KWSO News for Wed., Dec. 15, 2021

Tribal members, environmental advocates and community organizers filed a lawsuit today/yesterday (TUES) against the Oregon Department of Justice. They claim the agency engaged in an illegal domestic spying operation. Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Conrad Wilson reports. “The Oregon Department of Justice runs the TITAN Fusion Center. It’s a joint state and federal law enforcement operation meant to counter terrorism and other criminal activity. Four plaintiffs say the Fusion Center surveilled them for opposing the Jordan Cove energy project in Coos Bay. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue the fusion center is “an opaque and pervasive domestic intelligence program.” And that there’s no state law giving the Oregon Justice Department the authority to run what they call a secret spying program. The lawsuit asks the court to find the center is unlawful. The plaintiffs also want a judge to force the state’s fusion center to destroy intelligence it has collected. A spokeswoman for Oregon Department of Justice says the agency is reviewing the lawsuit, but added the complaint raises old issues that have been addressed. I’m Conrad Wilson in Portland”

A Bend Police officer charged with assaulting a man while on duty has pleaded not guilty. The Bulletin reports Kevin Uballez appeared by video Tuesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, pleading not guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment. Uballez has been on paid leave since October, when he was charged. A call and email to Uballez’s attorney, Steven L. Myers, were not returned. Prosecutors say that in June, while attempting to take Caleb Hamlin into custody, Uballez slammed him into the ground. Before police contacted Hamlin, he was beaten by high school students who filmed their attack, said Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel on Tuesday. Hamlin, of Colville has filed a notice of intent to sue the city of Bend.

Researchers with Oregon State University say the U.S. needs to protect more of its forestland to preserve wildlife and reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. They analyzed which forests would store the most carbon and preserve the most species if they were protected from logging, grazing and mining. Bev Law is a professor emeritus at OSU and an author of the study. She says the research maps out a plan for creating strategic forest reserves across the region. “LAW: “The key to this is it needs permanents and that means you’re going to keep the carbon there you’re not going to cut the forest.” The research was inspired by international climate goals of protecting 30 percent of all land and water by 2030. Law said most of the high priority forests are on federal land, and in Oregon and Washington they’re primarily along the coast. She says Oregon has only 7 percent of its forestland protected. That’s less than all other states.

The Portland-based nuclear energy company NuScale [NEW-scale] has announced plans to go public. The company produces small-scale nuclear reactors that it says can be combined to mimic the power production of a coal-fired power plant — without the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. NuScale chief financial officer Chris Colbert [COLL-bert] says nuclear is critical to achieving a carbon-free electricity sector. “COLBERT: “Wind and solar with batteries will get you part of the way there, but they can’t get you the whole way there. And that’s where nuclear plays a key role of complementing those resources to ensure that you have both affordable and reliable carbon-free electricity.” The move allows NuScale to raise the money it needs to scale up production of its reactors. The company is currently working with a Utah-based utility to bring its first reactor online by 2029.

In Local Sports: The Madras High School Lady Buffs hosted Bend last night and came away with another loss as they fell 44-27. That puts the Lady Buffs at 1-3 on the season with their next game coming up this Friday as they travel to Banks. The Warm Springs K-8 Boys A & B basketball teams will have their last game of the season today as they are on the road to Jefferson County Middle School, games start at 4pm.