KATU News @ 3:30: investigation into homeless shelter, hantavirus and Oregon & more

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]remains at three. 18 Americans who were on board are now being monitored in Georgia and Nebraska. That includes one person from Oregon. International health officials say there's no sign of a larger outbreak at this time. However, the virus incubation period is long.

[00:00:15]Thanks for joining us for K2 News Live at 3:30. I'm Ray Gazway. The Oregon Health Authority has not confirmed the identity of that Oregon resident in Nebraska. We have previously told you a doctor from Bend was on the ship and treating other patients as well. At this hour, it's unclear if this is the same person. The Oregon Health Authority did say all passengers returning to the US will be monitored for new symptoms for 42 days. No passengers have returned to Oregon at this time. They also say this type of haunt virus, the Andia strain, is found in South America, not in Oregon. Deputy Health Officer Dr. Terresa Everson with the Multma County Health Department joins us live to maybe calm some concerns out there. Thanks for joining us this afternoon. Thanks for having me.

[00:00:59]>> This is a rapidly changing situation that might have some feeling like it's another co pandemic. What is haunted virus and how does it spread?

[00:01:08]>> Hont virus is is a virus that's in the name. Uh and it is spread through a respiratory route similar to what we know about things like COVID or flu or respiratory sensitial virus. Uh it is different in in many many ways though beyond those two things being respiratory being respiratory and a virus. They don't have many similarities.

[00:01:27]How does this Andes strain compare to what we normally see maybe in Oregon?

[00:01:32]>> Yeah, I would start by saying we we don't see very much haunt virus in Oregon. The kind of haunt virus we have in Oregon. When we do have it is called the scene nomere virus. And in the past 33 years, we've had 31 cases. So we average less than one a year. And uh what we know about the kind that we have in Oregon, the scene nomere virus, is that it does not have the ability to pass from person to person, which is true for most haunt viruses. What's unique about this Andes virus, which is the one that we're looking at with the cruise ship outbreak, is that it does have at least some minimal capacity to travel via respiratory spread between people.

[00:02:06]>> How does this outbreak we're seeing right now compare to the corona virus?

[00:02:11]>> Uh it's quite different for a number of reasons. I would start by saying we've known about haunt virus for decades. Uh for about five decades, we've known about hivirus. We have an established test and established testing protocols and reporting pathways including within Oregon. It's a notifiable condition in Oregon. So any clinician or lab uh that is testing for haunt virus is required to notify public health. Um we also know that clinicians in parts of the state that are more likely to see haunt virus locally, rural parts of the state mostly um are aware of this risk in their areas and are aware of the symptoms to watch for and what to do if they suspect they're seeing a case for it. If people hear about a virus on a cruise ship, some of them might get a flashback to early 2020. How would you ease that concern for people who who might be concerned to hear this?

[00:02:57]>> Yeah, I mean, it's hard every time you hear about a new a new virus, uh, a new bacteria or something that's new to you.

[00:03:04]It's hard not to have those same feelings like we did in COVID and have this uh this feeling of, you know, we don't know what we're getting into because I haven't heard of this. It must be something new. But I just want to reassure people that it is something that we've known about in public health and in medicine for quite a long time.

[00:03:18]and we have a lot of uh established um protocols for what do we do and we're worried about that. But I also want to be really reassuring that we don't have that kind of haunt virus in Oregon. Uh and the only folks that should be worried at all right now are people who are on the cruise ship but have been notified that they had a confirmed exposure to somebody with honor, which is nobody in the state of Oregon right now.

[00:03:39]>> Dr. Terresa Everson, thank you so much for your time this afternoon.

[00:03:43]>> Thank you.

[00:03:44]Let's take a live look now at Washington DC where new at 3:30 we've learned the FDA commissioner Marty McCary is set to leave the Trump administration. The president reportedly signed off on a plan to fire McCary last week. He's come under intense scrutiny by Trump officials over his management of the health agency, including his resistance to approve the sale of fruit flavored ecigarettes. Pharmaceutical companies are also reportedly unhappy with his management of the drug approval process.

[00:04:11]Here's a live look at the city of Portland today. City councilors discussed how to move forward with this year's budget specifically for homeless services. That would include continued access to tens of millions of dollars for the city's largest homeless services provider, Urban Alchemy. A K2 investigation revealed dozens of complaints from shelter guests against the nonprofit staff. Counselors have been questioning whether continue funding it due to those findings in our report. K2 investigator Christine Jarnelli worked for months to bring those public records to light. and she's been tracking the fallout with city leaders from her investigation this week. She's live for us. Christina, counselors finally got a response from city administration about oversight of urban alchemy.

[00:04:51]>> Yeah, that's right. It was a letter.

[00:04:53]They got it around 6:30 last night. It actually came from shelter services and in it, shelter services outlines uh a new procedure for tracking complaints against shelter service providers. Uh for some context that that um new procedure starts May 1st and my investigation into Urban Alchemy aired last week on May 6th and shelter services has been aware of the contents of my investigation for months now.

[00:05:20]Under this new process, shelter services will take over receiving complaints instead of having the shelter provider like Urban Alchemy do that. Now, my investigation found that most of the complaints the city auditor's office received were sent back to Urban Alchemy's own grievance process.

[00:05:38]Christina, were counselors satisfied with that response they got.

[00:05:43]>> Uh, I would say that's maybe about a half half. We heard from some counselors who say they were satisfied with that, although they may want some more information, and other counselors were deeply unsatisfied as saying, for example, that this uh response did not address the complaints that already happened. So, it says what's going to happen moving forward, but it didn't look into uh what already happened with those complaints. It's not going to be investigating those uh from what we understand. So, they are very concerned about that. And there are a number of counselors uh counselors calling for an oversight hearing so that they can dig into that a little more. It's unclear what that might look like and what information they get from that. Also unclear how they're going to handle this current budget. it. They have to have those amendments in this week and it's unclear whether or not any of those amendments will pull funding from Urban Alchemy coming up at 5 and 6. So, I'll show you exactly what they had to say about this. So, for now, back to you guys.

[00:06:36]>> All right, Christina. Thank you so much.

[00:06:39]See you at 5:00.

[00:06:42]>> And before Christina's story airs tonight, we do want to hear from you.

[00:06:44]Point your phone at the QR code on your screen and tell us what do you think the city should do about the urban alchemy pro contract? End it. Keep it as it is.

[00:06:53]keep with more oversight or expand it.

[00:06:55]Right now, 78% of you are saying end it.

[00:06:58]K2 viewers continue to be fired up online about our investigation, including our update yesterday on the recent arrest of Urban Alchemy employees. This comment says, "Terminate the contract, ban the company from business in Oregon and hire someone else." Another alleges, quote, "They only got away with this because Portland's city leaders allowed it."

[00:07:16]Meanwhile, Urban Alchemy says in part, "We categorically deny the most serious allegations and maintain they have not seen any evidence of claims levied in Christina's original report." You can read their full statement right now on k2.com.

[00:07:30]Another live look at the city of Portland where tonight a handful of shelters and hundreds of shelter beds are on the chopping block. It's part of the city's effort to close a more than $170 million budget gap. The mayor proposed cutting about $16 million from the city's shelter services division.

[00:07:44]Tonight we're getting a better idea of what that could look like. K2's Dunv Verma joins us live from city hall where there was a meeting today. And Dunvy, the mayor determines how much to cut.

[00:07:52]Then the shelter services team decides what to cut.

[00:07:57]>> Exactly. So the mayor basically says that the budget cuts need to involve $16 million coming out of shelter services and then it's the city's shelter services department that decides how to soften the blow. That is how to implement those cuts in an efficient way that harms the least amount of people.

[00:08:13]The director of Portland Solutions, that is that wing that harnesses the shelter services, says they're in this position because of past reliance on one-time funding. Specifically, she says they're not receiving the same level of federal, state, metro, and county funding next year.

[00:08:28]Now, the mayor was not physically at that budget session. He did appear over video. What did he have to say?

[00:08:36]>> Yeah. So, he spoke really briefly and he didn't say a whole lot, but he simply explained his efforts to create overnight shelters in severe weather conditions, noting how hundreds of people have died in severe weather conditions and that they were able to avoid that with their prior push. Now, we've reached out to the mayor's office to see why he chose to make such great cuts to shelters in spite of previously championing them. And we'll let you know at 5:00 pm when we hear back, if we hear back. Reporting live in downtown Portland, Sunvy Verma, K2 News. Sunvy, thank you for that. Let's take another live look at Washington DC. Amid a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the first time in three years, Americans paychecks are no longer outpacing inflation. Inflation rose to an annual rate of 3.8% last month. It's the highest since May 2023. Impacts from the Iran war are sending prices higher, especially at the gas pump. I'm checking in now on current gas prices. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is now 450. In Washington, it's 577 and in Oregon, it is 533.

[00:09:41]Still ahead, I'm heading to the K2 newsroom to check in with our assignment desk on developing stories just posted on k2.com. An important update and deadline for the upcoming primary election. Why it impacts some Oregonians more than others. And a live look at Mo Center where in just a few hours the Portland fire hosts the New York Liberty tip off set for 7 o'clock tonight. And before we go, here's your Mackens auto body time saver traffic check. This is a live look at I 205 at Wamut Falls viewpoint. No major problems at this hour on 205. We'll be back after this.

[00:12:50]Welcome back to K News live at 3:30.

[00:12:53]This is a live look at the Columbia River Gorge. Nearly 10 years after the devastating Eagle Creek fire, fire officials worry this season could rival the most extreme years on record for heat and dryness in the Pacific Northwest. Starting Thursday, fire restrictions go into effect for all BLM lands in Oregon. Violators could face up to $100,000 in fines or imprisonment.

[00:13:14]Anyone responsible for starting a wildfire on federal lands could also be on the hook for the cost to put it out.

[00:13:20]Let's take a live look now at Asiggo Lake where a recreational use advisory was issued then lifted due to a possibly harmful algae bloom last year. New at 3:30, Oregon health and environmental agencies are starting their summer season checks of lakes and rivers for potentially hazardous toxins that can make people sick or pets sick as well.

[00:13:40]We typically see these blooms in parts of the Wamut River, which turns the water green. When in doubt, stay out. If all goes to plan, Mount Hood Ski Bowl hopes to kick off its summer season one month from today. This is a live look at Mount Hood. The resort is aiming for June 12th for opening days of its summer adventure park. Welcome back to K News Live at 3:30. Now we're in the newsroom.

[00:14:02]We'll check in with our assignment desk in just a moment about some of the big stories happening today. We're going to start with Dave Celeleski in our newsroom weather center to talk about the big weather story right now at 3:30.

[00:14:11]>> I saw the sun earlier and then I'm afraid I might have missed it.

[00:14:14]>> You've missed it.

[00:14:15]>> Yep. Yeah. Clouds have moved in.

[00:14:16]>> Clouds have moved in and two things are happening and we're keeping a very close eye on both of them. First of all, uh, beginning at 5:00 this afternoon in parts of the Gorge, the Columbia Basin, we have a wind advisory and high wind warnings going up. Uh, wind gust by this time tomorrow in parts of the basin and parts of the gorge could be approaching 45 to 55 mph. That's number one we're watching. And as you can also see some moisture here coming up out of the south combined with some very warm temperatures, we're seeing some development that could bring us a chance of some evening thunderstorms mainly over the Cascades and parts of central Oregon. We know it's been bone dry over there. So, we're going to be monitoring the possibility of lightning strikes that could be creating wildfires.

[00:14:55]>> And again, with these strong gusty winds, they'd be developing this evening and into tomorrow. If we do see a lightning strike that starts a small fire, it has the potential to expand very, very rapidly because the gusty winds.

[00:15:07]>> Other thing we're tracking right here is an approaching front.

[00:15:10]>> There are three things we're keeping an eye on right now. Number one, it's a very busy day. This frontal system comes on in tonight and with that it brings in much cooler air and also wetter conditions. So we will see some rain probably after midnight tonight going through much the first part of the day tomorrow then becoming showery. But the big change you're going to notice we're in the mid 80s right now. Right.

[00:15:31]Tomorrow it's going to be low to mid60s for daytime highs.

[00:15:34]>> How much rain are you thinking?

[00:15:35]>> Not a whole heck of a lot. No, it's it's we're talking uh maybe 2/10en of an inch of rain over the next 24 hours that scattered rain showers on and off the latter part of the week and things are all said and done between now and Friday. If we're lucky, we may get a half of an inch of rain. That's not going to help the wildfire situation out at all.

[00:15:52]>> Yeah, we'll keep an eye on that. Dave Celeles will thank you for that. All right, we're going to go to our assignment desk now. We have Zack Barnes tracking a lot of stories for us. What's been happening today? our assignment desk. If you haven't seen us do this with Zach or other team up here, they're really the entry point for a lot of stories. They get all the phone calls.

[00:16:08]Zach handles how many phone calls a day?

[00:16:10]>> Oh, geez. I don't know, man. But that's why we get the throne here.

[00:16:13]>> Exactly. You're a little higher up.

[00:16:15]>> Yeah, man.

[00:16:15]>> So, let's start with K2.com.

[00:16:17]>> Yeah. Well, actually, we're going to start with the Facebook page because you had Nita on earlier today. She was talking about the Urban Alchemy story, which is just so many twists and turns really at this point. So, first here on the Facebook page, you can find it here.

[00:16:27]You're going to click this link. Go here and vote on that poll. We want to hear from you. We've heard from city council.

[00:16:31]We want to hear from the viewers now.

[00:16:33]>> Um and also if you haven't been able to keep up all the twists and turns, we have fulllength videos on our YouTube page with everything Christina has covered. So you can catch yourself up if you're not sure what's going on in this saga.

[00:16:44]>> Yeah. So this tab has all the stories she's done uh really over the last week.

[00:16:48]It's all organized there for you on our YouTube page. But that question of the day, the big thing, the poll, that's how you the viewers can weigh in and we we check in on this throughout the newscast. So that's within that web story Zach was showing you. You can find that on k2.com. It's also posted on our Facebook page. Anytime you find that story, you'll find the link in there.

[00:17:05]>> Yeah, absolutely.

[00:17:05]>> We're also following some some really sad news out of the NBA.

[00:17:09]>> Yeah, really sad story. I I remember uh I remember Brandon Clark on those like Cory Kisser, Ruy Hachimra teams. They're pretty nasty. So, really sad story. Um we're hearing what the Blazers have to say about this. So, you can find that in our web piece here on K2.com. Summer wrote up a nice little piece. And also, we still don't know what happened. So, any updates on that story, you will find on K2.com. Uh, I want to break some news real quick. We just got into the newsroom, though. Jason Collins, the first LGBT, uh, NBA basketball player has just died as well. Oh my goodness.

[00:17:36]At 47. So, uh, another death just coming into the newsroom. We will probably have more on that in our newscast later, but yeah, Brandon Clark, a sad day in the NBA.

[00:17:44]>> Yeah, 29 years old. They still haven't said how he died. They they say he was found this morning, right? So, the Blazers are weighing in on that. We have that reaction on K2.com as well. Really quickly, >> yes, >> let's wrap this up with an election day reminder. People have their ballots. It should be uh should have been in your mailbox a while ago, but there's a deadline today.

[00:18:00]>> Today is the deadline to mail your ballot. So, get that in. I feel like Mailman is coming any moment now. You are at risk of not getting that in in time if you if you're mailing it. But, of course, there's those ballot drop boxes all over the metro area and and across the state. Uh so, you still have time for that. Um but yeah, I had the chance to work on our know your candidate segment this year. It was a really cool experience speaking to 17 different uh Republicans and Democrats running for governor because you know we're first amendment warriors here. Our first amendment warrior Steve Benham has been creating a profile for every single candidate. Um you can find it here on k2.com. We also have a YouTube page with every single fulllength interview all 17 people running here. Uh so yeah, find that there.

[00:18:42]>> Yeah, it's a great resource. Good work on that.

[00:18:44]>> Yeah, thank you sir.

[00:18:45]>> Thanks uh for hey catching up with the others.

[00:18:47]>> Absolutely man. Still to come on K2 News live at 3:30. A major fire at a park in Clark County now being investigated as arson. A look at the damage. And it's now been more than a 100 days since