Tag STATE NEWS
Areas affected by 2020 Labor Day fires will get 625 affordable homes
A deer sculpture remains before a vinyl fence warped by heat and the remnants of a home in Gates in 2020. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Oregon counties devastated by the 2020 Labor Day fires will get 625 new affordable homes thanks to more than $73 million…
Wyden raises concerns over shortage of firefighters, federal spending on fire prevention
Wildfire in 2020 left damage all throughout the Santiam Canyon east of Salem. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Oregon faces a shortage of wildland firefighters that could be “a recipe for trouble,” according to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. Wyden wrote to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and…
Oregon records dispute plays out against backdrop of election fraud ‘big lie’
(Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A lawsuit over which election records are public is headed to trial later this month as some Oregonians continue searching for ways to discredit the 2020 election. Washington County’s lawsuit against Tim Sippel is, at heart, a dispute over public records. Sippel…
Biden drops into Portland, reels off benefits of infrastructure money for Oregon
President Joe Biden speaks to a small crowd of Oregon officials, union workers and reporters in Portland on Thursday, April 21. (Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle) PORTLAND— New federal infrastructure spending will create millions of high-paying jobs in Oregon and across the country and modernize infrastructure,…
Former Oregon Health Authority worker charged with embezzling $1.5 million in Covid scheme
The Oregon Justice Department announced on Wednesday, April 20, that a former Oregon Health Authority employee has been indicted on 21 counts for an embezzlement scheme. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) An Oregon Health Authority employee who processed requests for vendor payments has been indicted for…
Oregon’s $5 billion agriculture industry struggles amid high gas prices
Rising fuel prices and drought conditions are challenging Oregon’s farmers and ranchers. (The Enterprise/file) Soaring energy prices are hammering Oregon’s farmers and ranchers, and the war in Ukraine is likely to only make that worse, experts say. The turmoil comes at a bad time, too.…
Oregon’s rural counties on their own if Covid vaccine mandate causes staff shortages
Jess Tolman, the chief of Vale Fire and Ambulance, is warning of service impairments if the state’s vaccine mandate remains in place. (The Enterprise/Pat Caldwell) SALEM – Rural counties that fear first responders will quit in bulk ahead of a mid-October vaccine mandate need to…
Oregon’s child welfare director sees reforms taking hold
Rebecca Jones Gaston, director of the state Child Welfare Division. (Contributed photo) Rebecca Jones Gaston stepped into one of the state’s biggest crises in 2019, taking over the Oregon agency charged with safeguarding children. Nearly 18 months later, Jones Gaston is optimistic. She is director…
Oregon taxpayers get reprieve to July 15 to file personal returns with the state
The Oregon State Capitol, seen from the mall. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) NOTE: Salem Reporter is providing free access to its content related to the coronavirus as a community service. Subscriptions are vital to sustain this service. Please join us. SALEM – Oregonians will have until July 15…