Oregon officials who recently blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from receiving undercover state license plates won’t extend the restrictions to all federal law enforcement, including other agencies that assist immigration enforcement operations.
The post Gov. Tina Kotek won’t expand restrictions on undercover Oregon plates to agencies helping ICE appeared first on Lincoln…
Kacey KC, the first woman to appointed to lead the Department of Forestry on a permanent basis, sees wildlife and habitat conservation as critical to the work of a department tasked with protecting forests from drought, disease and climate change, and fighting fire.
The post New state forester gets to work, says ‘zero tolerance’ for issues that led to predecessor’s ouster appeared first on…
Bob Packwood, a longtime Oregon Senator who entered national politics young and ascended to the pinnacles of congressional power before his career ended in scandal, died Saturday. He was 93.
The post Bob Packwood, longtime Oregon Senator marred by scandal, dies at 93 appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
For the third year in a row, many Oregon families with school-aged children will have access to financial assistance for their summer groceries. Oregon is one of 39 states participating in the a program offering families a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child.
The post Summer food benefits now available to many Oregon families with kids appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
After 15 years of planning and development, the Siuslaw Estuary restoration project east of Florence has achieved its goal: connecting a large swath of restored farmland to the Oregon Coast. The Siuslaw Estuary is a 217-acre expanse that’s expected to accommodate the return of native fish and other species.
The post With levee breached, Siuslaw River estuary connects to its past life as a…
Vaccine hesitancy fed by misinformation is causing new surges of measles and whooping cough, while COVID-19 hotspots persist in some states and a new threat looms from an Ebola outbreak in central Africa.
The post Measles, whooping cough spike amid low vaccination rates appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Gov. Tina Kotek has ordered state transportation officials to cease issuing undercover license plates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, citing “repeated violations of state and federal law by ICE agents and the need to protect community trust and public safety.”
The post No undercover license plates for ICE, Gov. Kotek orders appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Petitioners hoping to ban fishing and hunting in Oregon have reached a milestone in their attempt to change state law by technically gathering enough signatures to qualify a controversial petition that aims to expand animal cruelty laws and would have wide impact on the state.
The post Oregon petition to ban hunting and fishing moves closer to November ballot appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
In its first meeting since Oregon voters rejected a gas and payroll tax increase to pay for roads and transit services, Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation workgroup seemed less focused on finding new funding mechanisms for the state’s transportation agency than on public messaging.
The post After Oregonians reject gas tax, governor’s transportation workgroup fixates on messaging, not math appeared…
By JEN BAIRES/Oregon Public Broadcasting LA PINE — La Pine officials have rejected a pitch to bring a data center to their Central Oregon city, despite estimates from a developer that it could have brought hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and hundreds of jobs. At a packed meeting on Wednesday evening, residents spoke for hours against the proposed data center before city councilors…
Oregonians who received federal aid to pay for their groceries last year frequently reported working for the nation’s largest grocery and retail corporations, according to a Capital Chronicle analysis of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program data.
The post Oregonians using SNAP benefits most frequently listed big grocery, retail companies as employer appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
The state’s 5.2% unemployment rate is among the highest in the country, but Oregon employers still have plenty of jobs open for skilled workers, and jobs in health care, technology and construction are all expected to grow in the coming years.
The post Workforce system alignment can help Oregonians weather coming economic, job instability, report says appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
A tiny school district surrounded by forests in northwest Oregon is suing the Department of Forestry over a plan to cut logging that could reduce its funding.
The post Tiny school district suing state over reduced timber revenue will have its day in court appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Providence, which provides health insurance to about one in 10 Oregonians, will shutter almost all of its health insurance business at the end of the year. Officials said a partner will take over its Medicare Advantage plans and that the will honor existing employer contracts but will not renew them when they expire.
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By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oil prices have doubled since Oregon’s top economists last met with reporters and lawmakers to discuss the state’s economic outlook, creating a “new economic reality.” The latest forecast, which economists Carl Riccadonna and Michael Kennedy previewed for reporters Tuesday evening ahead of a Wednesday meeting with the House and Senate revenue…
Christina Stephenson has 63% of the vote in initial results, fending off a primary challenge from Chris Lynch, a 15-year veteran of the agency who previously managed its civil rights division.
The post Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson poised to keep her job against primary challenger appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
The race to represent Oregonians living along the state’s central and southern coast and parts of the Willamette and Umpqua River valleys in Congress will be a rematch of 2024, with Democratic incumbent, Val Hoyle up against Republican Monique DeSpain.
The post Oregon’s U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle appears headed to rematch with GOP challenger Monique DeSpain appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Oregonians voting may face a showdown between two familiar faces in the governor's race this November: State Sen. Christine Drazan versus Democratic incumbent Gov. Tina Kotek. Kotek is easily winning her crowded primary while Drazan's leading competitor, state Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio, is trailing her 44% by 13 points.
The post Drazan holds strong lead in Republican primary for governor appeared…
A proposal to address Oregon’s road funding problems with new taxes and fees was lagging in early returns Tuesday, with about one-fifth of ballots counted statewide.
The post Proposal to raise Oregon’s gas tax failing by wide margin in early results appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
An industry meeting in Astoria last week hosted by ODFW staff was intended to brief commercial crabbers and gather comments ahead of a meeting in August where Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissioners are expected to consider new regulations to protect humpback whales. But the main question on crabbers’ minds was a federal incidental take permit and how many whales NOAA Fisheries might allow the…
Thanks to the war in Iran, rising diesel prices are squeezing the fishing industry across the Northwest, cutting into profits and adding new uncertainty to an already volatile business. The economic strain of the higher prices is feeding into broader political debates about the war and the Trump administration.
The post Rising fuel costs ripple through Northwest’s fishing industry appeared first…
Marion County commissioners and Gov. Tina Kotek want to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs find a different location for a veterans cemetery proposed for 307 acres of farmland southeast of Salem.
The post Governor, county commissioners side with locals against federal plan to build a cemetery near Salem appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Overdose deaths in Oregon have dropped for a second year in a row, falling from 1,800 in 2023 to 1,500 in 2024 and 1,100 in 2025, according to preliminary data from the Oregon Health Authority.
The post Overdose deaths in Oregon drop second year in a row appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
The confidential draft proposes significant changes to Oregon’s tax system, which the document calls an unbalanced “one-and-a-half legged stool,” overly reliant on income taxes and a distorted property tax system and lacking a sales tax.
The post Confidential draft recommendations from Kotek’s Prosperity Council suggest tax cuts, reforms appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
PeaceHealth fired its top Oregon hospital executive, one month after placing him on leave amid allegations that he illegally meddled in patient care and helped orchestrate a failed plan to replace emergency doctors with a corporate staffing firm.
The post PeaceHealth axes Oregon region chief after ER turmoil appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Oregon’s housing supply increased modestly between 2020 and 2025, with the biggest growth in central Oregon, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released on Thursday, but progress lags far behind the state’s lofty goals.
The post Oregon’s housing supply increased only about 5% between 2020 and 2025 appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Oregon is officially the first state to create a long-term plan to replace Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood if Congress permanently cuts off those funds, lawmakers and health officials said at a ceremonial bill signing.
The post Oregon governor signs laws to backfill Planned Parenthood funding, strengthen shield law appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Dan Rayfield and the state’s Department of Justice will ask state lawmakers to double the capacity of the agency’s antitrust team that's tasked with stopping illegal mergers and corporate monopolies.
The post Oregon attorney general seeks to double antitrust team to fill federal enforcement void appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
Two lawsuits filed over the past week allege the drinking water systems that serve more than a quarter of a million Willamette Valley residents are being harmed by a federal agency that says it’s trying to help threatened fish.
The post In 2 lawsuits, Oregon communities say plan to help fish could harm drinking water appeared first on Lincoln Chronicle.
In 2025, the rate of children in Oregon’s child welfare system being seriously harmed — physically, emotionally or sexually — reached an all-time high, prompting a state official to say, "We are committed to understanding what is driving these outcomes.”
The post Abuse in Oregon’s foster care reaches all-time high, data shows. State officials trying to figure out why. appeared first on Lincoln…