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Oregon News
POLITICS
Capital Chatter: The power of a plan
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Dick Hughes
A dozen years ago, I went back to school and earned a master’s degree in management through Southern Oregon University.
I had several excellent professors. One in particular emphasized the importance of having a business plan. If I recall correctly, the data showed that the existence of such a plan was even more important than whether it was a good or a not-so-good plan. Regardless, the plan got everyone rowing in the same direction.
I don’t know that the same can be said for government. For example, decades of statewide plans have not resolved homelessness in Oregon.
And when it comes to Oregon’s wavering economy, everyone seems to have their own plan.
Last week, Gov. Tina Kotek released her “Prosperity Roadmap.” As with Kotek’s Nov. 19 “Executive order on reducing gas emissions and advancing Oregon’s clean energy future,” it was lofty in its goals but seemed short on specifics for achieving them.
On Monday in Portland, the annual Leadership Summit brought together business leaders, politicians, and others to discuss improving Oregon’s business and economic climate. Again, worthy aspirations but not a ton of specifics.
During last month’s Legislative Days at the State Capitol, various committees discussed taxes and the business climate.
The co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee — Sen. Kate Lieber and Rep. Tawna Sanchez, both Portland Democrats – followed up with a guest opinion in The Oregonian. Discussing the state’s projected budget shortfall, they wrote, “Our long-term solutions must include strategies to grow private sector jobs that stimulate our broader economy and provide good wages to hardworking Oregonians.”
Lieber and Sanchez had blamed the Trump administration.
Not so fast, responded the Legislature’s Republican leaders — Sen. Bruce Starr, Dundee, and Rep. Lucetta Elmer, McMinnville.
“Throughout the 2025 legislative session and special session, House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly offered detailed, practical proposals to help Oregon stabilize its budget without raising taxes,” Elmer and Starr wrote in their rebuttal guest opinion.
Oregon’s been here before. In the early 1980s, Republican Gov. Vic Atiyeh worked with legislative Democrats to steer the state through a brutal recession.
Economic woes propelled voters in 1984 to create the Oregon Lottery. Profits were earmarked for economic development.
Once the economy rebounded, public and political attention turned elsewhere. Voters eventually added other uses for lottery dollars, including schools, natural resources and veterans programs.
Let us learn from history. There are two great economic challenges for the 2026 Legislature and for next year’s political candidates.
— Building a truly bipartisan, collaborative, thoughtful, achievable strategy for the state’s future. That’s something former Gov. John Kitzhaber has long called for, and he’s right.
— Sticking with the plan, making it work in both the short and long terms, adjusting as needed but without losing focus.
Those concepts are not revolutionary. Neither should they be ideological.
Students who protested transgender athlete at Oregon track championship drop lawsuit against OSAA
The Oregonian | By Nick Streng
A federal lawsuit filed by three former Oregon high school track and field athletes against the Oregon School Activities Association protesting the state’s policy regarding transgender athletes has been dropped.
Oregon Capitol gains largest set of gender-neutral bathrooms in any state legislature
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
The new bathrooms, however, have so far served as a rare area of common ground across political aisles at the center of the halls of power. The new capitol expansion was first open to the public in late September, yet to date, no Republicans or Democrats have issued press releases or statements in support or opposition to the new restrooms.
Restroom access experts told the Capital Chronicle the new addition would likely help in combatting the historical problem of unequal access to bathrooms that women, who on average need to use the restroom for longer, face compared to men.
But the move to add the state legislature’s bathrooms did not result from a request from an official or lawmakers, Jones said.
The new bathrooms already have even some prominent conservatives offering praise.
Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, was among the Oregon House Republicans in June who unsuccessfully sought to force a vote on legislation that would have required Oregon schools to ensure school bathrooms and locker rooms are divided by students’ sex assigned at birth. He told the Capital Chronicle that he had consulted with other women about their comfortability with the new capitol bathrooms and that it “caught me off guard at first, but I think I’m fine with them.”
“It’s not like they put up (the) signs ‘all gender bathrooms for a gender-diverse society.’ They said ‘all user restroom,’ I’m fine with that,” Diehl said, chuckling. “All-user restroom — I like that.”
Could Oregon senators’ bill save the hemp industry? Democrats pitch age limit to keep gummies, drinks legal
The Oregonian | By Aimee Green
Oregon’s two U.S. senators reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would establish the legal age at 21 to purchase hemp-derived products containing CBD or THC, such as gummies, drinks and oils.
The bill is meant to undo sweeping restrictions laid out in legislation that passed Congress last month. When those prohibitions take effect next fall, they are expected to wipe out as much as 95% to 99% of the nation’s hemp industry, including almost all of the 2,000 acres of hemp grown in Oregon.
Oregon congressman again is pushing to remove gray wolves from Endangered Species Act
The Oregonian | By Joel Odom
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz once again is pushing to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act.
The Oregon Republican, whose district covers the entire eastern half of the state, said Wednesday that enforcement of the federal law when it comes to the gray wolf has thrust “injury and injustice” upon Oregon ranchers whose livestock are being attacked and killed by wolves.
Preschool for All Seats Will Double Next Year, Multnomah County Says
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
But declining birth rates and migration indicate the program won’t have as many kids to serve at the end of the decade.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Oregon’s unemployment rate climbs to among the highest in the U.S.
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
New data shows that Oregon’s unemployment rate is now among the highest in the country.
NW Natural cuts about 30 jobs, citing affordability concerns
Portland Business Journal | By Pete Danko
Energy utilities have been under pressure to stem rate increases, and slimmer staffing appears to be one way they're approaching the challenge.
Portland’s first game store co-op leaving Hollywood District after costly break-ins
KPTV | By Leslie Dominique
Oregon’s first worker-owned and operated game store is leaving its location in Northeast Portland’s Hollywood District, citing costly burglaries and a need for more space.
Designer shoe chain to close Portland store next month
The Oregonian | By Veronica Nocera
DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) operates two locations in Portland — one at Cascade Station and another at Jantzen Beach Center. The latter will close its doors next month, according to a sign visible outside the store this week.
Oregon grows more Christmas trees than other states. Climate researchers want to keep it that way
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
As Oregonians prepare for Christmas, researchers are looking into how they can keep the state’s Christmas tree industry alive for decades to come.
EDUCATION
Two of Oregon’s oldest colleges may join forces
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
The presidents of Willamette University, which has its flagship campus in Salem, and Pacific University, which is based in Forest Grove, said that if approved by state and federal regulators, a process they expect could take at least two years, the two schools would be known as the University of the Northwest. The two have signed a letter of intent, which starts the clock on a cost-benefit analysis for both campuses.
HEALTH CARE
Regence–OHSU still at contract standoff on insurance coverage
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield members may eventually see Oregon Health & Science University and Hillsboro Medical Center move out-of-network, as the hospitals and insurer remain deadlocked in negotiations over a new contract.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Ranchers in southeast Oregon helped keep sage grouse off the endangered list. Now, lithium mining could pose a new threat
OPB | By Cassandra Profita
Exploratory lithium mining project and a federal push for energy dominance could hurt sage grouse conservation efforts.
Stakeholder proposal for Harney groundwater rejected by Oregon regulatorsCapital Press | By Mateusz Perkowski
Alfalfa is irrigated with a center pivot in Oregon's Harney basin, for which state regulators have adopted new regulations allowing groundwater consumption to be curtailed. An alternative proposal from irrigators and others in the region was rejected by regulators.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Multnomah County declares state of emergency in face of ICE activity
KGW | By John Tanet
Multnomah County is the latest in a growing list of local governments to issue such a declaration.
Nurses union alleges ICE is allowed to dictate patient care at Legacy Emanuel
OPB | By Holly Bartholomew
The union representing more than 24,000 Oregon nurses has called out management at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center for jeopardizing the rights, health and safety of patients in custody of immigration enforcement agencies.
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