Politics
In D.C.: White House touts clean energy, transit, rail projects in sprawling infrastructure bill
WASHINGTON—Federal officials on Tuesday offered details about how money from the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill would be spent, emphasizing the pending law’s potential to add clean energy capacity. Department of Transportation officials highlighted the $1.2 trillion bill’s record funding for public transit like buses and subways, as well as for Amtrak. They framed the […]
A year after the 2020 election, Oregon county clerks still fighting back fraud allegations
A week before this November’s Linn County special election over a tax increase to fund law enforcement, a man walked into the election office and asked to see the county clerk. Steve Druckenmiller walked over and asked how he could help, but the man didn’t want assistance. “I just wanted to see the enemy of […]
Melinda Gates, Angelina Jolie open their checkbooks for Kristof’s run for Oregon governor
Out-of-state donors including philanthropist Melinda Gates and actress Angelina Jolie boosted ex-New York Times columnist Nick Kristof to a record-breaking $1 million in campaign contributions during the first two weeks of his run for governor. Just under three-quarters of his haul came from outside of Oregon, according to campaign finance records filed with the Oregon […]
Oregon transportation officials already at work planning to spend new billions
SALEM – Travis Brouwer had given up on Congress Friday afternoon. Brouwer, an assistant director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, was eager to see the federal infrastructure package pass. That would mean billions for Oregon in the coming years and the state agency was already planning what to do with it. But Brouwer thought […]
Forest accord seen as good for Oregon woodlands, wildlife – but also for how collaboration can work
After nearly a year of negotiations, representatives of timber companies, small forestland owners, and conservation and fishing organizations reached an agreement through the Private Forest Accord. The negotiations were an effort to avoid an expensive and messy fight at the ballot box over competing initiatives around Oregon’s forest laws. The agreement proposes changes to the […]
Democrats in Oregon delegation applaud infrastructure passage, lone Republican silent
Much of Oregon’s Congressional delegation sees nothing but good news for the state in the passage of the federal infrastructure legislation. The U.S. House on Friday passed the $1.2 trillion package to fix roads, airports, railways and broadband across the country. The state’s four Democrat representatives voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including […]
Some of Oregon’s most powerful state boards getting new members
A McMinnville hay farmer, a Wilsonville dentist and the former deputy director of the state Agriculture Department are among dozens of unelected Oregonians set to wield power over state lands, government ethics and public pensions. Gov. Kate Brown’s nominees to multiple state boards and commissions are up for confirmation in the state Senate later this […]
In D.C.: Republicans in U.S. Senate block a voting rights bill but Democrats vow to press again
WASHINGTON – Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked another voting rights bill, this one named for Georgia civil rights icon John R. Lewis. On a 50-49 vote, the Senate declined to proceed to debate on the latest Democratic effort at a nationwide voting rights overhaul meant to stymie Republican-led state laws restricting voting access. […]
Restaurant tax coming to Cannon Beach, southern Oregon dam gets repair money in Tuesday’s vote
Prineville will get a new courthouse, Mill City will allow marijuana sales and Harney County becomes the latest county to take on the idea of moving portions of Oregon to Idaho – all the result of voter action in the special election held Tuesday. In local results, voters supported most tax requests for law enforcement […]
Oregon judge skeptical of GOP congressional gerrymandering claims
Four former Republican elected officials and national Republican forces see Oregon’s new congressional boundaries as an unfair Democratic gerrymander. The retired tax court judge who heard their legal arguments last week doesn’t buy it. In a written opinion released late Monday, retired state judge Henry Breithaupt wrote that he largely agreed with a panel of […]
Salem Democrat Brian Clem becomes latest Oregon representative to resign
State Rep. Brian Clem, who previously announced he wouldn’t run for re-election so he could focus on caring for his elderly mother, resigned Friday evening with more than a year left in his term. The Salem Democrat said in a prepared statement that his mother triggered his decision to resign before the end of his […]
White House: Oregon single-family zoning law could be model for nation
Oregon’s 2019 law effectively ending single-family zoning could be a model for states across the nation, White House officials said during a meeting with House Speaker Tina Kotek, who spearheaded the law. Kotek, a Portland Democrat, and state lawmakers and local elected officials from California, Utah, Texas and Kentucky joined a virtual call with several […]