Quinton Smith

By NIGEL JAQUISS Oregon Journalism Project After another session in which some lawmakers tried again—and failed again—to raise the $1 million threshold at which Oregon’s estate tax kicks in, Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, and co-petitioner Michelle Mhoon have filed a ballot initiative to do away with the tax completely.  Initiative Petition 51, the “End the Death Tax Act,” would do

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle The threat of wildfires across the Northwest will escalate through the summer, extended forecasts show, due to “extreme high temperatures.” In response, Gov. Tina Kotek is declaring a state of emergency across Oregon meant to mobilize state and federal agencies and resources to prevent and respond to fires. Kotek made the declaration on Wednesday in

By APRIL ERHLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon’s forestry board has long had the power to hire and fire the state forester, who oversees logging and environmental protections on state lands, as well as firefighting across millions of acres of public and private land. But the board lost that hiring-and-firing power during the 2025 Legislature with the passage of Senate Bill 1051,