Telemarketer complaints — The Oregon Department of Justice released its annual top-10 list of consumer complaints and, for the second consecutive year, more people griped about telemarketers than any other industry. The department said Wednesday it got 1,828 written complaints about telemarketers last year, with most saying they were contacted despite being on the Federal Do Not Call list. Debt collectors surged into second place on the list. Complaints against the industry increased 42 percent over the year before, when they ranked sixth. The increase is largely due to complaints filed by former customers of Hollywood Video, the defunct video rental chain. Consumers complained they were contacted by collectors claiming they owed money for overdue rentals.
Guilty plea over pot — A mixed-martial-arts trainer whose marijuana plants were detected by aerial surveillance has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell the drug. The Medford Mail Tribune reports that Robert Hisamoto entered his guilty plea this week in U.S. District Court in Medford. Federal documents say Drug Administration Enforcement agents spotted nearly 200 marijuana plants growing on a Central Point property that belonged to Hisamoto. The DEA found that Hisamoto was growing the plants under the guise of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and diverting the marijuana to the black market.
Town hall threats — State Sen. Ginny Burdick said she canceled a town hall meeting on gun control at Portland State University because her office has received thousands of hostile or threatening emails about anti-gun legislation. She told KATU she did not want to have the town hall crashed by disruptive and rude gun extremists. Burdick had initially said there was a scheduling conflict. She said the real reason for the cancellation was threats, after a video posted on YouTube showed she was at home at the time. She called police after seeing the video. The Portland Democrat said she will schedule other town hall meetings.
— From wire reports
