Latest Oregon state government News
Bend repeals local bag ban ahead of state law
BEND, Ore. (AP) — The Bend City Council has repealed a local plastic bag ban to allow the state's ban to take over. The Bend Bulletin reports that the idea to repeal the local law was floated last month as a way to eliminate confusion between the local law — which started July 1 — and the...
Oregon adds gender identity to hate crime protections
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Gender identity will be added as a protected class as Oregon's hate crime laws see the most significant update since the 1980s under a new measure signed by the governor that also closed a loophole that gave lesser sentences to perpetrators who committed hate crimes alone. "Our hate...
State department official arrested after Bend vehicle crash
BEND, Ore. (AP) — An U.S. State Department official was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Central Oregon. The Bulletin reports Susan Phalen was arrested July 6 on suspicion of DUII and reckless driving in Bend. According to the Oregon Judicial Information Network, as of Tuesday she had not been...
Editorials from around Oregon
Selected editorials from Oregon newspapers: ___ Mail Tribune, July 14, on the state Legislature's failure to deliver fire aid: The 2019 legislative session will be remembered more for what it didn't accomplish than for what it did, thanks in large measure to the two walkouts staged by Senate Republicans to block...
Oregon state workers could get up to 15% raises
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Public employee unions representing Oregon state workers have negotiated new contracts that would provide pay increases of up to 15% over the next two-year budget period. The proposed contracts include both step increases and cost of living increases in each of the next two years....
Oregon passes law saying schools must teach the Holocaust
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon public school students will be required to learn about the Holocaust and other genocides under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown on Monday, a measure that was in response to spikes in anti-Semitic incidents across the country. The law was introduced by 14-year old Claire...
Oregon GOP launches effort to recall Democratic Gov. Brown
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The chairman of the Oregon Republican Party has filed paperwork to launch a recall against Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, citing some of the laws passed in the 2019 legislative session. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Chairman Bill Currier in the Monday filing also pointed to Brown's...
3 suffer minor injuries in small plane crash on Oregon coast
SOUTH BEACH STATE PARK, Ore. (AP) — Police say a pilot and two passengers suffered minor injuries when their small plane crashed on an Oregon coast beach. Oregon State Police say the plane crashed at about 5:10 p.m. Monday south of Depoe Bay near South Beach State Park. The pilot and passengers were taken...
Divided Alaska Legislature convenes session in 2 cities
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Divided Alaska lawmakers have found little to agree on this year, and that includes where to hold a special session. The Alaska state Senate kicked off its second special session in Juneau on Monday and promptly removed its majority leader, who was 600 miles (965 kilometers) away...
Police staffing increased in presence of Oregon senator
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker who threatened the Senate president and Oregon State Police on the eve of a revolt by GOP senators over a climate-change bill must give notice before coming to the Capitol, where state troopers will beef up their presence, a Senate committee decided Monday. The...
LOADING MORE STORIES
