Gas prices in Oregon have dropped 2-cents to $3.77 a gallon. Marie Dodds, with the Triple-A, says diesel hasn't changed much. Prices aren't expected to change much. While the price of crude oil has increased recently.  Refineries are producing the cheaper winter blends of gas which off set the higher oil prices.  Bend’s average this week is about $3.72.

The Oregon Attorney General’s Office gets a lot of complaints about chimney sweeps this time of year. Tony Green says beware of door-to-door sales offers. You should also get a written quote...and check the company out on the Oregon Contractors Board website for complaints. And if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Oregon City faith healers Dale and Shannon Hickman will learn their fate Monday when they're sentenced for praying instead of taking their dying newborn to a doctor.   Defense attorney John Henry Hingsen the Third says the judge has a lot of discretion in handing down the manslaughter sentence. Prosecutors are expected to ask for mandatory Measure 11 prison terms.

Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot have finished destroying tons of deadly mustard agent that was being stored at the eastern Oregon facility.  Michael Fletcher says the igloos where the agent was stored will be destroyed piece-by-piece.  That project will take another three-and-a-half years.

Republican Presidential candidates will hold a debate in Portland March 19th. Allen Alley, Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, says the format is tight, limiting candidates to two minutes per question and follow up. Alley says it'll happen the week after super Tuesday and there should only be two or three Republican candidates remaining. The 90 minute debate is being organized by Public Broadcasting and the Washington Times.

Mayor Sam Adams insists he is not giving special treatment to Occupy Portland. He was asked if white supremacist or anti-gay groups would be allowed to illegally camp in city parks. And he said he would not discriminate even if he disagreed with the message. Adams shows no signs of making the group move anytime soon... saying the location has advantages such as a lack of nearby homes or businesses.

The Oregon State Police have had some retirements and will now be exclusively using an electronic recruiting system.  Trooper Scott Hite says over the next year they will be adding 30 to 45 new troopers and veterans may qualify for preference points. You can start the application process at OSPtrooper.com.

Oregon’s economy remains stuck in neutral as the State's jobless rate for September is exactly the same as the month before. Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks says about 1.6 million people have jobs in Oregon; a number that's held steady since last March.

Gas prices are on the rise again...the national average increased 7-cents over the last week to 3-46. The west coast states lead the rest of the continental U.S.  Triple-A's Marie Dodds says prices are up because crude oil is on the rise. The price is diesel in Oregon is again above 4-dollars a gallon at 4-02. Bend’s average is about 3-72 this week.

Oregon credit unions are reporting a surge in membership.  The industry's Rick Metzger says consumers are discovering they're right here at home. He says the Clackamas Federal Credit Union saw a 25 per cent jump in membership in the last two weeks. He says that may be because there are no fees on credit union debit cards.

The Pacific Northwest saved 254-megawatts of power last year through energy efficiency improvements; which is equivalent to the amount of power used by 153,000 homes.  Bill Bradbury,  with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council says several programs are offered by the Bonneville Power Authority and local utilities, including the program to use fluorescent light bulbs. The savings are worth $135-million in electricity.

Portland ranks 25th in the nation for best credit scores. The report by Experian looked at cities with the highest and lowest credit scores. Portland's average was 768.   Wausau, Wisconsin, came in number one with a credit score of 789. And another interesting fact: the average debt per person is also down 5% to nearly $25,000.

Another "Occupy" protest is cropping up in the northwest. Demonstrators will be gathering in Vancouver this weekend for what they say will be a peaceful movement of awareness. The “Occupy Vancouver” protest starts at noon at Esther Short Park. Organizers say they started planning after seeing thousands of people turn out for Occupy Portland. The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread across the country in four weeks with demonstrations in several major cities.

A lot of people file for unemployment benefits online in Oregon. But phone lines to the three insurance centers were still jammed. Craig Spivey with the Oregon Employment Department says they have a new phone number they're hoping will reduce wait times. People living in Portland, Bend or Eugene are still encouraged to use the local numbers for each center. That number is 1-877-file-U-I.

A protest that started and grew on Wall Street is now spreading to Oregon.  Occupy Wall Street demonstrations are heading to Portland. Organizers have planned an "Occupy Portland" event for Thursday.  It's expected to start at noon at Tom McCall Waterfront Park at Ankeny Plaza. Hundreds have protested in similar events across the country - they are fighting what they call "corporate greed" and social economic inequality in America.

We’ve had several home invasion cases in Central Oregon recently, and now in Portland, a home invasion lead to injuries for a Portland couple. Police say a man and woman were attacked last night when three men burst into their home on Northeast 102nd Avenue. Police were told the men were armed and all wearing masks.  It wasn't immediately clear how the homeowners were injured, but a police spokesman says their injuries are not life-threatening. The couple's 34-year old son was also home at the time but was not injured.

The University of Oregon index of Economic Indicators shows more signs the recovery is grinding to a halt,  as the index fell one point three percent in August.  Economist Tim Duy says it's looking an awful lot like the 2001 recession when it took the state much longer than the rest of the nation to recover.

Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson says, during his time as Sheriff, he's never experienced a situation quite like this; more than 230 arrests related to the longshoremen's dispute and members' efforts to recall him as sheriff. He said he cannot let the recall effort interfere with his job. The Sheriff says he's pleased that over the last 24 hours he's seen good examples of peaceful protests.

Governor John Kitzhaber has launched the Commission on Public Safety to review the corrections system in Oregon. It'll look at costs of convictions and sentencing; and also prevention efforts that save money in the long run. The Commission will generate proposals that will be considered by the Legislature.