in Western Oregon this is NBC 16 today good morning and welcome into the last half hour of nbc16 today happy Thursday everyone I'm Zach Brule Angela Yamamoto is off today we'll get to your top stories in just a moment but first we're taking a look out the door at our traffic traffic at our weather situation as we get started today and I know yesterday I told you all that rain would be behind us by today but I didn't say exactly when so I'm still right maybe well we've getting started with some w
et weather yesterday total is a little more impressive than what we're going to be seeing today half inch give or take across the region depending on where you are Gold Beach being the exception really staying dry out there on the south coast today as we're getting started those totals are already accumulating a little faster than they have especially out on the coast here along the I5 Corridor just a little bit of moisture to get the day started but still rain coming down to get the day going a
nd we told you it'd be over I promise it's going to be going away soon this is just kind of the remnant of a system that's been in our area for the past couple of days we are going to be dealing with some other side effects though as we get the day going cooler temperatures as we get started this morning and wind gusts are pretty impressive as well double digits everywhere 20 to 30 approaching on 40 degree gust out on the coast and here along the I5 Corridor double digits even near 20 miles hour
in certain spaces so a little extra elements added to your forecast as well we'll get into it more with John Mayer in just a little bit but now we pop out to the roadways with our live shop buddy giving us a look at traffic this Thursday morning starting to lighten up out there Sun starting to peek its way through the clouds a little bit we're back back on I5 at the Glenwood exit looking southbound along the interstate this morning traffic is picking up we're looking at light to medium traffic
flow this morning on some moist Road surfaces so you be careful about the potential for a little slip Hazard here and there because the rain has continued to come down across the region in the early morning hours this morning temperatures just 44 degrees the traffic vehicles but combin some winds 10 mph winds right now and a little bit of moisture in the air little probably going to feel a little cooler than that at the along the interstate but uh there is some good news there's our live shop bu
ddy giving us the double thumbs up because there are no vehicle accidents to report no delays to slow you down on your morning commute thanks so much buddy stay safe out there I want my kids to see me work um I want them to to know that their mom's trying real hard to give them a better life and um and it's just not possible a bill aimed at expanding the child tax credit sponsored by organ Senator Ron weiden is stuck in the Senate as some lawmakers argue it may encourage parents to drop out of t
he workforce Senator ridden held a press conference yesterday here in Eugene with local officials and nonprofits and working parents to advocate for this legislation originally enacted in 2021 the tax credit dramatically decreased child poverty numbers to a record low of 5% which meant nearly 3 million children were lifted out of poverty the failure to extend the temporary bill in 2022 caused child poverty to more than double to 12.4% Liz Rock a disabled single mother explained that she had to q
uit her job in order to maintain qualifications for Section 8 Housing and to be able to afford a home for her and her children I need these benefits I need the child tax credit um just to be able to save the tax relief for American families and workers act for 2024 passed the house in January if passed in the Senate it would enhance the child tax credit for low-income families as well as other economic concerns a child tax credit will provide up to $3,600 per child for all Working Families famil
ies that may qualify should still make sure to file their taxes by the April 15th deadline and any changes to the tax code can be retroactively retroactively added to a return the price of everything is just going through the roof and it's just one more thing we have to deal with with the cost of utilities on the rise consumers are feeling the pain of the extra costs and we're showing you the way that initiatives are underway to reduce those increases and how you can have your voice heard the ci
tizens Utility Board of Oregon tells us it's asking the state's Public Utilities Commission to consider the impacts on customers when regulating how much utilities can increase their rates right now the commission only has to decide whether an increase is just and and reasonable while also letting private utility companies recuperate their costs but it's not asked to look at how much it's in the increases impact the customer the citizens Utility Board is trying to change that Salem buo reporter
Christina jardelli has more if you don't like how much one brand of toothpaste costs you might choose a different one in the free market that consumer Choice Works to keep prices fair but you don't have that choice with utilities so the public utility commission is tasked with overseeing how much those companies can increase their rates this year the increases across Oregon are hitting your wallets extra hard I don't know what the companies have to deal with in terms of creating energy what thei
r costs are these days but I can't believe that there's so much that they have to increase that pressure on us consumers the citizens Utility Board intervenes on behalf of consumers in those rate increase cases Bob jenx the board's executive director says they're trying to get the commission to consider the impacts on utility customers when deciding how much those rates can go up there's a series of things the commission can do in our mind uh to lower these increases uh uh in in that that will m
ake a big difference to to customers things like staggering the increase over a longer period of time or delaying the effective date till after the winter when costs are high in some cases the commission can decide to keep a company's profit margins low to mitigate consumer costs the Public Utility Commission wasn't available for an interview in a written statement it says in part Puck's legal mandate is to set just and reasonable rates that reflect utility operation costs and the opportunity fo
r fair return on Capital Investments Janks says considering cost to Consumer is just and reasonable and so we're going to be proposing that the commission essentially establish sort of Standards where if the rate hike is above a certain level uh the commission will then take mitigation actions he says if the commission doesn't take them up on the proposal they will talk to lawmakers about it ahead of next year's legislative session I'm Christina jelli reporting the center for biological diversit
y sent a warning to the US Forest Service on Monday to better protect Coastal Martins or prepare for a lawsuit the 60-day notice of intent States the agency is in violation of The Endangered Species Act in their management of Oregan Dunes National Recreation Area and the use of off-road vehicles on the dunes which pose a threat to Coastal markets the center says the vehicles destroy the Martin's habitat and with only a few hundred left it's the forest service's obligation to take immediate actio
n in mitigating threats to the animal the Martins weren't listed until 2020 and since then the forest service hasn't done anything to assess the impacts of off-road vehicles on Martins in the ways that they're supposed to Under The Endangered Species Act they issue special use permits for these large off-road vehicle events that tear through Martin habitat now the forest service declined to comment on the possible litigation but said in a statement quote the forest service coordinates with vario
us agencies to protect sensitive species and keep visitors from impacting certain areas efforts are currently underway to determine best practices and preserve and maintain the ecosystem unquote the center for biological diversity a national nonprofit also plans to file a lawsuit against the US fish and wildlife service regarding Coastal Martins and the deadline to remove your studded tires is this Sunday if you're caught with them on your vehicle after Sunday it's a $165 fine studded tires caus
e more than $8 million in damaged to State highways each year according to a 2014 study they're allowed between November 1st and the end of March each year however Oregon Department of Transportation says it's better to use other options like Traction tires or chains happening this weekend with Lan's Mega hunt at Lively Park is back this Saturday people of all ages are and abilities are invited to a day of fun and egg hunting in Springfield there will be competitive egg hunts and an Adaptive hun
t that is wheelchair accessible anyone participating in those hunts needs to register online ahead of time the cost is $6 for residents of the waman Park and Recreation district and $8 for those who live outside the district you can sign up online at waman org now there's also egg hunts for toddlers ages one year or younger starting at 9:30 a.m. with no registration required food and drinks will be available as well as activities music train rides and more well it is the fourth annual grilled ch
eese and thank you 2024 prepare to be amazed by mouthwatering Creations plus you can fill out your passport by heading to the 14 restaurants in Roseberg southernland Glide and Myrtle Creek which are offering their unique take on the classic grilled cheese each sale of a grilled cheese item from the participating businesses this month will result in $2 being donated to feeding Umpqua a program of the United Community Action Network nbc16 and Keller Lumber are proud sponsors of cheese and thank yo
u 2024 head out before the end of the week for some mouthwatering goodness
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