|
Oregon News
POLITICS
Longtime government insider joins Oregon Department of Justice months after stepping down as agency director
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Berri Leslie, a longtime Oregon government insider, will join Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office this fall after recently stepping down as director of the Department of Administrative Services.
Leslie will serve in a new position as chief operating officer in the state Department of Justice starting Sept. 2, according to a press release from the agency. She will earn an annual salary of $225,900, according to agency Chief of Staff Jenn Baker.
Leslie joined the Department of Administrative Services in late 2022 after years in several government positions, including five years as deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Kate Brown. In February, she announced that she would step away in June to spend more time with her family and husband, who has a serious health condition.
Upon resigning, Leslie said she would be open to returning to work in a temporary position. Instead, she is taking on a newly-created full-time position.
“When I saw the incredible work the attorney general is doing on behalf of Oregonians and the talented team he’s assembling, my husband told me to ‘get back out there’ knowing that I would regret not getting to work for a leader of this caliber who is delivering for Oregon during an historic time,” Leslie said in a press release.
Oregon reaches $15M settlement with state workers for bungled rollout of payroll system
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $15 million to thousands of former and current state employees who experienced issues with their paychecks after the state switched to a new payroll system in 2022.
Per the settlement, nearly every hourly worker and some salaried employees who worked for the state at any point between December 2022 and June 23 of this year are eligible for payments ranging from $100 to roughly $3,100, depending on their employment status and the damages they incurred as a result of the payroll errors.
‘I don’t like surprises’: Gov. Kotek directs Oregon agencies to conduct tariff reports
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
With ongoing tariff uncertainty, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed state leaders to conduct reports for industry stakeholders.
Oregon forestry board drills Gov. Tina Kotek’s staff on choosing next state forester
OPB | By April Ehrlich
Oregon’s forestry board has long had the power to hire and fire the state forester, who oversees logging and environmental protections on state lands, as well as firefighting across millions of acres of public and private land.
But the board lost that hiring-and-firing power this session with Senate Bill 1051, which handed it over to the governor.
This bill has left many forestry board members wondering how much authority they still have.
“Right now, after the passage of this senate bill, I have very little reason to trust your office,” vice chair Brenda McComb told members of Gov. Tina Kotek’s staff at the board’s Wednesday meeting.
Three New Lawsuits Offer a Snapshot of Oregon’s Political Landscape
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss, Joanna Hou, Aaron Mesh
In the past week, WW has reported on three lawsuits that each, in their own way, offer a reflection of the political disputes that divide Oregon. Here’s what’s at stake in each of the cases.
AC requirement may hit rentals in Portland
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
Portland is contemplating a new policy to protect residents from potentially deadly heat by adding air conditioning requirements for rental apartments and homes.
The Permitting and Development bureau is exploring a code amendment to create a maximum indoor temperature standard for rental units, requiring landlords to install ACs or heat pumps in each one.
2026 ELECTION
Does Sen. Merkley running again mean just another preordained race at the top of the ballot?
Oregon Capital Chronicle | Commentary by Randy Stapilus
Next year, the top of Oregon’s general election ballot will be anchored by the contest for U.S. Senate. If history holds, it may not be much of a contest.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Oregon is moving into (and it’s partly there now) the high-rank status for senior members of Congress, meaning they have enough seniority that if they angle their assignments right, they can be among the top committee chairs in the chamber, leading power players. A generation-plus ago, Oregon Republicans Mark Hatfield and Robert Packwood were in that position. Today, Democrats Ron Wyden (top Democrat on Senate Finance) and Jeff Merkley (top Democrat on Budget) have worked their way there.
On July 10, Merkley said he will run for a fourth term next year. He also said that until some months ago his decision was in some doubt, but he already had since late 2020 a formal filing with the Federal Election Commission setting up for a technical candidacy. Most Oregonians who follow politics probably would have been more surprised had he chosen to retire.
You could make an argument, of sorts, that Merkley may be vulnerable.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Assault leaves man with life-threatening injuries at Portland’s Convention Center MAX station
The Oregonian | By Kimberly Cortez
A man was assaulted at the TriMet MAX stop near the Oregon Convention Center early Thursday morning, causing life-threatening injuries, police said. He was taken to a nearby hospital.
Oregon Democrat introduces bill to require ICE officers display IDs, drop masks
The Oregonian | By Tristin Hoffman
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is introducing a bill that would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to wear visible identification and prohibit face masks while on duty.
The bill covers several Department of Homeland Security operations, including Border Protection and Customs Enforcement.
Oregon man arrested outside U.S. Capitol after car full of weapons found
KATU | By Steve Benham
Officers with the U.S. Capitol police arrested a 23-year-old Oregon man on Wednesday morning after they said they discovered guns, ammunition and other weapons in his car parked in an area reserved for congressional staff near the Capitol.
Whistleblower suit alleges Multnomah County’s mental health system turned into ‘the wild west’
The Oregonian | By Maxine Bernstein
A demoted Multnomah County employee has filed a civil rights suit against the county and her former bosses alleging they retaliated against her for complaining about unsafe conditions caused by large caseloads of high-risk clients with mental illness, insufficient staff and inadequate funding.
Oregon prison employees exposed to suspicious substance in mail
The Oregonian | By Noelle Crombie
Four Oregon Department of Corrections employees on Wednesday were exposed to a suspicious substance in the mail at Two Rivers Correctional Institution.
The substance was tested by Umatilla County fire authorities who were unable to identify it.
Some Jewish teachers say they were harassed and threatened at national education convention in Portland
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
Jewish teachers from around the country say they were belittled by their fellow educators during the National Education Association’s convention in Portland earlier this month.
ECONOMY
Budget airline that took ICE contract pulls out of Oregon
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
A Texas-based airline that became a target of protests for agreeing to assist with federal deportation flights is ending its commercial services in Oregon this year.
Avelo Airlines announced this week that it will cease flights from Salem next month. Service from Eugene, Redmond and Medford will end in early December. The move is part of the low-cost carrier’s retreat from Oregon, California, Washington and Montana, which Avelo blamed on financial pressures.
HEALTH CARE
Another 200 Legacy Nurses Join Oregon Nurses Association
Willamette Week | By Seychelle Marks-Bienen
Another 200 nurses at Legacy Health hospitals in Oregon and Washington voted to join the Oregon Nurses Association last week, pushing the union’s representation to a new high in the hospital system.
National News
Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs
NPR
The Senate has approved the Trump administration’s $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television — a major step toward winding down nearly six decades of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Just 1 in 4 Americans say Trump’s policies have helped them, poll says
Associated Press
Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults say that President Donald Trump’s policies have helped them since he took office, according to a new poll that finds underwhelming marks for him on key issues, including the economy, immigration, government spending and health care.
| 
