This is KGW news at noon. And
we start this noon
with the Portland Thorns up for sale.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Brenda Braxton. This morning,
Merritt Paulson made the announcement just
two months after he stepped down as CEO.
Critics have urged Paulson to sell the
team ever since the report came out in
October detailing systemic abuse throughout
the National Women's Soccer League.
Former Thorns coach Paul Riley was one
of those people named in the report.
Players accused him of harassment.
And sexual coercion.
The report also accused team management
of hindering the investigation.
In a statement today,
Paulson acknowledged the last
year has been challenging writing.
Quote, I regret the role our
organization played in the failures
identified by the investigations,
he went on to say.
The Portland Thorns have a bright future
ahead and a lot left to accomplish now.
As for the Timbers,
Paulson says he does not plan to sell.
That team,
but he said he'll work with the Thorns
new owner to ensure a smooth transition.
He also said he's willing to work out a
deal so the Thorns can continue playing
their matches at Providence Park.
Stay with KGW.
We will have a reaction to all of this
coming up tonight in our evening newscasts.
Other news now, a four mile stretch of Hwy.
30 remains closed this afternoon
due to that landslide.
This is right between Astoria and Clatskanie.
Odot says this stretch will stay
closed at least through today,
and maybe longer.
As you can see there,
a semi got stuck in the middle of that slide.
Odot estimates at least 10 truckloads
of rock and mud slid across both lanes
of the highway overnight Tuesday.
Crews are working to clear the
debris in the meantime.
Odot says drivers should detour
onto highways 2647 or 202.
And that is not the only weather
related travel issue.
Chris, what happened in the coast range?
You know Oregon Hwy 6?
That's the Wilson River Highway,
which gets up over 1400 feet.
That was closed for about 90 minutes this
morning because of the wintry conditions.
I can show you that the road is back
open and we're in better shape now.
This is the latest snapshot from Chip trip.
Check here at the noon hour.
You can see where well bear pavement,
wet pavement with the temperature up to 34.
Let's check out one of the other passes,
Hwy 26, as we go out into a little
deeper into the coast range.
OK, let's,
I'm gonna slide off camera here and
see if I can get my graphic to advance.
There's a look at the Sunset Rest area,
and despite the fact that
temperatures are above freezing,
you can see they've got plows on
the road and there still is some
substantial snow coverage out there,
so anyone traveling to and from the
coast has to deal with that as we go into
the afternoon and evening hours live.
Look right now in Cannon Beach,
we had some snow there earlier today.
It's it's hard to tell how cold it is.
But maybe from this vantage point you can.
This is a live look from Astoria.
You can see a little white on
some of the building tops there.
So still a little bit of snow coverage
from the dusting that we had earlier today.
Live look at radar showing a smattering
of green and white on the map,
indicating a few widely scattered
rain and snow showers.
Right now we are cloudy over
downtown Portland.
It's 41 degrees at PDX and the
plan for the rest of the day keeps
temperatures kind of hovering right
around 40 or so and then getting cooler
with mixed rain and snow showers.
Continuing Brenda,
I think the precipitation dries up late.
This afternoon,
but it gets colder tonight and I think
a lot of us probably will be down
close to freezing tomorrow morning.
We'll walk you through that and
look ahead to the weekend coming
up in just a few minutes.
OK, sounds good. Thank you, Chris.
Crime statistics in Portland show
thieves are getting more brazen,
and local businesses have
the video to prove it.
Earlier this week, security footage
showed two people backing a van
into a gas station in the Irvington
neighborhood to steal an entire ATM.
After getting away with that crime,
the suspect stopped in another
parking lot on E Burnside,
where they tried to break into another ATM,
somehow causing a fire
and then on Black Friday.
Police say somebody used a car to break the
front door at the REI store in the Pearl.
They stole some clothing and then left.
As Portland encourages
small business, they want
to see small businesses thrive.
But at the same time, the spike
in crime is heavily impacting
small businesses everywhere.
Police say they still need help
identifying the suspects in the
ATM theft at the gas station.
In the meantime, if you want to
look at the crime statistics
in any area of the city,
we do have a link in our story at kgw.com.
These Portland neighbors tell
us there is a homeless camp off
Powell Blvd that has gotten so
dangerous they're ready to move.
As Blair best reports,
the city has been aware
of this camp for months,
but nothing's been done.
The streets off SE Powell Blvd,
home to many longtime Portlanders
and families, but over the past
few years they've turned into a
magnet for homeless camps like this
one on SE 49th and Hague. It's
just really sad, you know,
having been here a long time and
just seeing the the progression,
the downhill kind of escalation of our city.
The only thing separating Anthony Foxx's
home from the camp is a U-Haul parking lot.
Folks kind of come and go,
but this particular camp started.
I really grew maybe a month or two ago
now, a fixture in the neighborhood
threatening his family's safety.
And I live here with my daughter.
And yeah, she is scared to
sleep and walk down the street.
Neighbors tell us that when they've tried
talking with those living at this camp,
they've had guns pulled on them.
Earlier today,
when we were shooting video for this story,
a woman came up and threatened us.
Knowing the potential dangers here,
we've decided against trying to
talk with anyone at this camp.
Neighbors believe someone from the
camp was to blame for the large.
Thanksgiving fire at Uhaul
caused by someone siphoning gas,
a crime those at this camp are known for.
It was a huge, massive
fire. And so yeah, it was terrifying.
They had the fire people not
come sooner, like our house
would totally have gone on fire.
Our streets are not safe. Our livability
in Portland is really suffering.
Angela Todd lives nearby and runs PDX Reel,
a social media account focused on
livability issues in Portland,
specifically when it comes to.
Homelessness and crime today.
In her recent testimony at City Hall,
the mayor promised her he
would look into this camp.
Angela, thank you for being here today.
And and. I've made a notation 50th
and Powell and I will find out what
the status of 50th and Powell is.
It's been 2 weeks since that
meeting and the camp is still here,
the City Street Services
Coordination Center tells KGW.
It will be scheduled for removal soon.
How did they not care about what's
going on with these citizens?
It is not. There are no words anymore.
There is just action,
and it's a lack of action,
leaving many with only one
option. We're considering moving
this summer. In fact, yeah,
the trauma here is real.
And what is here is not homelessness.
What here? What is here is organized crime.
And it's being allowed underneath the
umbrella of homelessness and compassion.
From November 14th through the 20th,
the city has received nearly 3000 new
campsite reports 906 of them regarded
campsites along SE Powell Blvd,
including 294 of people living
in vehicles like the ones on this
street in Southeast Portland.
Blair best, KGW news.
Well, the onslaught
has started. Unfortunately,
it's just in time for our holiday gatherings.
Health officials are calling it a
triple demik, and they want you
to protect yourself from COVID,
the flu and RSV altogether.
Those 3 respiratory viruses have have
hospitals full of patients hardest hit,
the two children's hospitals
here in Portland and emergency
rooms throughout the region.
We're in the flu season now and
then you add that to COVID-19
and RSV and it's kind of like
a perfect storm.
Clark County Public Health director
says protect yourself by getting
vaccinated and if your medical
condition is not an emergency,
avoid the ER and check with your
primary care provider first.
In the meantime, Washington is shutting
down its COVID response website.
State officials say there's been
a huge decrease in web traffic.
Starting today,
people will be redirected to a
new page on the main Washington
Department of Health website.