Weber also discussed the needs for reliable, high-speed internet to reach rural homes, businesses, communities.

A summary of calls from December 2020 within the city of Banks, as written by contract deputies with the Washington County Sheriff's Office and presented to the Banks city council on January 12.

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) is calling for the immediate resignation of Rep. Mike Nearman (R-Independence) after Capitol security cameras showed a video of the House representative opening a back door to the Capitol, allowing rioters to enter the building on December 21.

Ten Republicans joined their Democratic Party colleagues in charging President Donald Trump with “Incitement of Insurrection,” condemning his role in the Jan. 6 events at the U.S. Capitol as a high crime against the U.S. Government. Trump faces a Senate trial next, likely sometime around or after Inauguration Day.

Safety, swearing in, and more as legislators prepare for Jan 19. legislative session in Salem.

A summary of calls from December, and a few messages from the Banks Fire District.

A month-by-month look at some of the stories that the Banks Post & Gales Creek Journal covered in a year that felt like a decade.

Violence erupted in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as Trump supporters stormed into the U.S. Capitol, which just moments before had seen members of the U.S. Senate debating a challenge to Arizona’s electoral votes cast for President-Elect Joe Biden.

Local emergency management expert Erica Harold-Heine rings in the new year with a column on community, family, and individual resilience.

According to the NWS, south winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected Saturday afternoon and evening, and could cause debris in roadways, power outages, and other hazards associated with high winds.

Governor Kate Brown on Tuesday, December 29 announced updates to the risk levels in all Oregon counties under the state's public health framework that aims to reduce virus transmission and protect Oregonians from COVID-19. Washington County remains in the “Extreme Risk” category.

Beginning in the new year, members of the West Oregon Electric Co-op (WOEC) will see an increase in their electricity bills.

A grace period for some Oregon residents with expiring vehicle registration, permit or driver’s licenses has been extended to three months after expiry, but only for those documents expiring between Nov. 1 2020 and April 30, 2021.

Thousands of Oregon students could be back in classrooms by Feb. 15 under a new plan issued by Governor Kate Brown on Wednesday that will turn control of school reopening to local school districts.

Four Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) projects in the region on Highway 26 are planned for 2021, including protective screening on the Dersham Road overpass, repaving between Hayward Road and Mountaindale Road, replacing a culvert with a bridge near Buxton, and updating curve warning signs on Highway 26.

A summary of calls from November, and a few messages from the Banks Fire District.

The Oregon Legislature passed a group of spending bills providing a six-month extension to the moratorium on evictions, allowing restaurants and bars to sell cocktails to go, financial relief for Oregonians following last summer’s wildfire devastation, and removing financial liability from damages claims for schools during the public health crisis.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners voted December 15 to authorize $1.397 million in spending through 2026 to purchase and deploy body cameras to the Washington County Sheriff’s 210 deputies, and to outfit 129 patrol vehicles with similar technology.

Mitchell said she did not know when the current special session will end, but that lawmakers are committed to wrapping up all business by the end of tonight, Monday, December 21.

Today's special legislative session is off to a rocky start with protests, arrests, and one legislator angrily leaving a Senate session over having to wear a mask.

Oregon lawmakers will meet in a special session in Salem on Monday, Dec. 21 to vote on legislation aimed at providing relief to renters and landlords, tackle wildfire relief, ease restrictions on to-go cocktails, and more in a one-day session.

A winter tradition to usher in the new year at Oregon's state parks will continue, but without rangers or volunteers to guide the activities in light of COVID-19 risk.

With heavy rain in the forecast, a flood watch has been issued by the Portland branch of the National Weather Service for this weekend, beginning Saturday at 4 p.m. through Sunday at 10 p.m.

The Oregon Department of Forestry issued an annual report that shows revenue from timber operations in the Tillamook State Forest to Tillamook, Washington and Columbia County totals $31.4 in revenue in the 2020 fiscal year.

The current extension of Governor Kate Brown's executive order declaring a state of emergency was extended by 60 days today, the governor announced.

A number of Oregon medical workers received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech developed vaccine today, joining 47 other states and Washington D.C., all of whom started their vaccinations before Oregon's hospitals did.

Business owners and representatives in the Banks region can sign up for a year of membership in the Banks Chamber of Commerce for free through December.

Governor Kate Brown announced she will convene a special session of the Oregon Legislature at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, December 21 to ask lawmakers to provide $800 million in financial relief for Oregonians who are suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic, and for those who experienced loss during last summer’s wildfires.

The Oregon Health Authority announced that the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech arrived in Oregon Monday morning, with deliveries of 975 doses each made around 7 a.m. to two Legacy Health locations, one in Portland and one in Tualatin.

A residence and local landmark in Roy was damaged during a fire on Wednesday evening, according to Forest Grove Fire and Rescue, with no injuries reported for the home's residents or pets, including a cat and an unspecified number of opossums.