Category State
Ahead for Oregon schools: longer year, smaller classes
SALEM — Every school student in Oregon would be touched by the ambitious investment in education proposed Wednesday by Gov. Kate Brown. Kids would be in school more days and many would have smaller classes. An additional 10,000 children would be learning their letters and…
Brown wants ‘ambitious’ Oregon budget to be the bedrock of her legacy
Gov. Kate Brown announces her proposed two-year state budget during a news conference Wednesday in the governor’s office in Salem. (Salem Reporter/Aubrey Wieber) SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown stood at her lectern in the walnut-paneled ceremonial office Wednesday morning to deliver a symbolic message as…
Oregon school kids big winners in governor’s proposed budget
Gov. Kate Brown announces her proposed two-year state budget during a news conference Wednesday in the governor’s office in Salem. (Salem Reporter/Aubrey Wieber) SALEM — Revealing ambitions for her final term, Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday announced a record expansion of school funding, a revamping…
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…
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…