News briefs

House bill adds Higher Ed board position

A new House bill would increase the number of appointed directors to the State Board of Higher Education to 12 positions, up one from its current 11. A public hearing on the bill, HB 2579, was held Friday at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. The bill also calls for current representation of faculty to be reapportioned between two members, changing the way the student faculty board members are appointed.

Two students are currently required to be appointed by the Board of Higher Education. The new bill keeps the number of required students, but states that the faculty board members in question must still be students at the time of their appointment.

The bill also requires that one position be filled by a member of the faculty at Oregon State University, Portland State or the University of Oregon, while the other must be faculty from the Oregon Institute of Technology, Eastern Oregon University, Western Oregon University or Southern Oregon University.

The Oregon University Faculty Restoration and Equity Fund is also included in the new bill, allowing for continuous funding for the Higher Education and Community Colleges and Workforce Development departments to be allocated to colleges and universities in the state.

-Steve Haske

Career info day Wednesday

Portland State’s 19th annual Career Information Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom.

Over 85 employers will share career and job-related information with PSU students, including education institutions, government agencies, social services and businesses from the high-tech, retail, banking, financial services and insurance sectors.

Students of all majors will have opportunities to talk with representatives from a wide range of career fields. The PSU Career Center advises that students bring a r퀌�sum퀌� if looking for a position or internship.

Many diverse organizations will be present at Career Information Day, with representatives from nonprofits, government and private industry. Organizations currently registered include: Port of Portland, Portland Public Schools, Portland Police Bureau, IBM and KGW Northwest News Channel 8.

Additional information can be found at the PSU Career Center website: www.pdx.edu/careers.

-Julia Person

Civil union bill introduced Monday

Bills that would create civil unions and ban discrimination based on sexual orientation were formally introduced Monday in Salem, setting the stage for a broad discussion of gay rights at the state Capitol.

One of the bills would establish a Vermont-style civil unions system in Oregon, allowing same-sex couples some of the legal protections and rights given to opposite-sex married couples.

The bill includes a requirement that couples entering into civil unions live in Oregon for a certain amount of time, and would allow a same-sex couple to enter a civil union via a contract, instead of needing a clergy member or judge to make it official.

The unions would also only be valid within Oregon, and couples would not receive any of the federal taxation benefits that are granted to married couples.

A similar, though not identical, bill passed the Oregon Senate in the 2005 session, but stalled in the Oregon House, then under Republican control. Democrats now control both chambers and the governor’s office.

A separate bill would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodation, education and public services statewide. Similar rules are already in place in a patchwork of cities and counties across the state.

Both of the bills are backed by Basic Rights Oregon, the state’s largest gay rights group.

-The Associated Press

Southern Oregon University deals with budget deficit

German language advocates from across the state are denouncing Southern Oregon University’s plan to eliminate German as a major.

German is one of three majors, along with geography and geology, scheduled for elimination at the Ashland university, as administrators there struggle to deal with a $4 million budget shortage.

Administrators have also proposed eliminating 25 non-academic jobs, mostly in student affairs and including some vacant posts. They also called for cutting about 24 faculty positions, ending the honors program and consolidating three schools into one new College of Arts and Sciences.

-The Associated Press

Seaplane makes emergency landing on I-84

Poor weather forced a seaplane to make an emergency landing on Interstate 84, the Oregon State Police said.

Pilot Jerry Alan Scudero, 55, of Ketchikan, Alaska, and his passenger, Jerry Foresyth, 58, of British Columbia, were not injured Sunday, police said. Scudero told troopers he was headed to Alaska, but planned to make a stop in Pendleton.

Instead, the bad weather forced him to land about 15 miles east of Baker City. Trooper Robert Hereau was at the scene of a traffic accident when he spotted the plane, which had been taxiing on the freeway, police said.

Hereau allowed the plane, which has a 48-foot wingspan, to continue eastbound until it found a wide enough area to pull off to the side of the highway.

The plane resumed its flight, using the highway as a makeshift runway, when the weather improved, about three hours after the unexpected stop.

-The Associated Press