Since my last enews at the end of 2020, the 81st Legislative Assembly has been sworn in and started work – under new rules allowing remote committee meetings. We have been convening full "floor sessions" at the Capitol on Tuesdays to read bills into the record. Next week we will expand those sessions to two days a week. My office has worked mightily to keep up with quickly changing circumstances: the storm and power outages; cancelling or rescheduling meetings and hearings; finalizing language for the last few bills to file before the Tuesday Feb. 23 deadline; and sorting through email, which approaches a rate of about 100 an hour at times! My two full time staff have been putting in longer-than-usual hours, and we’ve added a second intern to help work through the communication flood.

If you're new to my enews, you'll see that I won't swamp your inbox with frequent messages, knowing that you have many sources of daily news. This issue includes some information, background, and resources that you might not otherwise see, and a look at what's happening from my point of view.

"Mask up, Back up, and Wash your hands."

House committees look a little different this year. Hearings are held "online" (photo at right shows a hearing room with the video feed that goes out on the internet). Right now, I attend hearings from home except for the day that we go to the Capitol for a "floor session." You can see the full list of committees here, in the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) pages: click on "Committees" near the top right. Quick look at the changes: new committees focusing on Behavioral Health, Early Childhood, Economic Recovery, and Subcommittees on COVID-19, Civil Law, and Equitable Policing.

I have filed about 20 bills, and for several of those I've worked with people in the Eugene area to help renters, work on care and costs for people living in long-term care facilities, and ramp up emergency preparedness. Here are just a few of my bills:

Think that zoom meeting was private? Think again. My bill to protect privacy of videoconferences (HB 2459) had a public hearing. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Law heard representatives from the business community and others on this much-needed clarification to Oregon’s privacy laws, which were written decades ago before “virtual” conversations became a replacement for in-person conversations.

When I mention to constituents that videoconferences are not protected as a privacy issue, they are surprised, and think it’s basically wrong. For example, maybe a few people have a business meeting, discussing a potential new product line, and one of the participants takes all or part of the recording to a potential competitor. Or maybe a member of a book club mentions family health or financial problems, and a recording is shared, with bad outcomes.

This bill aims to reaffirm that a person has a right to know. Anyone intending to record a private conversation must tell you if they are recording, and you can choose not to participate, or to “leave” the conversation, or choose your words and gestures more carefully. Knowledge of the fact that the conversation is being recorded ensures that you can participate in a manner that you control.

Here’s an excerpt of the written testimony submitted to the committee by League of Women Voters of Oregon: “Meeting virtually is changing our culture quickly. The convenience of remote meeting programs like ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts has vastly expanded our ability to network. That will likely persist after pandemic distancing needs subside. We learned in our study that consumers have common privacy assumptions that evolving technologies may challenge. Cybersecurity education, to comprehend the reach and permanence of digital information collection, and protection are needed.”

ODOT reports that after a brief pause for freezing temperatures, hazard tree and debris removal resumed in February. Safety is the Task Force’s top priority and hazard tree work can be especially dangerous on steep slopes when snow and ice are present.

The aftermath of the latest winter storm underscores the importance of removing post-wildfire hazard trees in order to keep Oregon safe and moving. The heavy snow, rain and ice that blanketed Oregon toppled living trees, severed power lines, and damaged homes.

Statewide, winter storms created hundreds of additional hazard trees near roadways while wildfire recovery hazard tree removal work continues. ODOT tree crews and utility linemen are clearing storm-related hazards along roadways while power is restored.

A constituent contacted me concerned that the Holiday Farm Fire cleanup was being done by out of state companies, not local businesses. I looked into it, and found that Oregon took a proactive stance, rather than leaving wildfire cleanup exclusively to a FEMA-managed process which would have left us with contracts that did not incorporate Oregon oversight for Oregon values.

ODOT is taking the lead on wildfire cleanup, hiring primary contractors to oversee statewide hazardous tree removal. Those contractors then employ a set of subcontractors over the life of a project, with a priority placed on use of local contractors when possible. The Debris Management Task Force also worked closely with FEMA in awarding prime contracts to ensure state funds are maximized through federal reimbursement.

A critical component of awarding these contracts was the requirement of each prime contractor to establish and follow a plan outlining how they would support local communities, small businesses and business development, as well as creating equitable opportunities. Each plan included a list of proposed subcontractors and businesses, many of which are local Oregon firms.

Resources: Oregon Debris Management Task Force: blog with news and photos. Also: every Friday ODOT posts a weekly operations update that includes top issues from the week (and I noticed a story on Holiday Farm Fire Area's spotted owls).

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Oregon RAIN (Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network) has a new free program, designed for entrepreneurs, sole-proprietors, and small business owners in Oregon who want to understand, manage, and feel confident in understanding their business’s finances. The program runs March 31 through June 30 (Wednesdays, 9-10:30 AM). The deadline to apply is March 5 at 5 PM. Apply here: Moneymaker Accelerator 2021 Application.

For two weeks starting February 24, federal Paycheck Protection Program loans are being offered exclusively to businesses with 20 employees or fewer. While PPP loans kept over 600,000 Oregonians employed last summer, we know that many of our most vulnerable businesses weren’t able to access the relief they needed. If you or someone you know has a business in need of a PPP loan, you can learn more about the program here.

The City of Eugene partners with Business Oregon to offer free personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to Eugene nonprofit and small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. Supplies include gloves, disposable masks, and antiseptic wipes. Here’s a link to sign up for an appointment to pick up supplies.

Oregon Housing and Community Services announced the Landlord Compensation Fund is now accepting applications! Established during the last special session of 2020, the program provides relief to residential landlords who have been unable to collect tenant rent due to tenant hardships. Landlords whose applications are selected for funding will receive 80% of unpaid rent they are owed by current qualified tenants (from April 2020 on) and the remaining 20% of unpaid rent is forgiven. The February application will be open until March 5 and cover rent debt accrued from April 2020 – February 2021. Find out more here.

I've worked for several years on Oregon’s investment in seismometers and emergency planning, and it’s so good to see this news: Beginning March 11*, 2021, mobile devices in Oregon will be able to receive ShakeAlert-powered alerts via Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), just like a severe weather or AMBER alert.

The device makes a distinctive notification sound and the alert pops up in a text window on the screen. Some devices with text-to-voice capability may read out the message text. The text will read:

This message is available in Spanish for phones set to receive alerts in that language. ShakeAlert-powered alerts can also be delivered through purpose-built apps. Newer Android phones have ShakeAlert capacity built into the operating system, offering a third alert delivery route.

Turn on phone alerts: Check Ready.gov/alerts to make sure your phone is set up to receive emergency alerts. (One mobile app, QuakeAlertUSA, is already available in Oregon, but the sensors feeding it are more limited, and geared toward California.)

Some background: ShakeAlert is an automated system in place to give you a notice of earthquake shaking before it’s felt at your location. The technology is already in place along most of the West Coast, and has been used successfully elsewhere including Mexico, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China, Italy, and Taiwan. It’s operational to protect key infrastructure such as automatic water valve shutoffs and starting back-up generators for hospitals.

Resources: Additional info is available at USGS ShakeAlert homepage.

Here’s the full story, including info on how ShakeAlert works, and on OregonLive.

University of Oregon has played a key role in making this happen. “This amazing technology could provide valuable seconds or tens of seconds on the front of an earthquake, not only mitigating lives lost by giving people a chance to seek shelter but also helping to drive a more efficient response,” said Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. “The ability for first responders to take protective actions for themselves and their equipment means more resources to help Oregonians once the shaking stops.”

*Why March 11? March 11 coincides with the 10th anniversary of the M 9.1 Great Tohoku, Japan earthquake, which killed thousands and leveled cities. The Tohoku tsunami inundated coastal communities in Oregon, causing millions of dollars in damages. Like Japan, a subduction zone lies off the coast of Oregon, capable of generating M 9.0 earthquakes.

As the pandemic has moved through Oregon’s communities, some counties have been upgraded to a less severe rating, yet Lane County remain at high risk, while cases and hospitalizations are declining. While public health officials continue to monitor cases, tests, hospitalizations, deaths, and vaccinations, the Governor has continued to make adjustments to the rules that govern public spaces, high school sports, and other activities. See Oregon Health Authority’s Guidance by Activity.

Resources for the most up to date information:

The CDC published new guidance on how to improve your mask that emphasized the importance of fit. “Make sure your mask fits snugly against your face ... Gaps can let air with respiratory droplets leak in and out around the edges of the mask. ... Choose a mask with a nose wire, which prevents air from leaking out along the top. Bend it to fit close to your face. Use a mask fitter or brace over a disposable or cloth mask to prevent air from leaking out around the edges. These small, reusable devices cinch the mask against your face and can boost the filtration efficiency of a surgical mask to about 80 percent, according to a Dec. 10 study in JAMA Internal Medicine." CDC: Your Guide To Face Masks."

These days there are hundreds of options for sale, including nonmedical disposable surgical masks, and cloth versions with multiple layers and special filters. Not all masks are created equal; construction, materials and fit make a difference. Many Americans have been wearing the same cloth masks for months — in many cases, homemade versions originally created to ease a limited supply. (I just purchased some filters to fit inside my masks with "pockets" on the inside, like the one I have from League of Women Voters.)

Most disposable masks on the consumer market are not medical grade, but they are made of polypropylene, a nonwoven fabric that electrostatically repulses viral particles. That means they still score high marks when it comes to blocking the virus.

Layering a cloth mask over a disposable medical procedure mask significantly boosts your protection against the coronavirus by ensuring a tighter fit against your face, a new study from the CDC shows. Wearing two masks can help prevent infection by the new, faster-spreading coronavirus strains in the U.S. CDC researchers found that wearing a single mask – cloth or surgical – blocked only about 42 to 44 percent of particles from a simulated cough. However, when a cloth mask was worn over a surgical mask, 92.5 percent of cough particles were blocked.

Like N95 masks, KN95 masks are supposed to trap at least 95 percent of particles under 0.3 microns in size. The only difference is that KN95s are manufactured to meet Chinese standards, rather than American ones. U.S. health officials have started testing the masks. The CDC publishes a list of the brands that did and did not meet its standards in batch tests. You may want to check the list before you buy.

KN95s were hard to find early in the pandemic because health care providers were snapping them up, but they are increasingly available for ordinary shoppers. A study in September by ECRI, a nonprofit group that evaluates medical technology, found that as many as 70 percent of the KN95 masks being sold in the U.S. were counterfeit. In a statement, a CDC spokeswoman said that even those KN95s that don't pass muster to serve as medical-grade masks “are expected to provide source control (i.e., protect others) similar or better than gaiters, homemade, and most unregulated masks."

Do not wear another mask with a KN95, the CDC says. Wear only one at a time.

Wear these

Not these

Vaccination continues to challenge our patience. It’s been weeks since Oregon learned that the federal reserve of vaccines, from which Oregon was going to receive a large shipment, did not exist. As announced by OHA, the reserve amount expected to go to states was not available.

And then the weather that blanketed nearly three quarters of the U.S. with snow and severe cold temperatures interrupted nation-wide distribution and local vaccination sites. In Oregon, earlier this month, Pfizer vaccine had been distributed to the Portland area, and Moderna to Lane County. Some vaccines are sent from the federal government to state public health authorities, and some are sent directly to long-term care facilities and hospitals. Long-term care facilities that did not receive vaccine directly may be supplied by a county public health department, by a hospital sharing some of its supply, or in our area by a mobile clinic from Eugene-Springfield Fire Department. I recently watched some 75+ seniors getting their doses at a grocery store pharmacy, via the Federal Pharmacy Program.

OHA vaccine information: in English and Spanish.

Lane County: Here’s where to register with Lane County to get your COVID-19 vaccine (I registered; it was very simple, and I got an e-mail to confirm it).

For information about price-gouging, false claims about COVID-19 cures, and more see news releases from Oregon Department of Justice on their web page COVID-19 scams.

Just three months since the Legislature allocated $65 million to buy motels to combat homelessness, Oregon is reviewing 19 applications from non-profits and government agencies in 14 different counties that aim to create unconventional motels-turned-apartment complexes to house wildfire victims and others experiencing homelessness. Properties are now available for occupancy, according to the non-profit organization tasked with vetting applicants and distributing money to purchase the motels. It is currently reviewing applications from Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, Lane, Marion, Umatilla, and several more.

“Our goal is a high-quality investment for the community,” said Megan Loeb, associate program officer at the Oregon Community Foundation, chosen to administer the program. “We continue to work as quickly as we can with the highest level of accountability and integrity.” Loeb said those applicants would collectively be able to provide 600 to 700 new shelter units.

Lane County bought the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Eugene to house Holiday Farm Fire survivors especially vulnerable to homelessness. Day-to-day operations will be managed by Homes for Good, helping residents with long-term housing plans and services such as cleaning.

OHA tells us that about 132,000 Oregonians are uninsured. “Many of them are unaware of the options and savings available to them. Health insurance is available at Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace.

Sign up by May 15: If you don’t qualify for the Oregon Health Plan and don’t get health insurance through your job, now through Saturday, May 15, is an important time. If you missed open enrollment, this is an excellent time to get health coverage for 2021. Health insurance sold through the Marketplace is individual and family coverage offered by private companies; at least three insurance companies and at least 15 plan choices are available everywhere in Oregon.

Get started with the @OregonMarketplace by visiting OregonHealthCare.gov or call 855-268-3767 (toll-free) to find free, local help. Use the Marketplace’s “window shopping” feature at OregonHealthCare.gov/WindowShop.

OHA says, "OregonHealthCare.gov is our website that offers an easy window shopping tool to help people understand what programs and financial help they may be able to get … our program helps thousands of Oregonians find health coverage when they do not qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, or coverage through work. Our wide network of local, in-person assistance is still available from community partner organizations and insurance agents to help Oregonians on a local level apply for and enroll in health coverage.”