The Voice of Malheur County
Uncategorized Sen. Jeff Golden and Sen. Herman Baertschiger, chair and vice chair of the Senate Committee on Wildfire Response, have differing views of a new state timber deal. (Sam Stites/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM – The deal announced last week was intended to end the war in the woods that has beset[Read More…]
Uncategorized An Oregon State Police car (Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons). Parts of Oregon with sparse police presence could see more state troopers on the highway under a bill advancing through the Legislature. If passed, Senate Bill 1545 would put hundreds more state troopers on the state’s highways over the next decade. During a[Read More…]
Uncategorized Truckers and loggers organized the largest protest of cap and trade last week. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) SALEM — The debate on climate change appears to have deepened the gap between the liberal politics of Portland and Eugene and the conservative politics of rural areas with natural resource and agricultural economies.[Read More…]
SALEM — The Oregon Legislature, delayed by a walkout by Senate Republicans, sprinted to finish its work, voting on the last bill just before 5 p.m. Sunday. The day consisted of more recesses in the Senate than time spent voting on bills, as lawmakers gave one last push to cut[Read More…]
Uncategorized Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, discusses the walkout in his office. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) UPDATE: A link to the investigator’s report has been added to this report. Legislative leaders were advised this week to ban Sen. Brian Boquist from the Capitol over his threatening language, but Boquist remains able to return[Read More…]
Uncategorized The Senate had a quorum for the first time in more than a week Saturday, and worked through 105 bills. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — The penultimate day of the 2019 Legislature was a busy one. Most Republican Senators had returned Saturday morning, after departing in protest over a[Read More…]
Uncategorized Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, was frustrated Friday as reporters peppered him with questions about the walkout and negotiations. Courtney declined to answer them. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) Enough Oregon Republican senators will return to the Capitol for the chamber to do business Saturday. The announcement was made at a[Read More…]
The Oregon Senate chambers remain nearly empty this week as a quorum has not convened. (Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — A week after they left Salem to protest a sweeping Democratic proposal to address climate change, Republican senators are finding other reasons not to return. The cap-and-trade plan known as[Read More…]
Uncategorized SALEM — Single-family homes have long dominated the housing market in Oregon. But could a legislative proposal from one of Oregon’s most powerful lawmakers, which took a critical step forward Thursday, change that? House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, presided over the passage of one of her top priorities this year,[Read More…]
Uncategorized SALEM — These bills might not make headlines, but they may make a difference to Oregonians all the same. Each of these bills passed their last hurdle this week and now head to Gov. Kate Brown for her signature. KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON: In a display of possibly inadvertent foresight,[Read More…]