Oregon airports big and small ready to improve with millions coming from infrastructure package

December 8, 2021

A plane takes off at the Portland International Airport. (Port of Portland) By JUIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The new federal infrastructure package set to bring more than $200 million to Oregon airports couldn’t have come at a better time for Eugene’s Mahlon Sweet Field. The airport, already the second largest in Oregon, just added service from an eighth airline and

Oregon Health Authority director: ‘We know almost nothing about Omicron’

December 8, 2021

Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Scientists know little about Omicron but they expect it to emerge in Oregon this week. “We know almost nothing about Omicron,” Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority told the Oregon Health Policy Board on Tuesday. He said there has been a lot

Earthquake experts believe there’s little to fear from swarm of nearly 70 quakes off the central Oregon coast

December 8, 2021

By LEE J. SIEGEL and CNN for YachatsNews.com A swarm of nearly 70 small to moderate earthquakes rattled under the seafloor 250 to 290 miles off the central Oregon coast Tuesday and Wednesday. Fifteen of them measured between magnitude 5.0 and 5.8. A few coastal residents reported feeling the largest jolts, which measured up to 5.8 in magnitude. The

Oregon Coast CC president wins state award for her leadership

December 7, 2021

NEWPORT – The Oregon Community College Association has awarded Oregon Coast Community College president Birgitte Ryslinge its annual outstanding administrator award. The Howard Cherry Award honors contributions of community college advocates, administrators and board members. The statewide association cited Ryslinge’s “passion and drive” as an educator coupled with her “unshakable belief that education is the key to creating a more

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown calls for $200 million in workforce spending in 2022 legislative session, but offers few details

December 7, 2021

Gov. Kate Brown speaks with Dutch Bros CEO Joth Ricci at the Oregon Business Plan summit in Portland on Monday, Dec. 6. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle PORTLAND – Gov. Kate Brown used an annual gathering of Oregon politicians and business leaders to push for a new $200 million package she plans to seek during the

Investments needed in higher ed, job training to recover from pandemic, Oregon leaders say during annual business summit

December 7, 2021

Ben Cannon, executive director of the state Higher Education Coordinating Commission, speaks on Monday, Dec. 6, about education needs in Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle PORTLAND — Oregon can’t recover jobs lost during the pandemic and meet the needs of industry without new investments in training the workforce, state leaders declared Monday. Gov. Kate Brown

After big hit to coastal economy during pandemic, regional jobs economist expects a vigorous bounce back by 2023

December 7, 2021

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com Erik Knoder did a double take when compiling a report detailing projected coastal job and occupational trends for the coming decade. What Knoder, a regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department, expected to see was job growth running at just under 1 percent a year from 2020 to 2030. For decades, after all, that number has

Lincoln County judge says she will rule this week whether to grant permanent injunction on voter-approved new vacation rental law

December 6, 2021

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com NEWPORT – A Lincoln County judge says she will make a ruling by the end of this week whether to issue a permanent injunction to prevent the county from implementing a voter-approved ballot measure that stops the county from issuing vacation rental licenses and phases existing licenses out over five years. Circuit Judge Amanda Benjamin heard

State audit: Oregon law enforcement regulators don’t adequately investigate police misconduct

December 6, 2021

By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — The state agency in charge of regulating police officers doesn’t have the staff or resources it needs to thoroughly investigate officer conduct and defers too much to local police departments, an audit found. The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training has the authority to investigate on its own whether police officers failed

Oregonians can bid for lower taxes while funding scholarships through state auction this week

December 6, 2021

ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — An upcoming auction for tax credits could save winning bidders anywhere from $50 to $1.12 million on state taxes, all while funding Oregon’s largest needs-based scholarship program. The online auction is in its fourth year, and offers bidders the opportunity to shave their tax bill and direct a portion of what they would pay