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Hate groups’ political influence growing, watchdog says
WASHINGTON — More than 1,200 hate and anti-government extremist groups were active across the United States in 2022, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest report on the nationwide prevalence of extremists who target people of color, LGBTQ people, Jewish communities and other religious minorities. While the overall number of hate and anti-government groups […]
Democrats warn of lost opportunities as GOP-led Senate walkout persists
Oregonians have much to lose if the legislative session ends by June 25 without a functioning Senate that can vote on bills, Democrats warned Tuesday. The GOP-led Senate walkout is preventing votes on bills intended to benefit average Oregonians from urban Portland to rural eastern Oregon. Examples run the gamut: Bills held up by the […]
U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools
By Ariana Figueroa WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and health care, but also regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to […]
Oregon Attorney General investigating Fox News for possible lawsuit
Oregon’s attorney general is investigating the parent company of Fox News with the intent of suing over possible losses to state employee retirement funds because the channel broadcast false claims about the 2020 election. The investigation, which Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced Monday, is tied to an April settlement of nearly $800 million in a […]
Child care advocates say Oregon’s proposed budget isn’t enough to move the needle
Legislators are considering a proposal that would allocate about $1.3 billion to Oregon’s new Department of Early Learning and Care to tackle child care needs across the state, but advocates say an additional $70 million is needed. House Bill 5013 outlines the state’s plans for agency operations and statewide programs in the next two years. […]
Fines not deterring absent Republican senators as walkout persists
So far, $325 daily fines are not swaying Republican senators to return to floor sessions and end their walkout. Last Thursday, Senate Democrats agreed to the fines, starting Monday, to compel senators to return. But that plan appears to have failed: On Monday, the Republican-led boycott continued, preventing the chamber from doing business. Nineteen senators […]
Federal trial on Oregon gun control Measure 114 begins Monday
A federal judge will start hearing arguments Monday in a lawsuit that may determine the fate of a voter-passed law to regulate how Oregonians own firearms and ban ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds. In November, Oregon voters passed Measure 114, which is intended to help stem the scourge of gun violence and mass […]
Unofficial GOP-run oversight committee packed by Oregonians telling Republicans to end walkout
A handful of Senate Republicans, in the fifth week of their walkout and facing the looming threat of hundreds of dollars in fines, found their way back to a cramped hearing room in the state Capitol on Thursday evening. They joined a few House Republicans for a meeting of an unofficial legislative committee, intent on […]
U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline
WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that […]
Recovery advocates say commission member should recuse herself from alcohol surcharge vote
This article has been updated. A Portland-based recovery group wants a member of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission board to recuse herself from voting on a proposed surcharge on alcohol. Nathan Morales, a lawyer representing Oregon Recovers, said in a letter sent Thursday that Commissioner Kiauna Floyd should recuse herself from a June 15 […]
Malheur County gold mine moves closer to approval
A proposed gold mine in Malheur County moved closer to breaking ground at a public meeting on Thursday with state and federal regulatory agencies. The Grassy Mountain mine, located about 20 miles south of Vale in eastern Oregon, would be the first chemical-process gold mine in the state. Gold in sites like Grassy Mountain is […]
Environmentalists meet with EPA to discuss emergency action on northeast Oregon water contamination
More than three years ago, eight national and Oregon-based environmental nonprofits petitioned the federal Environmental Protection Agency to do something about nitrate-contaminated water in northeast Oregon. Then, they waited. On Thursday, EPA officials finally met with members of Food & Water Watch who first sent a petition to the EPA – along with Columbia Riverkeeper, […]