Category State
Logging community Timber Unity gets White House invite
Timber Unity and other groups protest House Bill 2020. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Two members of a quickly rising political activist community of loggers have been invited to the White House for an afternoon talk on environmental policy by President Donald Trump. Timber Unity, a group…
Dallas child welfare worker accused of having sex in front of child quits
A Dallas-based worker in the state Department of Human Services accused of having sex in front of a minor has quit, Salem Reporter has learned. Mark Walsh resigned June 28, according to an agency spokesman, seven months after he was placed on paid administrative leave.…
Oregon’s ‘Christmas tree bill’ pumps out more than a billion to local projects
SALEM — Christmas has come to Oregon’s legislators. In one of the final steps of the 2019 Legislature, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a massive bill to deliver about $1.32 billion to projects across the state, from Clackamas to Harney counties. One of the least controversial bills…
Brown, Democrats tout successful legislative session despite cap and trade’s death
Gov. Brown does a ceremonial signing of the Student Success Act. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) SALEM — The highly public downfall of a legislative plan to cap the state’s greenhouse gas emissions cast a long shadow over the last two weeks of the legislative session. Despite…
Governor threatens to do by rule what she couldn’t by legislation
Gov. Brown riles up advocates for cap and trade after Senate President Peter Courtney declared House Bill 2020 dead. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) Less than 24 hours after the 2019 Legislature closed, Gov. Kate Brown renewed the fight for a cap and trade program, saying…
Opponents of cap and trade effectively pit urban and rural against each other
Truckers and loggers organized the largest protest of cap and trade last week. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) SALEM — The debate on climate change appears to have deepened the gap between the liberal politics of Portland and Eugene and the conservative politics of rural areas with…
DOME DIGEST: Legislature wraps up 80th assembly with a flurry of bills
SALEM — The Oregon Legislature, delayed by a walkout by Senate Republicans, sprinted to finish its work, voting on the last bill just before 5 p.m. Sunday. The day consisted of more recesses in the Senate than time spent voting on bills, as lawmakers gave…
Senate sees highs, lows and a lot of bills as it comes down the homestretch
The Senate had a quorum for the first time in more than a week Saturday, and worked through 105 bills. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — The penultimate day of the 2019 Legislature was a busy one. Most Republican Senators had returned Saturday morning, after…
Legislature starts the home-stretch run at a quick, smooth pace
Republican Senators officially return to the Senate after their walkout. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — Twenty-seven senators gathered at 9 a.m. Saturday morning to lay to rest House Bill 2020, the 2019 Legislature’s disruptive attempt to tackle climate change. Senate Republicans had been boycotting…