News briefs

Bill could create distillery tasting rooms

A bill to allow Oregon distilleries to open sampling rooms or pubs passed its final legislative hurdle Wednesday.

The House voted 55-2 for the bill sponsored by Sen. Ben Westlund and Rep. Chuck Burley. Westlund said he expects Gov. Ted Kulongoski to sign it.

Oregon distillers say it will help their small but growing industry flourish. The tasting rooms would be similar to those allowed for breweries or wineries.

-The Associated Press

Bill to revive Do-Not-Call list

The Oregon Senate is considering a measure that would allow the state attorney general to target telemarketers who make cold calls to home, office and cell phones.

The Oregon Department of Justice stopped targeting solicitors in 2003, when the federal government created a national Do-Not-Call list.

But citizen complaints keep pouring in as federal regulators take little action against violators who ignore the list. Senate Bill 117 would allow the state to penalize violators of the federal list.

Oregon’s no-call law remains on the books. It’s not enforceable, however, because there is no longer a state list.

-The Associated Press

OHSU faculty member inducted to National Academy of Sciences

Oregon Health and Science University faculty Brian Druker, M.D., has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions and research on cancer treatment.

Druker, who heads the leukemia program at OHSU, received worldwide recognition as a scientist and a clinician after developing Gleevec, the first medicinal drug proven to successfully stop chronic myeloid leukemia.

The National Academy of Sciences is an honorific society for scholars dedicated to furthering advancements in science, research and technology. The academy is widely regarded as prestigious, and induction is considered one of the highest honors of the scientific community.

-Steve Haske

Rally, bake sale at Capitol for higher ed

Students, faculty and state officials are gathering today at the Capitol for another push to fund higher education.

Oregon Representative Gene Whisnant and Senator Richard Devlin will join students, faculty union members and Oregon Student Association representatives in the state Capitol press conference room in Salem to call for continued investment in higher education. The event begins at 9:30 a.m.

After the event, students from Oregon schools are holding a bake sale as a last-ditch effort to raise money for higher education. The students also plan to deliver postcard-filled piggy banks to the legislators, signed by students from across the state.

-David Holley