Oregon up in the rankings but will strengthen their current position.

With five-star wide receiver Xavier Sabb committing, Oregon now has a commitment from 17 different states. Should Feister from Ohio pick the Ducks on Saturday, that would give Oregon an 18th state. The national reach of this program is as good as any school in the country.

Last year Oregon finished with the No. 4 ranked class in the nation. The 2025 class also finished at No. 4 nationally.

The early signing period for the 2027 class begins on December 4 and ends on December 6. The transfer portal window begins on January 2.

Oregon kicks off its 2026 season opener at home on September 5 vs Boise State.

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Former corrections officer sentenced in major Oregon poaching case spanning multiple counties

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Former corrections officer sentenced in major Oregon poaching case spanning multiple counties


UMATILLA COUNTY, Ore. (KTVZ) — A yearslong investigation by the Oregon State Police (OSP), in addition to the Fish and Wildlife Division, has resulted in significant penalties for an Umatilla man accused of illegally killing wildlife across Oregon, in what prosecutors describe as one of the most damaging serial poaching cases tied to a single individual.

Christopher George Matson, 48, was sentenced in two separate cases in June following an investigation that began in 2024, when authorities received information he was unlawfully taking big game animals. Matson is a former Oregon Department of Corrections officer.

In February 2025, investigators served a search warrant and seized multiple big game animals and firearms as evidence. In total, 67 criminal charges were referred for prosecution, spanning multiple counties and including allegations such as unlawful take and possession of black bear with the aid of bait, unlawful take of buck deer and antlerless elk, and hunting during prohibited hours. Additional charges included falsely applying for tags, loaning or borrowing big game tags, and unlawful possession of silencers and a short-barreled rifle.

The case was prosecuted by the Oregon Department of Justice’s Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor.

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On June 18, 2026, Matson pleaded guilty in Grant County Circuit Court to seven counts, including unlawful take of buck deer and black bear. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, a lifetime hunting license revocation, 300 hours of community service, forfeiture of firearms and seized property, and a $52,500 fine payable to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Less than two weeks later, on June 29, Matson pleaded guilty in Umatilla County Circuit Court to additional charges, including unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, unlawful possession of a silencer, unlawful possession of multiple wildlife, and unlawful take of mule deer. In that case, he was sentenced to 24 months of probation, a lifetime hunting ban, 300 hours of community service to run concurrently, forfeiture of property, and a $62,000 fine.

Combined, the penalties include probation, a lifetime revocation of hunting privileges, 300 hours of community service and more than $114,000 in fines.

“This is another example of serial poaching which rises to the level of felony conduct based solely on the repeated poaching conduct and impact of one individual on Oregon’s game mammals,” said Jay Hall, the Oregon Department of Justice’s Wildlife Anti-Poaching Resource Prosecutor. “The conduct across the several counties amounts to one of the highest damage amounts done to Oregon wildlife by any singular actor.”

Oregon State Police credited the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for assisting with interviews and evidence collection, along with multiple witnesses who came forward during the investigation.

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