The Washington County Board of Commissioners will host the third of four planned county Town Halls this year Thursday, September 28 at 6 p.m., focusing on county budgeting, or how taxpayer money is spent at the county level.
Government
Lawsuit by 13 counties against state over logging practices ends at Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court has ended a six-year legal battle between the state and 13 western Oregon counties over logging practices by declining to hear the case.
Supreme Court abortion decision: What happens in Oregon?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a nearly 50-year-old right to abortion has little immediate impact in Oregon, where the state Constitution guarantees reproductive rights, including free abortions, that aren’t touched by the ruling. Still, the landmark decision issued Friday in Washington, D.C., will affect Oregon. Reproductive health care[Read More…]
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden raises concerns over shortage of firefighters, federal spending on fire prevention
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 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently with concerns that their agencies weren’t prepared to handle another catastrophic fire season such[Read More…]
Oregon still collecting more tax revenue than economists anticipated
Oregon tax collections continue to surge, with Oregonians paying $1.2 billion more in income taxes this spring than last year. The increasing state revenues aren’t due to higher taxes. Instead, according to Oregon’s quarterly economic forecast, many people cashed in assets in late 2021, causing a short-term income boost. Most of[Read More…]
Key 2022 primary election results for governor and for BOLI commissioner
This story originally appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle and is republished here under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Read more stories at oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
Vote by 8 p.m. today in Oregon’s Primary Election
Have you voted? There are races and measures to vote for on the ballot, even for those not registered with one of Oregon’s political parties. Ranging from decisions on who will chair the Washington County board of commissioners to who will head the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, registered[Read More…]
Oregon Gov. Brown, fire officials warn of challenging 2022 wildfire season
A rainy late spring is delaying the start of fire season in Oregon, but state officials said Monday they still anticipate a challenging summer and fall. Large fires are already blazing in New Mexico, and fire risk in the Northwest is expected to worsen as summer continues. During a press[Read More…]
Oregon Appeals Court reverses $1.1 billion verdict over state forest management
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a $1.1 billion verdict against the state for how it manages forests, ruling that the state wasn’t obligated to maximize logging and profits.
Oregon Elections Division botches voters’ pamphlet for four Washington County house districts
Washington County voters are once again facing shoddy work in official elections materials. This time, it’s not the fault of the Washington County Elections Division, but the Oregon Elections Division at the Oregon Secretary of State offices.