Category State
From mushrooms to pension reform: Here’s what could be on your 2020 ballot
SALEM — Roughly 30 measures are vying for a spot on your ballot in 2020. Some are measures that state lawmakers voted to refer to Oregonians. Others have been proposed by citizens to reconsider or amend state laws. Each, though, raises a hot-button issue. They…
Public employee union lands big wage increases in new contract
An SEIU supporter participates in a political rally. (Courtesy of SEIU 503) State employees got a win unlike anything they have seen since before the recession with the legislature dedicating $200 million to pay increases. That money allowed Service Employees International Union Local 503 to…
Who’s paying for Republican’s protest of cap and trade?
Protesters cheer the Senate Republicans’ walkout at a rally in June. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) When Senate Republicans walked out of the Capitol in June and fled the state, they infuriated Democrats, who called them out for abandoning their jobs and preventing a vote on climate…
Boquist’s wife reveals death threats, files legislative complaint
Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas. SALEM – Peggy Boquist, wife of state Sen. Brian Boquist who is employed in his legislative office, has filed a complaint about workplace issues, indicating legislative leaders ignored death threats against her family. She submitted the complaint as testimony to a…
Second child welfare worker accused of having sex in front of child no longer employed
The second Dallas-based child welfare worker accused of having sex in front of a minor is no longer employed by the state, Salem Reporter has learned. Kate Guy is gone from the state Department of Human Services, an agency spokesman said Wednesday. Spokesman Jake Sunderland…
Construction bill divvies up hundreds of millions to projects throughout the state
SALEM — Government agencies across Oregon will go on a run of remodeling public buildings and erecting new ones under legislation recently approved. House Bill 5006 is a checklist of big-ticket construction projects from Tillamook to Condon costing a total $528 million. The money comes…
Legislators reject legal advice, allow Boquist to work in the Capitol
The Senate Special Committee on Conduct holds a hearing Monday on the comments of Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) State Sen. Brian Boquist will have to alert officials before he arrives to work in the Capitol so additional state troopers can be put…
Audit: Oregon still struggles with cyber security needs
SALEM — Auditors say Oregon’s central administrative agency lacks basic controls to protect its information and systems from a cyber attack. That means the Department of Administrative Services’ information and systems are at risk for “unauthorized use, disclosure, or modification,” according to a report released…
Timber Unity movement gets presidential invite
Timber Unity supporters and other opponents rally against House Bill 2020 on June 27. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) SALEM — Two members of a quickly rising political activist community of Oregon loggers have been invited to the White House to attend a speech on “America’s environmental…