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Oregon News
'47 years of waiting. It’s beyond words': Dozens of Iranian Americans celebrate in Portland streets after U.S. strikes kill Ayatollah
KGW | By Jake Holter
A celebration broke out in Downtown Portland as Iranian Americans waved flags and danced in the streets following news of U.S. strikes on Iran.
Oregon jury awards 16 Santiam wildfire survivors eye-popping $305M
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
An Oregon jury awarded $305 million to 16 survivors of the 2020 Santiam Canyon wildfires on Feb. 25, the largest award issued so far in the sprawling class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp.
Oregon urges SNAP recipients to seek employment and training services as rules expand
KATU | By Sana Aljobory
Recent federal changes are expanding work requirements for some Oregonians who receive SNAP food benefits, prompting state agencies to urge recipients to connect with free job search and training help through WorkSource Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Employment Department said more people who receive SNAP must now show they are working, looking for work or participating in training to continue receiving aid.
POLITICS
Amid a Housing Crisis, Oregon Issues Building Permits for Multifamily Units at the Slowest Pace in 12 Years
Willamette Week | By Khushboo Rathore
Investors are wary and public subsidies are not enough to move the needle.
Oregon is in a housing crisis. The state needs to build 95,000 housing units to compensate for years of underdevelopment and to house its growing homeless population, according to a recent state report.
Multifamily units—from duplexes to large apartment buildings—are one of the most efficient ways for Oregon, or any region, to quickly increase housing, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.
By this metric, Oregon is failing. Local, county and state housing officials issued permits for only 4,800 multifamily units in 2024—the lowest total in 12 years. Preliminary data shows 2025 will barely exceed that dismal figure.
Last-Minute Amendments Could Determine Who Profits From a Renovated Moda Center
Willamette Week | By Robert Ohman
An enormous taxpayer subsidy now contains some protections. Critics say they aren’t enough.
Senate Bill 1501 moved from the Senate Rules Committee last week after an amendment that went at least part of the way to satisfying the previously expressed concerns by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr (R-Dundee) and his caucus about whether the Blazers were committed to staying in Portland if public funding comes together.
What Oregon lawmakers still have to do before legislative session ends
OPB
Oregon lawmakers must adjourn by March 8. Here’s what to know about the work remaining.
Lawmakers unveil plan to fund Oregon Department of Transportation
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
Plugging the Oregon Department of Transportation’s budget crisis will mean keeping hundreds of the agency's positions vacant, redirecting funds from Safe Routes to School, Connect Oregon and projects related to seismic improvements, among other programs, lawmakers said Feb. 28.
Oregonians would see reduced transportation services under plan to address ODOT funding gap
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Neither party is entirely happy about the plan. Many Republicans had hoped to tap public transit dollars or entirely close certain offices at the transportation agency, while some Democrats had hoped to preserve more funding for pedestrian and safety projects or other programs.
“We got to a budget that neither the Republicans or the Democrats like ... which feels like a win to me in a lot of respects,” Sen. Kate Lieber, a Portland Democrat and co-chair of the legislative budget-writing committee, told reporters Friday.
Despite earlier alarms, Oregon programs, services can proceed largely unscathed in wake of Trump tax and budget cuts
The Oregonian | By Betsy Hammond
For months, the Legislature’s top budget writers warned that Oregon faced a $650 million to $750 million hole in its state budget due to President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax- and budget-cutting bill.
On Sunday, they made public their planned cuts – and they total just $128 million, a teensy fraction of the $39 billion state budget.
To square Oregon’s budget, lawmakers say many state agency jobs must go unfilled
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Many of the redirects Democrats are now proposing were ones Republicans had called for during the 2025 session, in an effort to solve the transportation agency’s problems not with increased revenue options but decreased spending.
Lieber said the difference between what she and Sanchez are proposing now and what Republicans wanted in the long session, is permanence. They want to make sure programs like Safe Routes to Schools and Connect Oregon are not done away with completely.
Editorial: A legislative ‘solution’ that only creates more loopholes
The Oregonian Editorial Board
Two bills in the Legislature aim to help ski resorts, river guides and other recreational businesses stave off increasing lawsuits — and surging insurance premiums — as injured customers allege minor negligence. One bill has near universal support from a range of outdoor businesses, conservation groups and gyms, while the other has been broadly panned.
Guess which one is advancing?
Senate Bill 1517, which has received almost no public testimony in its favor, passed the Senate and is now in the House, while the more popular Senate Bill 1593 languishes in the Rules Committee.
Oregon moves toward 1-year moratorium on big data center tax breaks
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
Oregon lawmakers voted Monday to adopt a one-year moratorium on awarding new tax breaks for data centers through the state’s largest incentive program.
Despite concerns it could diminish public transparency, bill to change Oregon open meetings law advances
The Oregonian | By Betsy Hammond
Sen. Mike McLane, a Powell Butte Republican, cast the lone no vote. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive he did so because “I am not persuaded, given the current climate of political discussion, that bills that would reduce transparency are wise.”
Oregon House Republicans salvage vote to raise lodging tax as Dems defect
The Oregonian | By Jonathan Bach
Three Democrats — Reps. Shannon Isadore of Portland, John Lively of Springfield and Daniel Nguyễn of Dunthorpe — voted against the increase.
But three Republicans — Reps. Greg Smith of Heppner, Mark Owens of Crane, and Bobby Levy of Echo — voted for it, granting the three-fifths majority required of bills that raise revenue.
After a group of Republicans testified in favor of HB 4134, Rep. E. Werner Reschke, R-Malin, held a printed copy of the bill aloft and said: “This is a tax. … How does raising taxes on Oregonians make it more affordable to live in Oregon?”
Speaking in opposition to the bill, Reschke said he wanted to remind other House Republicans that their party’s mission is to cut taxes. He then likened the tourism industry to vulnerable sheep or cattle.
“The knives are out to gut their industry like a wolf,” Reschke said.
Bill sponsor Owens, the Crane Republican, said the lodging tax increase would not be enough to deter tourists from coming to Oregon or jeopardize tourism industry jobs.
Deal comes together to allow Oregon to buy Abiqua Falls. Here's how
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, led the effort to get funding and come to an agreement with the Abbey Foundation of Oregon, which put the property up for sale on Feb. 2. He worked closely on the deal with House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, D-Tigard.
Oregon lawmakers hammer out $2 million deal to buy beloved privately owned waterfall
The Oregonian | By Jamie Hale
“Following the example set by the late Governor Tom McCall, Oregon is pledging that Abiqua Falls will continue to be protected and accessible for generations to come,” Girod said in a statement Monday. “It is the Oregon Way.”
TriMet service changes to reduce budget gap now in effect
KGW | By Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola, Jeremy Scott
Changes to TriMet bus service took effect on Sunday as the transit agency works to close a $300 million budget gap.
Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon talks role’s continued importance in a blue state
KOIN 6 | By Ken Boddie
Oregon is nearly the definition of a “blue state.” All of the state’s executive positions – including governor and Secretary of State – are occupied by Democrats.
Democrats hold supermajorities in the legislature and all but one of our congressional delegation are Democrats.
So does that make Nathan Soltz’s job to sustain that political dominance easier or more difficult?
Soltz is Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. Born and raised in Medford, Soltz was Oregon’s youngest DNC candidate in 2016, when he was just 19.
He is also the current Chief of Staff to long-time Oregon State Senator Lew Frederick.
Soltz joined Eye on Northwest Politics to share what makes his role vital, as well as the kind of support Democratic lawmakers need in a state where the party dominates.
Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
It’s not clear whether Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, can or will face any sanctions from House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, for collecting campaign funds during the session.
Former Democratic state senator runs for swing coastal Oregon Senate seat
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Former state Sen. Rachel Armitage of St. Helens announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in Oregon’s 16th Senate district last week on social media. Before her 2022 appointment to serve one session in the chamber, she was a legislative staffer for Rep. Susan McLain, D-Forest Grove and former Rep. Carla Piluso, D-Gresham.
EDUCATION
Some High School Graduates Still Aren’t Prepared for College or a Career
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Portland Public Schools also faces a declining graduation rate.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Oregon exports fell by $6 billion last year — the trade war is just one reason why
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
Tariffs are just part of the story, though. Damon Runberg, economist with the state economic development agency Business Oregon, says the decline also reflects cyclical trends in the semiconductor industry and broader weakness among the state’s businesses.
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