Briefs
Oregon Supreme Court denies request to enact gun control measure
The Oregon Supreme Court denied a request by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to allow Measure 114 to go into effect in a ruling on Thursday. The decision means legal challenges to the gun-control measure will move forward and all parts of the law will remain paused. In a press release Thursday, the state’s high court […]
Curry County commissioner Court Boice sworn into Oregon House
The Oregon House is full again after Court Boice, a Republican from Gold Beach, was sworn in Thursday morning. Oregon’s 1st House District, which includes Curry County and portions of Coos and Douglas counties, has been unrepresented for most of the past month, since former Rep. David Brock Smith was appointed to the state Senate. […]
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek visits DC for National Governors Association conference
Gov. Tina Kotek will be in Washington, D.C., through the weekend for a national conference and other meetings. Kotek plans to attend the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, a bipartisan group that meets twice a year with federal officials and business, academic and philanthropic leaders to discuss solutions to problems facing their states. […]
Willamette Valley butterfly once considered extinct is back in strong numbers
A butterfly native to the Willamette Valley and that was once thought to be extinct has returned in strong numbers. The Fender’s blue butterfly will move from the endangered to threatened species list under the federal Endangered Species Act on Feb. 13, federal officials said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement […]
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek shares details of $130 million homelessness spending plan
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is asking the state Legislature to quickly spend $130 million to build 600 shelter beds, keep 9,000 families housed and help 1,200 homeless people find shelter. Kotek released the details of her plan, which she first announced during her Jan. 9 inaugural address, in a statement late Thursday afternoon. Lawmakers who […]
Aluminum recycling facility pleads guilty, paying $550,000 for hazardous emissions
UPDATED: Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023 at 10 a.m. to include comment from U.S. Attorney’s Office. An Illinois-based company has pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Air Act at an aluminum-processing facility in The Dalles. Hydro Extrusion USA released hazardous smoke from the facility from July 2018 through June 2019, endangering employees and the nearby […]
Taxpayers have free options for filing 2022 income tax returns
Filing taxes can be costly, but it doesn’t need to be: There are free options. Oregon taxpayers who prepare their own returns and file want to file electronically have several options, according to the state Department of Revenue. They include services by AARP, United Way’s MyFreeTaxes program, MFS-CASH Oregon and the IRS that provide tax […]
Oregon launches new free hotline for abortion legal advice
The Oregon Department of Justice has launched a hotline to provide free legal advice to people with legal questions about abortions. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s Monday announcement came the day after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide until the court overturned the […]
Oregon’s attorney general focused on consumer privacy, labor trafficking, crime victims, ghost guns
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wants the Legislature to address consumer privacy, labor trafficking and sales of untraceable firearms this session. Rosenblum released on Tuesday her legislative agenda, which stems in part from task forces on consumer privacy and labor trafficking. Rosenblum also said she wants to ensure abortion rights in Oregon are preserved in […]
Oregon Republican representative accused of sexual abuse stripped of committees
Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield removed a freshman Republican state representative who’s under a restraining order from serving on committees. Since Nov. 7, Brian Stout, R-Columbia City, has been subject to a five-year order of protection from a former campaign volunteer who reported that he had sexually assaulted her and threatened her life. A Columbia […]
Oregon state Rep. David Brock Smith appointed to Senate seat
County commissioners in southern Oregon have tapped state Rep. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, to represent the area in the state Senate for the next two years. Brock Smith will finish the term of Dallas Heard, a senator and former head of the Oregon Republican Party who resigned Jan. 1. Heard said he needed to […]
Four Oregon districts get $20 million to hire school mental health staff
Three Oregon school districts and an education service district have received $20 million from the U.S. Department of Education to hire more mental health staff. The Douglas Education Service District, which serves 13 school districts in Douglas County in southwest Oregon, will get more than $6.8 million, the largest of the grants. Portland Public Schools, […]