Registered voters will see two measures from Washington County on their ballots; measure 34-300, which will alter how county commissioners and the chair are paid, and measure 34-301, which would do away with a restriction on passing land use ordinances for four months out of the year.

Ballot returns in Washington County as of 12 p.m. Friday, October 23 numbered 106,660, an amount representing about 27.7% of the total number of registered voters in the county, according to the Washington County elections office.

Ballot returns in Washington County as of 9:09 a.m. Thursday, October 22 numbered 73,803, an amount representing about 19.2% of the total number of registered voters in the county, according to the office of the Oregon Secretary of State. Read on for a party-by-party breakdown of those votes.

A Portland man left his home in Portland on October 11, 2020, and has not been seen since. Chase Stevens, 31, was last known to be near Highway 26 as he travelled through the Banks area, the Portland Police Bureau said in a press release issued on Wednesday, October 21.

Another letter regarding the Oregon House District 32, which includes Banks, Gales Creek, Gaston, and the North Coast.

Oregon Ballot Measure 107 would change Oregon’s Constitution to limit campaign contributions both in cash contributions and service rendered for in-kind contributions.

Another set of errors by the Washington County Elections department has been discovered in election materials, this time in the form of random “yes” and “no” statements placed in the explanation text of four statewide measures on the ballot.

Washington County's election department said that by Friday — two days after ballots were mailed — a total of 1,252 ballots had been returned. This, how a proofing error in the voters guide cost the county nearly $3,000, and more inside.

It was a short city council meeting on Tuesday, October 13, where city officials approved funds to purchase a new utility truck, awarded the contract to replace the city's leaking main water transmission line, and approved a $1,500 contribution to the Family Justice Center of Washington County.

Not one, not two, but NINE letters to the editor this week, with some in support of HD 32 candidate Suzanne Weber and some in support of HD 32 Debbie Boothe-Schmidt. Something on your mind? Instructions inside on how to submit your own letter

It's a very light police log this month, as reported by Deputy Frank Ward to the Banks City Council on Tuesday, October 13.

The official fire season ended today for the Northwest Oregon Forest Protective Association region, bringing to an official close a season unlike any other in recent history in Oregon.

In 2000, Oregon became the nation’s first-only all vote-by-mail state, but Oregonians have been voting by mail since the 1980s

To register or to make a change to your voter registration, visit and complete the online form at oregonvotes.gov/register before midnight on Tuesday, October 13; in person at the Washington County Elections office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, or with a mailed form postmarked on or before October 13.

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

Two letters to the editor have been submitted this week, each regarding the Oregon House of Representatives House District 32 race.

An updated brief from the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office originally released in May and re-released in September shows the state will spend $400 million of Education Stability Fund (ESF) money to pay for losses resulting from the COVID-19 shutdown.

Crews from Banks, Forest Grove, and more are headed south to California to help firefighters there battle wildfires that have torched nearly four million acres.

An online survey released on Friday, October 2 by Washington County and Ride Connection Inc., a regional public transportation nonprofit, is asking for feedback on the county’s Transit Development Plan as it pertains to transit in rural Washington County.

Stagnant air — a soup of haze, smoke and fog — is settling in for the weekend and beyond as a strong inversion traps pollutants in the air, with the potential to cause breathing issues for those already suffering with respiratory problems, the National Weather Service says.

A letter to the editor in support of HD 32 candidate Suzanne Weber. Something on your mind? Send a letter to the editor at [email protected] with your name, address, and phone number (will not be published) on issues, news, and items of concern in the community. Please keep it between 100-350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, spelling, and punctuation errors.

A grant awarded to the Banks School District by Washington County with CARES Act funding will pay for two months of childcare for some Banks-area low-income families and those working as essential employees. The deadline to apply for a limited amount of slots is this Friday, October 2.

The Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD) has five positions up for election this year, yet much of the voting public is not only unaware of who the candidates are, many Washington County residents simply don’t know that the board exists at all, what it does, or why it even matters. Here's more on the local candidates running for the board this year.

Here we are, 40 days from the November 3 election. It might seem like an arbitrary number, and you’re probably right, but for our newsroom, it marks a mad scramble to try to fit as much coverage as we can into the coming weeks as we march closer and closer to Election Day. Here’s what to expect from us.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is asking people to stop putting election-related signs in state owned right of ways.

The deadline to nominate someone for the 2020 Banks Citizenship Award — a recognition given to someone who has gone above and beyond for the Banks area — is September 30.

With overnight rains in our area, this will be our final daily wildfire update, though we will continue to investigate, write about, and follow the continuing story of Oregon’s worst fire season in recent history.

It's raining, and other updates for Thursday evening on wildfires throughout the state.

The Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests are expected to reopen to public use on Friday, September 18 at 1 a.m., according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Fire danger — currently "Extreme" — will remain at "High," the agency said.

Updates for Wednesday morning on fires in Washington Country and other regional fires, cleanup, and recovery efforts.