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Oregon News
TRANSPORTATION
A ballot challenge has halted some Oregon car fee hikes, but not all. Here's what's going up Dec. 31
KGW | By Anthony Macuk
A Republican-led group turned in more than double the needed signatures last week to place a referendum on the 2026 ballot that would block several vehicle tax and DMV fee hikes included in a recent Oregon transportation funding bill. The state legislature passed House Bill 3991 in September over near-unanimous Republican opposition.
Most of the hikes were set to take effect Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, but simply by qualifying for the ballot, the referendum forces the Oregon Department of Transportation to freeze all hikes targeted by the measure and suspend the expected revenue — money that the agency and the transportation package's backers said was needed to avoid drastic layoffs and service cuts.
The signatures still need to be verified, but their sheer number essentially guarantees that the referendum will qualify. Gov. Tina Kotek's office said last week that she had already directed ODOT to suspend the new revenue measures preemptively. They will remain on hold until the referendum goes to voters in November 2026.
The immediate result for Oregonians is that most of the tax and fee hikes will no longer take effect at the end of the year — but the referendum only targets some sections of HB 3991. A few of the hikes in the bill were left out of the referendum, and are therefore still set to take effect.
New Interstate Bridge cost estimate delayed
KATU
The group leading the effort to replace the Interstate Bridge says it won't have an updated cost estimate until next year.
POLITICS
The Champions of a Coos Bay Shipping Port Have a Lot on the Line
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
Arnie Roblan and Brian Clem believe strongly in the project’s potential.
Oregon’s Leading Politicians Want to Bet Billions of Dollars on a New Shipping Terminal. Critics Say It’s a Costly Mistake.
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
Coos Bay’s location and the highly competitive nature of transportation markets, experts say, make it unlikely the project can succeed.
New bill would hike Oregon’s lodging tax to protect imperiled wildlife, habitat
OPB | By Bryce Dole
Oregon lawmakers are bringing back a bipartisan bill that would raise the state lodging tax to pay for wildlife and habitat conservation.
Audit reveals stability and coordination issues hinder Oregon's Measure 110 implementation
KVAL
Measure 110 is still far from achieving its promise to help Oregonians struggling with addiction due to frequent policy changes and a lack of stability, coordination, and data at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), according to an audit released today by the Secretary of State Audits Division.
Oregon House speaker troubled by Smith findings as Republicans stay silent
Salem Reporter | By Les Zaitz
The speaker of the Oregon House said she considers recent investigative findings that state Rep. Greg Smith repeatedly violated state law to pad his salary from a public agency to be “deeply troubling.”
Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, said in a statement to Salem Reporter she would determine “next steps” at the Legislature once the Oregon Government Ethics Commission concludes its work.
Law Firm That Regularly Sues the City Over Police Misconduct Is Representing Peacock Councilors
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
A law firm that regularly sues the city on behalf of protesters and other citizens alleging police misconduct is now representing five Portland city councilors in an ethics case.
All six members of the council’s progressive caucus—called Peacock—are now under investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for an August retreat. The ethics commission voted 7-0 on Friday to investigate the meeting and whether anything the councilors discussed during it violated public meetings law, which says that a quorum of councilors cannot discuss any policy in private that may reasonably come before the council or a council committee. Councilors maintain they did not talk about any policy-related matters.
Flawed data led to bad decisions in Preschool for All rollout, commissioner says
KOIN 6 | By Elise Haas
Bad data led to bad decisions. That’s how Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards is describing the county’s rollout of Preschool for All.
Fewer preschoolers in Multnomah County than predicted could mean no wealth tax hike
KATU | By Christina Giardinelli
Multnomah County Commissioners are set to decide whether to make changes to a program now on track to reach its ambitious goal of universal free preschool sooner than expected.
The program, instituted through a voter-approved income wealth tax, had the goal of providing free preschool seats to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the county by 2030, but the county could meet that target much sooner.
After Strike Threats, OHSU And Its Largest Union Reach Tentative Agreement
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
Oregon Health & Science University and a union representing about 8,000 of its workers have settled on a new contract, union leaders announced Wednesday, diminishing the chance of a major labor conflict at Oregon’s flagship medical institution.
The agreement is tentative. Members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 328—an eclectic mix of staff whose work spans patient care, administration, and food service—must still approve the contract.
'A job well Dunn': After 39 years at KATU, anchor Steve Dunn signs off
KATU
After nearly four decades in news, longtime KATU News anchor Steve Dunn delivered his final newscast on Tuesday.
Mayor Julie Hoy stands alone as all councilors concede ethics violation.
Salem Reporter | By Joe Siess
Three more Salem City councilors who participated in an illegal serial meeting orchestrated by the mayor in February have accepted responsibility for their actions and signed agreements with the state ethics commission.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Employer health insurance costs reach record highs in Oregon
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
The cost of health insurance provided through Oregon employers reached record levels last year, adding to the financial pressure many families already feel from rising health care costs.
In Oregon, the average annual premiums climbed to $24,688 for employees who paid for family insurance and $8,400 for employees who covered just themselves in 2024, according to a new analysis from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota.
Private equity firm to buy Zenith Energy, Portland’s controversial fuel terminal
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
A Miami-based private equity firm announced Tuesday that it’s set to acquire the Zenith Energy fuel terminal on the Willamette River in Northwest Portland.
‘Business is tough’: Mount Hood ski resorts bear the burden of a late snow season
KOIN 6 | By Joey Vacca
With ski resorts near Mt. Hood still waiting on enough snow to open for the season, nearby businesses are seeing slower than normal business.
Developer Lauren Noecker, Once a Huge Fan, Says Portland is Toxic to Real Estate Investors
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
“You say ‘Portland’ and people want to run,” she says in an interview.
St. Johns brewery concerned over ongoing public safety issues
KPTV | By Makenna Marks
StormBreaker Brewing has been on North Lombard Street in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood since 2018, and has consistently dealt with homeless individuals camping on its patio over the years.
But recently, owner Rob Lutz said the situation has turned into a major public safety issue, and it’s taking a toll on his business.
Oregon cherry commission considers new marketing order
Capital Press | By Kyle Odegard
A new marketing order being considered by the Oregon Sweet Cherry Commission could set size and quality standards, ensuring premium fruit — the Northwest’s competitive advantage — enters the international marketplace as production ramps up with new orchards in China and Turkey.
HOMELESSNESS
Salem-area organizers opt to skip unsheltered homeless count this year
Salem Reporter | By Abbey McDonald
The annual unsheltered Point-in-Time count sends interviewers out into the Salem area to count the number of people living out on the street, in tents, RVs or in cars. Last January, Marion and Polk counties recorded a record 2,154 homeless people living outside of shelters. The high number compared to previous counts resulted from a more thorough and better organized count and rising costs of rent and essentials driving more people into homelessness for the first time in their lives.
The count that took people under bridges and into informal camps won’t be done next month. Budget cuts are straining staff availability, delaying the count until January 2027.
CEO of Sunstone Way, a Key Homeless Shelter Contractor, Takes Leave
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
Andy Goebel, chief executive officer at Sunstone Way, a nonprofit that operates homeless shelters for the city of Portland and Multnomah County, is taking a six-week sabbatical to deal with the stress of his job.
That’s according to a memo sent to staff by Sunstone Way interim board chair Jaime Dunn and obtained by WW.
State-County Mental Health Talks Blow Past Deadlines
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
Major contract negotiations between the Oregon Health Authority and local health departments continue to drag on, in part over counties’ concerns that the state is pressuring them to take on far more responsibility—and liability—for people charged with crimes who must be “restored” to competency before they can stand trial.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Oregon union calls for monthly boycotts against Trump immigration policy, including from school
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
Oregon’s farmworker union is calling on the state’s residents to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown by not showing up to work, stores or school one day per month from December through May for a total of six days – two of which are federal holidays.
‘Not grounded in reality’: Oregon leaders slam GOP bill cutting funds for states that charge feds
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nunguneri
A powerful Republican lawmaker is proposing legislation that would allow the Trump administration to strip federal funding from states that prosecute federal agents for their conduct during immigration raids. The proposal is drawing a stern rebuke from Oregon leaders as the state’s attorney general weighs whether to bring cases forward.
U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee, introduced the de-funding bill on Dec. 11, in response to what he characterized as “far-left officials targeting immigration enforcement.”
“My Safeguarding Homeland Immigration Enforcement from Local Detention (SHIELD) Act stands up for the rule of law and pushes back on far-left radicals by cutting off every federal dollar to any jurisdiction that obstructs or prosecutes our officers —- even once —- carrying out their critical security responsibilities,” Arrington said in a statement.
Oregon’s Attorney General Dan Rayfield countered that federal agents should not be above the law.
‘Deeply troubled’: Hundreds of Portland students stage walkout over ICE
KOIN 6 | By Ariel Salk
Hundreds of students marched out of the classroom at McDaniel High School in Northeast Portland on Tuesday in protest against ICE. Meanwhile, immigrant justice leaders are calling on Oregonians to boycott the local economy in protest of ICE.
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