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Oregon News
POLITICS
As State Lawmakers Ponder Federal Funding Cuts, Initiative Advances That Would End Estate Tax
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
Oregon’s estate tax is the nation’s most aggressive. Kevin Mannix hopes to kill it.
Trump picks former Oregon state senator for labor department role
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
The Trump administration has tapped a former Oregon Senate Republican leader as an assistant labor secretary, bringing him into an agency headed by another Oregon Republican.
For weeks, speculation has been growing over whether Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, could be leaving Oregon for a job with the U.S. Department of Labor, now headed by former Oregon U.S. Rep. and current Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Bonham announced Sept. 15 his resignation would be effective on Oct. 5 without elaborating on his future plans at the time.
“I never set out to be a politician — I just wanted to serve my community, and I’ll always be grateful for the trust they placed in me,” Bonham said in a statement at the time. “I’m excited about my future, but I’ll miss the day-to-day work alongside my colleagues in Salem.”
An Oct. 2 notice on the U.S. Senate’s Executive Calendar shows that Bonham has received a “privileged nomination” to the labor department. He’s poised to take over the assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs position last held by Liz Watson, a labor attorney appointed by Joe Biden who resigned when Donald Trump took office.
Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will be able to request biographical and financial information from Bonham, but a privileged nomination is not required to go through a typical committee hearing or referral unless explicitly requested by a sitting senator.
Another Oregon politician nominated to work for Trump administration
The Oregonian | By Sami Edge
Daniel Bonham, the former state Republican Senate leader from The Dalles, could be headed to work for the U.S. Department of Labor.
A U.S. Senate calendar lists Bonham as a nominee for the job of assistant secretary of labor, as first reported by Dirk VanderHart of Oregon Public Broadcasting. If he’s confirmed, Bonham would report to another prominent Oregon Republican: former U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who was picked by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Labor earlier this year.
Oregon has fallen short of a key higher education goal. Is it time to set a new one?
The Oregonian | By Sami Edge
Fourteen years ago, lawmakers set an ambitious goal for higher education: By 2025, 80% of Oregon’s young people would hold a college degree or an education credential of some sort.
Unsurprisingly, the state fell short. The writing has been on the wall for several years, as Oregon’s progress inched along slower than necessary to meet most of the goal’s targets.
Last week, the director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission asked lawmakers whether it’s time to revisit the state’s 40-40-20 goal and to reconsider what benchmarks would best suit the educational needs of Oregonians and the economic needs of the state.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Police order crowd away from Portland ICE office as Kristi Noem set to visit city
The Oregonian | By Zane Sparling
Portland police officers cordoned off the area surrounding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building Tuesday morning as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was set to visit the city.
Officers set up caution tape outside the fortified facility and along a stretch of South Bancroft Street around 10:30 p.m.
Around the same time, a pair of fighter jets buzzed overhead and six Portland Police Bureau cars arrived on scene but did not enter the facility. A bureau spokesperson said earlier in the day that its dignitary protection unit would provide “routine support” on roads and in public spaces, as they would with any visiting official.
Multnomah County DA drops charge against conservative influencer Nick Sortor
OPB
Multnomah County prosecutors declined to charge conservative influencer Nick Sortor, who was arrested Thursday at a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.
Portland police arrested Sortor on a disorderly conduct charge for his alleged involvement in a fight outside the ICE building on the south waterfront.
According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors decided not to charge Sortor after reviewing videos and reports of the incident.
District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said in a statement that the crime cannot be proven against Sortor beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Free speech does not include the freedom to commit crimes. It does not matter if an individual is expressing ideology from the left, right, or center,” Vasquez said. “What matters is whether or not there is evidence to prove a crime was committed.”
Trump considers invoking Insurrection Act to justify sending troops to Oregon
CBS News
A panel of appeals court judges could decide Thursday whether to uphold or reverse an order barring National Guard troops in Portland.
Or the panel could act sooner.
Appeals court sets Thursday hearing on Portland National Guard deployment
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
The city of Portland, state leaders and hundreds of Oregon and California National Guard troops are in legal limbo as federal courts determine the legality of President Donald Trump’s unprecedented efforts to federalize and deploy Guard troops to U.S. cities.
Oregon man accused of throwing water bottle at feds during ICE protest; wife claims authorities ‘disappeared’ him for hours
KOIN 6 | By Joelle Jones
An Oregon man is facing federal charges after being accused of assaulting an officer during Saturday’s protest, but his wife says he was protesting peacefully when she says federal officers “dragged” and “disappeared” him for hours.
Oregon Republican Party shares misleading images from South America in posts about Portland
KPTV
The Oregon Republican Party on Sunday published posts on its social media accounts welcoming the planned deployment of California’s National Guard to Portland. The posts included an image that appeared to show a chaotic protest scene, but the photo was not from Portland.
According to a report by The Guardian, the image was a composite of two unrelated photos taken in South America. One showed riot police with shields labeled “Policia,” the Spanish and Portuguese word for police, and originated from a 2008 Getty Images photo believed to be from Ecuador. The other image, showing red smoke and a crowd, was taken by a Brazilian photographer in 2017 and published on the free image site Pexels.
When a reporter from The Guardian contacted the Oregon Republican Party about the image, the party’s account on X responded: “We’re not reporters, just bad memers.” As of Tuesday, the posts containing the image had been removed from the party’s social media pages.
20 Oregon counties support Marion County suit over immigration records
Salem Reporter | By Madeleine Moore
Twenty Oregon counties sent a letter Monday to federal and state officials saying they support Marion County’s efforts to clarify whether it can provide information about people on parole to immigration authorities.
The letter was sent to Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in support of a Marion County lawsuit filed Aug 18. County officials say they’re seeking a federal declaration to clarify Oregon’s sanctuary law, which generally bars state and local government agencies from providing information to support immigration enforcement.
The letter included support from Clackamas County, but the state’s other most populous counties – Multnomah, Washington and Lane – did not sign on.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Portland Police: Man hits wheelchair bound man in head with guitar, throws colostomy bag
KATU | By Jeff Kirsch
A 65-year-old man remains in the Multnomah County Jail after a weekend assault that sent another man to the hospital.
According to court documents, Portland Police responded Saturday to 737 SW Salmon Street on reports that a person was hitting another person over the head with a guitar.
When officers arrived, they found a man with a significant amount of blood on his head and face, and a witness pointed out the suspect to the police, who took him into custody.
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