Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project
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ODOT Layoffs Will Hit Key Democratic Constituency

SEIU represents half of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s nearly 5,000 employees.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

To better understand the high stakes of the final days of the 2025 legislative session, it’s useful to consider one fact that was largely absent from the debate over House Bill 2025, the multibillion-dollar transportation funding measure that failed in numerous incarnations: The biggest immediate loser will be the members of Service Employees International Union […]

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GOP Candidate for Governor Gets First Big Check

Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell gains support from a top Republican donor.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

The first big check in the 2026 Republican primary for governor arrived this week—and it didn’t go to House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, the 2022 GOP nominee and next year’s likely frontrunner, if she chooses to run. Instead, filings with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office show that Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell recorded a […]

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Kotek Vetoes Three Bills Relating to Child Welfare

The governor plays hardball after the defeat of one of her priority bills. Lawmakers push back.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

Gov. Tina Kotek issued three vetoes on June 24, all for bills related to child welfare and the Oregon Department of Human Services. Kotek has not often used her veto pen because she’s generally in sync with the Democratic supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature. But one of the governor’s priority bills—House Bill 3835—put […]

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Prevailing Wage Expansion Advances With Key Questions Unanswered

Trade unions strongly support extending higher-wage requirements to off-site fabrication but lawmakers—and legislative lawyers—don’t know whether or how the state would enforce the proposed law.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

A bill that would expand the scope of Oregon’s prevailing wage law is moving toward a floor vote with key questions unanswered. That matters because the expansion could impact just about every public works project in Oregon, from roads and sewers to schools—both renovations and new construction. House Bill 2688 “applies the prevailing rate of wage […]

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Time Running Out on a Bill That Could Help Wildfire Victims

Senate Bill 926 would pressure PacifiCorp to pay compensation before a federal tax break expires.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

As the 2025 legislative session lurches toward its conclusion, a bipartisan bill aimed at speeding wildfire damage payouts remains stalled in committee. The looming expiration of a federal tax break for fire victims adds urgency to Senate Bill 926. That tax break—available to people who get financial compensation for losses in fires that are declared […]

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Poll Shows Voters Aren’t Worried About Oregon Roads and Don’t Want to Pay to Fix Them

As lawmakers prepare to vote on the session’s signature legislation, Republicans are furious and some Democrats are skeptical.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

As the Oregon Legislature prepares for looming floor votes on House Bill 2025, a transportation funding bill at the center of the legislative session, polling obtained by the Oregon Journalism Project shows voters are unconvinced of the need for legislation that would raise nearly $2 billion in new funding annually. And perhaps more importantly, the […]

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Family Sues After Heat-Related Death at Bend Senior Care Facility

Staff left a heavily dressed woman outside on a blazing August day.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

The estate of Celia Lenore Hess, who died after being left out in the sun at a Bend memory care facility on a blazing hot day last August, has filed a wrongful death suit against the facility’s owner, Dallas-based Frontier Senior Living. The Kafoury & McDougal firm filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court […]

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Kotek is Reluctant to Mirror California Proposal to Reduce Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants

Kotek is also unwilling to gamble on what Medicaid changes Congress might pass.
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek told reporters Monday afternoon she would be very reluctant to follow the lead of her fellow Democrat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last week proposed reducing his state’s spending on health care for undocumented immigrants. In a May 14 budget message, The New York Times reported, Newsom proposed halting new sign-ups […]

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Statewide Arts Group Sues DOGE & National Endowment for the Humanities

Oregon Humanities says Trump’s team usurped congressional authority when cutting federal arts funding
by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

Oregon Humanities filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration Friday, May 16, in U.S. District Court in Portland. The organization, a nonprofit formerly known as the Oregon Council for the Humanities, was founded in 1971. It advocates for and distributes money to arts groups all over the state. Nearly half of its $2.46 million […]

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DEQ Pauses Controversial Advanced Clean Trucks Rule

by Nigel Jaquiss, Oregon Journalism Project

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said today it was delaying enforcement of its Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which went into effect Jan. 1. “Effective immediately, Oregon DEQ will refrain from pursuing enforcement or assessing civil penalties against any manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (Classes 2b–8) who does not meet the specified [zero-emission vehicle] […]

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