All seven Ontario city councilors are present at a June 3 meeting. After Freddy Rodriguez’s recall, there are now only six councilors. (ANGELINA KATSANIS/The Enterprise) ONTARIO – A vacant chair to the right of Ontario Mayor Riley Hill at a recent meeting signified a new chapter for the now short-handed[Read More…]

Councilor Freddy Rodriguez. (Liliana Frankel/The Enterprise) CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that the county clerk’s office would resend ballots if they were missing a signature or the signature didn’t match, which is untrue. The county clerk’s office said, “If they forgot to sign we send them an[Read More…]

Ruth Uranga stands outside her northwest Ontario property, which has accumulated $74,250 in fines since November 2019. (ANGELINA KATSANIS/The Enterprise) ONTARIO – Day by day for months, city fines mounted on Ruth Uranga’s northwest Ontario property. Ontario officials wanted her family home cleaned up, hoping the penalties would force her[Read More…]

Mayor Riley Hill of Ontario. (Angelina Katsanis/The Enterprise) ONTARIO – The Ontario City Council wants the power to hire key city employees, upending a long-standing practice of leaving such decisions to the city manager. Voters in the city will get the final say on that as the council last week[Read More…]

Ontario City Councilor Freddy Rodriguez gestures during a Facebook Live video on June 13, 2021. (Screenshots from Councilman Freddy Rodriguez Facebook page) ONTARIO – Ontario City Councilor Freddy Rodriguez last year sent an Ontario woman a photo exposing his private parts during an online conversation where they were getting acquainted.[Read More…]

Ontario Councilor Freddy Rodriguez speaks at Monday’s city council meeting. (The Enterprise/Angelina Katsanis) ONTARIO – When Freddy Rodriguez ran for Ontario City Council in 2018, he was seen as the candidate who could close the gap between those governing and the governed.  With no political experience and a background that[Read More…]

Ontario City Councilor Freddy Rodriguez at last week’s council meeting as citizens were advocating for his resignation. He will contest a recall. (The Enterprise/Angelina Katsanis) ONTARIO – A special election to recall Ontario City Councilor Freddy Rodriguez is scheduled for July 6, according to the Malheur County Clerk Gayle Trotter.[Read More…]

Ontario City Councilor Eddie Melendrez at the council meeting on Thursday, June 3. (The Enterprise/Angelina Katsanis). UPDATE: Freddy Rodriguez didn’t submit his resignation by the deadline of 5 p.m. Friday, June 3, according to city officials. A city recall vote will now be scheduled. ONTARIO – Eddie Melendrez on Thursday[Read More…]

These tiny homes are part of a project in Ontario to help unhoused people. (The Enterprise/Pat Caldwell). ONTARIO – The teams at Community in Action and Origins Faith Community were discouraged with the city’s decision in April to shut down the tiny home shelters for unhoused people. They remained determined[Read More…]

Ontario City Council President Freddy Rodriguez at a March 4 meeting. (Liliana Frankel/The Enterprise) ONTARIO – The Malheur County Clerk’s Office announced early Tuesday that petitioners seeking to recall Ontario City Councilor Freddy Rodriguez had obtained the required signatures to force Rodriguez to either resign or for a recall vote.[Read More…]