Briefs
Legislator again proposes early release of terminally ill prisoners in Oregon
Oregon lawmakers will get a new look at a proposal to release elderly or sick prisoners who have terminal illnesses. State Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, told a legislative committee on Monday that he plans to reintroduce a bill that failed in the 2021 Legislature. It wasn’t ready, he acknowledged, adding that a work group has […]
Oregon state Sen. Chuck Thomsen to retire, clearing way for Rep. Daniel Bonham
State Sen. Chuck Thomsen, a Republican from Hood River, will end his decade-long legislative career next year, clearing the way for a younger Republican to seek his redrawn Senate seat. Thomsen and state Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, announced their plans in a joint statement Wednesday. They said they would campaign together for Bonham to […]
New Southern Oregon University president announced
Oregon’s fourth largest university and the state’s southern flagship has announced its next president. Richard Bailey, Jr., 51, will oversee Southern Oregon University in Ashland starting in January. He’ll be the university’s 14th president since its founding in 1872. He takes over from Linda Schott, who announced in April that she would retire by the […]
Audit: Education department has improved cyber security, but some gaps persist
The Oregon Department of Education’s IT office largely passed the state’s audit of its cybersecurity protocols in a report released Wednesday, but several persistent gaps remain since they were reviewed in 2019. The Education Department’s Office of Finance and Information Technology is tasked with supporting agency technology and creating web applications that help with programs […]
Oregon attorney general leads call to end Trump exemptions for religious schools
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and 18 other state attorney generals are seeking to eliminate Trump-era measures that relaxed anti-discrimination rules for religious schools. Three Oregon students are among the plaintiffs and one private university in Salem is intervening to defend the Trump rules. The attorney generals filed a brief in the U.S. District Court […]
Gov. Brown says Covid-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds can begin today
Gov. Kate Brown gave the go-ahead Wednesday for the vaccination of 5- to 11-year-olds against Covid-19. Her announcement follows approval from the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for younger children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, which includes immunization experts from […]
U.S. Senate committee advances Sams’ nomination for National Park Service director
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a voice vote Tuesday approved Charles F. Sams III’s nomination to lead the National Park Service. Sams, an Oregonian who would be the first enrolled tribal member to be NPS director, won the support of several Republicans on the committee. Ranking Republican John Barrasso […]
Oregon public employee unions file labor complaints over vaccine records gaffe
Unions representing more than 31,000 state employees filed six separate labor complaints against the state of Oregon on Thursday for wrongly providing individual employees’ vaccination statuses to two newspapers. Leading up to the Oct. 18 effective date for a Covid vaccination mandate for state employees, news organizations in the state requested agency-level vaccination and exemption […]
Emergency food benefits for Oregonians to continue in November
Most Oregonians who receive supplemental food aid will receive extra benefits in November. Nearly 400,000 households will receive about $63 million in emergency aid as part of ongoing pandemic relief from the federal government, according to the state Department of Human Services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has […]
USDA notes death of monkey at Legacy’s research institute
The Legacy Health Research Institute in Northeast Portland accidentally killed a monkey during a medical procedure, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report. The report, dated Sept. 23 and posted by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said that Legacy staff had informed the Institutional Animal Care and Use […]
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown receives Covid booster, urges Oregonians to get theirs
Oregonians should get Covid-19 booster shots as soon as they’re eligible, Gov. Kate Brown said after receiving her own shot at a Salem clinic Tuesday afternoon. Brown received a flu shot in her right arm and a dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine in her left arm. “I thought it was really important that I […]
Noxious weed warriors: Sign up for grant money now
Gardeners, if you think you’ve got a problem controlling dandelions, take note: Oregon watersheds, wildlife habitat and farm land are threatened by dozens of noxious weeds. Troublesome plants vary by region. In the northeast, Wallowa County has battled welted thistle that threaten alfalfa fields, while on the coast, Curry County is waging a war against […]