The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 24, reversed Roe v. Wade in a long-anticipated decision. (Les Zaitz/Oregon Capital Chronicle) 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[Read More…]

A sign at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany directs attendees to a Juneteenth event on Saturday, June 18. The annual celebration of the end of slavery is a state holiday in Oregon for the first time in 2022. (JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle) A national celebration of the end of slavery[Read More…]

(Enterprise/FILE) 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[Read More…]

The governor’s office in Salem. (Salem Reporter) As counties tallied primary ballots, one fact became evident: the next Oregon governor will be a woman with legislative experience. Everything else about the race is still up in the air. Most years, it’s a safe assumption that Democrats will hold onto the[Read More…]

A new poultry quarantine has been declared in eastern Oregon after avian flu was detected across the border in Idaho. The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed the regional quarantine, which affects a small area in Malheur County south of the farming community of Nyssa. Dr. Ryan Scholz, Oregon state veterinarian,[Read More…]

Democrats in Oregon’s congressional delegation renewed calls for Congress to take up federal gun control legislation following a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, while the state’s lone Republican congressman remained silent. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and[Read More…]

A new state report released Tuesday, May 24, urges reforms to make better use of $4 billion a year spent on public schools in Oregon. (The Enterprise/Rachel Parsons) Oregon leaders need to press for more accountability while avoiding political “flavor of the month” funding choices so schooling for the state’s[Read More…]

The Port of Morrow was fined $1.3 million in January for repeatedly pumping too much nitrate-laced water onto farmland. (Port of Morrow) The state’s chief environmental agency knowingly let the Port of Morrow pollute year after year, contributing to drinking water contamination for thousands, an investigation by the Capital Chronicle[Read More…]

Oregon’s top agriculture official is leaving to return to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Malheur Enterprise) Alexis Taylor, Oregon’s Agriculture Department director, has been nominated by the Biden White House to serve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An announcement by the White House of nine nominees said Taylor had[Read More…]

Backyard enthusiasts need to be aware of the potential bird flu threat to flocks. (Oregon Capital Chronicle/LES ZAITZ) Oregon and Washington officials on Friday confirmed that both states have had their first cases of a highly pathogenic bird flu and about 150 backyard chickens, turkeys and geese were destroyed this[Read More…]