Tag STATE GOVERNMENT
Proposed ballot measure would limit use of toll revenue
Portland-area drivers facing freeway tolls may get some protection from seeing that money diverted to anything but expanding highways. Language has been approved for a ballot measure that would restrict the state’s use of that toll money. Transportation Department officials are planning to assess tolls…
Dennis Richardson withdraws plan to delegate his Land Board position to his deputy
UPDATE: This story has been updated with new information. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has decided not to delegate his seat on the State Land Board to a subordinate while he deals with cancer, according to a letter disclosed Monday. Richardson’s decision was disclosed in…
Secretary of State Dennis Richardson releases video updating the public on his cancer
For the first time since August, Secretary of State Dennis Richardson on Thursday updated the public about his brain cancer, releasing a social media video. Since disclosing the tumor in late May, Richardson has receded from the public eye, deferring interviews and public appearances to…
Union bargains 14 percent pay increase for rural workers in government-subsidized childcare
After years of bargaining, childcare providers working in rural Oregon will get double-digit pay raises in the new year. The union representing them, Service Employees International Union Local 503, said the rural workers will see a 14 percent wage increase, on top of a 5…
State police poised for more troopers, filling gaps around Oregon
Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton flips through charts and graphs showing the impacts of OSP’s short staffing. In 2017, the agency was unable to respond to 11,880 calls for service due to staffing levels. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) For 26 years, Travis Hampton worked out…
State public records advocate finds a litany of flaws in Oregon’s public records laws
Governments in Oregon unreasonably delay handing over public documents or charge too much for that access, and put records of elected officials sometimes nearly beyond reach of citizens, according to a new state report. Those are the findings of Ginger McCall, Oregon’s public records advocate…
Gov. Brown looks to financially back Oregon’s fight against Trump
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum SALEM – Oregon’s government has been at legal war with President Donald Trump and his administration for two years. This week, it moved to arm itself for more fights. Gov. Kate Brown carved out $2 million in her proposed 2019-21…
Oregon leaders react to Gov. Brown’s ambitious budget
Reaction was swift Wednesday to Gov. Kate Brown’s ambitious and expensive proposal for state operations in the next budget cycle. Key leaders such as Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. Here is a sampling of…
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…