Washington County residents will have the opportunity to hear from and provide input to Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley at a Washington County-specific digital town hall scheduled for Wednesday, April 6 starting at 4:30 p.m. “Hearing from Oregonians across the state is critical to doing my job. In these uncertain times,[Read More…]
politics
Oregon’s short legislative session comes to a close
The Oregon Legislature’s 2022 short session came and went (did you blink?) and in this era of rapid inflation and soaring costs for food and gasoline lawmakers passed $2.7 billion in new spending with the lion’s share allocated to child care, education, homelessness, housing, job training, and mental health. The[Read More…]
Oregon economic forecast: More money for lawmakers to spend, tax credits likely in two years
Higher wages for workers and more income for businesses is driving up state tax collections, creating the prospect for even more state government spending and then credits in two years for those paying income taxes, state economists announced Wednesday. The economists described a robust Oregon economy that they now project[Read More…]
In final State of the State address, Brown touts victories, pushes spending plan
Gov. Kate Brown’s final State of the State address on Thursday served largely as a victory lap, while she challenged legislators to approve her plans to spend $700 million on job training, housing and child care. As she did last year, Brown gave her 30-minute speech virtually from her office[Read More…]
Local legislators introduce bills for short session beginning Feb. 1
The Oregon Legislature began the 2022 short session today, February 1, and these are some of the bills that the region’s five legislative representatives signed onto as chief sponsors. To read more about each bill, visit olis.oregonlegislature.gov and click on the “bills” tab at the upper right corner. There, you[Read More…]
County commissioners appoint Nathan Sosa to vacant House District 30 seat
The Washington County Board of commissioners voted Monday afternoon to appoint Nathan Sosa to fill the remaining 11 months of former State Representative Janeen Sollman, who vacated the seat after her appointment to Senate District 15 in January, replacing former Sen. Chuck Riley, who resigned his seat to retire. The[Read More…]
Washington County commissioners to appoint replacement to vacant House District 30 seat Jan. 31
The Washington County Board of Commissioners will meet virtually Monday, January 31 to appoint a replacement for Janeen Sollman’s House District 30 seat. Sollman was appointed to Senate District 15 Jan. 14 following the resignation of former State Senator Chuck Riley. It’s the latest in a series of resignations and appointments[Read More…]
Rachel Armitage appointed to vacant Senate District 16 seat
County commissioners from the six counties in Senate District 16 appointed Rachel Armitage to fill the remaining year of former State Senator Betsy Johnson’s empty seat. Armitage, a former legislative assistant in 2016 and 2017, according to her campaign website, is a Warren Ore. resident. She currently works at Reed[Read More…]
County to fill vacant state senate seats Friday
Washington County Commissioners are meeting virtually Friday, January 14 at 9 a.m. to interview candidates to replace District 16 Sen. Betsy Johnson who resigned Dec. 15 to focus on her run for Oregon’s governorship, and at 1:30 p.m. to interview candidates to replace Sen. Chuck Riley (D-Hillsboro) who announced last[Read More…]
From the newsroom: Writing a letter to the editor, more statehouse news, and more local news
What a year 2021 was to run a newspaper in Oregon. I said something similar at the end of 2020, and little has changed. Like any small business, running a newspaper during a pandemic is hard. We’ve grappled with staffing issues due to the pandemic, lack of income due to[Read More…]
