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Oregon News
Oregon one of the worst states to move to, analysis says
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
Anyone thinking about moving to a new state may want to think twice before considering the Pacific Northwest, according to a new analysis.
ConsumerAffairs recently ranked Oregon the fourth-worst state to move to in 2025, down from its 2024 ranking as the seventh worst.
Oregon scored poorly for its affordability, safety, economy, education and access to healthcare. According to the report, Oregon is the third-worst state for affordability and the ninth-worst for safety. It is also among the most vulnerable to environmental hazards, such as drought and wildfire.
POLITICS
Meek Demands Wagner Resign as Senate President
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
State Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone) has not cooled down since the 2025 legislative session ended June 27.
Toward the end of the session, Meek, who chairs the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee and sat on the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment, announced he would vote against House Bill 2025, an Oregon Department of Transportation funding package that would have raised nearly $15 billion over the next decade.
Lawmakers scurried to reduce the bill’s cost in subsequent versions, but Meek’s opposition helped scuttle the bill. It also led Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) to boot Meek off the transportation panel. Wagner replaced Meek on the committee and cast a “yes” vote, allowing the bill to move to the House floor for a vote—which never happened because of a lack of support.
Gov. Tina Kotek subsequently called an Aug. 29 special session to try again to pass an ODOT funding bill and to avert the nearly 500 layoffs the agency plans to make.
But on Aug. 12 at 5:11 pm, shortly before a scheduled Senate Democratic caucus meeting, Meek circulated an email to all of his Democratic colleagues, making the case that Wagner should resign his leadership position.
“After deep reflection and conversations with many of you, I believe it’s now time for President Wagner to step down,” Meek wrote in the email, obtained by the Oregon Journalism Project.
“His repeated failures in managing our caucus, handling challenges, and advancing our members’ priorities have eroded our unity and effectiveness. These aren’t just missteps—they are a pattern of failed leadership and poor judgment that negatively impacts the good work we are all here seeking to accomplish.”
Connor Radnovich, a spokesman for Wagner, says the Senate president will have no public response to Meek.
”We don’t discuss internal caucus matters,” Radnovich said in an email.
Caucus leaders rarely surrender their positions. Wagner’s predecessor, the late Sen. Peter Courtney (D-Salem), held the president’s gavel for 20 years, stepping down only because of ill health. Gov. Tina Kotek served as House speaker for nine years, giving up her gavel to run for governor. Her successor as speaker, then-Rep. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis), gave up his position to run (successfully) for attorney general.
But Meek says Wagner, who succeeded Courtney in 2023, doesn’t deserve the longevity previous leaders have enjoyed. In his email, he blamed Wagner for mishandling Senate Republicans, whose 2023 walkout hamstrung that session.
Nash: ODOT funding package will be decided without State Republicans input
The Times Journal | By Stephen Allen
During the 2025 legislative session, Senate and House Republicans opposed House Bill 2025, the Democrats' sweeping transportation funding package, which relied heavily on new taxes and fees. They argued the plan would increase costs for Oregonians without first fixing what they see as chronic management and oversight issues at ODOT.
Republican leaders instead proposed their own "transportation stabilization" measure, which would have redirected existing revenue to cover the shortfall without raising taxes. The plan included cutting non-essential ODOT programs, such as some bike and pedestrian projects, reducing office space and trimming agency vacancies. It also proposed addressing what they called historical overpayments by truckers through temporary tax credits.
For [Senator Todd] Nash, the red line is clear: "It isn't responsible to pay more taxpayer money just to support something that can further enhance relationships with unions," he said, referring to project labor agreements that he believes add 20 to 30 percent to construction costs. "We owe it to Oregon to be as efficient as possible."
'Pet projects' versus core functions
Nash also says the current budget climate demands a focus on the basics - roads, bridges, and essential public transportation - while setting aside extras until the economy improves.
"This is a point in history where we need to reel back in a little bit," he said. "Our economy in Oregon isn't as robust as it once was. We should act like that and reel back to the basics of transportation."
AG Pam Bondi sends letter to Oregon leaders threating action over sanctuary policies
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson warning that the state's and city's sanctuary policies could violate federal immigration law.
Oregon will install error watchdogs to enforce rules for food stamp recipients
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Oregon’s Department of Human Services is working to lessen how often the state miscalculates the amount of food stamp benefits enrollees should receive, aiming to comply with new federal restrictions and avert a worse financial strain on the state’s largest agency.
Oregon House panel dismisses misconduct charges against lawmaker who read sexually explicit content on House floor
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
A legislative committee dismissed allegations of misconduct Thursday against a southern Oregon Republican who read a sexually explicit book passage on the House floor.
On a split vote, the House Committee on Conduct decided Rep. Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass, did not violate legislative rules or create a hostile work environment when he read a passage from young adult novel “The Haters” on the House floor in March.
The Trump administration is seeking Oregon elections data
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Secretary of State Tobias Read says he’s not inclined to share information with the federal government.
Multnomah County calls for outside investigation into conflicts of interest, ethics
The Oregonian | By Austin De Dios
Multnomah County has hired an outside law firm to scrutinize its conflicts of interest and ethics policies.
Chief Operating Officer Christopher Neal announced the investigation Thursday, two weeks after the county’s Preschool for All Director Leslee Barnes resigned under a cloud of controversy. Barnes was tied to a preschool provider accused of wasting state funds. That preschool, Village Childcare, was only receiving money from a state program, not the county’s Preschool for All program, officials have said.
While the law firm will consider the county’s conflicts of interest policy broadly, it won’t examine Barnes’ case specifically, officials said. Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said two weeks ago that the county would launch an “internal probe” into Barnes’ situation.
Spokesperson Julie Sullivan-Springhetti said the county has ended that investigation because Barnes left.
“Ms. Barnes is no longer a county employee,” Sullivan-Springhetti said. “But county policies governing ethics and potential conflicts are in place and affect every single employee today and going forward.”
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & HEALTH CARE
Thousands of kids in mental distress are stuck in ERs for days, OHSU study finds
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
A growing number of children in mental health crises are spending days, sometimes nearly a week, in hospital emergency rooms because there is nowhere else for them to go, a new study has found.
EDUCATION
Enrollment Projections for Portland Schools Sound Wider Alarms
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
An annual forecast for Portland Public Schools, conducted by the Population Research Center at Portland State University, projects enrollment will continue to decline at the district through the 2034–35 school year. That matters for the district’s budget because PPS gets state funding for each student it reports.
The forecast found the district faces two challenges: Birth rate in the Portland area is declining, and fewer families are choosing to enroll their students in PPS.
Blended classrooms will debut at many Portland elementary schools this fall. Here’s what to know
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
The impetus for the change is money, or lack thereof, fueled by declining enrollment districtwide and the expiration of federal pandemic aid. Faced with making $40 million in budget cuts, school budget officials calculated that a move to consolidate upper elementary grades could save $2.5 million, with about 17 fewer teaching positions needed.
Federal judge rules Trump’s DEI ban in K-12 schools ‘unlawful’ in case that included Eugene district
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shauneen Miranda
A federal judge in Maryland has struck down the U.S. Education Department’s attempts to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion practices in schools.
The Thursday ruling marks a blow to President Donald Trump’s administration as it continues to take significant strides to try to crack down on DEI efforts across the federal government.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Portland Police conduct theft reduction mission using a 'bait bike' around downtown
KATU | By Bobby Corser
Portland Police executed a bait bike crime reduction mission on Thursday, August 14. PPB says multiple teams conducted the mission in the Downtown core, Old Town, South Park blocks, Couch Park, and Goose Hollow areas.
Officials say the mission resulted in three arrests, including two for outstanding warrants and one for theft in the first degree.
More than 14 grams of cocaine were also seized, police said.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
ODA To Hold Listening Sessions To Update Wolf Compensation
Pacific Northwest Ag Network
This year, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 777, sponsored by Senator Todd Nash and Representative Bobby Levy making the first major changes to the Wolf Depredation Compensation and Financial Assistance Grant Program in over a decade. Now, the Oregon Department of Agriculture is starting the process to update the administrative rules that will put this law into action, and the Department says they want to hear from ranchers and other across the state.
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