Lifeline Connections’ annual fundraising luncheon, “A Lifeline To Wellbeing,” will be held Thursday, September 25th, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Royal Oaks Country Club (8917 NE Fourth Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA). Supporters will hear inspiring stories of  recovery and resilience and learn about the vital services Lifeline Connections provides to help our community thrive. Tickets are $75 per person, and lunch is included.

Ticket purchases and donations support Lifeline Connections’ work in the community to provide life-saving care to individuals experiencing substance use and/or mental health conditions. Given federal and state funding cuts, Lifeline Connections must rely on support from the community now more than ever before. 

Lifeline Connections Board Chair, Brian Barry, shares: “If we are successful in reaching our fundraising goal, we will be able to replace the HVAC system in our Pregnant and Parenting Women’s program, which serves women with substance use conditions who are pregnant or have children under 6 years of age who stay with them during treatment.”

A Lifeline to Wellbeing will feature keynote speaker Jeff Hatch, an Ivy League graduate and retired NFL player, who will share his incredible journey of football injuries, relapse, federal charges, and his road to recovery. Other speakers include the Mayor of the City of Vancouver and the President & CEO of Lifeline Connections, Andrea Brooks, MSW, LSW.

“By joining us on September 25th, you are taking action to ensure behavioral health treatment and services are available to our community, especially to those at the greatest risk and most in need of a lifeline,” Lifeline Connections President & CEO, Andrea Brooks, emphasizes. “Please join us to learn the impact our mental health and substance use treatment programs have on our families and our community.”

Lifeline Connections is committed to raising awareness, eradicating stigma, and providing treatment for substance use and mental health conditions. In Washington State, 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition each year, and 1 in 20 will experience a serious mental health condition. In addition, over 82,000 youth aged 12-17 have been diagnosed with depression¹, and the number of annual opioid-related overdose deaths in Washington has nearly tripled since 2019.

Don’t miss this impactful, informative event! Register today to secure your seat: https://lifelineconnections.org/a-lifeline-to-wellbeing/

To sponsor the event or for more information, email: Development@lifelineconnections.org.

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¹https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/StateFactSheets/WashingtonStateFactSheet.pdf

²https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/washington-tracking-network-wtn/opioids#:~:text=Washington%20experienced%20a%20similar%20trend,2019%20to%201619%20in%202021.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Media hotline: 503-813-6018

Low water levels on Lewis River lead to additional boat ramp closure

ARIEL, Wash. (Sept. 11, 2025) Dry conditions across the Pacific Northwest continue to impact PacifiCorp's reservoirs on the Lewis River. Currently, water inflow to Swift, Yale, and Merwin reservoirs is about 66% of normal levels for this time of year. As a result, Merwin Reservoir will be drawn down to lower water levels.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates the operation of PacifiCorp’s reservoirs, requires the company to maintain minimum water flows downstream of Merwin Dam to protect and support federally listed fish species. With these requirements and under dry conditions, PacifiCorp has distributed available water between the three reservoirs.

To meet the September license flow requirement from Merwin Dam, and to maintain availability of the Swift Forest Camp boat ramp to support the replacement of a fish barrier, Merwin Reservoir will need to be drawn down to lower-than-normal elevations.

Because of the lower water levels, the Speelyai Park boat ramp will be closed beginning September 15, 2025. However, the Cresap Bay Park boat ramp will remain open and available through September 30, 2025, providing boaters with continued access to Merwin Reservoir.

Additionally, the Swift Forest Camp boat ramp will be closed starting September 30 to allow for the drawdown of Swift Reservoir in order to refill Merwin Reservoir. The Speelyai Park boat ramp will reopen as soon as the Merwin reservoir reaches an elevation of 227 feet.

We understand the inconvenience that the reservoir drawdowns and boat ramp closures may cause. PacifiCorp will notify the public of any changes from the above schedule should conditions change. 

Check the website to learn more about notifications regarding boat launch closures and other low water impacts.   

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About Pacific Power

Pacific Power provides safe and reliable electric service to more than 800,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. The company supplies customers with electricity from a diverse portfolio of generating plants including hydroelectric, natural gas, coal, wind, geothermal and solar resources. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with over two million customers in six western states. For more information, visit PacificPower.net.

Please see attached press release. 

EVENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  -- September 10, 2025
Contact: Dianne Danowski Smith or Jeff Cole, Oregon Bioscience Association
news@oregonbio.org | linkedin.com/company/oregon-bioscience-association

Spotlight -- on Workforce, Smart Bio Policy, and AI in Health and Bio -- Shines at Oregon Bio’s 2025 Conference and Innovation Showcase September 29 – 30

(PORTLAND, Ore. - September 8, 2025)  — Oregon’s bioscience ecosystem will converge this fall at Oregon Bio 2025, the annual Conference and Innovation Showcase, taking place Monday, Sept. 29, and Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus.

This year’s theme highlights how Oregon’s bioscience leaders are advancing innovation from lab to market while building a resilient workforce. The two-day program brings together industry executives, entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, and students to exchange insights, celebrate achievements, and foster collaborations shaping the future of biotech and life sciences in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, the renowned event centerpiece, the Innovation Showcase, is on par with its significant lineup of emerging researchers and startups.

“This custom-curated Oregon Bio event will feature a comprehensive and much anticipated scope of industry intel, resources and thought leadership; we’ll be hosting researchers, investors, strategists, operational and manufacturing experts, policy leaders and growth-minded bio professionals throughout this 2-day event,”  said Tim Brown, head of External Manufacturing Operations and Procurement at Vir Biotechnology Inc. and Oregon Bio’s Chair of the Board.

“This custom-curated Oregon Bio event will feature a comprehensive and much anticipated scope of industry intel, resources and thought leadership; we’ll be hosting researchers, investors, strategists, operational and manufacturing experts, policy leaders and growth-minded bio professionals throughout this 2-day event,”  said Tim Brown, head of External Manufacturing Operations and Procurement at Vir Biotechnology Inc. and Oregon Bio’s Chair of the Board.

“We are pulling in national and international bioscience and med tech pros and just as exciting, we’ll get to check out the emerging research and scientific collaboration through the Innovation Showcase,” said Liisa Bozinovic, Oregon Bio’s executive director. “Registration is now open; see our new event platform and start curating your conference.”

Conference Highlights:

• Thought leadership: Interface with Sophorn Cheang, Director of Business Oregon, and nationally recognized bioscience leaders
• Interplay: Discussion with state legislators around the intersection of advancing innovation through smart policy
• Federal insights: Presentations from national leaders at the National Institutes of Health
• Take-away tactics: Flash talks and breakout sessions covering workforce, discovery, funding, AI in healthcare, and more
• Call outs: Oregon’s bioscience excellence awards will honor the Bioscience Woman of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Legislator of the Year citing leading bio pros as well as networking at the well-known ‘Bio On’ reception
• Resourcing to get it done: Roundtables providing information on demand with tools, funding pathways and support
• Career integration: Navigating the Bioscience Job Market free session and networking opportunities throughout the events.

Innovation Showcase

The Innovation Showcase Pitch Challenge is a centerpiece of the conference, featuring Oregon and southwest Washington-based researchers and entrepreneurs competing in two tracks of Research and Startup Pitches. Industry experts will judge each entry and conference attendees will participate through votes in the People’s Choice category. Finalist presenters include:

Basic Research

• Arielle Isakharov, Ph.D. candidate, OHSU | Exploring Overlooked Neurons in the Retina
• Kenneth Riley, Jr., Ph.D. candidate, OHSU | Reconstruction of the Epigenetic Landscape from Fragmented DNA in Blood

Translational Research

• Danica Bojovic, Ph.D. candidate, Vollum Institute, OHSU | Vascular Dysfunction: Early Warning Sign for Dementia
• Maryam Sarlak, Ph.D. | Glucose Biosensor
• Tim Valuev, M.D. candidate, OHSU | Anatora: 3D Printing for Medical Education & Surgical Precision

Early-Stage Startups

• Danielle Benoit, Ph.D., Professor of Engineering, Knight Campus, UO and Co-founder, AsteriaRx | AsteriaRx: Musculoskeletal Healing Through Advanced Drug Delivery
• Daniel Gareau, Ph.D., Founder, SurgiVance | SurgiVance: Advanced Pathology for the Future of Medicine
• Nataliia Shchotkina, Ph.D., Post-doc Scholar, Knight Campus, UO | Next-Gen Tissue Repair Scaffolds for Affordable Regenerative Medicine

Later-Stage Startups

• Eduardo Ceballos, CEO, xBiologix | xBiologix: Color Biopsies in Clinics
• Linta Mustafa, MSc., CEO and Co-founder, Vitract | Gut Microbiome Genomics Platform for Precision Health
• Craig Stolarczyk, MBA, CEO and Co-founder, SynPlexity | Enabling High-Throughput Screening to Advance Biology

Registration and Venue

Venue: Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus, 17705 N.W. Springville Road, Portland, OR 97229. Parking is available on-site for $5/day. Registration includes both days of programming and the ever-popular “Bio On” networking event. Register now at www.oregonbio.org/oregon-bio-2025:

• Oregon Bio Members:  $200
• Non-Members (Industry/Academic):  $325
• Non-Member Service Partners: $425

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About Oregon Bioscience Association

The Oregon Bioscience Association is the unified voice for the local bioscience community, driving economic growth and impact of the life sciences sector across Oregon, southwest Washington, and the Pacific Northwest region.

Anchored in the mission of helping the medical device and health tech sectors grow, Oregon Bio offers members access to enterprise support, workforce and economic development, promotion of research collaborations, educational programs, leadership development, advocacy and networking.

The association’s leadership and work with national partners, including the BIO Innovation Organization (BIO), AdvaMed, and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, have helped elevate Oregon and southwest Washington’s life sciences footprint.  According to the 2025 Economic Impact Report, data show $21.2 billion in economic output, including $6.8 billion in income and 74,925 jobs for $2.1 billion in wages across a growing 1,995 business establishments. Oregon’s current share of NIH funding is $346 million its last fiscal year. This represents high growth in every category over more than two decades.

For more information about the Oregon Bioscience Association, please visit www.oregonbio.org. Connect with us on LinkedIn.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — PeaceHealth today announced the appointment of Imelda Dacones, MD, FACP, as president of care delivery and value. Following the promotion of Mike Dwyer to president of strategy and business value, Dr. Dacones joins the organization as part of a comprehensive senior leadership team realignment aimed at accelerating PeaceHealth’s three-year transformation strategy.

A long-time strategic partner to PeaceHealth, Dr. Dacones is a nationally recognized physician executive and healthcare leader with more than two decades of experience driving business and cultural transformation.

“In her new role, Dr. Dacones will help accelerate PeaceHealth’s bold journey to become a truly integrated health system that delivers a person-first, value-driven and highly trusted care and employment experience for all,” said Sarah Ness, PeaceHealth incoming president and CEO. “Dr. Dacones has a proven track record of driving strategic transformation and will help break down care delivery silos, streamline decision-making, elevate the caregiver experience and advance the performance excellence needed to shape the PeaceHealth of the future.”

Effective Sept. 15, Dr. Dacones will lead and evolve the full scope of PeaceHealth’s clinical operations with renewed emphasis on physicians and clinicians, care teams and care models, ensuring we deliver value with every care encounter. She will partner closely with Richard DeCarlo, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Michelle James, RN, senior vice president and chief quality, patient safety, risk and nursing officer, and other ambulatory, acute and shared services leaders to evolve PeaceHealth’s care delivery system.

“As a longstanding strategic partner to PeaceHealth, I am excited to now join this incredible organization from within,” said Dr. Dacones. “I am deeply committed to working alongside our physicians, clinicians and care teams to build on PeaceHealth’s legacy of healing and evolve our care delivery model to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.”

The first woman and first person of color to chair The Permanente Federation’s National Executive Council, Dr. Dacones has been widely recognized for her vision, including being named one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Minority Leaders and a “Most Admired CEO” honoree by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

PeaceHealth will announce additional leadership team updates in the coming weeks as part of its broader effort to accelerate progress to deliver a person-first, value-driven and highly trusted experience for all.

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a non-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, nearly 3,200 physicians and clinicians, more than 160 clinics and 9 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.

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Spokane, Washington – Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian has handed down sentences to three local gang leaders for their roles in facilitating the criminal activities of a national prison gang called “La Nuestra Familia” (NF).  Chief Judge Bastian sentenced Jacenir DaSilva of Moses Lake, Washington, to 120 months in federal prison on gun charges, Jesus Mirelez of Yakima, Washington, to 83 months in federal prison on gun charges, and Thomas Lee Weatherwax of Spokane, Washington, to 75 months in federal prison on money laundering and drug conspiracy charges, to be served after Weatherwax completes his current state prison sentence for Assault in the First Degree with a Deadly Weapon.  Each defendant will also be on federal supervised release for several years after serving his custodial sentence.

Evidence showed that NF is attempting to make a targeted push to bring their “hardcore” principles and teachings to Washington State.  NF doctrine dates back to the late 1960s and is encapsulated in multiple written documents, to include their own “constitution”.  The rules of this criminal organization are mandatory and non-negotiable.  NF leadership asserts they are engaged in this struggle for the betterment of Norteños – styled as “La Causa” or the “NF Movement”.  Many individuals who have left the gang stated that La Causa is a ruse as its just about making money to perpetuate the criminal organization, which does not hesitate to use violence to achieve their objectives.

This persistent prison gang is purposely targeting minors to recruit into the gang and then indoctrinates them into their myopic way of life.  These children are taught that if they are worthy Norteños, they will commit crimes and will end up in prison – so they need to follow the NF rules to be in “good standing” to comfortably serve their inevitable prison sentence.  To advance further, these children will “owe a body” to advance their lifelong “careers”. 

“These pervasive criminals intentionally seek out the next generation with the explicit goal of turning children into criminals (they call “soldiers”) with full knowledge that these children will be part of the gang for the rest of their lives, and commit crimes both inside and outside of prisons across the Nation to further a bill-of-goods they’ve been sold,” said Unit Chief Caitlin Baunsgard, the Assistant United States Attorney who handled this case.  “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington will not stand idly by and watch this happen.  We have and will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these predators.”

The court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearings in the case showed the following. 

Jacenir Amezcua DaSilva (gang name “Serio”)

DaSilva is the leader of the Moses Lake Norteño set Pancho Villa Loco (“PVL”).  In this leadership role, he passed along the radical teachings of NF and the importance of Norteño adherence to NF’s “14 Bonds,” which is NF’s mandatory code of conduct for Norteños.  He was also named the “channel” for Grant County by NF leadership, a highly prestigious position within NF’s hierarchy.  As “the channel”, DaSilva oversaw  Norteño and NF interests over all the Norteño sets in his geographic area.  He also facilitated any activities necessary to ensure the success of the continuation of the NF criminal enterprise, including moving money, hosting gang meetings, discussing matters of common interest with other Norteño sets, passing along messages to the “street,” and participating in NF internal “investigations” into misconduct – that is, actions taken counter to the gang’s interests.  Incarcerated Norteños would also reach out to DaSilva to pass along messages of Norteño import, which would include directing activities in “the streets.”  In DaSilva’s case, this included assisting in the issuance of a “kill on sight” order for an individual some members of NF believed to be an informant.

DaSilva was deeply vested in the continuation of the Norteño way of life.  He ran Norteño interests in Green Hill School, a juvenile detention facility that has become a “training ground” for the next generation of Norteño gang members whom the gang has indoctrinated into hardcore NF doctrines.  Multiple witnesses identified the Green Hill School as “Gladiator School” because of its large population of Sureño gang members – the sworn enemies of Norteños.  Norteño youth know that at Green Hill, they will have to fight every day – and if they survive, they will be considered worthy NF gladiators.  Some young Norteños have gone as far as committing new serious crimes with the specific intent to be sent to this juvenile facility.

Jesus Antonio Mirelez (gang name “Dizzy”)

Mirelez was previously sentenced in federal court for his unlawful possession of two firearms and high-capacity magazines in 2022.  Notably, one of the firearms Mirelez pled guilty to possessing in 2022 was linked by the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (“NIBIN”) — a national database that stores digital images of ballistic evidence, including fired bullets — to six separate shooting scenes in the Yakima Valley in 2022:

During the sentencing process in his 2022 case, he promised the Court he would not squander the opportunity to change his life.  However, once he had served his 2022 sentence and was released on federal supervision, Mirelez continued his criminal conduct without pause.  Only four months after being sentenced and promising change, he leaned into the radicalization of his Yakima-area Norteño gang set, La Raza (“LR”), and aligned them with the hard-core doctrine of NF.  He was also appointed to a leadership position in LR – as the official “channel”.  His penchant for victimizing the community also conducted.  A few months later, he was drunk and mistook a random citizen as a Sureño and attempted to harm the citizen and follow the citizen into his residence.  When he was rebuffed, he shot several rounds in the direction of the citizen’s residence.  About a month later, Mirelez did the same thing again, resulting in a drive-by shooting that ended in him crashing his car.  Both times, Mirelez ran from the police and threw away his firearms in locations where children could potentially find them, further endangering the community. 

Mirelez also assisted NF members with paying their mandatory NF taxes on profits of their illicit ventures.  He even enlisted his mother, Melissa Mirelez, to get word to the “streets” after his arrest about who he believed the informant in his case was – for the specific purpose of ensuring that the individual would be killed.

Thomas Lee Weatherwax (a/k/a “Wax”)

While serving a 57-year state sentence for Assault in the First Degree with a Deadly Weapon wherein he fired multiple rounds at multiple individuals he mistook for Surenos, Weatherwax continued to engage in criminal activity while inside the Washington State Penitentiary (“WSP”) in Walla Walla, Washington.  Weatherwax, a member of the Spokane area Norteño gang set “Red Boyz,” chose to further his Norteño career by engaging in a scheme to smuggle drugs into the WSP to sell to other inmates and then to launder those drug proceeds.  Weatherwax kept meticulous records of his inventory, his profits, and the “tax” payments that were made to NF.  As a result of his conduct and being a good soldier for the NF cause, he was promoted by NF leadership to a position of authority in 2023 as a member of the NF Regimental Security Department Council at the WSP (the “RSD”).  In that role, Weatherwax was one of three Norteño inmates in charge of overseeing NF interests and the success of the NF movement in all Washington Department of Corrections (“DOC”) facilities.  Weatherwax was appointed as the head the “finance” department.  As explained by NF leadership in a message sent and received via contraband cell phones:

In his leadership role, Weatherwax oversaw “day-to-day” tasks within WSP, as well as managing overall responsibilities over all Norteños inside Washington’s DOC programs.  Like a first-line supervisor in a mainstream business, Weatherwax managed his team (Norteños in the Delta Wing at WSP), and reported the team’s work to his NF supervisor: 

As a leader in WSP, Weatherwax was responsible for accounting for the controlled substances present in WSP to distribute to other inmates as well as for an accounting of the money owed to NF.  In addition, Weatherwax and his RSD cohorts were also in charge of big picture operations of Norteños in all Washington DOC prisons, which included discipline decisions that had been blessed by NF leadership.  For example, the RSD followed the directive to “remove” a Norteño named “Joker” from good standing in a Washington DOC facility based on his perceived rule transgressions.  Weatherwax then reported the order being carried out by way of a “filter” (a small secretive writing) to NF management.  Washington DOC confirmed that on March 19, 2024, “Joker” was beaten in prison by multiple Norteños until a non-lethal chemical irritant was deployed by guards.  Overall, Weatherwax played a crucial role in the ongoing success of NF’s continuing criminal enterprise and ability to launder drug proceeds in furtherance of their criminal mission.

United States Attorney Pete Serrano commented on the extreme danger posed by these gang members, “even removing these predators from our communities and putting them behind bars has not been enough to stop them from engaging in ongoing violent crimes and victimizing our communities”.  Serrano highlighted the collaborative efforts of law enforcement to investigate this new NF threat and hold those responsible accountable: “The conduct of NF members is unconscionable, but it will always be outmatched by the dedication and commitment of the US Attorney’s Office, ATF, BOP and our federal, state and tribal partnerships.  The significant sentences imposed in these cases reflects the lengths to which federal law enforcement will go to protect our communities from being preyed upon by dangerous gang members.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Blais highlighted the danger presented by NF: “These defendants and their criminal enterprise brought the blight of illegal guns, violence, and fear into our communities.  Dangerous gangs like La Nuestra Familia think they can take root in our cities and operate freely, threatening our citizens’ safety.  I am here with a clear and unwavering message: ATF and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to bring them and every single one of their co-conspirators to justice.”

This case is being investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) Violent Crime Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the United States Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”), Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”), the Yakima Police Department (“YPD”), and the Washington State Department of Corrections (“DOC”).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Caitlin Baunsgard and Benjamin Seal.  

1:24-CR-2027-SAB