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Students keep busy during CTEC salon opening day
Cosmetology student Maria Gomez folds towels at the Career and Technical Education Center’s student-run salon. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) In their second year of cosmetology training, high school seniors at Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center get a chance to practice on real customers. The students spend…
State agency chases nearly $800 million in new taxes on alcohol, tobacco
SALEM —Oregonians could see significant increases in alcohol and tobacco prices if a state agency succeeds in raising millions from consumers in the next two years. The Oregon Health Authority is considering seeking $784 million in new tax money for the 2019-2021 state budget cycle.…
Oregon gubernatorial candidates continue to get — and spend — millions. Will their dollars sway voters?
Rep. Knute Buehler and Gov. Kate Brown face off in the first of three gubernatorial debates in Portland on Oct. 2 (Jaime Valdez/Portland Tribune) Two weeks from election day, a spending frenzy continues in the race to be Oregon’s governor. Gov. Kate Brown and state Rep. Knute Buehler have combined…
Governor candidates take liberty with the truth in late ad pushes
The two prime candidates for Oregon governor are releasing multiple television and social media ads in the final days of the campaign. Some make misleading and sometimes inaccurate claims. Gov. Kate Brown, the Democratic incumbent, and state Rep. Knute Buehler, her Republican challenger, are funneling…
Labor commissioner files motion asking to hold legislative leadership in contempt of court
SALEM — Outgoing Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian is again taking the Legislature to task over sexual harassment, this time in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Avakian wants a state judge to find legislators and staff in contempt for failing to comply with subpoenas in the…
Measure 104: Will it force bipartisanship or create gridlock?
SALEM — If you drive, hunt, or run a business in Oregon, you pay a fee to the state for that privilege. A measure on the statewide ballot next month could make it harder for the Legislature to increase those fees. Oregon imposes thousands of…
Buehler lands $2 million from Knight, Republican governors group in surge of fund raising.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and the Republican Governors Association poured another $2 million into the campaign of state Rep. Knute Buehler in the past week for his challenge of Democratic incumbent Gov. Kate Brown. The $1 million check from Knight brings his overall contributions to…
Bonds and increasing property values raise local property taxes
Average property taxes in Salem and Keizer rose 11 percent this year due to new school and library bonds, and increasing property values across the region. Salem residents who live in Marion County will pay $19.87 per $1,000 of assessed property value this year, up…
Audit finds Oregon pension system vulnerable to attacks, natural disasters
The Oregon State Capitol (Salem Reporter file) SALEM — The state’s public pension agency isn’t prepared for a major disaster like an earthquake or flood, and Oregonians’ personal information could be at risk if the agency doesn’t do more to protect its systems from attacks,…