Oregon’s People
Tribes ask US Supreme Court to hear case over destruction of sacred site near Mount Hood
Members of two Northwest tribes want the federal government to restore a sacred site near Mount Hood that was destroyed in a highway expansion project 14 years ago. After the case was dismissed by two lower courts, the tribes on Tuesday took it to the highest court in the country. Members of the Confederated Tribes […]
Governor’s debate fractured, with 2 candidates on one side of an issue, another opposed
In a group of three, two usually line up – and did in the latest Oregon gubernatorial debate A two-way contest of any sort is a relatively simple matter of one side gaining more than the other. Add a third side to the picture and it becomes much more complicated. In Oregon’s race for governor, […]
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality names interim leader after director resigns
Leah Feldon, deputy director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will lead the agency following the departure of former Director Richard Whitman this week. Feldon was named interim director at a Friday meeting of the Environmental Quality Commission by its five governor-appointed members. The commission oversees the environmental quality department. Feldon has worked at […]
Director of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality abruptly resigns
The head of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality resigned from the job this week, three months before his scheduled retirement. Richard Whitman, who has led the agency since 2016, had announced in June that he would retire at the end of the year. Department spokesperson Harry Esteve said Whitman is resigning early due to personal […]
Democratic Oregon governor nominee Tina Kotek argues for gun safety at Portland forum
PORTLAND – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek has pushed for a debate solely on gun laws since a gunman murdered 19 young children in Texas this spring. By Wednesday, in the wake of a grocery store shooting in one of Oregon’s largest cities, Kotek had given up on getting her two rivals in the governor’s […]
Summoning inspiration from solitary, former Oregon inmate wins PEN America prison writing award
Alex Tretbar scratched Lou Reed lyrics into the concrete “rhomboid exoskeleton” of an Oregon jail’s solitary confinement hole, then found the strength to write about it. “Some people work very hard,” the song goes, “but still they never get it right.” Tretbar, a Wichita native and University of Kansas graduate, references the experience in “Variations […]
Tax credits on electric cars, heat pumps will help low-income Oregonians, politicians say
Sammie Lewis of North Portland no longer has a home energy bill. Her house has been newly insulated and retrofitted with solar panels and a heating and cooling pump. She updated her home with the help of a local nonprofit that leverages state and federal grants and tax rebates to help low-income Oregonians make their […]
With $65 million, fund hopes to help thousands of struggling undocumented immigrants
A nonprofit founded at the beginning of the pandemic to help undocumented immigrants is poised to distribute safety net grants to thousands of people. The Worker Relief Fund announced this week it has received $65 million approved by the Legislature in February. The money will be doled out to undocumented workers who’ve lost work or […]
Rep. Anna Williams resigns from Oregon Legislature for new policy role
Hood River Democrat Anna Williams has spent the past four years focused on human services policy at the Oregon Legislature. Starting in mid-August, she’ll trade the state House for a new policy job. Williams, who was elected in 2018, will be the new executive director of Oregon’s System of Care Advisory Council starting Aug. 15. […]
Is Timber Unity becoming disunified?
The rural activist group Timber Unity recently passed its third birthday. How many more it may have has become a notable question – and whether, even now, it is becoming Timber Disunity. The group started as a coalition of farmers, wood industry workers and truck drivers, backed financially by several businesses in that field, aiming […]
First debate delivers telling first impressions of candidates for Oregon governor
Candidates for governor are in a league of their own. Debates matter in these contests. Heads turn when the power hitters come to bat. And, unlike in the primaries, these are not events when the voters who show up are all wearing team caps. So, it’s the unaffiliated voters, now more numerous than ever in […]
Nick Kristof returning to the New York Times after failed run for Oregon governor
Columnist Nick Kristof is headed back to the New York Times less than a year after he quit to begin an ill-fated campaign for governor of Oregon. Kristof, who grew up in Yamhill County, previously wrote for the Times from 1984 to October 2021. He then began running for governor as a Democrat, but his […]