Amtrak pauses service between Portland and Seattle due to landslide
Amtrak announced Monday night that all train service between Portland and Seattle is canceled through at least Wednesday. A landslide has blocked the train tracks about 6 miles north of Vancouver, Washington. Amtrak says limited alternative travel options are available during the closure. Train service will continue as normal between Portland and Eugene, and between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. Amtrak will waive additional charges for customers who need to change their reservations during the closure. Anyone impacted by the closure can call 1-800-USA-RAIL for more details. (Jeff Thompson/OPB)
Kotek signs 2 bills to curb plastic pollution in Oregon
Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed two bills aimed at reducing plastic pollution in Oregon. One of those laws will phase out polystyrene foam foodware, packing peanuts and coolers starting in 2025. It also bans chemicals known as PFAs from food packaging products. Another law calls on the Oregon Health Authority to adjust the state’s health code so people can use their own reusable containers at restaurants. It gives the OHA until 2024 to make that change. Washington passed a similar ban on polystyrene to-go containers in 2021. California doesn’t have a statewide ban, though its two largest cities — San Diego and Los Angeles — implemented their own bans last year. (April Ehrlich/OPB)
Related: Plastic pollution is everywhere. Here's what we can do about it ♻
Judge orders release of man previously convicted of notorious Oregon murder
A federal judge has ordered the unconditional release of Frank Gable, a man accused of killing the head of the Oregon Department of Corrections. Gable has maintained his innocence since 1989, and another person has repeatedly confessed to the murder. A 2019 ruling vacated Gable’s conviction and he’s been living in Kansas since then, under court supervision. Oregon justice officials had been trying to get Gable’s conviction reinstated. Monday’s ruling bans the state from rearresting or retrying Gable. (Lillian Mongeau Hughes/OPB)
Clark County councilor lambasts decades-old needle exchange
Changing attitudes and shrinking support on the Clark County Council are clouding the future of the county’s decades-old needle exchange program aimed at reducing the transmission of blood-borne illnesses. Each year, hundreds of thousands of used needles are exchanged for clean needles as part of a program that has been administered since 2005 by the county’s Harm Reduction Center. The exchange program goes back two decades before then as a response to HIV, hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases. Councilor Gary Medvigy recently criticized the program, saying he’d like it changed or ended, to be replaced with treatment and detox centers. (Shari Phiel/The Columbian)
Hunters split on plan to protect mule deer in Deschutes County
The board of a local branch of the Oregon Hunters Association says it is reversing its support for a plan devised by Deschutes County that is intended to improve habitat for mule deer. But not all members, both across the state and locally, agree with the board’s decision. The board of directors of the Bend chapter of the hunters association said it can no longer support the county’s proposed Mule Deer Winter Range Combining Zone, also known as an “overlay zone,” a turnaround after board members had previously supported the rule changes. The Bend branch’s vice president said the branch will support the plan again if changes are made to address other threats to mule deer including cougars, vehicle strikes and poaching. (Michael Kohn/Bend Bulletin)
Related: Oregon's newest license plate features a mule deer and will fund safe wildlife crossings 🦌