King County’s homeless housing program boosts health of participants. Oregon transportation department faces budget gap. Hanoi to ban gas-powered motorcycles in city center.
Health benefits of housing: After moving into hotels provided by King County, people experiencing homelessness in Seattle visited the emergency room less. Living indoors improved their health and reduced recurring infections. The county’s Health Through Housing program recouped some of its costs through savings in the health system. (Greg Kim | Seattle Times)
Oregon governor calls special session for transportation funding: Oregon Governor Tina Kotek delayed planned layoffs to ODOT staff and called for a special session to pass a road-funding bill. Past proposals to fund ODOT, which faces a $354 million budget gap, included raising the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon, increasing taxes on vehicle sales, and other revenue raisers. That proposal hit a wall at the end of the previous legislative session, leading to the current funding crisis. (Dirk VanderHart | Oregon Public Broadcasting)…