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• July 12, 2011 50¢
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 www.bendbulletin.com
DA hires 2 prosecutors, from the one of whom he’d fired start
Crime ring suspected as credit card fraud hits Bend
A star
By Nick Grube
2011 MLB All-Star
Deschutes County District Attorney Patrick Flaherty announced Monday he was appointing two new prosecutors to his office, including one he fired just over six months ago. In a news release, Flaherty said he was hiring former deputy district attorney Mary Anderson and Bend-based attorney Lillah McBride, both of whom are expected to begin in August. Presumably, the hires are at least part of a plan to fill the void left by attorneys Traci Anderson and Pat Hor-
Jacoby Ellsbury as a Little Leaguer
By Rachael Rees The Bulletin
The Bend Police Department is investigating fraudulent credit card charges made in targeted cities around the nation that are using Oregonians’ information. “We’ve noticed an increase of credit and debit card theft,” Bend Police Sgt. Dan Richie said. “Within the last two weeks we’ve seen dozens.” Officials are looking for similarities among the cases. “We’re investigating to see how these numbers are being compromised,” Richie said. “It’s possible that it’s occurring electronically.” He said it appears a crime ring is involved. Advancements in technology create sophisticated crooks, making law enforcement investigations more challenging. “We’re in ‘cyberworld’ now,” Richie said. “A lot of these criminals are doing their work at home behind the keyboard. People can hide behind technology.” Criminals can breach the data through skimming devices attached to gas pumps, ATMs or store registers at the point of sale. Information can also be tapped via online purchases. Once the information is obtained, it is transferred onto a new card that is used for fraudulent purchases. Britney Sheehan, media relations manager for Bank of America, recommends customers be vigilant about monitoring their account activity and quickly report fraudulent charges. Linda Navarro, president and CEO of the Oregon Bankers Association, said there are billions of dollars a year in losses associated with debit and credit card fraud. “A large percentage of this cost is picked up by banks.”
The Bulletin
SPORTS, D1
ton, Flaherty’s top two deputies who unexpectedly resigned last month after less than six months on the job. Flaherty’s announcement comes less than a week after three other deputy district attorneys he fired asked for their jobs back. In exchange for that, they were offering to reduce the amount of money they were seeking in a $22.5 million lawsuit against Flaherty and the county. It’s unclear how the new hires will affect this proposal. The attorneys representing the three former prosecutors were unavailable for
comment after Flaherty’s afternoon announcement. But in interviews earlier Monday, both attorneys noted that even if their clients were reinstated, the lawsuit would not be dismissed. “If they were hired back, their damages would go away, at least a large part of their damages,” said Portlandbased attorney Jody Schneider, who represents one of the three former prosecutors. “It would be a fabulous solution, but we haven’t heard anything yet.” See Prosecutors / A5
Curb ramp push: 200 this year Bend’s 2014 deadline looms, and with money tight, meeting it is looking more unlikely Bend’s curb ramps 2001 • Four Bend residents file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice that Bend isn’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
2004 • A settlement caps a DOJ investigation, giving Bend 10 years to fix buildings, sidewalks and curb ramps.
2007 • City engineers find that many curb ramps don’t meet ADA requirements. Layoffs put some of the survey work on hold, and cut short the city’s outreach and education programs.
2009 • February: Facing a tight budget, Bend considers renegotiating its settlement with the DOJ in hopes of getting an extension. • October: The city submits a new, scaled-back plan to the DOJ that calls for building or fixing 600 to 700 curb ramps by 2011.
Rachael Rees can be reached at 541-617-7818 or at rrees@bendbulletin.com.
Preventing theft • Put safeguards on your credit/ debit cards through your bank. • Check bank statements regularly. • Use online banking to monitor activity. • Keep receipts and check them against statements. • Use cash at stores that have been recently targeted. • Don’t hand your friend a card or give out PINs. • If you are going to a restaurant or bar, you have the right to go with the server to run the card to make sure the information is not being written down. • Get a separate card and checking account for online purchases. • Know with whom you are doing business and keep your information with your account number private. • Notify the bank immediately if a fraudulent charge is made.
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2010 Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
City of Bend employee Ty Combs uses a smoothing tool to cut the outline of a foot pad while working with a crew to build a curb at the roundabout at Mt. Washington and Century drives in Bend on Monday.
By Sheila G. Miller The Bulletin
The summer construction season is in full swing, but in Bend much of the action is beside the road, not in it. The city hopes to rebuild as many as 200 sidewalk curb ramps before the year is out, part of a push to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Bend is under a federal order to bring all curb ramps into ADA compliance. The U.S. Department of Justice made that rul-
ing in 2004, ordering the curb ramp redo to be completed by 2014. The ruling stemmed from a 2001 compliant by four Bend residents, who said the city’s buildings, curb ramps and sidewalks did not meet ADA standards. The city has completed work on the buildings. But with 6,000 curb ramps in Bend, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Bend Street Division Manager Hardy Hanson said most of the curb ramps cur-
rently being redone are between 6 and 8 years old. Since the start of construction season, the city has fixed between 80 and 90 curb ramps. Hanson anticipates construction will be completed on 200 of them before winter. “We’ve done a lot of sidewalk work,” he said. “They’ve been bigger projects. One ramp is not exactly like another ramp. We’ve poured a lot more cement than last year.” See Ramps / A5
• March: The DOJ denies the city’s alternate plan, citing issues with the 2011 deadline and the fact that city officials didn’t know how many ramps need to be upgraded. • September: City officials complete an inventory of noncompliant curb ramps, finding nearly 90 percent not in compliance.
2014 • The city’s current deadline to fix all of its buildings, sidewalks, parking spaces and curb ramps.
Severe drought spreads its pain across 14 states By Kim Severson and Kirk Johnson New York Times News Service
COLQUITT, Ga. — The heat and the drought are so bad in this southwest corner of Georgia that hogs can
barely eat. Corn, a lucrative crop with a notorious thirst, is burning up in fields. Cotton plants are too weak to punch through soil so dry it might as well be pavement.
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 108, No. 193, 42 pages, 7 sections
Farmers with the money and equipment to irrigate are running wells dry in the unseasonably early and particularly brutal national drought that some say could rival the Dust Bowl days.
INDEX Abby
E2
Business
B1-6
Calendar
E3
Crosswords E5,G2
Movies
E3
Stocks
Comics
Editorial
Obituaries
C5
TV listings
E2
Weather
C6
Community E1-6
Local
C4 C1-6
• Refugees have few options in parched East Africa, Page A4
TOP NEWS INSIDE
Classified G1-6 E4-5
“It’s horrible so far,” said Mike Newberry, a Georgia farmer who is trying grow cotton, corn and peanuts on 1,000 acres. See Drought / A4
Inside
Sports
D1-6
B4-5
BRITAIN: Murdoch papers under more fire, Page A3 DEBT: Budget talks turn testy, Page A3