Former Primary Rival staffer accuses Democrat Congress Candidate Bynum of Ignoring Alleged Assault

A top staffer for Democratic congressional candidate Janelle Bynum’s rival in the May primary filed a complaint this summer alleging that Bynum turned a blind eye to sexual harassment and assault by an operative assigned to her 2022 legislative campaign.  The third-party complaint was first reported over the weekend by Fox News, which underlined the importance of the race. Bynum is …

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Washington and Oregon Considering Tolls for Interstate Bridge that will Connect the Two States

(The Center Square) – The Joint Washington State and Oregon Transportation Commissions met Tuesday in Vancouver, Wash., to discuss and adopt toll recommendations for the yet-to-be-built Interstate Bridge Replacement project that connects Washington and Oregon. It began as the Columbia River Crossing project in 2004, but after years of study and evaluation, that project was suspended in 2014 due to a lack of …

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‘Oregon Rebate’ Measure 118 Could Cost State At Least $1 Billion Annually, Legislators Hear

A proposed corporate tax hike to send every Oregonian a check could end up costing the state more than $1 billion annually, legislative revenue analysts told lawmakers this week.  Voters will decide in November whether to approve Measure 118, which would increase by 3% the corporate minimum tax on sales above $25 million and distribute proceeds to all Oregonians. In …

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Drug Possession Arrests Have Increased Since New Misdemeanor Change  Took Effect 

Oregon lawmakers are starting to wade into the work of monitoring whether the state’s new drug possession law will successfully help the state combat Oregon’s fentanyl addiction and overdose crisis.  House Bill 4002, which took effect on Sept. 1, is just beginning to roll out. The bill recriminalized low-level drug possession and provided funding so county officials, if they desire, can …

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Plan Would Make 1 Million Acres of Federal Land In Oregon Available For Solar Energy Projects

More than 1 million acres of federal land in central and southern Oregon could soon be leased for solar energy projects. Officials at the federal Bureau of Land Management announced Aug. 29 they had finalized a plan to add Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming to its existing Western Solar Plan – an Obama-era project that expanded permitting for solar projects on …

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Republicans To Introduce Legislation To Safeguard Oregon’s Election System

SALEM, Ore. – In response to the news that noncitizens in Oregon received ballots and voted in Oregon’s 2022 election, House Republicans Ed Diehl (R-Stayton), E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls), Anna Scharf (R-Amity), and Dwayne Yunker (R-Grants Pass) offered the following statements: “It’s outrageous that noncitizens in Oregon received ballots and voted in Oregon’s 2022 election,” said Rep. Scharf. “Worse, the legislature still hasn’t gotten straight …

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Feds Award Oregon $11.5 million To Improve Early Literacy Instruction

Oregon’s highest needs schools that are focused on revamping literacy instruction and boosting student reading proficiency will get federal financial help next year.  The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it will send Oregon schools $11.5 million next school year, and could potentially allocate up to $57 million over the next five years to help the state’s Early …

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Oregon’s 6th Congressional District is Surprisingly Competitive

By most political rules of thumb, Oregon’s 6th Congressional District race this year shouldn’t be particularly competitive.  But both the Democratic and Republican national political parties have declared the district a priority, a place where significant money and support will be sent.  There’s a case for why that shouldn’t be so. Two years ago, when the brand new district had …

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Republican Leader Daniel Bonham Demands Governor Tina Kotek Take Immediate Action on Voter Roll Errors

September 16, 2024 The Honorable Tina KotekOffice of the Governor900 Court Street NE, Suite 254Salem, Oregon 97301 Dear Governor Kotek, I write to you to strongly urge you to take swift and meaningful steps to ensure the integrity of Oregon’s voter rolls ahead of the upcoming November election. As stewards of a government accountable to its citizens, it is critical …

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Non-citizens Voting in Oregon: What We Know, What We Don’t

Source: Oregon Secretary of State website In case you missed it, the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles and the state’s Elections Division admitted at least 306 non-citizens had been registered to vote in Oregon, with at least two of them having voted, since 2021. The news was broken by Willamette Week in a story published at 3:54 pm Friday. Non-citizens are not allowed to …

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