Study finds psychiatric bed shortage: new research A report released Jan. 24 by the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit Treatment Advocacy Center shows a shortage of beds in Oregon for people who have been charged with a civil offense because they are a danger to themselves or others. provides national background on the subject. Oregon has fewer beds per capita for such patients than all but three states (Arkansas, Maryland, and Missouri, none of which offer any beds). Oregon has less than a quarter of the average number of beds in other states. That's because virtually all of the state's psychiatric beds are currently reserved for forensic patients who are convicted of insanity or who are deemed unable to assist in their own defense. In Oregon, civil offenders account for only 7% of the state's psychiatric beds, a much lower rate than the national average. The reality is even worse. Because it's harder to get court approval for civil commitments in Oregon than in other states, many potential committals in other states don't meet the legal standards here. The new report cites a 2023 study by Dr. Joe Bloom, professor emeritus of psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University, which found that states' failure to provide beds to civil offender patients led to worsening of their conditions. It is said that Bloom found that “ignorance of civil commitments may have contributed to Oregon's ability to withstand trial jeopardy.”
Portland Police Bureau faces wave of retirements: Mayor Ted Wheeler has long promised to hire more police officers. In September 2022, WW The city of Portland reported 791 police officers, ranking it 48th among the nation's 50 largest cities in police force per capita. Now, 16 months later, our aggressive recruiting efforts are showing modest results. There are still only 791 police officers in Portland, according to the Portland Police Bureau's January staffing report. But Wheeler spokesman Cody Bowman said the problem isn't that the department is failing to hire, but that so many officers are retiring. The department added 61 officers last year, but lost 72. “Mayor Wheeler would like to thank the Portland Police Bureau for its continued hiring efforts, which continue to be successful,” Bowman said. Capt. Brian Hughes outlined to city commissioners last November efforts including advertising in gyms and airport baggage claims, automated recruitment text messages and practice rounds on police training obstacle courses. Meanwhile, Hughes said the department is preparing for a new wave of retirements, with an additional 130 officers eligible to retire this November.
The city and county will utilize inclement weather shelters: Multnomah County set up more than a dozen severe weather shelters throughout the city as ice sheets froze over the city last week. But unlike in past years, the county accomplished this with little help from the city of Portland. That's because, under the terms of a Jan. 8 agreement between the two governments, the city will only staff the heating and cooling shelters if the county pays for the guards. The city of Portland will also no longer provide transportation for homeless Portland residents to warming shelters, but that will be up to the county to coordinate. That's not all. The city and county couldn't even agree last year on how to analyze a joint response to a 2022 winter snap that opened warming shelters across Portland. The county agreed to pay half of the $83,000 for an independent analysis, but stopped participating shortly after the consultants began work, said Cody Bowman, a spokesman for the mayor. In the end, he paid only $9,000. County spokeswoman Julia Komnes said otherwise. The city never billed the county for 50% of the contract amount, she said. The controversy echoed a report that found oversight of the shelter to be chaotic and poorly communicated. Response roles and responsibilities. ”
Snowpack strengthens due to outbreak in the Arctic: What a difference a week can make! Before last week's cold snap, snowfall in the Cascades was just over half of normal. After a week of snow, ice and freezing rain, snow water equivalent levels have exceeded 120% in the northern and central Oregon Cascades, according to snow sensors monitored by the National Water and Climate Center. Pete Parsons, chief meteorologist for the Oregon Department of Forestry, included this data in his monthly forecast for the next three months released on January 18th. “This winter has been kind of a big deal,” Parsons said in a video attached to the forecast. It took only nine days, from January 9th to 18th, to go from drought to surplus. Barring another known cold snap in the Arctic, the state will likely see less snow in the coming months, Parsons said. He makes predictions by looking at surface ocean temperatures, which determine much of the world's weather, and searching for past years with similar characteristics. A strong El Niño phenomenon is currently occurring. The trade winds, which blow from east to west, break down and warm water flows across the Pacific Ocean toward the west coast of South America. Typically, this means warmer temperatures and less precipitation in the Pacific Northwest. That will probably be the case for the next few months. “We'll probably start running into the red again,” Parsons said. “But it certainly contributed to this big surplus.” We may be getting another shock of arctic air, but our best ski days may be just around the corner.
