Oregon opens up COVID vaccine eligibility while case count rises in Lane County

Last week’s newsletter had some broken links, I have now fixed those now on the website.

Oregon allowed Lane County to expand eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine early on Friday. Those added to eligibility in Lane County for Phase 1B: Group 7 are people 16-44 that are deemed to to have underlying health conditions, CDC defined frontline workers, family members living with frontline workers, and individuals living in multigeneration household. The Oregon Health Authority has a document that expands on the eligibility.

Expanded eligibility comes to Lane County as cases are on the rise, threatening the county’s “low-risk” status. Jason Davis, a spokesperson for Lane County Public Health said in a press conference on Thursday, that our current numbers put us in the high risk level, but currently we are allowed to stay in the low risk level because of the two week grace period.

Local links

  • Springfield ordered its police chief, Richard L. Lewis to go on paid leave on Monday. The city gives no reason, but the Oregonian reports “records indicate he has been accused of falsifying a document to protect two supervisors who had sex with a recruit”. This also comes as the department is facing a civil rights lawsuit.

  • 24 Springfield police officers are currently in lawsuits stemming from actions at July 29, 2020 protest in Thurston.

  • The family of Stacy Kenny, who was killed by Springfield Police two years ago, released an independent investigation into the police departments actions and will present the findings to Springfield City Council on Monday, April 19. The full report can be read here.

  • Residents of the Patrician mobile home park are close to raising enough money to save it from closure, KEZI reports. Back in the fall of 2019 the Springfield City Council approved a rezoning request from the owners of the park and looked to be on the verge of developing a hotel and conference center on the area. Residents got their in when the property owner said it would give the residents a chance to bid on the property.

  • Eugene approves developer’s request to remove wetland protection from Jessen Ponds

  • UOPD buys $62K VR training system

  • After buying the former LCC building at 1059 Willamette last year, the City of Eugene is currently considering a proposal to redevelop the space into low-income housing. The City is collecting feedback on the proposal through a survey that is open until Friday, April 9.

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