Around the state

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 1, 2015

Obama to talk trade at Nike — President Barack Obama will campaign for free trade legislation during his Oregon trip next week. A White House statement said Thursday that Obama will attend an event at Nike headquarters May 8 in Beaverton. He plans to talk about how workers would benefit from what the statement calls “progressive, high-standards trade agreements that would open up new markets and support high-quality jobs” for businesses large and small. The Democratic president faces opposition from the left within his own party to legislation that would limit Congress to an up-or-down vote — no amendments — on a 12-nation trade deal that’s in the works. But Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has been a key Democratic backer of what’s known as “fast-track” legislation. Obama arrives in Portland on May 7 for a private fundraising event.

Umatilla strip club ban — After struggling to regulate stripper bars, a small town along the Columbia River in Eastern Oregon is ready to adopt rules to prohibit new ones in its downtown district. Umatilla’s planning commission voted Tuesday to turn a rewritten 90-page commercial zoning rulebook over to the city council for final adoption. The vote finishes a battle that started in July 2014 after residents opposed a third strip club in the town. The rules restrict adult entertainment businesses and marijuana dispensaries away from downtown. Current strip clubs would be grandfathered as long as they do not change ownership. Moratoriums on adult businesses and marijuana dispensaries have been in place while the city crafts new rules. The city council will discuss the new rules May 5.

Overdose case — A man prosecutors called a lieutenant in a multistate heroin organization has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for helping supply the drug that killed a young Keizer woman. Sergio Quezada Lopez, 35, apologized through a Spanish translator to the family of Laurin Putnam for her 2012 overdose death. He’s the third of seven people convicted on federal charges to be sentenced in Putnam’s death. His brother, Gerardo Chalke Lopez, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years on the same charges: conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in the death of another person and for illegal re-entry. Prosecutors said Putnam, 21, was a West Salem High School graduate whose addiction to painkillers from a back injury while playing softball eventually led to heroin use. The remaining four defendants have pleaded guilty to charges linked to her death. Their sentencings are set later this year.

New casino — A tribal group plans to open its second casino next week along the Oregon Coast at Coos Bay. An official of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said it’s aiming for a local trade and an atmosphere resembling the neighborhood TV bar “Cheers.” The tribe already runs one of Oregon’s nine Indian casinos. It’s in Florence. The new Three Rivers Casino in Coos Bay will have more limited gambling because of its classification under federal rules. It expects to employ more than 100 people.

Drunk driver sentenced — A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to 190 months in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and assault as a result of a 2013 drunken driving accident. Shaun Lowry was sentenced Wednesday for hitting and killing Amanda Bell, 24, in August 2013. He also injured Shawnasey Hyatt, who suffered several broken bones. Lowry had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in February 2014 but changed his plea on April 21. He received a 10-year sentence on the charge of manslaughter and a five-year, 10-month sentence for assault.

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