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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An audit of the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicle Services Division released Wednesday found the department’s data system “works well” when it comes to managing fees and Oregonians’ data, but also discovered security and accessibility concerns.

The audit focused on the DMV’s data system — the Oregon License and Vehicle Registration system, or OLIVR — which was implemented in 2019 and helped expand the DMV’s online services. OLIVR is also responsible for maintaining personally identifiable information for millions of Oregonians, such as birth dates and home addresses.

Overall, the Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division said their findings were “largely positive,” and that OLIVR accurately collects and transfers Oregonians’ fees and data.

However, auditors also learned that the DMV should make improvements surrounding security and website accessibility.

According to the auditors, the DMV needs to improve how it manages employees’ access to OLIVR.

“The OLIVR application uses role-based access and has appropriate roles and separation of duties. However, user account management processes governing access to OLIVR are not sufficient to ensure DMV employees only have access to system functionality needed to perform their duties,” the auditors wrote.

Additionally, the DMV needs to improve passwords and conduct more regular security risk assessments of OLIVR, according to the auditors.

Officials also found one area that needs “significant” improvement: accessibility.

According to the audit, the DMV needs to improve accessibility to online services for people with disabilities and people who are not proficient in English.

Even though the DMV website has language translation services, the service portal itself does not and instead uses Google Translate in the web browser, officials said – noting Google Translate was not intuitive for DMV website users, was inconsistent across pages and didn’t work on mobile devices.

In a statement about the findings, Audits Director Kip Memmott said, “Oregonians should be reassured by the findings in this audit, and the DMV should be happy with the work that’s already been done to implement and secure OLIVR.” Memmott added, “They’ve established a good foundation, but now it’s time to build on it and further strengthen IT controls.”

Officials noted the audit did not assess how the system identifies voter registration records for automatic voter registration in the state amid calls in early October from Gov. Tina Kotek and Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade for an independent audit after the DMV mistakenly registered more than 1,500 people to vote who were ineligible.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, a data processing error at the DMV led to the ineligible registrations.

The DMV said these voters did not impact previous elections and will not impact the election in November.

Ramond Andrew Lawrence,33, was found guilty for the March 2023 murder of Teonjenique Elizabeth Lashay Hudson Howard, 24, on Wednesday

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man has been found guilty in the murder of a woman and two other charges stemming from a shooting at the Embassy Suites near the Portland International Airport in March of 2023, officials say.

A Multnomah County judge delivered the verdict against 33-year-old Ramond Andrew Lawrence on Wednesday. The charges related to the first-degree murder of 24-year-old Teonjenique Elizabeth Lashay Hudson Howard – also known as Titi.

Nineteen-year-old Adrian Daeshawn Granville was also killed in the shooting and that investigation is still ongoing, authorities say. Lawrence has not been charged in connection with Granville’s death.

A Port of Portland spokesperson told KOIN 6 News that two additional victims – including a hotel security guard – had been hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries that night.

Lawrence was also found guilty on charges of unlawful use of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm.

He is currently in custody in Multnomah County. His sentencing is scheduled for August 30.

The county seeks $50 million in damages and $1.5 billion in future damages.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A federal judge decided Tuesday that Multnomah County’s lawsuit against some of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world should resume in state court as the county seeks over $1 billion in damages from the deadly heat dome in 2021.

United States District Judge Adrienne Nelson upheld a recommendation in April from Magistrate Judge Youlee You that the case belongs in the Oregon Circuit Court rather than falling under federal jurisdiction.

The county sees the move to the Oregon Circuit Court as a success — aiming to show that pollution from the companies’ fossil fuel products significantly contributed to and exacerbated the heat dome.

Multnomah County filed the lawsuit in 2023 against major players in the fossil fuel industry — including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, and ConocoPhillips — alleging fraud, public nuisance, negligence, and trespass.

The county claims the companies misrepresented the climate impacts of burning their fossil fuel products and aims to hold them accountable for the costs imposed on Multnomah County residents because of their “campaign of denial and deception.”

The fossil fuel companies tried to move the case to federal court “where they believe they have legal advantages,” Multnomah County said in a press release Tuesday.

“We look forward to the time when a jury will decide this case and deliver a resounding verdict,” said Jeffrey Simon, of Simon Greenstone & Panatier, co-counsel for Multnomah County. “That day will come, we hope soon, and we will be ready for it, no matter how long it takes. Justice demands it. We expect defendants to appeal the final decision to the Ninth Circuit because delay has been their chief tactic in climate litigation to date. For every day they tie us up with tenuous appeals, and avoid discovery while continuing to profit from their deception, justice remains delayed, and thereby denied.”

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson added, “Through this lawsuit, the County is holding the largest fossil fuel companies accountable for their contributions to human-caused climate pollution. We know that climate-induced weather events like the 2021 Heat Dome harm the residents of Multnomah County and cause real financial costs to our local government. The Court’s decision to hear this lawsuit in State Court validates our assertion that the case should be resolved here — it’s an important win for this community.”

Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips declined to comment. KOIN 6 News also reached out to Chevron. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

According to the county, Judge Nelson is the 12th federal district court judge to reject the fossil fuel companies’ arguments for the federal jurisdiction.

Since 2017, more than 25 other municipalities have filed similar lawsuits against the fossil fuel companies, Judge You wrote in the April 10 recommendation.

“By and large, though not exclusively, the plaintiffs have brought these suits in state court based on state law claims, primarily on the theory that the fossil fuel defendants failed to warn about the dangers of their products and are seeking damages for the impacts on public health and infrastructure wrought by climate change,” Judge You wrote.

Those cases were also remanded back to state courts, Multnomah County said.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A suspect was shot by police during an incident in Northeast Portland early Wednesday morning, authorities said.

According to Portland police, detectives from the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit were serving a search warrant at a home on Northeast 137th Avenue when the incident occurred.

During the incident between a man and the officers, the man was shot and taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The suspect’s condition is currently unknown and police said no officers were injured.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Portland police.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Keith Wilson wants to be the next Portland mayor. He’s also the one of the few candidates running for the office who’s not already on Portland City Council, despite having run in 2020.

An Oregon State University and University of Portland graduate, Wilson runs the trucking company Titan Freight Systems. He also founded the non-profit Shelter Portland, which aims to reduce unsheltered homelessness.

On this week’s Eye on Northwest Politics, Wilson gives his reasons for running for mayor, despite running a successful business and founding a relevant nonprofit.

He also discloses his views on Mayor Wheeler’s latest camping ban and defines the concept of ‘homeless courts,’ for which he is an advocate.

Further, since the repeal of Measure 110 takes effect Sept. 1, Wilson states what he feels needs to happen to get rid of open drug use on Portland streets and, from a business perspective, what is necessary to restore Downtown Portland.

With Portland city government changing drastically with the November election, Wilson also voices his opinion on the charter changes and how it affects his view of what the mayor has the power to accomplish.

Watch the full interview in the video above.

PSU and PPB said they are monitoring the situation.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland State University briefly issued a shelter-in-place order on campus late Friday night. 

The university initiated the shelter order at 9:38 p.m., according to a post by PSU on X. By 10: 12 p.m., the shelter-in-place order ended, PSU said in a follow-up post. However, they warned people to “Continue to avoid area in front of Hoffman Hall.”

KOIN 6 News reached out to PSU for comment. At 9:59 p.m., a spokesperson acknowledged that their Campus Public Safety Office was responding to an incident, with the assistance from the Portland Police Bureau, near the South Park Blocks area. However, they did not confirm whether or not the activity was protest-related at the time. 

However, after the shelter-in-place order ended, a PSU spokesperson confirmed to KOIN 6 News the following at 10:41 p.m.:

“There is an ongoing protest on campus that we are monitoring. At one point, there were concerns about violence which led us to issue a brief shelter in place. The environment has since calmed down and we have resumed monitoring.”

At 12:20 a.m. Saturday, a PPB spokesperson confirmed to KOIN 6 News that “PPB is assisting with monitoring a protest on campus,” but said they couldn’t share any further details. 

A KOIN 6 News videographer who captured footage of the ongoing situation as it was unfolding around 11 p.m. said police had gathered in riot gear and were standing by, watching a group of about 100 protesters dressed in black.

This is a developing story. KOIN 6 News will update this story if more information becomes available. 

A woman said he was swept away by an incoming tide

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Tillamook County Sheriff’s deputies recovered the body of a 54-year-old man from New Mexico after he was reported missing while clamming in Netarts Bay on Thursday, April 4.

A search began after a woman told authorities she had been with the man on a sandbar in the upper part of the bay near Whiskey Creek Road when the pair misjudged the incoming tide and decided to swim to safety.

“The woman made it to shore and turned around to look for the man, but could not see him. The last time she saw him he had water up to his neck. The man was also wearing waders. She immediately called 911,” according to the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office.

A search team looked for the man through Friday until they heard from a group of crabbers who said they saw a dead man partially in the water Saturday evening.

Officials said they found the man “lying prone in the sand …wearing waist-high waders, a zippered jacket, and yellow gloves.”

The exact cause of his death has yet to be determined.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

The camping ban stalled due to a lawsuit in 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland’s homeless daytime camping ban is going back to the drawing board less than a year after it passed the City Council, thanks to a proposal by Mayor Ted Wheeler on Thursday.

The mayor proposed new public camping regulations that he said will clarify the definition of camping as well as the reasons for prohibiting camping when a person does not have or declines “reasonable alternative shelter.”

Wheeler’s proposal also clarifies how camping cannot take place on public property and reduces criminal sanctions while replacing warnings with diversion tactics.

The ordinance to ban daytime camping was initially slated to go into effect in July 2023 but stalled after the Oregon Law Center sued the city in September on behalf of thousands of homeless residents – prompting a Multnomah County judge to issue an injunction in November that paused any enforcement until the end of the lawsuit.

As for the new proposal, City Attorney Robert Taylor said he expects it will hold up.

“The City Attorney’s Office believes these new proposed regulations would survive a legal challenge while providing the City the tools to change the status quo in Portland,” Taylor said.

Homeless advocates have said they are not surprised the ordinance has undergone legal setbacks while Multnomah County has roughly 2,000 shelter beds and an estimated 8,000 homeless residents.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Officials are investigating after a woman was found shot and killed and a truck was stolen from her property in Hockinson Saturday night, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).

Just before 7 p.m., CCSO deputies responded to a report of a woman found dead by her husband and two friends inside a home in the 18000 block of Northeast 119th Street, authorities say.

When deputies arrived on scene, they found the woman had died from apparent gunshot wounds.

Additionally, authorities say a 2001 black Ford F-150 with Washington license plates, “C73655Y” was reported stolen from the scene.

Officials say that if the truck is found, its occupants should be considered armed and dangerous. They encourage those with tips to not approach the vehicle and instead call 911.

The case is currently under investigation by the CCSO Major Crimes Unit.

No other information, including the identity of the victim or the circumstances of her death, has been released at this time.

This is a developing story. Stay with KOIN 6 News for updates.

The man pleaded guilty to several charges last year as part of a plea deal

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man was sentenced Thursday in Multnomah County court for the 2022 death of a passenger in another car resulting from a crash. 

Ayzaiah Walker, 25, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for the incident that occurred in January 2022 in which he was found to be driving recklessly and under the influence and caused the crash, which also injured the driver. 

As part of a plea deal, Walker pleaded guilty in November of last year to multiple charges, including criminally negligent homicide, for which he was sentenced to 90 months in prison. 

Walker also pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants, which each have concurrent sentences of 24 months and 60 days, respectively. He also received three years of post-prison supervision. 

The victim who died in the crash was identified as 40-year-old Beaverton resident Douglas J. Kereczman.

On the evening of Jan. 20, 2022, shortly after 11:30 p.m., two cars crashed at Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard and Southeast Holgate Boulevard. The Portland Police Bureau said the driver was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, while the car’s passenger — later identified as Kereczman — was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to officials, no one was inside the other vehicle when they arrived. Witnesses reportedly saw multiple people running away from the area before police were called.

After searching the area, two people were detained nearby and a third person returned to the scene in a different car and contacted police. Walker was booked on multiple charges that same night while the other two people were not arrested.

During the investigation of the crash that night, police said a completely different driver was also arrested and accused of driving while impaired after they allegedly went into the closed-off area and nearly hit an officer

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An international team of scientists, led by an Oregon State University researcher, made a key step towards removing harmful pesticides from groundwater.

The researchers identified a material called metal-organic framework, that can completely remove and break down glyphosate — which is found in herbicides such as Roundup, according to the study published in Nature Communications.

The research comes amid health concerns associated with the pesticide, which can increase the risk of respiratory issues and may pose risks for cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers tested four metal-organic frameworks, including one scientists call Sc-TBAPy.

“When exposed to light for just five minutes, Sc-TBAPy eliminated 100% of glyphosate in water,” said OSU researcher Kyriakos Stylianou. “In addition to its quicker adsorption and more efficient photodegradation of glyphosate compared to the other three TBAPy MOFs we looked at, it also degraded the glyphosate without producing a toxic acid, unlike the other three.”

Herbicides — including Roundup, which use glyphosate, or PMG — have been widely used on agricultural fields in the last 50 years and can seep into groundwater, the researchers explained.

“Glyphosate and other herbicides are commonly used to safeguard farms from weed infestations, but the persistence of glyphosate in the environment has been associated with potential health effects on various living organisms including humans,” Stylianou said. “Only a small percentage of the total amount of PMG applied is taken up by crops, and herbicides leaching into water channels are a primary cause of water pollution. That means it’s crucial to come up with innovative technologies and materials to combat this problem.”

According to the CDC, small amounts glyphosate can be found in food, and agricultural workers who use the pesticide for long periods of time may be more likely to develop respiratory issues.

Additionally, the pesticide’s cancer-causing potential is not fully understood, the CDC says.

The Environmental Protection Agency previously classified glyphosate as “not likely” to be cancer causing, while the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the pesticide as “probably” carcinogenic.

OSU researchers collaborated with scientists from Tiangong University in China, with funding from the National Science Foundation and OSU.