February 2025 - Page 2

By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Chaotic federal announcements about taxes, tariffs, mass firings of federal employees and spending cuts haven’t yet affected Oregon’s economic forecast, the state’s chief economist reported Wednesday. For now, according to chief economist Carl Riccadonna and senior economist Michael Kennedy, Oregon lawmakers can expect to have about $38.2 billion to spend in the state’s

By JENNIFER SHUTT/States Newsroom WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered all federal departments and agencies to submit reorganization plans outlining how they would implement large-scale layoffs before March 13. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Charles Ezell wrote in a seven-page memo the reason for the expected layoffs is that the

By LAUREN DAKE/Oregon Public Broadcasting A few days before members of the legislative committee charged with transportation and economic development were set to talk about how to protect fish in Kellogg Creek, address flooding on U.S. 101 and prevent rocks from falling on cars on Interstate 84, the meeting in Salem was canceled. So, for the time being anyway, are

By DIRK VANDERHART/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon construction firms say an order by Gov. Tina Kotek last year mandating union labor in many state projects amounts to an illegal power grab. Now they’re asking a judge to step in. Last week, a coalition of contractor associations and more than a dozen individual construction firms sued Kotek in Marion County Circuit Court,