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Oregon attorney general joins Democratic peers calling for strategy to curb new plastic production
A plan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to curb the nation’s plastic pollution is drawing criticism from Democratic and Republican attorneys general, including Oregon’s Ellen Rosenblum. Currently in draft form, the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution sets out steps for ending plastic waste in oceans and U.S. waterways by 2040. Microplastics, about the […]
U.S. Department of Transportation invests in Oregon fish
The U.S. Department of Transportation is backing 26 projects to boost fish transit in Oregon that’s been stymied by poor road and dam infrastructure. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, six counties and the Coquille Indian Tribe will receive more than $19 million to get rid of barriers that have made it difficult for […]
Feds ask for public comment on two Oregon Coast sites slated for floating offshore wind farms
Two sites off the southern Oregon coast could soon be home to the state’s first floating offshore wind farms. But first, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will meet with residents and stakeholders in coastal towns, some of whom are concerned about impact to the fishing industry and marine ecosystems. Officials from the ocean […]
Oregon’s new education leader wants more, diverse teachers to get students caught up from COVID
Charlene Williams is about a month into the monumental job of leading a state education department in the wake of COVID. She’s recently moved into the same office as her predecessor, Colt Gill, whose tenure as director of the Oregon Department of Education was defined by the public health threat of a lifetime and the […]
Proposal for Oregon’s first large-scale solar park and farm meets opposition
A first-of-its kind proposal for a solar park and sheep ranch near Brownsville in the Willamette Valley is drawing both enthusiasm and ire from area residents and farmers. If the Muddy Creek Solar Facility is approved, it could provide emissions-free electricity to more than 30,000 homes while allowing land zoned for agriculture to be used […]
Last of western Oregon tribes reach agreement to hunt, fish on ancestral lands without state permit
Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde can now hunt and fish on a larger swath of their ancestral homelands without state permits. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-3 to enter into agreement Friday with the tribe that restores tribal members’ ability to hunt and fish for ceremony and subsistence in […]
Natural gas utility agrees to lower rate hike, curb new hookups after groups intervene
Customers of Oregon’s second largest natural gas utility are likely to be spared a potential 8% rate increase after environmental groups and the watchdog Oregon Citizens’ Utilities Board intervened. Groups including the Sierra Club, Climate Solutions and Earthjustice fought for months a request submitted by Avista to the state’s Public Utilities Commission to raise customer […]
Oregon cherry growers ask governor for disaster declaration after third bad season in a row
Oregon cherry growers are asking state leaders to help them with financial relief after a third bad season spurred by climate change. On July 31, Oregon House Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, asked Gov. Tina Kotek to declare a disaster for the growers. “In light of current circumstances and to provide the necessary support to […]
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 […]