Category OREGON NEWS
Federal hiring freeze, firings hindering Oregon endangered owl monitoring, protection
Regional monitoring for endangered owls, salmon and frogs is done by seasonal biologists who aren’t being hired now under a federal freeze, potentially delaying timber and wildfire logging projects.
Oregon Gov. Kotek, lawmakers push for more regional collaboration for homeless shelters and services
House Bill 3644 would formalize practices local governments and service providers developed during the ongoing homelessness state of emergency.
Review of payrolls shows higher hourly pay but lower overall earnings under farmworker overtime law
An Oregon law passed in 2022 to phase in overtime pay for farmworkers has led to higher farmworker wages, but a new study shows hours are being scaled back to avoid overtime pay.
Contractors sue Kotek over December executive order
The governor wants all large state infrastructure projects to use union labor.
Moving beyond addiction: Oregonians have mixed feelings about new deflection programs
Those who responded to a Capital Chronicle survey expressed concerns about long-term funding and access to treatment in newly-established deflection programs.
Oregon lawmakers target high screening fees, deposits for renters
Some Democratic lawmakers are proposing bans on apartment screening fees.
Smith pay issues lead Defense Department to terminate agency funding
A federal review triggered by an investigation by the Malheur Enterprise concluded that funding should be stopped for an agency run by Greg Smith, its executive director and a leading Republican legislator in Oregon. The Port of Morrow has made no public comment on the action, but scheduled a special meeting of its commission in Boardman for 2 p.m. Monday.
Moving beyond addiction: In eastern Oregon, drug use often lurks in the shadows
Small Oregon communities have the same addiction problems as big ones but they often have far fewer resources, with people spread out over large areas.
Bipartisan congressional group hopes to restore bill providing millions in rural school funding
Democratic and Republican U.S. legislators from Western states are joining forces to get the 20-years-old Secure Rural Schools bill reauthorized.