Oregon Gov. Kate Brown placed a 90-day moratorium on commercial evictions for nonpayment Wednesday, bringing relief to thousands of businesses facing their first rent payments since losing significant revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Oregon Historical Society has put a call out for one-page letters, or hand-written notes, sharing individual reflections and experiences during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to the district, superintendent Jeff Leo noted how rapidly things were changing for the district in the face of the coronavirus health crisis, while Banks High School Principal Jacob Pence shared more information in a heartfelt video.

The state issued a 28 page guidance document for school districts throughout Oregon, mandating a plan for distance learning by April 13. "We are working through the new guidance and putting together our plan. It raises a lot of questions for us as well which we will be working on to find out and best serve the students of Banks School District.,” said superintendent Jeff Leo.

Quick updates from the national level regarding Oregon's congressional delegation and national politics on the local stage. This week, stimulus checks, resources for small businesses, feds grant Oregon a disaster declaration, and air tankers join the U.S. Forest Service fleet to fight Oregon wildfires.

In a Friday, March 27 letter to parents and community members, Banks School District Superintendent Jeff Leo, a number of announcements and plans for the rest of the year were outlined, including information on school meals and supplemental distance learning.

Oregon will allow drivers to pump their own gas until April 11 in order to reduce contact that could spread the coronavirus, the state fire marshal announced early Saturday morning.

Suzanne Weber, the mayor of Tillamook, found herself thrust into statewide prominence as she was forced to handle a potentially lethal influx of tourists to Tillamook at the beginning of spring break. In the midst of her mayoral duties, Weber is campaigning in the Republican primary for Oregon House of Representatives’ District 32 seat, which currently is held by Tiffiny Mitchell (D-Astoria).

The deadline to apply for this year's Washington County Farm Bureau scholarships has been moved to May 1, as high school seniors grapple with an uncertain school calendar in Oregon, with school closed through most of April, and potentially beyond.

This week's state dispatch of news from the state legislature, state politics and government, and other quick recaps of stories of statewide importance. This week, we look the impact of coronavirus on studded tires, the DMV, examine statewide numbers, and a new spirit of bipartisanship in the Oregon legislature.

Hear from George Kiepke, a candidate running for the democratic nomination to House District 32 in the May 19 primary.

As Governor Kate Brown's Executive Order mandating social distancing grips every Oregonian's day-to-day way of life, how will the Washington County Sheriff's Office enforce the new rules? We've got answers.

Quick updates from the national level regarding Oregon's congressional delegation and national politics on the local stage. This week, a quick look at the numbers of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., a statement from Senator Jeff Merkley, and news on the Real ID delay.

GasBuddy, a website and cell phone app that tracks real-time gas prices in the U.S., released data that found the national average of a price of a gallon of regular gasoline dropped 12.8 cents during the last week to $2.08.

Governor Kate Brown asked Oregonians to stay home and stay away from each other, a request ignored by thousands as spring break began. Now, the governor has issued a sweeping executive order closing more businesses, limiting nonessential travel, and making it a class C misdemeanor if the orders are ignored.

Amid mounting pressure, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is preparing to issue a statewide stay-at-home order Monday, according to a news report from the Willamette Week newspaper.

Spring break is in full swing, and Oregonians are ignoring Governor Kate Brown’s pleas to practice social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and stay close to home. As a result, Brown has ordered three agencies — the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife — to close campgrounds and parks in their jurisdictions beginning Monday, March 23 and lasting until at least May 8.

Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order Sunday temporarily halting residential evictions for nonpayment during the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In any disaster situation financial concerns arise very quickly as people are unable to get to work or their work is closed because of the disaster. A lot depends on the size and scope of the disaster on how quickly people can get back to work and life resumes per normal.

With businesses shuttered, people working from home, and students away from school for the next month, it's a good time to clear your yard and prepare for the coming fire season. But ODF officials are asking that landowners hold off on their debris burning until wetter, cooler conditions return.

In a press conference held jointly by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, the officials pleaded with Oregonians to practice aggressive social distancing, and Wheeler said that Portland would issue an order for residents to stay home for all nonessential travel by Monday.

Right now, everyone is really worried about who is infected; could I become infected or I am confirmed as an infected person? This then lends one to think of all of the things that they may need during a self-imposed or imposed quarantine.

At a special city council meeting held on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 18, the city of Banks adopted a resolution declaring an emergency in response to the novel coronavirus health crisis.

Gov. Kate Brown ordered Oregon schools to remain closed through April 28, extending her previously mandated closure period by four weeks.

More than 155,000 Oregonians work in restaurants and bars. Many of them – perhaps most – lost their jobs Monday when Gov. Kate Brown ordered all eating and drinking establishments shut down, except for takeout and delivery service.

Democrat Debbie Boothe-Schmidt, a Clatsop County trial assistant and co-owner of the Phog Bouncer Antique Mall in Astoria found herself literally in the last minutes filing to run for election in the Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives’ District 32 seat, which currently is held by Tiffiny Mitchell (D-Astoria).

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Monday afternoon ordered Oregon restaurants and bars to stop all on-site dining and limit sales to takeout and delivery.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Monday morning that she is not ready to impose a curfew or broader shutdown on bars and restaurants, despite a new federal recommendation against events with 50 or more people for the next eight weeks.

“Needless to say this is a terrible situation for all of our athletes,” said Ben Buchanan, assistant principal and athletic director for the Banks High School. “I feel terrible for seniors who didn’t get to finish out their winter seasons and the spring is still up in the air.”

Today we are being flooded with mass media communication around a very real threat to us, our community and the world at large. With news around the world being updated constantly, this changes what is being presented by the news and our politicians hourly. Here is what is known at this point, writes Erica Harold-Heine.