Staffers work together at the Oregon Health Authority’s Agency Operations Center in response to Coronavirus cases occurring in the state.(Jonathan House/Pamplin Media Group) PORTLAND — The state of Oregon is prepared for a rapid increase in testing for COVID-19 should federal authorities, rattled by a rocky start, expand the criteria[Read More…]

Sen. Brian Boquist talks legal strategy from his home office, where he has started spending hours each day learning how to draft motions for his lawsuits against Senate President Peter Courtney. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by state Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, that accused[Read More…]

Navy insignia found inside a deposit box once owned by a George B. James was sent from an Umpqua Bank in Bandon. (Courtesy/Oregon Department of State Lands) Tucked away inside a vault within the Oregon Department of State Lands sit several safes.  Inside these safes rest mementos such old photos[Read More…]

(Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons) The Oregon Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked a statewide ban on the sale of flavored nicotine and marijuana vaping products. The ruling follows two petitions seeking court review of Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order, which temporarily banned the sale of those products. Canby attorney J. Ryan Adams[Read More…]

Sen. Brian Boquist reflects on his political and military careers at his Dallas farm. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) On a rainy Monday morning in September, Sen. Brian Boquist is sitting in a darkened manufactured home that serves as his district office, his face aglow from the glare of a computer monitor.[Read More…]

Gov. Kate Brown speaks at a rally promoting carbon capping legislation. For more than a year, Gov. Kate Brown’s environmental agency has been assessing how the governor could mandate lower greenhouse gas emissions without voter or legislative approval, according to interviews and public records. Brown has said she’s willing to[Read More…]

(Portland Tribune photo) SALEM – State Sen. Jackie Winters, a Salem Republican who spent decades in public service, has died. The solemn news was delivered on the House floor by Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as lawmakers began receiving an email announcing her death. Several House[Read More…]

SALEM — Oregonians are in line for a big personal income tax credit, in the form of Oregon’s unique “kicker” rebate, when they file their taxes in 2020. That’s because the state has collected far more money over the past two years than was expected, state economists Mark McMullen and[Read More…]

Rally signs from Oregon educators line the Capitol during the February 18, 2019 March for Our Students. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) SALEM — A $1 billion-per-year tax plan to boost education cleared a major procedural hurdle in the Capitol Monday — and it got a big political boost in the process.[Read More…]

Rep. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie, and Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, third and fourth from the left, join in a rally supporting their bill to price carbon emissions. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) SALEM – Climate advocates are coming up roses after legislative revisions to a proposed carbon pricing policy for Oregon left unchanged[Read More…]