|
Oregon News
Oregon man sets sail for Hawaii with just his pet cat
KPTV | By Julia Lopez
An Oregon man sailing solo to Hawaii is entering week two of his journey. He said he was inspired to make a change after he was diagnosed with a spinal condition that could leave him paralyzed.
His name is Oliver Widger, but many know him as Sailing with Phoenix (@sailingwithphoenix) on Instagram or TikTok.
As of May 8, Widger and his cat Phoenix are on day nine on the Pacific and about 1,500 miles from Hawaii.
The Warrenton native took off solo through the Columbia River Bar, known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
POLITICS
Pricetag for Portland’s Rose Quarter freeway project could exceed $2 billion, officials now say
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Total costs for the Rose Quarter freeway expansion project in the heart of Portland could exceed $2 billion, state officials said Thursday.
And though construction is scheduled to begin this summer, the project is far from fully-financed. In fact, the state might have to secure more than $1 billion in additional funding to ensure the project can eventually be completed, according to data from the Oregon Department of Transportation.
A recent analysis determined that the megaproject will likely cost between $1.96 billion and $2.08 billion, project administrators told the Oregon Transportation Commission on Thursday — a significant increase from the range of $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion estimated in 2023.
Oregon House passes bill laying the groundwork for tolling for the I-5 bridge project
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
A bill laying the legal groundwork for collecting tolls to help fund the I-5 bridge replacement passed the Oregon House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The bill outlines how Oregon can partner with Washington state to manage and fund the bridge replacement project. It authorizes joint toll revenue management between the two states, allowing the states to share tolling revenue and collect tolls together.
"The bill that we had on the floor that passed yesterday allowed us to continue the dialogue, and it also allowed us to go ahead and make sure that we get credit for 50% of the tolls on the bridge," said Democratic Rep. Susan McLain, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Interstate 5 Bridge.
The bill only allows toll revenue to be used for transportation-related purposes. It would create an Interstate 5 Bridge Toll account in the state treasury and establish rules regarding unpaid tolls. The bill allows ODOT to impose civil fines and deny vehicle registration for drivers with unpaid tolls.
A bill to curb use of single-use plastic items in Oregon may be headed to the trash
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Lawmakers appear to be walking back a proposal to curb use of plastic products like disposable cutlery, condiment packets and tiny shampoo bottles, over concerns the bill doesn’t have enough votes to pass the Oregon House.
On Tuesday, Senate Bill 551 was unexpectedly sent back to a legislative committee from the House floor, where it had been scheduled for a final vote. That move didn’t come with discussion, but one of the bill’s chief proponents said Thursday a big portion of the proposal would be stripped out before it moves forward.
“There were folks that had concerns with certain aspects of the bill,” said state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, who has pushed repeatedly in recent years to limit use of disposable plastic products.
Sollman said she expects SB 551 to reemerge with one key provision: Starting July 2026, it would bar grocery stores from providing thicker plastic bags that are considered reusable to customers at checkout. Those bags were allowed under a 2019 bill that blocked grocers and restaurants from handing out single-use plastic bags at checkout.
But other pieces of the bill are likely to disappear, she said. That includes provisions that would have banned food service establishments from offering plastic cutlery or condiments in plastic packaging unless they are specifically requested, and barred hotels and other lodging providers – including Airbnbs – from offering toiletries in disposable plastic bottles unless requested.
Curry County flirts with flouting Oregon’s sanctuary law amid statewide tensions
OPB | By Conrad Wilson, Bryce Dole, Michelle Wiley
Oregon’s sanctuary law dates back to 1987. It established that immigration enforcement is the job of the federal government, rather than the state, and prohibited state resources from supporting those efforts — with an exception made if immigration officers have a warrant signed by a judge.
Since then, the law has survived a ballot measure that would’ve repealed it. State lawmakers have also gone on to strengthen it, blocking local jails from housing immigration detainees, and expanding protections and benefits Oregon extends to immigrants, such as health care and driver’s licenses.
The Trump administration has escalated its nationwide immigration crackdown. Despite the rhetoric and mounting pressure, some of the state’s top Democrats are standing by Oregon’s sanctuary law.
Gov. Tina Kotek “will not back down from a fight and believes these threats undermine our values and our right to govern ourselves,” a spokesperson said in a statement to OPB last week, adding the state “will not be bullied to deport people or perform immigration enforcement.”
House Republican Leader Christine Drazan called this stance “short-sighted,” noting that it places federal funds at risk.
“The administration right now is enforcing immigration laws specifically around taking violent criminals and returning them to their country of origin,” Drazan said. “Oregon should not be linking arms with international criminals and sacrificing the needs of our citizens across our state when they do so. So the right thing to do from my perspective is to reconsider that position.”
On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that authorities had indicted 16 people in what prosecutors described as a historic bust involving vast amounts of cash, drugs and guns.
Among those arrested was Heriberto Salazar Amaya, 36, who authorities described as the leader of a multi-state drug trafficking ring. They also noted he entered the country illegally. He was arrested April 28 in Salem, where Attorney General Pam Bondi said he was living.
“I think the intentions of being a sanctuary state can, at times, be compelling,” Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said. “We can say there are refugees, there are people from around the world that are looking for a safe space to flee from persecution. But I think simultaneously we open up opportunities like this for bad citizens, for bad actors to come and find a safe refuge as well.”
Drazan, a Canby Republican, said changing the state’s sanctuary laws would be a step toward addressing Oregon’s crime and drug problems. But Democrats hold the power in both chambers of the Legislature, and the party does not seem inclined to change the state’s policies.
“When it comes to this particular issue set, it’s Oregonians that will need to stand up and speak out and say that they want to be assured that members of these international cartels are not using Oregon as a safe haven,” Drazan said.
Oregon Republicans try to get sanctuary law bill out of committee to full House vote
KATU
Oregon Republicans on Thursday tried to bring a bill changing Oregon's sanctuary law to the House floor.
The bill is currently stalled in committee.
A vote to pull it out of committee and to the House floor failed, however. The vote was not strictly along party lines, as eight Democrats sided with Republicans to bring the bill to the floor.
Governor signs bill making all lottery winners in Oregon anonymous
The Oregonian | By Ted Sickinger
Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill into law Thursday that will make all lottery winners in the state anonymous unless they consent to having their names released, regardless of the game they won or the size of the prize.
League of Oregon Cities Says Ethics Commission Has Distorted Public Meetings Law
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
In an April 9 letter to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, the League of Oregon Cities lambasted the body’s interpretation of a new public meetings law that tightens restrictions on how local elected officials may communicate.
“The advice being given by the Commission’s staff is a profound and disturbing misreading of ORS 192.700,” wrote Patty Mulvihill, executive director of the LOC, in a letter addressed to ethics commission chair David Fiskum. “It is also patently unrealistic in its application and so far outside the bounds of what any member of the Legislature would have intended upon the enactment of the statute.”
At issue is a new state law that prohibits local elected officials from using “serial communications” to essentially operate as a quorum outside of the public eye. The League says that the commission’s interpretation has caused ripples of confusion and alarm across Oregon cities that are subject to the new restrictions.
The Legislature passed House Bill 2805 in June 2023. Gov. Tina Kotek signed it into law in July 2023, and the ethics commission finalized the rules in October 2024.
Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general
Associated Press
President Donald Trump is tapping Dr. Casey Means, a physician-turned-wellness influencer with close ties to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his nominee for surgeon general after withdrawing his initial pick for the influential health post.
PORTLAND
Multnomah County board votes to accept Chair Vega-Pederson's $4B budget proposal
KATU
The Multnomah County board voted Thursday to accept Chair Jessica Vega Pederson's $4 billion budget proposal.
Commissioners now have a little more than a month to take public comment and make changes before a final approval of the budget.
'It feels like the Wild West': Downtown resident critical of Multnomah County harm reduction funding
KGW | By Blair Best
As Multnomah County considers a new budget replete with proposed cuts needed to close gaps, some residents complain that too much is being spent — and with few restrictions — on drug paraphernalia in the name of harm reduction.
Chair Jessica Vega Pederson released her $4 billion 2026 budget last month, closing a $15 million gap in the county general fund. Included in the county health department budget is roughly $6 million for harm reduction services.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Former Eugene Weekly business manager arrested over embezzlement scheme
KLCC | By Nathan Wilk
The former business manager of Eugene Weekly was arrested Tuesday over the alleged embezzlement of the paper.
Elisha Young, 37, was arrested in Ohio following an indictment by a Lane County Grand Jury. She’s facing three counts of first-degree aggravated theft and two counts of first-degree theft.
Teen’s Snapchat disclosure about rape sparked $520K defamation suit. She fought back and won
The Oregonian | By Noelle Crombie
Em Konz recalled scanning her phone in an out-of-the-way spot on the grounds of the da Vinci Arts Middle School when a boy walked up and chatted with her before cornering her, ordering her to “be quiet” and raping her.
She was 12.
Two years later, in 2021, Konz disclosed the allegations on Snapchat, writing that a fellow student raped her after school in seventh grade. She named the boy, who was then 14.
“I was scared to scream,” Konz wrote in the post. “After he walked away I burst out into tears and continued to cry the whole way home.”
She encouraged others to share her story and “get the word out to keep others safe.”
Konz’s message spread quickly.
The next year, the boy’s family took Konz to court for defamation, arguing she made up the story of rape and upended the boy’s life. The family sought $520,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Konz filed a counterclaim, alleging she was sexually assaulted and experienced emotional distress as a result. She, too, sought damages — $2.6 million in all.
The case played out in court, “consuming Em’s high school years,” said her lawyer, Amber Kinney.
After a two-week trial last year, a jury sided with Konz.
Jurors concluded that Konz’s disclosure hadn’t defamed the teen and that he had committed “sexual battery against a minor.” They awarded Konz $600,000 in damages.
Now Konz is urging the Oregon Legislature to pass Senate Bill 180, which would protect disclosures like hers from defamation claims.
The threat of such lawsuits, Konz and other advocates say, effectively muzzles victims of sex crimes.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & HEALTH CARE
Oregon’s mental health needs outweigh it ability to provide services, report shows
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Moldonado
Oregon’s high behavioral health needs outpace the state’s availability to provide services, according to an audit report from the Secretary of State’s Office.
Providence Health Plan cuts 4% of workforce amid financial struggles
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
Providence Health Plan, the insurance division of Providence Health & Services in Oregon, has laid off about 4% of its workforce, citing ongoing financial challenges across the broader insurance industry.
The Portland-based health insurer said it announced the job cuts last week, as first reported by KPTV. A company spokesperson said Providence Health Plan employs about 1,500 but declined to specify how many were laid off. (A 4% cut would be around 60 workers.)
EDUCATION
Unblock pandemic relief money for schools in Oregon, 15 other states, federal judge tells Trump administration
Associated Press
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Education this week to unfreeze the last of the pandemic relief money given to schools to help their students recover academically.
Oregon is among the 16 states that will benefit.
“This is a win for Oregon students,” Oregon Attorney General Day Rayfield said in a statement. “These funds were supposed to help kids who’ve had it the hardest – students from low-income families and kids without stable housing."
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Oregon joins suit against federal transportation agencies for withholding EV charger funding
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Oregon’s attorney general is joining a lawsuit against the heads of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, who are withholding hundreds of millions in funding for electric vehicle chargers already approved by Congress and promised to states.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, is led by attorneys general in Washington, California and Colorado, along with 13 other Democratic attorneys general. Named as defendants are the U.S. Department of Transportation and its secretary, Sean Duffy, as well as the Federal Highway Administration and its acting administrator, Gloria Shepherd.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
Oregon State acquires 3,110 acres next to Forest Park for research, logging and recreation
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
Oregon State University has acquired 3,110 acres of industrial timberland just outside Portland on the north edge of Forest Park and plans to run it as a working research forest for logging, education and recreation, the university announced Friday.
The Tualatin Mountain Forest, five miles northwest of Forest Park, will become the 10th research forest operated by OSU’s College of Forestry and the only one near Portland and in a major urban area.
| 
