Category OREGON NEWS
Gov. Brown fires state director who pleaded guilty to child assault
The governor fired Reginald Richardson from his post running the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission more than a week after Salem Reporter first asked about his employment status. Richardson was convicted in October for shoving an eight-year-old into a wall during a Salem after-school program.
As universal free lunch takes hold in schools, Oregon will shift how it measures student poverty levels
The growing movement to provide free school lunches for all students has also made it increasingly difficult both to pinpoint what percentage of students in a given district are living at the poverty level, and to precisely target the money and services intended to help them.
Oregon’s addiction care rollout plan puts peers in a precarious position
Without adequate funding for detox facilities for withdrawal management, residential treatment and recovery housing, people inside Oregon's addiction treatment system say the state’s burgeoning peer workforce amounts to a pipeline that often leads nowhere.
Kotek names interim director for the Oregon Health Authority
James Schroeder, CEO of Health Share of Oregon, has 20 years of clinical and executive health care experience.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commutes 17 death sentences, ending death row
Brown has made clemency a main focus of her governorship, issuing pardons or commutations for nearly 50,000 people.
Lawmakers approve $10 million for public defender crisis
The state’s agency that oversees public defense services is required to report back to lawmakers in January with more details.
Kotek announces 36-county listening tour, framework for first year as governor
Gov.-elect Tina Kotek said housing, mental health, addiction and schools will lead her priority list.
Senate bids farewell to Peter Courtney, longest-serving president in Oregon history
Courtney urged his colleagues to care for each other as he ended his 20-year career as Senate president.
Oregon drug policy director pleads guilty to assaulting boy in Salem school program
Reginald Richardson pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor charge after prosecutors say he shoved a boy against a wall. It’s unclear whether he’s still employed in his governor-appointed role.