Bulletin Daily Paper 03-26-15

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Serving Central Oregon since1903 $1

THURSDAY March 26,2015

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IN HEALTH:VETERANSSEEICINGPRIVATEHEALTHCAREFIND MOREFRUSTRATION, D1

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bendbulletin.com TODAY'S READERBOARD

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Healthy foods — olive oil, avocado, fruit smoothies: When too much of a good thing isn't good for your diet.O1

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POPULATION FIGURES • STORYON B1

DESCHUTESJAIL

Plus: What kidseat —A radical idea for getting kids to pick healthier foods at school: bring in a chef.A3

Timelineafter death: instant investigation to DA'saction

Slippery science — A company makesbottles that stuff doesn't get stuck in. It could be amoneysaver — and an Earth saver.A3

'Star Wars' sets — The latest haven for Islamic extremists: PlanetTatooine?AS

By Ciaire Withycombe The Bulletin

After Edwin Mays died in the

Lotto winnors —Balancing

Deschutes County jail the night

privacy and transparency.A4

of Dec. 14, the investigation be-

gan immediately. Under Oregon law, any death

And a Wed exclusive-

in a correctional facility must

Istheseafoodyoubuycaught by slaves? bendbulletin.cam/extras

be investigated. Bend Police and Deschutes County Sheriff's

I

deputies interviewed witnesses,

F

building an account of the incident, according to police reports of the incident released to The Bulletin on'111esday.

/',

EDITOR'SCHOICE

Mays, 31, died of a methamphetamine overdose in the book-

Fighting money in politicswith money

ing area of the jail, about four hours after Bend Police arrested him on suspicion of interfering with a police officer, menacing, giving false information to a police officer, possession of heroin

and a parole violation. Mays was in a holding cell in the jail when he became unresponsive after more than three hours of erratic behavior, according to video of the incident released by the De-

By Derek Willis New York Times News Service

Photos by Ryan Brennecke I The Bulletin

It isn't easy to reform the

Instructor Dan Smith, right, a patrol captain with the U.S. Forest Service, gets a closer look as Kenneth Worsteil, left, a Iaw enforcement officer with the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, points to a suspicious piece of material during a fire investigation class Tuesday afternoon south of Bend.

campaign finance system. Ask Lawrence Lessig, the

schutes County District Attorney'sOffice on Tuesday. SeeInquiry/A5

Harvard law professor who

lastyear

ANALYSIS raised $II

By Dylan J. Darling

A small shovel

million to elect candidates who favored restrictions on un-

The Bulletin

is used to re-

Figuring out what started a wildfire can be truly dirty work.

move the deiicate charred

limited contributions and

spending only to find he'd become the issue's latest Don Quixote. But he's back with a newplan, and other groups are trying new lines of attack, hoping to change the behavior of candidates and lawmakers through re-

"You've got to get dirty," U.S. Forest

China Hat Road for emphasis. "Just do

after scandals like Water-

and detectivesas part of a new class

gate, or when incumbents

for the Deschutes National Forest. About 20 people took the five-day

feel threatened by a new

tactic (Congress quickly requireddisclosureafter

class, said Kassidy Kern, Deschutes

so-called 527 committees ran TV ads in the 2000

came from the Bend Police Department, Bend Fire Department and De-

presidential primary sea-

schutes County Sheriff's Office, as

son). Most other attempts to

well as other national forests.

Congress for a specific bill. As an election issue, money in politics is rarely a top concern of voters. The impact of would-be reformersin 2014 bears that

sald.

forts to build support within

5+

ti.

By Ashley Haisey III The Washington Post

class.

Distracted driving contrib-

utes to 58 percent of automobile crashes involving teen drivers, according to an analysis of nearly 1,700 crash videos studied by the AAA Foundation for

Some of the most high-profile recent

act cause of the fire has not been an-

wildfires in the region required inves- nounced. The U.S. Forest Service and National Forest spokeswoman. They tigations. Smith led the investigation Oregon State Police are assisting.

"It really is to get more fire investigators in the field," she said. Smith said he personally investigates the cause of about a half-dozen fires each year. Around Central Oregon there are probably about 50 wildfires investigated each year by the ForestService and other agencies,he

changecampaign finance laws have been lengthy ef-

h

for the Deschutes,Ochoco and Fremont-Winema national forests, Smith

Campaign finance laws aren't usually changed until

matchbook as students coilect evidence during the fire investigation

l

the breast stroke through the stuff." The top law enforcement officer is a fire investigator with 17 years of experience. This week he's teaching his tricks and tactics to a mixed group of firefighters, police officers, deputies

wards and punishments.

remains of a

Service Patrol Capt. Dan Smith said Tuesday, diving into burnt grass off of

Teen drivers are distracted in most crashes

of the Pole Creek Fire, which burned

nearly 27,000 acres — about 40 square miles — near Sisters in 2012. He determined isolated lightning caused the blaze. The Oregon Department of Forestry continues to lead an ongoing investigation of the 6,908-acre Two

This week students in the fire inves-

tigation class showedhowpeople from different agencies can work together. Truly working shoulder to shoulder, the students scoured burned patches of forest, looking for evidence of what causedthefire.

Bulls Fire, which burned near Bend The same investigative techniques in Juneand prompted the evacuation work for little and big wildfires, Smith of close to 200 homes. While the fire said. "There is no difference between was probably human-caused, and the something that is this small or 10,000 Deschutes County Sheriffs Office acres," he said. has called it potential arson, the ex-

SeeWildfire/A5

Traffic Safety. That number is four times higher than previous estimates

that were based on police reports, the foundation said. "Access to crash videos has

allowed us to better understand the moments leading up to a vehicle impact in a way that was

previously impossible," said Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation. "The in-depth

analysis provides indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater per-

centage of crashes." See Distracted /A5

out. Lessig started Mayday, the super PAC to end super PACs, but it came up short

in its biggest races. The new plan for 2016 ditches spending millions on negative advertising in favor of trying to recruit citizens to lobby incumbents to support legislation changing the fundraising rules. Without the original idea of electing and defeating candidates, Mayday will need to refocus its

The missingpiece ondean energy: where to store it By Chris Megerian Los Angeles Times

FOLSOM, Calif. — On a quiet Sunday morning last April, power plants were pumping far more energyinto California's

energy: They asked wind and neededfortheirrefrigerators, solarplants to cutbacktheir microwaves and television sets. output. So officials made an odd For 90 minutes, dean energy

for hundreds of thousands of

request in a state that prides it-

production was slashed 1,142

self on leadership in renewable

megawatts, enough electricity

electricity grid than residents

homes, while dirtier power from less flexible sources

year, according to grid operators, and it highlights a hurdle for Gov. Jerry Brown's planto

stayed on to keep the system

increase the state's reliance on

stable. It was the largest curtailment of green energylast

renewable energy. SeeEnergy/A4

supporters on a longer timetable, because the numbers aren't there in Congress to

pass proposals the group supports (and most of the

TODAY'S WEATHER

support that exists comes

Mostly sunny

from Democrats). SeeMoney/A5

Page B6

High 71, Low41

The Bulletin

INDEX BusIness Calendar Classified

C5-6 Comics/Puzzles E3-4 Health 01-6 Obituaries B2 Crosswords E 4 H o roscope 06 S oI E1-6 Dear Abby D6 Lo cal/State B1-6 N'/Movies

B5 C1-4 D6

AnIndependent Newspaper

Vol. 113, No. 85,

30 pages, 5 sections

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tt/tr/ e use recyclednewsprint

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8 8 267 02329


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