Cornel West Secures Ballot Access in Oregon
In The States
Cornel West Secures Ballot Access in Oregon
2024-01-25 21:32:04
by Dan McCue

WASHINGTON — Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West has secured ballot access in Oregon for the November 2024 presidential election, and will appear as the candidate for the state’s Progressive Party. In a written statement, the party said the new... Read More

Oregon Receives First-in-Nation Medicaid Funding for Food, Housing and Nutrition
In The States
Oregon Receives First-in-Nation Medicaid Funding for Food, Housing and Nutrition
2022-09-28 19:25:52
by Dan McCue

HERMISTON, Ore. — Oregon on Wednesday became the first state in the nation to receive an influx of significant new federal funding to pilot changes to the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Kate Brown and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services... Read More

2022 Midterms: What to Watch as 5 States Hold Primaries
2022 Elections
2022 Midterms: What to Watch as 5 States Hold Primaries

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's winning streak in U.S. Senate primaries is on the line Tuesday as voters in five states cast their ballots in midterm elections. Trump made bold endorsements in backing celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and U.S.... Read More

DeFazio Stepping Down From Congress After 36 Years
Political News
DeFazio Stepping Down From Congress After 36 Years
2021-12-02 20:46:28
by Dan McCue

WASHINGTON — Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is stepping down at the end of the current Congress. He told colleagues he decided not to seek a 19th term to have more time to look... Read More

Ex-NYT Columnist Kristof Announces Run for Oregon Governor
In The States
Ex-NYT Columnist Kristof Announces Run for Oregon Governor

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Former New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof announced his candidacy Wednesday for Oregon governor, saying the state needs a political newbie to solve problems like homelessness and rural despair. "I've never run for political office in... Read More

Indiana Joins Growing List of States That Have Completed Redistricting
Redistricting
Indiana Joins Growing List of States That Have Completed Redistricting
2021-10-11 18:43:15
by Dan McCue

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana last week became the fourth state to formally adopt new state legislative and congressional district boundaries using data from the 2020 census. Only Maine, Nebraska and Oregon beat Indiana to the punch. Indiana’s General Assembly approved... Read More

Oregon Leads the Pack in Enacting Congressional Maps Based on 2020 Census
In The States
Oregon Leads the Pack in Enacting Congressional Maps Based on 2020 Census
2021-10-07 20:26:44
by Dan McCue

SALEM, Ore. - Some states vie to be the first in the nation to vote come primary election season, others grab electoral glory in different ways. This year, Oregon has the honor of being the first state to enact congressional... Read More

Oregon Legislature Called into Special Session for Redistricting
In The States
Oregon Legislature Called into Special Session for Redistricting
2021-09-10 21:04:32
by Dan McCue

SALEM, Ore. - Gov. Kate Brown is calling the Oregon legislature into special session to adopt new congressional and legislative district maps. In April, citing the delay in the release of crucial census data, the Oregon Supreme Court handed down... Read More

Oregon’s Secretary of State Proceeds with Just-in-Case Redistricting Plan
In The States
Oregon’s Secretary of State Proceeds with Just-in-Case Redistricting Plan
2021-08-22 12:16:10
by Dan McCue

SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon’s legislature has until September 27 to craft new legislative and congressional districts based on 2020 census data, but Secretary of State Shemia Fagan isn’t waiting for the deadline to pass to prepare for an entirely different... Read More

Evacuations Lifted as Progress Made Against Fires in US West
Climate
Evacuations Lifted as Progress Made Against Fires in US West

BLY, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the nation's largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders near a major blaze in Northern California and another on Hawaii's Big Island. Containment of the Bootleg... Read More

Comcast Expanding Broadband Service to Rural Oregon
Technology
Comcast Expanding Broadband Service to Rural Oregon
2021-07-21 20:26:33
by Dan McCue

Comcast Oregon/SW Washington has embarked on a $15 million project to extend its broadband products and services, both residential and business, to the communities of Hubbard and Woodburn, Oregon.  Construction has already begun on the project, with fiber backbone to... Read More

Largest Wildfire in Oregon Expands Further; New Evacuations
In The States
Largest Wildfire in Oregon Expands Further; New Evacuations

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters scrambled on Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that's spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous conflagrations across the U.S. West that are straining resources.  Authorities ordered a new... Read More

Small Town Bands Together to Care for Evacuees of Oregon’s Bootleg Fire
In The States
Small Town Bands Together to Care for Evacuees of Oregon’s Bootleg Fire
2021-07-15 20:36:22
by Brock Blasdell

Oregon is currently at the heart of one of the most expensive and destructive wildfire seasons of the past decade. According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, six wildfires across the state are currently burning over 280 thousand... Read More

Oregon Counties Vote to Merge With GOP-Favoring Idaho
In The States
Oregon Counties Vote to Merge With GOP-Favoring Idaho
2021-05-23 12:49:20
by Dan McCue

A majority of voters in five rural Oregon counties on Tuesday said they’d rather leave their state than continue to be a Republican minority in a decidedly blue place. Instead, residents of Sherman, Lake, Grant, Baker, and Malheur counties endorsed... Read More

Second Amendment Sanctuaries Facing 1st Court Test in Oregon
In The States
Second Amendment Sanctuaries Facing 1st Court Test in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The first court test of whether local governments can ban police from enforcing certain gun laws is playing out in a rural Oregon county, one of a wave of U.S. counties declaring itself a Second Amendment... Read More

Wild Songbirds Spreading Salmonella Infection
Health
Wild Songbirds Spreading Salmonella Infection
2021-04-08 14:23:41
by Alexa Hornbeck

The CDC has issued a report finding that small, yellow-tinged songbirds from the finch family were linked to 19 infections of salmonella across the U.S.   Rachel Curtis-Robles, a public health educator and outreach officer for the California Department of... Read More

Portland Mayor Supports ‘Kettling’ After Civil Liberties Complaints
Cities
Portland Mayor Supports 'Kettling' After Civil Liberties Complaints
2021-03-16 17:49:51
by Daniel Mollenkamp

PORTLAND, Ore. -  A mayor-led press conference that prominently featured law enforcement on Monday afternoon condemned the "violence and intimidation tactics" of groups operating in Portland which they described as lawless, prone to property damage, and bad for the community.... Read More

Oregon Timber Talks Underway, Habitat Conservation Plan in Development
State News
Oregon Timber Talks Underway, Habitat Conservation Plan in Development
2021-02-04 20:33:25
by Reece Nations

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced the first of a series of negotiations Wednesday in a collaborative effort between conservation leaders, fishing organizations and forestry representatives to adapt statewide forest practices.  Brown brokered an agreement between the conservation... Read More

OR-02: Cliff Bentz (R)
House Watch
OR-02: Cliff Bentz (R)
2020-11-02 05:26:51
by TWN Staff

About Bentz: Cliff Bentz is a third generation Oregonian, raised on his family’s cattle ranches in Harney County. He attended Whitehorse Ranch and Pine Creek Grade Schools. At age 14, he was sent to live with an aunt and uncle... Read More

‘Critical Fix’ Gives Klamath Irrigators Access to Up to $10 Million in Emergency Drought Relief
Agriculture
‘Critical Fix’ Gives Klamath Irrigators Access to Up to $10 Million in Emergency Drought Relief
2020-10-12 14:36:30
by Sean Trambley

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced in a release that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a critically needed fix to the 2018 Water Resources Development Act that would... Read More

Oregon To Start Handing Out $500 Stimulus Checks for the Unemployed This Week
State News
Oregon To Start Handing Out $500 Stimulus Checks for the Unemployed This Week
2020-08-20 19:39:57
by Sara Wilkerson

SALEM, Ore. - Starting this week, those who are unemployed in the state of Oregon can apply for a one-time $500 stimulus check on a first-come-first-served basis at select financial institutions. As many as 77,000 Oregon residents will be eligible... Read More

Western States Forge Pact to Manage Restart of Economy
State News
Western States Forge Pact to Manage Restart of Economy
2020-04-14 13:23:46
by Dan McCue

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced Monday that they've come to an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 in the future. In a joint statement, Govs. Gavin Newsom, Kate Brown and Jay... Read More

Oregon GOP Rep. Greg Walden Not Running for Reelection
Political News
Oregon GOP Rep. Greg Walden Not Running for Reelection

WASHINGTON — Oregon GOP Rep. Greg Walden announced Monday that he is not running for reelection, media reports said. Walden is the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee during the... Read More

Oregon Climate Bill Is Dead, But Republican Lawmakers Still AWOL
State News
Oregon Climate Bill Is Dead, But Republican Lawmakers Still AWOL
2019-06-28 20:58:38
by Elin Johnson

With only days left in Oregon’s legislative session, a Democrat-backed climate bill is dead, and the awol Republican state senators who helped kill it now appear to be considering what to demand before they agree to return. Last week 11... Read More

Republican State Lawmakers In Oregon Go Missing Ahead of Climate Change Vote
State News
Republican State Lawmakers In Oregon Go Missing Ahead of Climate Change Vote
2019-06-24 21:23:39
by Dan McCue

Eleven Senate Republicans in Oregon high-tailed it out of the state capitol of Salem this past week, and the Democratic governor has ordered state police to go and round them up. At issue is a vote on House Bill 2020,... Read More

Oregon to Pass Cap-and-Trade Legislation to Address Climate Change
Climate
Oregon to Pass Cap-and-Trade Legislation to Address Climate Change
2019-06-18 20:45:00
by Elin Johnson

Oregon is a step closer to becoming the second state in the nation, after California, to adopt a sweeping cap-and-trade-program. The bill passed the state House with a 36-24 vote on Monday after six hours of debate, and has been... Read More

Oregon Denies Permit to Controversial Natural Gas Project
Energy
Oregon Denies Permit to Controversial Natural Gas Project
2019-05-07 13:22:21
by Dan McCue

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality denied a key permit Monday to a controversial liquefied natural gas export terminal and its feeder pipeline, a move that cheered project opponents who argued the Trump administration is moving too fast when it... Read More

Oregon’s Read Is Steeped In Public Service, Embracing Opportunities
In The States
Oregon's Read Is Steeped In Public Service, Embracing Opportunities
2019-04-16 20:56:14
by Dan McCue

Tobias Read chuckled. The Oregon state treasurer wasn't long into a conversation when his caller asked why it is that his colleagues in government speak so highly of him. After a self-effacing pause, Read said he's just been lucky. "I... Read More

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