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Billions spent on hatcheries, habitat fails to help native Columbia River salmon, study finds
Decades of data show that despite billions in taxpayer investment, salmon and steelhead hatchery programs and restoration projects in the Columbia River Basin have failed to support or boost native fish populations and in fact are contributing to their decline. Oregon State University economics professor William Jaeger and Mark Scheuerell, a biologist with the U.S. […]
Gov. Kotek signs into law measures to increase funding for schools
Oregon’s 197 school districts will have record funding this year to improve literacy and to pay for school operations. Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday signed into law seven new education initiatives, including the largest state school fund budget ever allocated, $140 million to improve student reading and writing and a host of other bills aimed […]
Governor signs new law regulating industrial animal farms
Updated at 10:34 p.m., July 31, 2023 with a response from Oregon Farm Bureau. Farmers planning to create or expand large confined animal farms will face new regulations in Oregon. Senate Bill 85 passed its final hurdle Monday with Gov. Tina Kotek signing it into law. It stems from years of advocacy by environmental and […]
No compliance issues with farmworker overtime law yet, but reporting could be delayed
HOOD RIVER – Guillermina Salguero and her husband have processed and packed cherries and pears in the Columbia River Gorge each of the last eight summers, taking jobs in both Washington and Oregon and sometimes putting in 70 hours a week. “Ten hours a day, seven days a week for about two months with no […]
Key vote on expanding gas pipeline in Oregon delayed after public, political pressure
Federal regulators delayed a key vote that would allow more natural gas to flow through Oregon, Idaho, Washington and to California following pressure from environmentalists and Oregon’s two U.S. senators. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was scheduled to vote Thursday morning on whether to approve the expansion of the Gas Transmission Northwest Express pipeline, or […]
West Coast gray whale population still declining, but signs of recovery begin to show
The number of Pacific gray whales that pass the Oregon Coast each year has declined for the seventh year in a row, scientists found, but the number of healthy mothers with calves is beginning to rise for the first time in five years, offering signs of hope for a recovery. The most recent count of […]
Portland gets federal funding to host one of 17 urban agriculture centers nationwide
Portland will be home to one of 17 new urban agriculture centers nationwide with a $1.5 million investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oregon’s new Urban Service Center will help urban farmers — defined by USDA as those who produce food and agricultural products in areas with a population of at least 50,000 — […]
Ocean colors changing due to climate change, study finds
Surface waters in more than half the world’s oceans have been changing color during the last two decades due to human-caused climate change, researchers found. The findings, published in the journal Nature, show that ecosystems supporting all kinds of microorganisms close to ocean surfaces are changing due to climate change. Those microorganisms, along with particles […]
Nearly 12,000 Oregonians will have more than half a billion in college debt wiped out
Nearly 12,000 Oregonians who have been making payments on their federal student loans for at least 20 years will soon find their balances wiped out. The U.S. Department of Education notified qualifying borrowers July 14 that by Aug. 14 they should have no remaining balance. The agency will clear nearly $573 million currently owed by […]
Schools, community groups struggle to meet demand for summer learning without state funds
School districts hoping to use the summer months to catch students up before fall have been left by the state Legislature to do less with less, officials said. For the past two years, Oregon school districts and community-based organizations such as the YMCA and Boys & Girls Club have received millions in public funding for […]
Oregon dairy pleads guilty to federal charges for 2019 illegal manure dump into river
UPDATED AT 12:38 p.m., July 20, 2023 with a response from Noble Family Farm’s lawyer Owners of a farm and dairy in southern Oregon previously fined by the state for allowing cow manure to flow into the Applegate River has pleaded guilty to federal charges. Noble Family Dairy, about 13 miles southeast of Grants Pass, […]
Oregon joins West Coast states seeking millions to create zero-emission truck fueling network
Two years ago, Oregon joined California and Washington in requiring school bus, delivery van, garbage truck and semi-truck manufacturers to begin offering more zero-emission vehicles fueled by electricity and hydrogen. Now, the three states are joining together with a plan to power them on drives on the West Coast. The Oregon Department of Transportation and […]