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Oregon News
POLITICS
Kotek order blocks Oregon school districts from cutting instruction time to patch budget holes
OPB
Oregon schools have some of the shortest school years in the country. And when budgets are cut in the middle of a year, sometimes school boards make those school years even shorter.
Under an executive order issued Thursday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants to stop that.
Portland city councilors clash over racial equity and unspent housing funds
KATU | By Victor Park
A firestorm erupted among Portland city leaders during Wednesday night’s council meeting.
Councilors Loretta Smith and Angelita Morillo exchanged words while others stepped in and told Smith to “not impugn the character of our colleagues.”
It was another plot twist to the saga around what to do with millions of dollars on unspent housing funds.
This time, City Council focused on $18 million.
City leaders push for new utility fee to fix Portland streets
KOIN 6 | By Anthony Kustura
It doesn’t take long to see Portland’s streets are in critical condition, with a huge repair backlog. City leaders say decades of underfunding are to blame. But now you could start paying more through a new utility fee to fix them.
In a Wednesday City Council meeting, Councilor Steve Novick said the state and federal gas taxes have been insufficient for decades to maintain Portland’s streets, stressing that leaving them in a state of disrepair continues to make them worse.
“So the process of getting to this point is, it’s 40 years in the making,” Novick said. “$40 to 50 million a year is what it takes to keep the streets mediocre.”
In response, leaders like Novick are proposing a transportation utility fee to fix the streets, maintain street lights, and improve safety infrastructure.
Multnomah County leader suggests cutting more than 600 homeless shelter beds due to budget woes
OPB | By Bryce Dole
The budget proposal comes as housing and homelessness remain top issues in the Portland metro area.
‘It’s untenable’: Lake County district attorney suddenly resigns, cites lack of funding
OPB | By Joni Auden Land
Lake County District Attorney Paul Charas said a lack of funding has made it difficult to prosecute cases in the rural Oregon county.
Husband of Trump’s labor secretary called Oregon the ‘demon state’ in text to aide
The Oregonian | By Zane Sparling
The investigation into U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has uncovered text messages asking subordinates to fetch wine as well as other exchanges between Chavez-DeRemer’s aides and her father and husband, a new report says.
Home Forward CEO Spent Six Days in Hawaii Because the Agency Created an Insurance Company There
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
Among Ivory Mathews’ dozens of work trips, this one stood out.
2026 ELECTION
Measure 120 would give Oregonians a chance to weigh in on the gas tax
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Voters will soon have a say in what’s been one of Oregon’s most contentious issues over the past year: funding state transportation needs.
Republican Candidates for Governor Raise Millions
Willamette Week / Oregon Journalism Project | By Khushboo Rathore
The top four Republican candidates for Oregon governor are headed to their first debate on Thursday, April 16, in Hillsboro. At this stage, the two front-runners have raised the most money, thanks to huge contributions from wealthy patrons. Here’s a breakdown of the campaign finances for the four, as of April 14.
Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidates face off in first debate: How to watch
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
On Thursday evening, the leading Republicans running for Oregon governor will take the stage at an auditorium in Hillsboro to square off in their first debate ahead of next month’s primary election.
The Legislature’s Leading Land Use Expert Irks Some Democrats by Backing a Controversial Farm-Stand Bill
Willamette Week / Oregon Journalism Project
‘Whether 1000 Friends of Oregon likes them or not,’ says Rep. Ken Helm, ‘people love farm stands.’
Democrats compete to succeed Springfield's John Lively in Oregon legislature
KLCC | By Nathan Wilk
John Lively has represented Springfield in the Oregon State House for 14 years. But the 79-year-old Democrat is retiring next January.
2 progressive Democrats are vying for an Oregon House seat. Their differences are surprisingly stark
The Oregonian | By Betsy Hammond
The race to represent Beaverton and its northern suburbs in the Oregon House features two progressive Democrats who are strikingly similar: Both hold local elected office, are determined to uplift workers and say they’ll work to promote affordability, health care access and housing production.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Convicted for a shocking Portland murder, he’s now asking Oregon to free him
The Oregonian | By Noelle Crombie
A man at the center of a notorious “street family” killing that shocked the conscience of Portlanders more than two decades ago told the Oregon parole board on Wednesday that he has transformed into an empathetic and sober middle-age man worthy of release.
Portland ICE facility to face new hearing over land use violation
KOIN 6 | By Jenna Deml
A hearing officer is set to reconsider the land use violation notice against Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, after being accused of bias in their previous ruling, city officials confirmed.
ICE now 'going after everyone' in Oregon, not just Latinos, advocates say
The Oregonian | By Yesenia Amaro
Federal agents appear to be increasingly targeting immigrants from Laos in Oregon, including the recent arrest of a Gresham man that prompted U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter to show up at the Portland immigration office over the weekend.
The trend here reflects a nationwide increase in arrests of people from Southeast Asia since President Donald Trump returned to office, advocates say.
Portland immigration operation spanned months, included 100 ICE agents
OPB | By Conrad Wilson
The Trump administration released new details Wednesday about “Operation Black Rose,” a months-long federal immigration enforcement campaign in the Portland area, resulting in more than 1,100 arrests across Oregon.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Lloyd Center owners set closing date for iconic Portland mall
Portland Business Journal | By Sara Edwards
“This is a necessary step toward delivering a new future for this site and for Portland,” said Tom Kilbane, managing director of URG. “We recognize the history of Lloyd Center and appreciate the tenants who’ve operated here over the last few years. At the same time, the reality is the mall is no longer viable in its current form. As a city, we can’t afford to get stuck in the past, Portland needs this momentum for a more vibrant future.”
Trail Blazers’ postseason run to bring economic boost to Portland businesses
KOIN 6 | By Joey Vacca
The Portland Trail Blazers are playoff-bound for the first time since 2021, meaning the Rose City will host at least two playoff games when the San Antonio Spurs come to town. That bodes well for area businesses.
National manufacturing company acquires Oregon dairy brand’s Clackamas facility
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
Months after an Oregon dairy brand announced plans to close its last remaining facility in the state, another company is gearing up to take over.
Plant Based Innovations has purchased the Clackamas property where Alpenrose previously manufactured butter, sour cream and ice cream, Harry Davis & Company announced on Wednesday. The sale facilitated by HDC comes just weeks after the dairy brand halted operations at the facility.
Intel poaches Samsung manufacturing executive
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
One of the top executives in Samsung’s contract manufacturing business is jumping to Intel.
Samsung Vice President Shawn (Seung Hoon) Han is joining Intel next month as vice president and general manager of foundry services, Intel’s nascent contract manufacturing business. He will report to Naga Chandrasekaran, the Intel vice president in charge of technology development and manufacturing.
Organic agriculture sees opportunity with increased demand
Capital Press | By Kyle Odegard
Organic farmers and ranchers can seize opportunity with increased demand and may be more resilient during a challenging year for agriculture, said producers and segment leaders.
EDUCATION
Oregon school leaders call for funding formula changes after federal poverty data leads to cuts
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Some districts will lose millions in funding because of the Oregon Department of Education’s reliance on poverty rates in a subset of 2024 Census Bureau data.
Oregon has the second-highest chronic absenteeism rate. A UO institute has some research-backed solutions
OPB / KLCC | By Zac Ziegler
More than one-third of Oregon students missed at least 17 days of school in the 2024-25 school year. The 33.5% chronic absentee rate is the second highest rate of states that have released such data so far.
A recent summary from the University of Oregon’s HEDCO Institute may have possible solutions for schools struggling with students missing large amounts of the school year.
PPS Introduces Another Metric to Inform School Closures
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
A school’s ‘utilization’ shows the district which buildings have space and where it’s over capacity.
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