New COVID surge expected as health officials urge vulnerable residents to get updated booster

An Oregon Health Authority official expects the virus to stick around, just like influenza.
Companies that violated Oregon Covid regulations owe state nearly $800,000

With appeals, Oregon's process for fining employers who violated Covid regulations continues to drag on. Some companies have ignored fines for their conduct.
Secretary of State report finds pay inequities persist in state pay despite equity law, raises

AT THE CAPITOL: Auditors found that white people in Oregon benefited more than people of color from pay raises aimed at reducing gaps
Oregon’s congressional delegation reacts to State of the Union along party lines

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley gave an online news conference while U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Reps. Lori Chavez DeRemer, a Republican, and Democrat Andrea Salinas released statements.
Sick children and adult patients jam Oregon’s hospitals

Hospital officials are coping with a trifecta of infections spreading throughout the community.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer wins Oregon’s 5th Congressional District seat

On Sunday, the Associated Press announced that the former mayor of Happy Valley had won the race against Democrat Jamie-McLeod-Skinner, an attorney and regional emergency manager from central Oregon.
Opponents file lawsuit against large chicken operation in Linn County

They hope a judge will require a more restrictive wastewater discharge permit; owner says they’re just trying to put him out of business.
Oregon Supreme Court justice retiring Dec. 31, giving Gov. Brown another court pick

Justice Thomas Balmer told Brown in a letter that he will retire Dec. 31, according to a news release from the Oregon Judicial Department. At 70, Balmer has served on the court for 21 years and was chief justice between 2012 and 2018.
Experts tell state lawmakers Oregon’s novel approach to drug addiction has holes

Measure 110 removed law enforcement largely from the picture at the same time that the drug crisis is worsening, they said.
Patients from Idaho, Texas, elsewhere seek abortion care in Oregon

Planned Parenthood, which provides about two-thirds of the abortions in Oregon, has hired staff and is working on a new facility in eastern Oregon


