The Oregon Health Authority made the news with an audit showing it wasted $80 million on behavioral health with nothing to show for the money spent. I wonder how much is $80 million out of OHA’s total budget? A quick online search took me to the OHA’s 2023-25 budget document. The 4006-page document took a while to download despite …
Last Saturday, I gave a 20-minute update on the DRAFT Oregon Wildfire Hazard Map. I presented the good and bad news regarding this notorious map. (Video shown below.) Good News The good news is that we can submit written comments in opposition to this map. The deadline is August 18 at 5PM. That was the extent of the good news. …
(The Center Square) – Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the eighth time this year last week. Kotek invoked it on August 1, 2024, responding to the Telephone Fire in Harney County. The governor invokes the act when the necessary resources to protect life and property from a wildfire exceed the capacities of local first responders. “I continue …
Abbey Stamp is taking on a new role that will put her at the heart of Oregon’s fentanyl overdose crisis – and the next chapter of the state’s effort to combat drug addiction. The 51-year-old longtime Multnomah County administrator will start Oct. 15 as the new executive director of the Oregon Health Authority’s Measure 110 program. Stamp is taking the …
Two ballot measure collected enough signatures to make it to Oregon’s November ballot. One is not so bad, but the other one is very, very bad and will make Oregon’s business reputation even uglier than it is now. Let’s take a look. Measure 118 Measure 118 “Increases highest corporate minimum taxes; distributes revenue to eligible individuals; state replaces reduced federal …
Voters will vote on five ballot measures on the Oregon November ballot. Based on my current understanding, I’ll be voting “No” on three of them, “Yes” on one of them and one I’m undecided on. Three of the ballot measures were referral by Oregon legislators and two initiative petition. (Unfortunately, the two School Choice measures did not collect enough signatures …
Today, Monique DeSpain’s campaign for Oregon’s Fourth Congressional District announced the launch of a major TV ad campaign targeting general election voters. The ad is running on broadcast and cable TV, OTT/disconnected cable, and Digital platforms. “We are excited to launch the first TV ad of this race for Congress. It is a sign of the real momentum we are building for …
Wildfires burning across much of the western U.S. and Canada are causing smoke to stretch across parts of central, eastern and southern Oregon. In response, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality alert Monday for Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake and Malheur counties. Agency officials also expect intermittent smoke in Crook, eastern Douglas, eastern Lane, Jackson …
Andy Chandler of NW Fresh interviewed Will Lathrop who is running for Oregon Attorney General. Will Lathrop is an experienced prosecutor of child and human trafficking crimes. Learn more about Will Lathrop at his website: https://willlathrop.com/
Gov. Tina Kotek’s behavioral health director is resigning, making her the sixth staffer to leave the administration in the past five months. Juliana Wallace, who was hired last August to oversee the governor’s behavioral health initiatives, regularly met with Kotek’s spouse, Aimee Kotek Wilson. In Wallace’s resignation letter, first reported by Willamette Week, she said it was a long journey …