Juan Carlos Gonzalez is the first Hispanic elected to Metro’s council in Portland. (Portland Tribune/Jaime Valdez) Juan Carlos Gonzalez was a high school junior from Forest Grove when he encountered President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., through the Boys Nation leadership program. Meeting the nation’s first black president made a[Read More…]
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Tough state senator gets control over Oregon budget
State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, will be co-chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee that sets spending by state agencies. (File/Portland Tribune) State Sen. Betsy Johnson, a coastal legislator known for tough questioning of state bureaucrats, is getting a more powerful perch to watch over state spending. In what one legislator[Read More…]
Contractors and land sales lining up for $620 million school construction blitz
North Salem High School is among the first schools slated for significant renovations starting in the summer of 2019. (Special to Salem Reporter/Moriah Ratner) No dirt has moved yet, but behind the scenes, the Salem-Keizer School District is hiring staff, buying land and lining up its first contractors for the $620 million[Read More…]
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 cannabis on the retail market[Read More…]
Uncategorized Embattled California winery forced to change labels, but fight persists
Grapevines hang at Willamette Valley Vineyard in September. The vineyard has been one of the most visible to confront a Napa Valley winery over its labeling practices. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Willamette Valley winemakers are praising a decision by federal regulators that will change an embattled California winery’s labels. The federal[Read More…]
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. In June, the Supreme ruled[Read More…]
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 Reporter) The campaign signs are[Read More…]
Uncategorized Third bridge to return to city council Monday
The Marion and Center street bridges (Salem Reporter files) Salem Councilor Jim Lewis hopes to keep the prospect of the Salem River Crossing alive next week by asking councilors to give the state information needed to move the project forward. Lewis will ask Salem City Council to direct staff to[Read More…]
Legislative staffer, local accountant added to citizens examining Salem-Keizer budget
Members of the Salem-Keizer school board listen to testimony during a Nov. 13, 2018, meeting. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A bilingual chief of staff in the Oregon Legislature and a West Salem accountant will be among the citizens with a voice in how the Salem-Keizer School District spends its annual budget[Read More…]
ODOT will expand use of salt on dangerous winter roads
Oregon Department of Transportation vehicles plow snow on Interstate 5 (Courtesy/ODOT) SALEM — Chance of snow? Expect a sprinkling of salt too. On the first eleven miles of Interstate 5 north of the California border, the average number of winter crashes dropped from 115 to 54 after the state’s transportation[Read More…]
