Oregon lawmakers make adjustments to greenhouse gas bill to ease impact on rural areas

February 13, 2020

By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Lawmakers revealed changes Wednesday to the plan to cut back on the state’s greenhouse gas emissions that would ease the impact on rural Oregon and adopt elements proposed by Timber Unity. The revisions are part of the continuing effort of Democratic sponsors to drive a policy that has greater statewide acceptance. The proposed

Legislation to put more Oregon State Police on the road getting support — for now

February 13, 2020

By JAKE THOMAS/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Parts of the state with sparse police presence could see more state troopers on the highway under a bill advancing through the Oregon Legislature. If passed, Senate Bill 1545 would put hundreds more state troopers on the state’s highways over the next decade. During a recent committee hearing, State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton

More than 1,000 rally Tuesday at Oregon Capitol in support of climate change legislation

February 11, 2020

By SAM STITES and CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Activists seeking to clean Oregon’s environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions turned out by the hundreds Tuesday, pushing legislators to move ahead with a cap and trade policy. Demonstrators ranged from Salem-area teenagers who took time out from school to middle-aged Wasco County residents. All told, organizers say that

Oregon timber companies, environmentalists sign break-through agreement of cooperation

February 10, 2020

By SAM STITES/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — A new deal between Oregon’s timber industry and environmentalists to protect forest waters, modernize logging regulations and create a new conservation plan was announced Monday by Gov. Kate Brown and representatives of both interests. The two sides have been at odds over policy and practices for decades, and this agreement aims to

Timber Unity protest Thursday in Salem brings out more issues than cap-and-trade proposal

February 6, 2020

By SAM STITES, JAKE THOMAS and CLAIRE WITHYCOME/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — They are blue-collar workers but Thursday they carried views from the “red” parts of Oregon. They raised their voices in protest against legislative proposals they fear will cost them, their companies and their communities. Some took time off from day jobs to travel to Salem to protest;

Initiative to limit grocery store self-checkout moves to signature gathering

February 5, 2020

SALEM — Are grocery store self-checkout lanes an annoyance? A convenience? Do they reduce the number of grocery store jobs? A federation of Oregon unions wants voters to issue a verdict on the self-checkout kiosks becoming more prevalent at grocery stores. After the Oregon Supreme Court certified the attorney general’s description of the measure last week, a petition to limit

Oregonians line up to tell lawmakers what they really think of cap-and-trade legislation

February 5, 2020

By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — A hay farmer, a high school student and a physicist each strode up to a modest hearing room table Tuesday evening to give lawmakers a piece of their mind. That table was their stage for two minutes, their platform to tell policymakers to their faces what they thought of the Legislature’s ambitious

Oregon and U.S. officials offer reassurance on election security

February 4, 2020

By SAM STITES/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The state’s top elections official wants voters to know Oregon is doing everything possible to ensure the security of the state’s elections by working with county and federal agencies. “There was some polling that took place a couple weeks ago that said 43 percent of the public don’t think elections administrators are doing

Oregon Legislature starts quietly Monday, but tensions simmer just below surface

February 3, 2020

By SAM STITES, JAKE THOMAS and CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — A contentious proposal to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions dominated political chatter in the weeks before the 2020 legislative session began. So much so that observers expected “sparks” when lawmakers convened Monday, Feb. 3, said Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas. But sitting in his office Monday, wearing

Some big businesses throwing support to Oregon cap-and-trade legislation

February 3, 2020

A June 2019 Capital rally by members of Timber Unity helped cement the end of a cap-and-trade bill opposed by rural constituents. CLAIRE WITHYCOME/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregon Democrats’ effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions is getting a public nudge from business.Nearly two dozen companies and two health care climate alliances in Washington and California, signed a Jan. 29 letter to