Briefs
Oregon rent increases will be capped at 10% in 2024
Landlords subject to Oregon’s rent control law can increase rents 10% in 2024, the Department of Administrative Services announced Tuesday. That’s the maximum allowed under a new law passed this year that sought to prevent most double-digit rent increases in years of high inflation. A 2019 law capped rent increases at 7% plus inflation, but […]
Idaho Department of Agriculture confirms invasive mussel species in Snake River near Twin Falls
The Idaho Department of Agriculture is asking the public to stay out of the water in the Centennial Waterfront Park area in Twin Falls as it has confirmed the presence of quagga mussel larvae in the Snake River. In a press release last week, the department said multiple samples of quagga mussel at larval life […]
Breese-Iverson stepping down as Oregon House GOP leader
House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson is stepping down as leader of the Republican caucus after almost two years. Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, announced her resignation Thursday, a few days before lawmakers return to the Capitol for the first time since the legislative session ended in June. She didn’t immediately return a call about the decision, but said […]
Oregon sues Fox News over false election claims, retirement fund losses
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is suing Fox Corporation, alleging that false claims about the 2020 election broadcast on Fox News caused losses to the state’s employee retirement funds. Rosenblum and Treasurer Tobias Read, who oversees state investment accounts, began investigating Fox and preparing for a lawsuit in June. Their suit, filed Tuesday in the […]
Teachers end strike at Vancouver’s Evergreen Public Schools
Around 23,000 public school students in the Vancouver area have headed back to classrooms after their teachers voted to ratify a new labor contract. Teachers at Evergreen Public Schools went on strike Aug. 30, the first day of scheduled classes for the school year, and were on strike for seven school days. Classes Monday were […]
Biden names Oregon magistrate to federal judge vacancy
A U.S. magistrate judge from Eugene is President Joe Biden’s pick for the state’s next district court judge. Biden included Mustafa Kasubhai, who in 2018 became the first Muslim American judge to serve on the federal bench, in his latest round of four nominees to district courts throughout the nation. Kasubhai, 53, still must be […]
Governor’s secret panel gets to work on prisons issues
Gov. Tina Kotek is taking her first major plunge into the problems at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility by convening an advisory panel to recommend ways to prevent abuse, trauma and retaliation among staff and inmates at Oregon’s only women’s prison. The advisory panel will meet for the first time Thursday – in secret. In August, […]
Federal officials will meet with Oregonians about controversial offshore wind energy projects
Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officials will meet with Oregonians concerned or curious about potential floating offshore wind energy projects following public and political outcry. Officials will host three in-person meetings in Gold Beach, Coos Bay and Brookings on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. The agency also doubled the public comment period from 30 […]
Third of Oregon counties now in a drought emergency
Twelve of 36 counties, covering half the land in Oregon, are in a state of emergency over drought, with local officials calling for help. Gov. Tina Kotek Wednesday declared the latest drought emergencies in Gilliam, Douglas and Lincoln counties, the 10th, and 12th such declarations of the year. The declarations follow requests for drought aid […]
Oregon regulators set 2024 rates for health insurance plans
The average Oregonian who buys health insurance on the individual marketplace will see costs increase 6.2% in 2024 after state regulators approved final rates. That’s a slightly smaller increase than last year’s 6.7%, but insurance rates for small businesses will increase slightly more than they did in 2023. The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation on […]
Oregon Attorney General Rosenblum asks Congress to protect children from artificial intelligence
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is leading a 50-state request for Congress to study how artificial intelligence can exploit children and pass laws to prevent those harms. Rosenblum on Tuesday released a letter asking Congress to appoint a commission to identify how artificial intelligence can harm children through the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse […]
Oregon Fish and Wildlife approves killing of wolves in eastern Oregon, angering conservationists
State fish and wildlife officials authorized the killing of six gray wolves in eastern Oregon during the past six weeks, bringing relief to ranchers who lost livestock to the wolves and heartache and anger to conservationists who see the killings as inhumane and ineffective. The six wolves were caught with foothold traps and then shot […]