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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon’s special legislative session cost taxpayers $270,000
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
The transportation bill Gov. Tina Kotek successfully pushed through the Legislature last week is expected to raise Oregonians’ costs by around $800 million in the current budget cycle.
That price tag is a touch higher if you figure in the cost of passing the bill in the first place.
A star-crossed special legislative session that officially concluded last Wednesday will cost taxpayers more than $270,000, according to administrators at the Capitol. The total could top $280,000 once lawmakers submit mileage reimbursement requests for traveling to and from Salem.
The inflated payments brought on by Gorsek’s illness have inspired grumbling in some corners of the Capitol. In the Senate, Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D-Portland, called on members to donate any money paid for days they didn’t meet in Salem to charity.
Republicans had no such expectation from the top.
“Senate Republican members can decide for themselves,” Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, told reporters Sept. 29.
Whatever they decide, the steep cost of the session is awkward, given the costs imposed by Kotek’s bill.
HB 3991 is expected to raise $4.3 billion in its first decade, via hikes to the state gas tax, registration fees, and a temporary doubling of a payroll tax that pays for public transit services. It will also require drivers of electric vehicles and hybrids to begin paying for each mile they drive.
Republicans have vowed to refer those tax increases to the November 2026 ballot.
A Fresh Batch of Messages Shows How Progressive Councilors Spoke About the Mayor and Some Constituents
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
The city released the additional records during a tense but also frenzied time for the city.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Oregon Republican leaders strike cautious tone on Trump’s National Guard deployment, call for local police to step up
The Oregonian | By Sami Edge
Oregon Republican leaders at the state and federal level are stopping short of calling for National Guard intervention in Portland.
In statements and interviews, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer and former House Minority Leader Christine Drazan all expressed frustration with protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.
Asked if they support President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops to intervene in those Portland protests, prominent Republicans said they either thought the president was within his rights or that they understood why he did it.
But they did not rally behind the call to get federal troops on the ground. Most said they want local police to step up and take control of the situation.
Asked if he supported Trump’s National Guard push, Starr said that “the law needs to be enforced in and around the ICE building,” which he alleged hasn’t been the case in the last several months.
“This issue could go away right now if Portland police, the leadership in Portland, enforced the law,” Starr said.
Oregon National Guard remains federalized for now, but cannot be deployed, judges rule
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
About 200 members of the Oregon National Guard will remain under federal control but cannot yet be deployed to Portland, according to a ruling Wednesday by three judges in a federal appeals court.
Portland police continue to restrict access around ICE building after Kristi Noem departs
The Oregonian | By Zaeem Shaikh, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
Streets around the entrance to South Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building remain blocked to traffic Wednesday morning as police tape remains around multiple intersections in the area.
At least a dozen Portland police officers surrounded the area for U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s visit Tuesday, putting up tape and enforcing traffic barricades. That was part of what the Police Bureau called “routine support” for a visiting official.
Police Chief Bob Day and officials said around 5 p.m. Tuesday that the area would be secured for several more hours.
That has changed.
A Portland police spokesperson, Mike Benner, said Wednesday morning there is no timeline for the tape to come down.
“Tape is up as PPB continues to provide a presence in the neighborhood,” Benner said.
Oregon general’s testimony that National Guard troops ‘will be protecting any protesters’ gains traction online
The Oregonian | By Zane Sparling
A nine-day-old snippet of testimony in front of Oregon lawmakers is rocketing around social media as Portland awaits word from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on President Trump’s troop deployment plans.
Trump retweet of Portland cop calming protesters feeds fed fight against city police
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
President Trump shared a misleading tweet on Tuesday that appears aimed at fueling the administration’s claims that Portland police aren’t intervening forcefully enough in protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
Portland police arrest three near ICE facility in ongoing protest tensions
KATU | By Bobby Corser
Portland Police say three people were arrested Tuesday and early Wednesday near the ICE facility.
Portland man accused of spitting in face of federal officer outside ICE building
The Oregonian | By Maxine Bernstein
A 38-year-old Portland man accused of spitting in the face of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer appeared in federal court Tuesday.
ECONOMY
Timberline Lodge warns of higher ticket prices as insurance costs soar 586% since 2020
KATU | By Sana Aljobory
Oregon's recreational industry is facing a significant challenge as insurance carriers exit the state due to what is described as a "broken recreational liability system."
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