Posted: Sunday, April 5, 2009 12:00 am
Grange hall listing
THE STORY SO FAR: Locals hope to get the Willamette Grange hall, at Highway 99W and Greenberry Road, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The designation could bring grant funding for much-needed repairs and save the building.
THE LATEST: The application was approved at the state level and passed along to the National Register of Historic Places in March. On May 9, an open house is scheduled at the Grange hall, and visitors will be able to walk through.
Landlord-Tenant Law
THE STORY SO FAR: Legislation drafted by a coalition of property management and renter representatives would make several changes to the Oregon Landlord-Tenant Law. Senate Bill 771 would eliminate some fees that are currently allowed, including charging tenants for changing locks at move-in and assessing fees for delivering eviction warnings or for appearing in court in eviction proceedings. Those practices have drawn numerous complaints against "red door landlord" Kip Schoning of Corvallis. The bill would also require 60 days' notice, instead of 30, to evict renters who have been in a residence for a year or more. For landlords, the measure would clarify some issues regarding temporary occupancy agreements and the disposition of property belonging to deceased renters.
THE LATEST: Real estate interests asked for an exemption to the 60-day notice provision in cases where the property has been sold and the new owner intends to live there. The Senate Consumer Protection and Public Affairs Committee will hold a work session on the measure in Salem on Thursday. The work session will begin at 3 p.m. in Hearing Room B in the Capitol.
Stem cells
THE STORY SO FAR: Corvallis residents Mark and Jinger Cain are trying to raise $19,000 so their 4-year-old son, Dylan, can receive a stem cell infusion at the Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina. The stem cells were harvested from Dylan's own umbilical cord blood, which was saved at his birth and sent to a medical storage bank. Dylan is blind, has cerebral palsy and can't walk. His parents hope that the infused stem cells will help Dylan see better, or perhaps even walk.
THE LATEST: The Cains have learned that they will travel to North Carolina for the procedure on May 26. They will be there only a few days and the actual infusion will take about one hour.