February 16, 2010
BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- In a Tuesday morning vote, the Senate shot down a bill to ban the chemical bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups. The bill, carried on the floor by Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, lacked just a single vote to pass in the legislature’s smaller body. Failing on a 15-15 margin, [...]
February 15, 2010
BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- Hundreds of citizen activists met on the steps of the state’s legislature Monday afternoon, calling for smaller government and less government spending. Between 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, rallies hosted by the activist groups Americans for Prosperity and Freedomworks drew a variety of participants and speakers, including [...]
February 15, 2010
BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- An amendment to guarantee health care to all Oregonians narrowly failed in a House floor vote Friday morning. The amendment proposed by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, would have put forth a constitutional amendment to be voted on by the Senate and then brought to the ballot for a statewide vote from [...]
February 10, 2010
BY JACOB SZETO A Secretary of State Audits Division audit report questions if $1.46 million used by the Oregon Commission for the Blind was spent prudently or lawfully. This audit was not random. It was initiated in March 2007 after the Secretary of State received allegations of mismanaged operations and misused funds. After substantiating several [...]
Top State News
February 15, 2010
BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- An amendment to guarantee health care to all Oregonians narrowly failed in a House floor vote Friday morning. The amendment proposed by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, would have put forth a constitutional amendment to be voted on by the Senate and then brought to the ballot for a statewide vote from [...]
February 3, 2010
Update- This six week extension of benefits was passed on the House floor Thursday morning and passed through the Senate on Friday morning. BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- The House Committee on Business and Labor approved an extension of unemployment benefits Wednesday, passing the bill along to a later vote on the House floor. According to [...]
Local Government
February 8, 2010
BY JACOB SZETO PORTLAND- In his 2010 State of the City Address on Friday, Portland Mayor Sam Adams focused on jobs and sustainability as both his short- and long-term goals for Portland. “This year, of all my many years of public service, has been unique for its singularity; for the first time, almost everyone shares [...]
February 3, 2010
BY JACOB SZETO TIGARD- In a 4-1 vote the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) board changed how employer contribution rates will adjust for the next scheduled change in July 2011. To fund public employee pensions, employers (schools, state agencies and local governments) are required to contribute to a trust fund that is used to pay [...]
