Category Government
Grants Pass Rep. Carl Wilson chosen as House minority leader
Rep. Carl Wilson sits on the House floor. (Courtesy/Carl Wilson) SALEM — State Rep. Carl Wilson, a Republican of Grants Pass, was elected Monday to serve as House minority leader. Wilson has represented since 2015 a district that runs from the California border up to Grants…
Latinos building political muscle across Oregon
Juan Carlos Gonzalez is the first Hispanic elected to Metro’s council in Portland. (Portland Tribune/Jaime Valdez) Juan Carlos Gonzalez was a high school junior from Forest Grove when he encountered President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., through the Boys Nation leadership program. Meeting the nation’s…
Tough state senator gets control over Oregon budget
State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, will be co-chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee that sets spending by state agencies. (File/Portland Tribune) State Sen. Betsy Johnson, a coastal legislator known for tough questioning of state bureaucrats, is getting a more powerful perch to watch over state…
Oregon collecting more marijuana tax money than expected
SALEM — Oregonians are buying more legal pot than expected. That means they are also poised to pay more taxes on it — about $12.5 million more in the current budget than state economists projected several months ago. The average price of a gram of…
Freedom Foundation takes its latest shot at Oregon unions
A conservative think tank is suing two Oregon labor unions, saying they are collecting union dues in violation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June. The class-action lawsuit, Anderson et al. v. SEIU et al, was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland.…
Paul Evans and Selma Pierce battled it out in one of Oregon’s most contentious races, in a district both parties will continue to fight for
Rep. Paul Evans plays a campaign commercial on his phone in his Capitol office. Evans made the commercial in response to attack ads from his opponent, Selma Pierce. The commercial is from the perspective of his dog, Beau, to set the record straight. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem…
Oregon secretary of state privately shares dire medical news with leaders
Secretary of State Dennis Richardson privately notified top Oregon officials earlier this summer that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and fatal form of cancer, according to two state executives. The Republican from Central Point is first in line to succeed the governor.…
Oregon governor stops bid to raise alcohol taxes
SALEM — Tax hikes on beer, cider and wine are “off the table,” Gov. Kate Brown said Friday. The Oregon Health Authority wanted to increase taxes on beer, wine and cider by 10 percent, which officials said could raise nearly half a billion dollars over…
Economists say you’re sending an extra $1 billion into Oregon’s treasury
SALEM — Taxpayers and lottery patrons are pouring millions of extra dollars into state coffers. By the end of the current budget cycle, state economists say, the state will tuck $1 billion more into its treasury than forecast 18 months ago. That comes on top…