Debate over column lighting in Astoria — The Astoria City Council has rejected a request from a local hospital to bathe the Astoria Column in pink lighting during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. That’s because city officials want a new policy on how and when colored lighting can be used on the landmark. Friends of the Astoria Column, the nonprofit that oversees the towering landmark, is tasked with creating a policy for such requests. The city had allowed the column to glow pink in October and teal in April for sexual assault awareness. In June, the column was rainbow-colored for the city’s gay pride celebrations. But some council members say allowing lighting for some events and not others leaves the city in the awkward position of making value judgments about causes.

Battling sudden deaths of oaks — State and federal officials are pairing up to help private landowners in southwest Oregon battle the spread of an invasive, tree-killing disease called sudden oak death. The disease was first discovered in Oregon in Curry County in 2001. The state has since quarantined about a third of the county. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service is also requesting $500,000 to reimburse landowners who remove infected trees. Priority will be given to landowners in the quarantine area, which stretches from Brookings north to Gold Beach. The disease causes bleeding cankers on the tree’s trunk and dieback of foliage, eventually killing the tree.

Judge: A horse can’t sue — A judge has tossed a lawsuit filed by animal rights activists in the name of a once-neglected horse, finding that animals don’t have a right to sue. In doing so, Washington County Pro Tem Judge John Knowles on Monday refused to become the first judge in the nation to grant a non-human legal standing to sue. Lawyers from the Animal Legal Defense Fund had urged Knowles to let the 8-year-old horse sue for lifelong costs of medical care after the horse was discovered in March 2017 covered in lice, 300 pounds underweight and with frostbitten genitals. Its former owner, Gwendolyn Vercher of Cornelius, was convicted of animal neglect and paid some $3,700 in restitution. Lawyer Matthew Liebman argued that animals are sentient beings and noted that animals can be listed as “victims” of neglect or abuse in criminal cases.

Day care sexual abuse conviction — An Oregon man has been convicted of sexually abusing two girls attending an unlicensed day care operated by his wife. Jeffrey Rauch, 54, was found guilty counts of unlawful sexual penetration, sodomy and sexual abuse following a two-day bench trial in a Marion County court. According to court records, Rauch of Salem was accused of sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl from 2016 to 2017. He was arrested in August 2017 after a girl told her mother that Rauch touched her inappropriately. Rauch is scheduled to be sentenced next month. A trial is scheduled for December for Rauch’s son, who is also accused of sexually abusing the girls.

Ex-National Guard worker accused of fraud — A former non-military employee of the Oregon National Guard is accused of seeking $6.4 million in fraudulent reimbursements from the U.S. Department of Defense for work that was never completed. Dominic Caputo, 46, appeared Monday in federal court in Portland, pleading not guilty to counts of wire fraud and making a false statement in a document. Caputo managed the repair of small-engine parts and generators at Camp Withycombe outside Portland. The federal indictment claims he submitted false work orders and sought fake reimbursements for repairs on 1,380 engines, generators and other parts from 2012 through November 2014. Caputo has retained defense lawyers David Angeli and Tyler Francis. He remains out of custody. A trial date has been tentatively set for Nov. 20.