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Clackamas County?s Four-Day Work Week and Sheriff?s YouTube Debut

One doesn?t think of Clackamas County, Oregon as being on the cutting edge, but sometimes ?.

1) Four-day work week: A lot of the country is watching how Clackamas County's one-year experiment with a four-day work week fares. For some (e.g. commuters), it?s a winner, but not for all:

Clackamas County government's four-day workweek draws protests, by Peter Zuckerman, The Oregonian, Thursday December 25, 2008:

Excerpt: ?Clackamas County's four-day workweek skirts state law and punishes the struggling real estate industry, according to critics of the county's new schedule.

Real estate professionals and others can no longer conduct business with the county recorder's office on Fridays, a popular closing day for buyers who want to move into their new homes over the weekend.

"They've taken out one of the busiest days of our workweek," said Brian Reynolds, vice president of Alpine Mortgage in Lake Oswego. "It has caused difficulty and strife in every aspect of our industry, which has already been hit hard."

A delay in recording real estate transactions can be a headache for homebuyers, critics contend, because until a deal is recorded, title companies typically won't issue title insurance, and banks generally won't issue loans. In addition, locks on mortgage rates commonly expire on Fridays, which means buyers who miss the deadline could have to pay a higher interest rate.

Several real estate agents questioned whether the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners' approval of a four-day week followed the spirit of state law. Oregon statutes require the clerk's office to be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except weekends and holidays.

In October, the commissioners got around the legal requirement by declaring a "fiscal emergency," based on declining revenue from real estate transactions?.? (read full article)

2) Also, the Clackamas County Sheriff?s Office goes YouTube with its law enforcement news:

Clackamas County Sheriff's Office posts videos on YouTube, by Rick Bella, The Oregonian
Thursday December 25, 2008:

Excerpt: ?The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is using a popular video-sharing Web site in hopes of catching criminals.

The sheriff's office has started its own YouTube page, where deputies are posting videos on open cases, as well as public service announcements.

"It's a Web site that many people already are familiar with," said Detective Jim Strovink, sheriff's spokesman. "We hope to use the site to present information that will be useful to the public and open a two-way dialog with our deputies."

The Web page opened for business earlier this month. Deputies have posted videos on the sheriff's department's Air Patrol and Domestic Violence Unit, along with videos on the county jail and boating safety. A video by Sheriff Craig Roberts announces that the sheriff's office is hiring?.? (read full article)

Full post as published by Oregon Legal Research on December 26, 2008 (boomark / email).