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Oregon News
ODF worker struck by falling tree cut for Oregon Capitol rotunda
KGW | By Alma McCarty
Friends of an Oregon Department of Forestry worker are raising money for her recovery expenses, after they said she was seriously hurt — her femur, crushed, in addition to other injuries — during a freak accident on Monday.
TRANSPORTATION
Oregonians rally against governor's transportation bill, seek ballot vote in 2026
KVAL | By Gabrielle Bowman
Oregonians are up in arms over Governor Tina Kotek's transportation bill, calling it "taxation without representation" - and the group, No Tax Oregon, is spearheading the opposition to the bill.
POLITICS
Latest Kotek climate order aims to speed up Oregon’s clean energy transition
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
Critics warned the governor’s order could drive up fuel and electricity costs for Oregonians. Low-carbon fuels are pricier to produce than petroleum and rely on subsidies and tax credits to compete, according to the state’s Department of Energy. Meanwhile, rapid investment in wind, solar, storage, and transmission will likely raise customer bills because of the massive scale of investments needed in a short period, the state agency said.
“In our view, this executive order is a massive overreach that completely bypasses the legislature and it shows a pattern of shocking disregard for Oregon’s economy,” said Ashley Kuenzi, a spokesperson with Oregon’s Senate Republican Office. “Is her goal to crush what remains of Oregon’s economy and drive the families and businesses that are left out of the state? Sadly, her actions suggest it might be.”
The governor’s office said the order won’t raise rates. Rather, the order directs agencies to prioritize energy efficiency and investments that deliver the greatest value to ratepayers, the governor’s office said.
State economist gives insight into Oregon’s slowing economic reality
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Declining economic growth, population and rising unemployment put Oregon behind national rates.
Economic policy expert John Tapogna said Oregon’s policies are outdated for the challenges the state faces today.
The state’s population is moving at a slower rate than the country as a whole as deaths in Oregon outnumber births. While this could mean there’s less pressure on the housing market, Tapogna said it also means fewer people who are innovators or employed in the state’s child care, health care and education industries.
He recommended the state focus on five things to bring people to Oregon.
Oregon school district pays $650K to settle suit over gender identity policy
The Oregonian | By Maxine Bernstein
Grants Pass School District No. 7 has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by two former staff members who were fired for producing a video and website challenging the district’s policy on recognizing students’ gender identities.
Reps. Bynum, Bonamici decry House vote to condemn ‘horrors of socialism’
KOIN 6 | By Jenna Deml
Friday morning, the US House voted 285-98 to approve a resolution condemning the “horrors of socialism.”
Eighty-six Democrats joined with Republicans to approve the measure. No Republican voted to oppose it, and two others – including Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) – voted “present.”
Capital Chatter: Sunny news breaks through Oregon’s economic cloud
Oregon Capital Insider | Opinion by Dick Hughes
Anecdotal evidence implies Oregon’s economy is bad and getting worse. News headlines tell of layoffs that might rival the Great Recession … business closures … school district and government agency cutbacks … people fleeing Multnomah County … downtown Portland buildings sold at steep discounts … Oregon plummeting in various state rankings… .
Yet the limited economic data currently available indicate that life is improving, lessening any likelihood of Oregon falling into a recession, Chief Economist Carl Riccadonna and senior economist Michael Kennedy told legislators and journalists this week.
Preschool for All’s Nest Egg Exceeds $600 Million After Fiscal Year 2025
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Preschool for All, Multnomah County’s initiative to provide universal preschool to every child who wants it by 2030, now sits on close to $610 million, marking another year where the program racks up its fund balance.
County officials say that they are rapidly scaling up the program in the upcoming cycle.
Portland pays once lauded bureau director $241K to resign from agency
The Oregonian | By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
The top official charged with guiding the city of Portland’s response to its housing crunch has accepted a six-figure severance to step down from her post weeks after Mayor Keith Wilson placed her on paid leave.
1803 Fund announces nearly $70M investment in Portland's Albina neighborhood
KGW | By Sabinna Pierre
A fund focused on Black Portland is investing nearly $70 million to redevelop waterfront property and historic blocks in the Albina neighborhood.
Audit Blasts the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
The workplace watchdog suffers from chronic mismanagement, leaving workers exposed.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Suspect with weapon arrested during TriMet incident in NE Portland
KOIN 6 | By Aimee Plante
Authorities responded to a TriMet incident early Thursday afternoon involving a man who had been threatening transit security with a weapon, according to police.
Teacher who survived brutal random attack at Portland shelter tries to forgive: ‘I want him to get help’
The Oregonian | By Tatum Todd
Michael Lasota opened his eyes to find a man holding a tire iron and standing over his bed.
He recognized him. The man was one of about 90 people who, like Lasota, were bunking down in the cold dorm hall of the Clark Center transitional housing shelter in Southeast Portland. But he’d never had a conversation with him, and didn’t know the man’s name.
Before Lasota could process what was happening, the man — who police later identified as Brandon Michael Quinn — brought the tire iron down on Lasota’s face twice.
Newport on heightened alert ahead of crabbing season and no Coast Guard helicopter
KATU | By Victor Park
It is that time of year again when people flock to the coast trying to get their hands on clams. And commercial crabbing season could start in just 10 days.
“We have the largest fishing fleet in the state of Oregon,” Newport resident Robert Heater told city leaders during a crucial City council meeting last week.
There continues to be a rising tide of concern.
A helicopter, stationed in Newport since the mid-1980s, is now nearly 100 miles away.
This weekend clam diggers could be literally navigating choppy waters as meteorologists forecast sneaker waves.
All that has raised concerns about emergency response times.
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