Oregon’s People
Salinas urges Congress to support rights for transgender people
U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas is calling on Congress and other state governments to follow Oregon’s lead supporting transgender people as the state seeks to expand access to gender-affirming care. In a short speech on the House floor Friday morning, Salinas, a Democrat, criticized “dangerous rhetoric” about trans people in Congress and across the country. The […]
Kotek names new chair to help steer liquor control commission away from scandal
Gov. Tina Kotek has chosen the new chairman of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, which is under investigation for corruption. Marvin Révoal, who has served on the board for nine years, assumed the role Friday. He is currently vice president of business development for Wilson Heirgood Associates insurance and previously worked 30 years at […]
Young people are speaking up in the state Legislature. Are adults listening?
Nearly half of the first state Senate committee on energy and environment meeting this session was spent listening to testimony from eight people – all of them in their teens or early 20s. An eighth grader spoke about the negative impacts of the meat industry on human health and the environment. A high schooler spoke […]
His grandmother was forbidden to speak Lingít in school. Now, school is helping him reclaim it.
The class assignment was to write a letter to anyone they wanted. In Lingít. Eechdaa Dave Ketah chose his late grandmother, the person who spoke Lingít to him when he was growing up in Ketchikan. “And I was telling her that it’s hard learning the language at this point in my life, and one thing […]
Decades after lobbying for Oregon Farm Bureau, Greg Addington returns to lead it
One of Greg Addington’s first jobs out of college involved driving around the state talking with farmers and ranchers on behalf of the Oregon Farm Bureau. Now, nearly 30 years later, he’s returned to lead it. In November, Addington, 53, began his new job as executive director of the state’s largest agricultural advocacy and lobbying […]
Oregon teen’s activism could lead to lower voting age
A 15-year-old’s political activism could result in Oregon legislators considering lowering the state voting age to 16. Devon Lawson-McCourt, a sophomore at McKenzie River Community School in Blue River, has volunteered for political campaigns since fifth grade but is still several years away from being allowed to vote. Lawson-McCourt recently secured a promise from Rep. […]
Decisions made last year will play out in Oregon in 2023
This year, the state will learn what how the decisions made in 2022 will look like in practice. This is likely to be most obvious in the political and governmental sphere. Oregon elected a new governor and three new members of Congress in November, but that is the beginning of the story, not the end. […]
Oregon Gov-elect Kotek hears about housing, health, education needs on first tour stop
McMINNVILLE– Gov.-elect Tina Kotek launched a 36-county listening tour in Yamhill County on Wednesday, hearing from leaders at a community clinic, preschool and local government office that they need money, trained workers and more homes. Kotek’s visit to McMinnville was the first of a planned statewide tour over the next year, focused on improving the […]
Senate bids farewell to Peter Courtney, longest-serving president in Oregon history
Peter Courtney had one final message for his colleagues as he presided over his final Senate session Friday: Care for each other. The Senate’s stated reason for convening Friday was confirming two appointees to state boards, but the session’s true purpose was saying goodbye to Courtney, the eccentric Salemite whose 20 years as Senate president […]
Construction cancels annual Oregon Capitol Christmas celebration
Most years, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving means a grand party at the Oregon Capitol, with Santa Claus, other dignitaries, visiting choirs, free cookies and a 30-foot tree. But this year, an ongoing construction project did what even COVID couldn’t do: Cancel Holidays at the Capitol. The tradition, which began in the early 1980s, is on […]
Oregon Legislature’s racial diversity continues to grow after 2022 election
The Oregon Legislature will again have a record number of people of color next year after voters elected five Vietnamese-Americans and a second Indigenous woman. In January 2021, there were 13 people of color in the Legislature. That number will rise to 19 this year, and lawmakers celebrated the step toward greater diversity while acknowledging […]
Betsy Johnson attracted voters in regions where she has strong ties
The core support for Betsy Johnson, the unaffiliated candidate for governor in the election, was almost surely a lot different six months ago than it was when the ballots were cast. Polling from last spring up into September put her in third place but not by much: She was pulling numbers just above and below […]