2022 - Page 56

By MONICA SAMAYOA/Oregon Public Broadcasting Nestled in the hills of Morrow County, hundreds of solar panels and wind turbines are generating a product that will soon be in high demand around the state — clean electric energy. But storing large amounts of renewable energy has proven challenging. Wind and solar only generate power when the sun is shining or the

By The Oregon Capital Chronicle More than 55,000 Oregon households have avoided eviction thanks to the state’s rent assistance program, but money is quickly running out. The $406 million program, funded by the federal and state governments, will be mostly out of money by June 30, representatives from Oregon Housing and Community Services told legislative committees last week. “While we

By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Lawmakers have released $100 million to fund the legal defense of criminal defendants and more than $150 million to boost reimbursement to providers of behavioral health services for low-income Oregonians. There were some dissenters on Friday’s votes by the Emergency Board, the 20 lawmakers who decide budget issues between sessions of the full Legislature. Lawmakers

By NIGE JAQUISS/Willamette Week The Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay has announced it would close its inpatient unit for adult psychiatric patients. That’s a blow for a state that is already desperately short of places for people experiencing mental health crises. As WW reported this week, the long-standing space crunch at the Oregon State Hospital, the state’s public psychiatric hospital, has resulted